Today was a happy day because it was the fullfillment of several things I have been longing for:
1. To be a pedestrian.
2. To go to the farmers’ market.
3. To go to an Asian supermarket.
4. Rice noodles.
5. Office supplies.
(1) and (2) went together. I got to be a pedestrian because I located a small farmers’ market that operates within walking distance of my apartment. It is just open on Mondays. I took a walk there first thing when I got up. It’s a pleasant walk, 0.8 miles according to Yahoo Maps, and although the market is small and not everything is organic, there are two bakeries and an organic apple man and an Asian-vegetable vendor, and unlike the markets in hippie Berkeley, it was not crowded. I miss Berkeley’s socially, politically, and environmentally friendly atmosphere and people, a lot, but one of the compensations about being in LA is that the crowds are much smaller at places like farmers’ markets and used-clothing shops. There were no young people there, either, mostly middle-aged to older women, roaming in pairs and speaking in foreign languages. While I walked home I thought about my nice organic apples and my pound of okra and the fifty-cent bunch of fresh thyme and I could have just crowed for joy. I got home and scrambled two of the eggs I’d bought with some of the thyme, for my breakfast. I hope to start every Monday off this way.
Later in the afternoon I was even happier because I found out how to get to 99 Ranch in Van Nuys. It’s not too long a drive without traffic, and to make things even better, there is an Office Depot in the same plaza. I’d been in need of index cards, mounting squares and a bunch of other random things. After getting those I went into 99 Ranch. It was like being high, I was so ridiculously, deliriously happy. I kept thinking, “OMG I’m so happy” and then mocking myself for being that happy just because I was in 99 Ranch. But after a month of not getting to eat much Asian food… I was so happy to be able to stock up on ramen and oyster sauce and Shao Xing wine. And wonderful fresh rice noodles. There is certainly no dearth of Asian food in LA but somehow there haven’t been any restaurants that have been convenient (in particular, I need to find a good dim sum place and a good Japanese place), and there is definitely no substitute for cooking it myself. So I pushed my cart through each aisle with a fresh burst of greedy glee. I got home and fried up some rice noodles with my new sauces and ate with great satisfaction.
Then afterward I went to Ralphs to get everything else I couldn’t get at 99 Ranch, so my cupboards, pantry, freezer and fridge are now packed. If quarantined I’m sure I could live on this stuff for months, and live pretty well, too, at that.
Oh I am a silly foodie girl but I am SO HAPPY.
[This post was imported on 4/10/14 from my old blog at satsumabug.livejournal.com.]
satsumabug.com | Lisa Hsia 
Kim’s Oriental Market
I finally went to check out the only asian market in Davis this past weekend. It’s called Kim’s Oriental Market. It’s owned by some korean people I believe (at least the woman working there is korean). It has a bunch of asian foods though. devin and I had so much fun! They had a variety of noodles, rice, spices, asiancandy, and general small foodstuffs. It was great! I bought rice and Devin bought some Korean BBQ flavoring spice thing. We would have gotten more but we hadn’t planned on buying much so we said… next time! How exciting. Just had to tell you. :]
~Shra
Re: Kim’s Oriental Market
Cool! 😀 My pantry actually smells good now when I stick my head in… isn’t that crazy? I don’t know what it is but it only started smelling that way after I put my billions of noodles and things in there…
Another very cool thing is I discovered a veggie meat yesterday that’s supposed to be “diced ham” but actually it tastes a lot like char siu. So I am very excited.