Americanized Chinese Food

When I was around 7-12, I didn't mind eating Americanized Chinese food a lot. Whenever my parents felt like eating out, it would be at one of those American Chinese restaurants and of course my parents were the ones who had the opportunity to order the food. However, they did order us kid our favorites--chow mein, chow fun, and fried rice. Me and my siblings would devour a plate of one of those dishes really quickly.

As the years passed, me and my siblings began to get tired of those type of dishes and Chinese food. We got tired of it because we ate it too often. We got tired of it because we are surrounded by relatives or friends who were chefs of Americanized Chinese food. We were tired of it because we had to serve customers the food for several years. It no longer seemed as appetizing as it was when we were kids. Although we do each have a preference of which dishes we prefer. I prefer salt baked shrimp & honey walnut shrimp. However, whenever I find myself eating one of the dishes I just don't have the same excitement anymore. I just eat the food because I'm hungry, not because I ever crave it.

So, today, I don't find myself going out to eat at Chinese restaurants that often. When friends ask where I want to eat, it mostly likely won't be at a Chinese restaurant. The reason is because I want something that I cannot get through family or friends. Sometimes food can be like home for some people. If you don't go out a lot and usually eat family cooked food, then you will be most likely used to certain foods. And, when you try new foods, flavors, or hot foods, you may be exposed to new levels and places you're taste buds haven't been exposed to yet, which is outside your boundaries. I've always been a fan of trying new foods. Because of my curiosity and openness to try new foods, I've discovered fantastic eateries and dishes. And, I like that I'm always seeking food adventures, as well as getting to know what cities have to offer.

Taking Chinese Courses

During my university life, I took the beginning Chinese class series to fulfill the language requirement. It was actually a pretty fun class. It was much different than Chinese School, which I will cover in an upcoming post.

It was also more difficult than classes at Chinese school. For Chinese 1, although I managed to do well most of the quarter, I failed the final. It was the same routine for the finals for Chinese 2+3, which was rather difficult no matter how much I studied. It meant that my grade would be lowered by a 1/3 of a letter grade.

I also had a good study buddy! We helped each other out by sharing the book, providing notes, and tips about grammar and tones.

However, there were some pretty fun moments in my Chinese classes. I liked speaking Mandarin with other classmates. It was funny at times. It was also fun working on some of the skits. I'm going to share some of the videos that I did with some of my good Chinese class buddies.

I'm usually not one to act or be in front of the camera, but this was a skit that was for my Chinese course. If you do happen to watch the videos, then enjoy. Oh, and we spoke Mandarin that's in the basic level. But who knows, you might find yourself understanding it or what the characters are trying to do.

For the Love of Fishes

At the moment, I don't have any pictures of cooked fish. So, I guess I will either update it later or have another post about actual cooked fish. Better yet, I think I will do just that. Oh, and this is the 62th post of this year, that means I am now tied with the amount of posts from last year, which means I'm about to post a lot more this year than last year!

So, fish is big in my family. My baby sister and my parents go fishing. My other sister is scared of fish. And, well, my family consumes fish a bit too often. Actually, I think my mom makes fish way too often nowadays and I'm actually pretty tired of it. I miss her old cooking. She doesn't make steam fish or fried fish anymore. And, its more likely to be the fish that she got from fishing.

Here's a picture of the fishes that my family caught last Saturday. I really didn't expect them to catch that many. I always thought that people who went fishing would have to wait hours for fishes, but they brought home bucket of fishes. I wonder where they went fishing. When they were cooked, however, they weren't good.

One day when I came back home, I noticed that we had fishes! I was surprised that my mom would get them. But, she said that she wanted something to look at. If it were me, I would get birds. Anyways, I guess they are fun to look at and it's nice to have something else living at your home. It's not our first time having fishes, but it's pretty nice to have them around.