San Francisco is not just romantic, it is delicious -2

One of the reasons my wife and I like this place is size of Buffet and variety of foods we can choose from. There are 5 large Buffet Tables where foods are kept warm. The wall side of square restaurant space is occupied counters for Sushi, Sashimi, shrimp, crab, mostly fresh seafood. The other counter carries warm and cold Asian and European deserts. At the end of the desert counter, there are ice cream self-dispensers. They have choices of vanilla, or chocolate, or mixture of both.

Each Buffet Table has its own food categories, such as 1) warm vegetables and salads, 2) fish and seafood, 3) Chinese and American style poultry's, 4) fried rice + noodles + rice soup..., 5) steamed, fried, or boiled pot stickers + Chinese style meat bum.

In addition, they have BBQ station where you can select ingredients and ask a real person to cook to your order. In next post, I will explain this BBQ station a little more.

I have seen a buffet style restaurant who does not have Lobsters or Crabs in lunch time, but this place carries all foods for both lunch and dinner.

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Shaw Funami
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San Francisco is not just romantic, it is delicious -1

It was a while ago when I posted an article about San Francisco's Crab dish and Clam Chowder Soup. Please refer to "Delicacies in Fisherman's Wharf". It is not just Crab. It is not just in Fisherman's Wharf where you can enjoy taste of San Francisco. It does not have to be in San Francisco City.

Picture of Entrance, below. Nothing is Fancy
The variety of foods we can enjoy is very wide in San Francisco. Italian, Mid-eastern, Chinese, Japanese, Malaysian, Indonesian, Vietnamese, etc... I cannot list them all. Even comparing to New York, San Francisco's variation of food does not lose its excellence.

In addition, the cost for enjoying excellent foods is amazingly reasonable. When I say cost effective restaurant, I always think about "Buffet Style". It was about 1 year ago, we found very good Asian Cuisine "Buffet Style" restaurant close to San Francisco Airport. It's name is "Beijing Buffet". I referred to some rating sites before I started to write this article. The ratings vary from person to person. General rating may be average, I would say. Still my own experience has been good and my wife and my mother in law love it. I would like to introduce the contents in following several articles.

I cannot forget to add that my wife is China born Chinese American, and her sense of taste on Chinese foods are trust-worthy.

Below - Right inside of Entrance
Interiors are interesting.
They keep some turtles in the
artificial pond in the center.
Turtles are symbol of Good Luck
in many Asian Cultures
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San Francisco is Romantic Place

Since I have been writing Multi-writer Japanese Blogs for about 2 years, I kept taking San Francisco Photographs during that time. Some of them are famous sightseeing places such as Golden Gate Bridge, or Fisherman's Wharf, etc...

The title back picture I use for this blog is also the picture I took from Presidio Park. Left one is another. In Presidio Park and just east outside of Presideo Park entrance, there are lots of good places to take Golden Gate Bridge.

Many of them are just cut out of 1 scenery of San Francisco. Some times I stay in the car waiting for appointment time, or just killing time. I took pictures from inside of my car.

I like town scenery type of pictures myself. It may be nothing unique or interesting for the people who want to take famous places pictures, but they remind me the time of myself when I took those pictures. Left tin horse was taken on Sutter Street when I took my wife and my mother in law for Thai, Singapore, Malaysia Style restaurant in Downtown. It is just a Art Gallery Show Window. I felt so funny I could find this horse around 8:00pm after our dinner is finished.

Some times I can find a city ordinary scene type of view in the sightseeing type of places. The below are taken on Powell Street, in the place people waiting for riding Cable Car which was turned on turn table to change direction.

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... and the soul afraid of dying ...

Do you like movies? I love movies. I watch all the kind of movies, but I like some historical movies, science fictions, police movies, etc... When I first lived in US log term base in 1985 in New York. I loved HBO. I watched at least 2 movies a day. They were my live English materials and I learned a lot of English expressions from them.

In addition to English learning effect, movies could teach me a whole lot more things about lives. Many of them made me think about the meaning of life, encouraged me to make decisions when I was wondering, taught me how I can conduct in difficult times.

Today, I was listening to my favorite radio station when driving and the station was playing one of my music I like. It is "The Rose" by Bette Midler. This song is from the movie with the same name "The Rose", the story of a singer lived and died in entertainment world. She fulfilled her life singing and dyeing in her stage.

The movie impressed me so that the theme song stayed in my memory. It is beautiful song with melodious line. I also liked its lyric.

Starting the phrase "Some said love, it is the river ...", I liked many phrase in the song. It says "I say love, it is the flower, and you, its only seed." It continues "... the heart afraid of breaking, that never learns to dance" "... the dream afraid of waking, never takes the chance." My most favorite part of the song which has encouraged me in many ways goes "... and the soul afraid of dying, never learns to live."

Whenever I needed to make difficult and painful decisions in life, I remembered this phrase and song in my mind so many times. I would not be afraid of dyeing if I could learn how to live. How about you?

"... far beneath the bitter snows, lies the seed, with the sun's love, in the spring, it becomes the rose ..."


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Tokyo becomes just like heaven in spring

Japan is a beautiful country in many ways. Japan islands are surrounded by ocean. 60% of her land is covered by mountains. There are many historical places. Unfortunately, Tokyo, her capital is concrete jungle and not so pretty usually. However, there is one time entire Japan including even Tokyo becomes like part of heaven.

It is spring time end of March and early April when Cherry trees become full blossom. Wherever you go in Japan, you cannot even avoid to see Chery Flowers. All the flowers are pretty, but Cherry Flowers are special. Cherry Flowers are all light pink color almost white. When they become full blossom, trees have just flowers, no leaves. There are some famous places for Cherry Flowers full Blossoms.

My mother lives in western outskirt of Tokyo, the town called Fuchu-shi. The city is full of Cherry Flowers in spring. There is a street both side were lined up with Cherry Trees. These cherry trees in the season of full blossom form tunnel of Cherry Flowers.

This is the time only in a year, when even Tokyo becomes like heaven in Japan.

-Image Below-
Cherry Trees in San Francisco Airport Area
Cherries in San Francisco become full blossom
early, like end-February or early-March.
These Cherry Flowers reminds me Japan.
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His Vision was "Change" in 16th Century Japan

When I wrote about "Kenshin Uesugi", (Please refer to my post,"Gi" was this local king's driving force) I might have given you an impression about "Nobunaga Oda" being a bad guy in comparison with Kenshin. It is true that he is famous and infamous same time. He burned down one of oldest temple because temple had too much power to influence in politics. He attacked and killed almost everybody in Ninja Hometown, Iga and Koga. But, still he was revolutionary hero who Japanese history gave birth to in 16th Century.

Like today, Nobunaga Oda's vision was "Change". For his revolutionary "Change", he needed to destroy old regime. But at the same time, he did a lot of "Construction". His vision and work can be found in his city development planning and construction. "Gifu" is one of the cities in West Japan. He built almost modern city which is equipped with Sewage System. The other city system he built was "Free Market". Lewis Froys, Portugal Priest who visited Nobunaga describes the prosperity of Nobunaga's City, "Gifu", to be comparable to "Babylonia".

Portrait of Nobunaga Oda
Image in Public Domain
He had "Public Guest House" like we have today in White House or Tokyo Palace and entertained his guests. It is said that he liked guests from foreign countries or other part of Japan. He did change all the ancient regime and built the base of modern Japan.

Now thinking about Kenshin Uesugi and Nobunaga Oda, both of them had clear vision what they believed, and moved strongly ahead for the sake of their vision.

It appears to be what is most important is not contents of vision, but our belief or faith in the vision and continuous effort to promote it. It was not if Kenshin was right or Nobunaga was wrong, but they had different visions and they had lived and died for their vision. Can we?

Related post:
http://zheninternational.blogspot.com/2009/02/fight-of-kenshin-uesugi-battle-of_28.html
http://zheninternational.blogspot.com/2009/02/fight-of-kenshin-uesugi-battle-of.html
http://zheninternational.blogspot.com/2009/02/gi-was-this-local-kings-driving-force.html

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Smiles in Vietnam

I walked all over Southeast Asia in 1996. The trips included 3 times visit to Vietnam. I would not go into details about business, but I was enjoying visiting Vietnam. It was smiles of people which relaxed me and gave me breathing space in busy working environment and pressure I was getting that time. There are many things impressed me about Vietnam. Bicycles and motorbikes which filled in half paved road in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City).

One Saturday Afternoon, I did not have any plan and my counterpart needed to leave me alone for taking care of his private things. I also enjoyed to be back to myself in the places I visited. I took elevator down and went out of Hotel exit. Semitropical Sun gave me nice feeling and street shops looked interesting. But, I could not go across the road because so many bikes were crowding and streaming up and down the street. I tried to walk across the road in front of my hotel about 20 minutes and gave up. I went back to my hotel and decided to stay in for the rest of the day.

Source of Image:
http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/michaeleiji/5900803.html
But it was worth being by myself since I noticed that no matter what they are doing, attending street shop, just striding around, or riding bikes to move around the city, people looked happy, active, and vigorous. It was the best thing which I felt in that very afternoon.

Next morning, my counterpart Japanese stationed business person picked me up and we both played golf. 2 young girls attended us as caddies. Both of them might be 12 - 16 years old. Both smiled and talked with each other and laughed a lot. Since I was, still am, a terrible golfer, I mainly enjoyed their laughing, smiling, trying to communicate with me in English. Their English was not so bad. Communicable level. They feel lucky to be able to speak in English with us. They tried to talk with us as much as they could. It was fun.

18 holes usually very long for me as a lousy golfer were not so bad thanks to their laughs, English, and smiles. All 18 hole games were over and I said good bye to them. I said "I feel happy to be able to visit Ho Chi Minh City." 2 young caddies looked at each other and still smiled. One of them looked at me told me "No, sir. The city name is "Saigon". Please remember as Saigon." 20 years since end of Vietnam war, these young girls were upholding their identity and the city name. It was a little later that I learned the base which supported fast growth of Vietnam after 1994 open economy was US dollars South Vietnamese were holding, hiding, and kept in closed economy days of Vietnam.

Related post:
http://zheninternational.blogspot.com/2009/03/memories-of-burma.html
http://zheninternational.blogspot.com/2009/03/encountering-indian-culture.html


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Shaw Funami
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Memories of Burma

Burma was one of the countries I visited in 1996. Burma and Japan have long historical relation. There were people who went to Burma escaping from the days of war in 15th and 16th centuries and stayed there became Burmans.

After World War II, Japanese soldiers who could not escape were protected and hidden by Burmans did not become POW. Most of them stayed there and became Burmans. There is a story of a soldier who became a Burman. "Burmese Harp" is the title of the story. I remember it became a movie, too. His friend soldier went back to Burma and found him in a crowd. His friend shout to him "Hey, Mizushima, let's go back to Japan." Mizushima did not answer and disappeared into crowd.

Image of Pagoda at night, (Thailand)
Photo by (c)Tomo.Yun, http://www.yunphoto.net
It was October 1996, Japanese Business Group formed business feasibility study team and my company let me participate in it. I flew from India to join the group who flew directly from Japan. I needed to spend 6 hours waiting in Bangkok Airport to catch the flight.

I arrived in Rangoon (Yangon) one day earlier than other team member and spent afternoon there. I saw a Pagoda close to my hotel. I walked there. I started to climb the Pagoda. In the entrance, there were 5-6 years old girl and her mother stood. This young girl asked me something in Burman language. She was pointing to my feet. I thought she was asking to take off my shoes. So I did. She was asking to take off my socks, too. I was afraid to bare footed to keep climbing, so I gave up. But, I was impressed how deep Burman people respect Pagoda.

Later in the evening, there was a black out of electricity. My hotel room was darkened, too. But there was bright object right outside of my hotel room. It was Pagoda which was lighted even during the black out. It looked like there are self generating facility in Pagoda to keep being lighten up.

Next morning I asked hotel staff if the Pagoda has electrical equipment, she said yes. I asked why other buildings were blacked out and Pagoda must be kept lightened. She answered "Sir, it will be sad if the Pagoda will be darkened because of black-out."

Related post:
http://zheninternational.blogspot.com/2009/03/encountering-indian-culture.html


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Encountering Indian Culture

I have been talking about Japan, China, and here in San Francisco in this blog. In my past experience. I also visited several countries where not so many people were visiting that time. All the trip, I enjoyed. I liked to visit countries where I had not visited. Visiting new countries excited me.

In 1996, I was in charge of Business Development in Emerging Market and visited several countries. Countries I visited were "Vietnam", "Burma", and "India". Especially I have strong impression and earnestness on India. "Vietnam" and "Burma" were somewhat familiar and could feel these countries to be close to my own original culture. But India was different. Different in many ways and all of my memories are nice and fresh. For the purpose of formation of Joint Venture between my then employer and Indian company, I visited Mumbai 6 times in 1996 and had lots of activities with my Indian friends.

Siva's Cow, Nandi
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One day after business was over early, around 4:00 pm, my Indian friends took me to hotel, they gave me Indian traditional clothes, asked me to put them on, and took them to "Siva" temple. "Siva" is the highest ranked god among hundreds of gods Indian Religion, "Hindu". Wearing Indian traditional clothes, I walked into the temple. I thought I knew how to walk into a temple. I saw small tower in front of main building of the temple. Since there were long line of people going through the tower, I tried to pass the tower and walk directly to temple's main building. My Indian friends stopped me before temple people approaching to stop me, and directed me to line at the end of people's long line. I frowned and asked why.

The tower was Siva's Transportation Aid Cow's tower and the Cow himself is God. The god's name is "Nandi". "Nandi" is not just "Siva" transportation aid, but watch people and select who can walk to "Siva" main temple to see Siva. Nandi plays musical instrument when Siva dances.

It was nice experience and it was quite impressive experience. The English "Holly Cow" might have come from Nandi. All the cultures have different customs and interpretation of life. That makes visit so interesting!

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Part II of my Japanese Article "Mexican Riviera Cruise - II" is up

The site I have been posting my articles in Japanese is called "Go-Ro-Gu". There is no such a Japanese word. This is newly created Japanese. It means ingredients of words. The catch phrase of this site is "Grown ups have grown up enjoyments". Mostly targeted to 35 years or older. Writers are about same age. They are the expert people who has their own professions. Professions are such as photography, theatrical play, paintings, etc... There are 5 overseas writers including myself.

I was one of the original writers when this site started to post writers' articles. First article of mine was "Christmas in San Francisco". In 2007, there were limited number of writers, and my articles were up every month. Later part of 2007, they had many writers, so it became not easy to post and be adopted by the site. Still, my articles are adopted in every 2 months or so. I wrote about Gold Mine Tour, Old Sacramento, etc...

This time was about cruise trip. As explained, Japanese always believe that Cruise Trip is a kind of luxury and ordinary people will not afford to it. But it was not that expensive like most of Japanese people think. If they can travel to Kenya, Vietnam, Hawaii, then they can afford to the cruise as well.

In my part II, my posting is talking all about enjoyment in cruise ship, parties, attractions, theatrical plays, dining, as well as excursion trip to exotic Mexico Riviera Cost Cities.

I swear that later translate the Articles and post it in this Blog. But, right now, it is all in Japanese. For the people who is still interested in accessing, the following is the Link:

http://golog.nifty.com/cs/catalog/golog_article/catalog_004498_1.htm

Following is the Link to Part-I
http://golog.nifty.com/cs/catalog/golog_article/catalog_004489_1.htm

I have posted article introducing Part-I as follows:
http://zheninternational.blogspot.com/2009/02/my-japanese-article-is-up-in-largest.html

The following image is one of the pictures used in the article and it is the one for cover page. I call the picture "Cruise director enjoying party and go crazy."

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Shaw Funami
Fill the Missing Link