• Lapsang Souchong tea — The smokier the better. Why is this tea so difficult to find in Beijing?
• Words — If I could have a bubble bath filled with words in Garamond or Helvetica Neue, I wouldn’t mind the ink stains.
• Crispy Pork Skin
  • Filipino Lechón — It’s no wonder I love crispy pork; I grew up on it!
  • Chicharron — I’m not too proud to admit I love pork rinds! Not a fan of the bagged major brand that powders to dust in my mouth. I like the kind found in Mexican or Asian grocery stores; hard, crunchy, sometimes a challenge… I just enjoy a little tension in my bite. However, the worst I had was in Cusco, Peru; the skin still had stubble.
  • Rǔ zhū 乳豬 — Found in Cantonese delicatessens while growing up in San Francisco and Stockton.
  • Babi Guling — My favorite place in Bali was a spot located next to the Ubud palace. Roasted suckling pig, jackfruit steamed in aromatic spices, served with rice. Add a beer. Under $3!
  • Crispy suckling pig with daikon sauerkraut — Never has my favorite viand been more seductive than when plated by chef Brian Reimer at Maison Boulud (Beijing, China).
• Mackerel, grilled with a little salt and lemon
• Sushi — Favorite places for sushi include Sushi Ran (Sausalito, CA), Naoe (Miami, FL), an inexpensive pleaser Otoro (San Francisco CA), Bei Restaurant with chef Max Levy at the helm carving gorgeous cuts of tuna (Beijing, China)
  • Albacore tuna sashimi, not seared for even a second. Seared albacore is an interruption to my sashimi smooth moment.
  • Albacore tuna belly
  • Toro
  • Uni — I have yet to figure out where my favorite uni comes from. I prefer the soft, creamy, caramel variety.
• Nigori Sake — Unfiltered, cloudy, creamy, natural sweetness, served cold.
• Brunch against a backdrop of courtyard rooftops while catching a gentle breeze at SuSu Vietnamese restaurant nestled in Qianliang hútòng
• XOX Truffles — hands down the best truffles I have ever pressed between the roof of my mouth and my tongue. My favorite being their caramel truffle at room temperature.
• Leche flan — I love my mother’s flan because she doesn’t skimp on the sauce and I can eat as much as I want. What is this strange concept of sharing my modest portion of flan with friends at a restaurant?
• Laphroaig Whiskey — Yes, I like it smokey, peaty.
  
• Caol Ila Whiskey
• Armagnac — Something new for me I have yet to learn more about.
• Seasonal fruit bread pudding at Tartine. I love the extra texture given by the croissants instead of using non-flaky bread. So far, Tartine’s Croque Monsieur trumps any other I’ve had.
• Canon 5D Mark II is my sidekick and never asks to share my desserts; a perfect dining partner. He admires subjects and remembers every detail for me to write about later.
• Moleskine Notebooks keep my thoughts organic whenever possible. Sometimes my best thoughts are inspired on paper. I find ink smudges sexy.
• My new R9 motorcycle, bought second hand from a guy who souped it up with an extra obnoxious muffler that gives me the high school life I never had and LED ground effects!

…this list hasn’t met its end. Check back frequently or remind me of something you know I love that I’ve yet to list. x