Our family went out to dinner on Sunday night. The phở and bún bò Huế weren’t too good. Nevertheless, we paid $140 (including tips). Everytime we went out to eat, we paid over $100. They add up.

I need to stop myself from taking the kids out to eat. I don’t even enjoy eating out anymore. It is just convenience to do so. It has become such a bad habit. I console myself that I am still working; therefore, I can still enjoy myself. Just eating out alone is one of the obstacles that tie me to a job. I would like to have less financial burden.

My wife will be out in Paris for a week starting tomorrow. I will challenge myself to not eating out anymore. We’ll just make something at home.

I drink mostly for social and to enhance my appetite. I didn’t pay much attention to the liquors until recently.

So far these are my favorite brands:

1. Yamazaki 12 (S)
2. Cordon Bleu (C)
3. Hibiki Master Select (B)
4. Dewart’s 18 (B)

I have tried these brands, but not enough to make up my mind:

• Midleton Very Rare (B)
• Lagavulin 16 (S)
• Glen Scotia 18 (S)

These I have not tried yet, but will later:

• Aberfeldy 21 (S)

(B) Blended whiskey
(C) Cognac
(S) Single malt whiskey

While biting into a Lee’s sandwich and listening to Mile Davis’s solo, I was enjoying the best of both worlds. When Black folks took Western instruments and put their own sounds into them, they created jazz. When Vietnamese folks took French baguettes and put their own flavors into them, they created bánh mì. Isn’t life just beautiful when you take a second to appreciate it?

Big shoutout to Lee’s Sandwiches at Falls Church for supporting Liên Đoàn Hùng Vương. Your delicious bánh mì keeps our stomach stuffed and our scouting spirit soaring.

A few weeks ago, my brother-in-law gave me 24-pack Rockstar. While I am not a fan of energy drink, I do like mixing it with liquor. I tried half Rockstar with half Bombay Sapphire over ice and the combination was quite a kick. My energy was boosted for sure. Since I couldn’t finish all 24 cans of Rockstar myself, I brought them to our cabin camping trip.

I whipped them up for a few of my drinking buddies. They didn’t seem to like them at first, but they kept asking for more. We killed the bottle of gin much quicker than I had expected. I had to run to the liquor store to get another bottle.

The night before, we drank beer and bourbon until one in the morning. The men were snoring like crazy and I couldn’t sleep. Rockstar and Bombay gave me much more energy than I had expected. I felt great, but I knew this combo could be dangerous. I needed to take it easy.

I love coffee and I love durian; therefore, I couldn’t resist the temptation when I spotted Ipoh Charcoal Roasted Durian Coffee at 99 Ranch Market yesterday. I had a cup in the morning and it became an instant favorite of mine. The durian fragrance was just wonderful, but I wished the coffee was a bit stronger and darker. In the afternoon, I went for another cup after lunch. The second time I added a bit of instant coffee and it tasted delicious. I was going to link it to Amazon, but the price is three times more than what I paid for at 99 Ranch.

Speaking of Amazon, thanks to those who had ordered products linked from the homepage of this blog. I use the big text to promote my work, but I don’t have any project at the moment. So I wanted to try it out Amazon Associates. I only earned a few dollars, but it isn’t intrusive. I am not tracking you and I am not using any third-party scripts. I just link the text directly to Amazon. Thank you for your support.

A few months ago, I ordered some pickled cucumbers to complement a glass of drafted hard mango cider. I didn’t know what it was called, but I loved the crunchiness of the cucumbers with a slightly sweet and sour flavor. It went well with the drink.

Last week, I wanted to recreate something like that, but with bitter melon instead. I searched for Korean pickled cucumbers and came across this video on YouTube. I modified the recipe a bit and made two batches of pickled bitter melons. In addition to the crunchy and vinegary taste, I loved the bittersweet flavor from the melon. It might not be suitable for anyone who can’t handle the bitter taste, but that is the reason I made it.

Ingredients

• 3 bitter melons
• 2 tablespoons of sea salt
• 1 teaspoon of purée garlic
• 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
• 1.5 tablespoon of honey
• .25 teaspoon of lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 3 chilly peppers
• 1 tablespoon of chopped green scallions
• 1 cup of water

Split the bitter melon in half, scrape the seeds off with a spoon, and slice them into big chunks. Place the chopped pieces into a big bowl, add 2 tablespoons of sea salt, and mix them up. Set it aside for 15 to 20 minutes.

In another bowl, add purée garlic, apple cider vinegar, honey, lemon zest, salt, chili peppers, scallions, and water. Stir everything up well and sprinkle some freshly ground black peppers. Taste to your liking.

Rinse the bitter melons with cold water to remove the salt, place them in a container, and pour in the liquid. Let it sit in the fridge for 12 hours. Enjoy!

My kids like to drink Yakut and they would pop one bottle after another. To reduce the amount of bottles they consume, I mix them with lemon or hand-squeezed orange juice and ice. I liked the orange mix. It has a fruity flavor. The other day, I dropped in two shots of Chung Ha (Korean Saké), and it tasted so much better. As a result, I called it Daddy’s Yakut. Here are the ingredients.

• 1 fresh hand-squeezed orange
• 2 bottles of Yakut
• 2 shots of Chung Ha (Korean Saké)

Put all ingredients in the shaker and add ice. Shake well and pour everything into a highball glass and enjoy.

Buổi sáng vào nhà bếp, tôi cho ổ bánh mì vợ làm vào lò nướng. Đập hai cái trứng vào bát rồi đánh cho thật đều. Bắt chảo lên bếp cho vào chút dầu. Khi chảo nóng đổ trứng vào. Lúc trứng gần chín lật lại và đặt lên hai miếng American cheese. Khi cheese nóng và chảy ra một tí, kẹp trứng vào bánh mì. Rắc chút muối tiêu. Xịt chút ketchup và tương ớt Sriracha. Quấy một ly cà phê sữa đá vừa ăn vừa uống.

Tôi có thể ăn bánh mì trứng với cheese mỗi ngày vì nó đã trở thành món ăn ký ức. Suốt mấy năm đại học, tôi dường như ăn món này mỗi ngày vì nó vừa rẻ vừa no dai. Hơn nữa nó cho tôi một chút tình đồng hương.

Trước cổng trường ngày nào cũng có một chiếc xe food truck rất to có đủ thứ món ăn từ cơm chiên đến đủ loại sandwich và những thùng cooler với nhiều loại nước khác nhau. Đến giờ ăn trưa học sinh xếp hàng rất đông để mua đồ ăn nước uống. Chủ xe food truck là cặp vợ chồng người Việt. Tôi đoán ở tuổi 50. Cô là người đứng lấy order nên tôi nói chuyện với cô bằng tiếng Việt. Suốt cả ngày nghe giảng bằng tiếng Anh trong lớp học nên khi nghe được tiếng Việt tôi rất quý. Nó cho tôi cái cảm giác thân thiện khi được nghe tiếng mẹ đẻ.

Ngày ra trường tôi đến tạm biệt cô. Cô mỉm cười chúc mừng tôi. 20 năm trôi qua tôi đã không gặp lại cô nhưng tôi vẫn nhớ mãi những ổ bánh mì trứng với cheese, muối tiêu, và ketchup. Đồng thời tôi vẫn nhớ mãi những tiếng hét chát chúa của cô dành cho ông chồng.

Cuối tuần Lễ Độc Lập vừa qua được bà xã ông anh vợ đãi món lẩu dê. Cả gia đình bên vợ đều ăn nhưng không mấy hảo món này nên còn dư rất nhiều và thế là tống hết cho tôi. Cả tuần nay, ngày nào tôi cũng thưởng thức món mì gói lẩu dê và uống một loan saké. Ăn vẫn thấy ngon và không thấy ngán. Chỉ khổ cái là ăn thịt dê thì nhiều mà không được thả dê gì cả.

I made a new frozen cocktail and I named it My Sweet Quarantine. Here’s the recipe:

• 1 whole sweet white nectarine (without the core)
• 4 cubes sweet papaya
• 3 oz Jamaican rum (Appleton)
• 1 oz coffee liqueur (Kahlua)
• 2 tsp coconut yogurt (Liberté’s Philippine Coconut Organic Whole Milk Yogurt)

Combine ingredients with ice in a blender and mix. Pour into a highball glass and enjoy!

My Sweet Quarantine is my take on inspired by Hummingbird. I switched up the fruits, but the rum and the coffee liqueur remains the same. Somehow the sweet white nectarine blends so well with the sweet papaya.

The first time I had a Hummingbird on our honeymoon in Jamaica, it was so delightful that I had to have at least one glass every day for a week at the resort. I ordered it from the same bartender everyday. After he made the blend, he scooped up a tiny bit with a spoon, spread it on his palm, and licked it to make sure it tasted as he expected. In retrospect, it had to be one of the best weeks of my life. The food, the drink, the beach, and the love. Everything was so fresh, so new, and so peaceful.