Italia!!

Italy was great, the fact that I was able to witness the Italian lifestyle with my boyfriend and his family was even greater. It changed my outlook on how to live my own life. I enjoyed the simple lifestyle of his suburban beach town of Alba Adriatica, a town 3 hours away from Rome. Though I felt a little alienated because of my different culture, I felt a warm welcome from every one in the small town and I envied the great bond between Italians and their friends and family.

4 weeks of eating, sun bathing and drinking wine. My idea of relaxation! My trip began when I arrived in FCO airport, followed by a 4 hour drive from Rome to Sorrento. Though the drive was smooth, we stopped by at an Autogrill along the way. It's the Italian gasoline/restaurant/cafe/shopping stop all in one. We stopped to refuel our car and our stomachs. My boyfriend got a plate of pesto pasta to share, and some an antipasto of cured meats. Now I wish we had that in America! The Autogrill actually serves some good food for a gas stop. Anyway, three hour later, amidst the warm Sicilian surroundings, we knew we were close. There were Italian Villas set on top of the hilly tops and I couldn't help but wonder what life would be like if you lived in those. While driving to Sorrento, we saw the magnificence of Mt. Vesuvius on our left, and the Bay of Naples to our right. The weather was hot and though visibility wasn't clear, there was a beautiful haze stretching out for miles. Not a moment was boring, I loved driving along the narrow streets, squeeling over Gelati stops and counting the vespas parked alongside the road.



Our hotel was very far up from the main marina, but it was a beautiful family run hotel, Hotel La Vue Dor.

Our room had a balcony of the Gulf of Naples. We quickly unpacked and rode the hotel bus down for some touring. After 4 hours of driving, we needed to utilize our two legs and the cobble stone streets of Sorrento was perfect for it. The sun was setting soon, and we decided to grab dinner on the Marina Grande shore while watching out first sunset. Those of who who haven't gone to Sorrento, do it now. The sunsets are unbelievable and the location is perfect for trips to Capri and Amalfi Coast.

Shanghai: Eat like a Local, You won't find it anywhere else!

My family is from Shanghai. It's a big city by the eastern coast of China and it is growing at a substantial rate. As usual, when cities modernize and develop, some of their cultures are left behind and fading away. More of the cuisine become infused with western cultures. One of my favorite breakfast/snack item is the Jian Bing, and sadly the Jian Bing makers: "The street crepe makers" are disappearing.

It's a common street food in China and I had them when I went to Shanghai to visit my family there. Basically it's a light salty crepe filled with scallions and cilantro, egg, sweet Hoisin based sauce and crunchy bean curd sheets. It's a common breakfast in Shanghai. Locals would wait in line at a small stand. The smell from a Shanghai food mart is amazing. The chinese get up pretty early, so it's hard to find brunch. Also a chinese breakfast is more "Salty" than "sweet". The only sweet items I can recall are sweet soymilk and a sesame pancake stuffed with brown sugar. It's not exactly the most healthy but it hits the spot.





Lunch: Shabu Shabu with Fresh Seafood, Vegetables and Fresh Fish Balls

Shabu Shabu is HUGE. HUUGE!! We love sea food, Shanghai dishes are often made with a lot of seafood. They also like to sweeten their dishes. We went to a neighborhood local favorite near my Aunt's house and it was a popular Shabu-Shabu place.
What's Shabu Shabu?
Similar to Korean barbeque concept, you cook your meal over a simmering pot of stock. In Shanghai, the chefs prepare the stock, there is a seafood Shabu Shabu or a meat (lamb) Shabu Shabu. The stock is flavored with various herbs and spices like anises, ginger, scallions and spices. Usually you have a choice between spicy or plain. In this particular restaurant, we picked the Seafood Shabu Shabu with fresh live fish. The Shabu Shabu came with 5 choices of vegetables and two side dish. We opted for stuffed dates with a sweet sticky rice filling and fried tofu squares in a soy glaze.

You go to the fish tank and pick out your fish. They debone the live fish, strip all the meat and grind it with corn flour, flour, seasonings and roll it into little balls. It's a meatball, but made from fresh fish. The freshness is KEY. It cooks in 30 seconds from the hot simmering broth. This is why you can't find it elsewhere. Trust me, I've looked everywhere in New York and it's not the same. We seasoned our Shabu Shabu with our choices of vegetables and once the fishballs were ready, it was lunch time. The fishballs are so tender and silky after simmering in the broth. You taste the natural sweetness of the fish and the stock becomes even more delicious with the fish oils. It's really a meal you can't miss!!




Dinner is AWESOME. It's not usually AL LA CARTE, but I guess you can. If you want the best bang for your buck, opt for the pre-fixes! Each restaurant has specialized menus, for small groups to large groups. You can get a meal with 5 dishes to anywhere between 15-20 dishes. You get to choose the side dishes, soups, protein, dessert. It's amazing! Most restaurants have smaller individual rooms for your own party and there is often a waitress assigned to your room. Talk about service!! I decided to post a few of my favorites: Shanghai style ribs, Sweet and Sour Fried Whole Fish, Yellow Corn Flour Fritters Filled with Cream Sauce, and a seafood soup with fishballs, prawns and clams.

Ah.. a discovery..

Sometimes your passion is right under your nose and although you always kind of knew about it, you weren't quite sure how to go about achieving it. Therefore, most people start second guessing themselves and before you know, the idea goes to the abyss to the rest of the " I can't ever do that" pile. I realized I do love food, I love learning about it, shopping for it, watching it be made, eating it, and writing and reading about it. The television always has the Food Network on. I love to explore the new kitchen gadgets at Crate & Barrel. Walking through Union Sq. farmer's market relaxes me. Helping my boyfriend cook and brainstorming on creative recipes brings me closer in our relationship. As far as expressing my passion, I love writing restaurant reviews and now blogging. I don't know if I will be a head chef of a five star Jean George or a home cook to a family one day. However, I do appreciate that food brings people together and cooking is one of those activities that allows you to engage all your 5 senses into.

I would like to continue looking for a career in marketing, but hopefully skills that I can transfer to a global food magazine or the hospitality industry. I will be going to Italy soon so I hope this journey can teach me a little something about myself and my passion. I hope it also gives me a little bit more faith in myself. I hope one day to have a family and be able to spend time with them. That is a luxury that I didn't have as a child. Therefore, I would love to have a job that brings my family together and leave our stomach happy. It would be a dream to work as a food critic, write in magazines, be on television, travel, learn constantly on cultures, and have my own business. I'd love to entertain, party plan and perhaps have my own cook book. Let's see where this can lead.

A Ragazzo named Marco and His One Kiss.

"Marco....POLO"
"Marco....POLO"
"MAH-RR-COHH....VENTURA!My last name is VENTURA (VEN-TU-RAH)"
"Marco Ventura"
"No.. it's "VEN-TU-RAH" not "VENTURA (ventura blvd. ca)
"Okay.. let me try again.. Marco Ven..to..tur..ahh-- whatever."





It was a hot summer night and my friends wanted to go grab dinner in the East Village restaurant called Via Zocollete. We knew a guy who worked there, his name was Franky. Franky was a character, def. one of a kind. When we walked in, he would look at us up and down, smile with a huge grin and eyes bulging out in a "AMERICAN GIRLS. BAIT!" type of way. From there he would double kiss on the cheeks, every single one of us, and sat us to the booth. "How, we doing ladies, where are you girls doing tonight? There's a party later tonight, huge party. We are having drink specials, LOUD music, really loud music. The crowd is happening! Young students, party!! What are you guys doing later!?!". Twenty minutes later, after the busboy brought us our grilled bread basket and the bartender Giovanni placed complimentary prosecco, Franky's phone rang. " Be right back, girls, enjoy the drinks, get your orders in, the veal is (KISS!) delicious... let me know what you guys want to do later. Be right back, call!"

While we were eating our dinner, loud bartenders in the back, speaking loudly in Italian, I felt as if I was in Rome again. Oh yes, that one month in cold January during sophmore year of college, I studied Art History in Venice. We traveled all across Italy during the weekends, Florence, Rome, Siena, Milan! We left our American gratitude to the Italian people by stealing a piece of history from the Roman coliseum, pissing the Italians off on the Eurostar by chattering about how Britney Spears will kill herself, and ofcourse throwing AMERICAN change into the Trevi Fountain. Well I wonder if the Roman gods are following my every step now with the Lucky Lincoln penny I threw in.

Back to last summer; As we were eating our meal, Frankie came by, and sat next to us, particularly me.
"Hey are you single?" He asked. I was gulping down my wine, thinking to myself how this man with two small kids and a wife, with their home in suburbia can hit on someone like myself.
"NO.Not looking either!"
He moved closer to me, as my arm hair raised up and I was getting slightly uncomfortable.
"So here's the deal, there's this kid, Marco. He's really shy, he's not like anyone I met, a really good kid. But hey, he really likes you and he wants you to have his number."
"I don't know.. who is this? I'm really not sure about this.. I don't really don't take numbers from guys, they call---"
"That's him!! Marco!! Right there!"
I turned to where his finger was pointing at. Mind you, Franky also had a bit much to drink and was pointing as if he saw a biblical person come back from the dead. "Right THERE!!!MARCO!!". By now, most people including the customers were staring at this idiot who spoke nothing other than "Marco! Look!! See!!". I was staring blankly at a Mexican busboy and although I am not racist nor opposed to Mexicans, I thought Franky meant a younger guy, someone my age. Not a Mexican male with a big beer gut, one in his late 30's.
"So what do you think, can you give him your number. He never asked anyone out like this, He never does this, I'm even surprised!! Come on! What do you have to lose!"
"Frankie, him? He's a bit old..." I replied.
Frankie turned to the same person I was unimpressed by and replied "NO! Not him, HIM!". There was Marco, busy bringing plates of food back and forth, in black, not tall, not short either. He was Italian, and the only one out of the rest who had dark blonde hair.He saw us for a quick second, and smiled. Then went back to doing his job. I hesitated and wrote down my number on a napkin. To say I wasn't completely interested is a lie.

A couple of days, in fact, three days passed. It was Monday afternoon and I had located a new yoga center called the Laughing Lotus in Chelsea. My friend Noelisa was meeting me and we decided we wanted to try out a class. After a hot sweaty hour of downward dogs, cobra and sun salutations, I checked my phone and saw NEW MESSAGE.

Here the text stated: Ehi, this is Marco from Via Zoccolette. Want to meet after my work? I was shocked. Initially at his response, and then at the 3'Day rule. You may have heard, guys don't call girls until the 3 day rule. So you don't appear overly eager and a stalker. The Italians do it too? Then I realized this is completely idiotic and he barely speaks english, so I wrote back something like " Can't, sorry. I don't live in the city, I'm going home". A few hours later in the evening, my phone buzzed again, " Ehi, this is Marco, when can we meet?"

The following Thursday, I had set myself on a blind date. Yes, I, ME, I set myself up. I did not tell my friends whom I had dinner with either. I decided to meet him in Times square at a happy hour event hosted by the Garden of Eden, a new bar lounge that opened after The China Club. We decided to meet at 42nd and 8th Avenue. When I got there at the corner, I called him. God lord, what did I get myself into. He barely spoke a word of english and I had to make conversations by phone short and to the point. "Meet FOUR'TWO STREET!! EIGHT AVENUE!! I WAIT YOU HERE!!"
The response I would get was " Ok, Bene, I am on Broadway, I coming now"
Minutes pass, and I look around the guys coming towards me. One was jewish, clearly. Nope, can't be him either, not the Mexican, Oh I hope that's him?! Dammit.."
Then a dark haired guy, big eyes, nike uptowns in neon accents, Euro styled designer jeans, leather jacket and button down from within. Marco Ventura.

As the night progressed we winded up in Eden's garden to Meatpacking Village. I talked endlessly on broad topics. We did have a long conversation on designers and shopping, and I started to think he was gay. He shared a room with his room mate, a boy named Andrea and another Italian. He was here for a couple of months, he likes New York. He comes from what he calls a VILLAGE. It was 10:30, close to 11, and we had met around 6-630. We walked to the train to get me back home. The subway doors opened at Queensborough plaza where he was supposed to get off for his ride back to Astoria. I thought to myself, well atleast I made a new friend. Suddenly another buzz to my phone, this time it read:

" Ehi. It was nice to meet you. I hope we meet soon, get home safe. One Kiss. Marco."

One Kiss.. I kind of like that.

The story begins...

This all started last summer with my present boyfriend, Marco. Now before I jump into a sappy story of how we met, fell in love and other nauseating details, you have to get a background of who I am. Well I am a 23 year female who grew up in New York. I lived from the outer boroughs of Queens since I was 6. Prior to that I lived in China, perhaps that is why I am so fascinated by culture and foreign accents. I always considered myself as a curious individual who always wanted to reach the outskirts of a distant island, fulfill my life to the fullest, that type. As I finished college and started my first job, it wasn't so easy to live life as jet'setter. The reality was at that time, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I had an interest in fashion, loved food, and ofcourse, travel. I wanted to start a second life, observe other cultural differences and make up for what my own life lacked. It's hard in New York City, where everyone goes to work at 9 on the dot, cigarette breaks 3 times a day, and bitches about how overtime is not accounted in our paycheck as we finished another report at 6pm. I don't want this so called city life, it appealed to me at first. I had internships at NBC and SONY where I was first in line to observe the glamour and prestige of working behind huge corporations. The high ceiling walls, the large waving flags that breeze above your head, the daily people watching of high business executives exiting private limoscenes to their penthouse office overlooking midtown Manhattan.

These ofcourse were just observations and would never validate the actuality that I was apart of that lifestyle. Instead, I was an assistant working 10 to 11 hours, resenting the 9 to 5 office career. I posted pictures of Paris on my white board and would glance at Travelocity.com, often shouting across the room to my coworker "Hey!! Paris!! It's on sale!! DISCOUNT!! THAILAND!!! Who wants to go"

Since that summer, a lot has occured. I don't know the secret behind how life works, I guess one finds out when they're in their older stages of life and they can put the memories or "pieces" rather into the complete puzzle (I call this YOUR LIFE). In short, let me explain how this Marco came along and became my new Italian travel guide-boyfriend for a 4 week trip to Italia. So long to the postings on the wall and dream vacations, I've become more spontaneous and welcome new experiences without continuous worry and analyization of life's outcomes..

Read second post on Marco, feel free if you want to skip it. I was once so shy and socially awkward to the other sex and now I end my texts with XOXOXOXO. Repulsive, I know.