Djokovic wins!

As newly anointed fans of professional tennis (since last week), we attended yesterday's Shanghai Rolex Masters finals and watched a thrilling showdown between two-time defending champion Andy Murray and world #2 Novak Djokovic.  

First, there was a bit of lounging in some tennis balls at the Heineken booth: 

And yes, those are Northrop Grumman Ethics koozies for our Heinekens.

Then, there was the doubles finals. Three out of four were representing India (which I found interesting), and the match was exciting in its own right with the winning team (Paes/Stepanek) coming back after losing the opening set. 

And then there was Murray vs. Djokovic. It was an awesome matchup, with both players putting up a strong fight. Murray had taken the first set, but missed several match points and the opportunity to take the win. Djokovic was relentless and just wouldn't let him do it. I loved watching the passion of these two and found tennis to be quite different from watching basketball or football or any other team sport. Alone on the court, the player has no one to blame but himself for his missteps, and the intensity of the sport, the effort put forth is all on him. Needless to say, there were a couple of broken rackets and a lot of cursing at oneself at last night's match :).

Zhoumo kuaile!

We have our first visitor this weekend! A cousin of mine from LA is here in Shanghai for business and will be staying with us tonight. The plan? Food. Tonight, it's Guyi for spice-rubbed pork ribs and tomorrow morning, it's crepurritos. We'll also fit in "xiaolongboa," or soup dumplings, before he leaves for the airport. 

I can't believe I haven't told you about soup dumplings yet. Shanghai is known for them, and the dish is one of my favorites. It's essentially a pork meatball and broth wrapped in a thin flour skin. But beware of the broth. You don't want to order these when you're starving, or when you're likely to just pop one in your mouth. Trust me, I learned the hard way. To prevent burning your tongue, follow these fun instructions and you'll find that these delicious little things are so worth the extra steps --

Source: stevengoh.com via Alexis on Pinterest

Best. Day. Ever.

It’s true what they say: You’ll never feel more beautiful, you’ll never feel more love, and it all goes by in a flash. Our wedding day was fantastic, and by day, I mean from 5:30 p.m. into the early hours of September 23. From the moment I saw Mike waiting for me at the end of the aisle, I couldn’t wipe the huge smile off my face. After that, it was a whirlwind of love and happiness with family and friends gathered from near and far to celebrate us. 

I wish I could tell you that the day was perfect and there’s not a thing I’d change. The truth is, I’d probably change a lot. The planning process started well before the decision was made to move to China. And yes, I had gotten a lot done before the move. But there’s only so much you can do ahead of time, and then there’s only so much you can do via email. A lot was crammed in those two weeks before the wedding. And I don’t like to cram. The other part of the equation was the homecoming after three months of living in China. It was hard to come back only to have limited time (and a limited attention span) to catch up with family and friends and old coworkers. And then there are all of the other typical wedding woes that have to do with guests lists and budgets and offending a person or two along the way (I’m convinced you can’t go through this sort of thing without doing so). 

BUT, it was the best day ever. Never have I felt more beautiful. Never have I felt more love. Never have I smiled so much. Never have I been happier. And it all went by in a flash. 

Side story: As I primped, Mike spent the earlier part of the day doing one of the things he loves to do, “park chilling”. It was a beautiful San Francisco day, and he spent a few hours at Dolores Park with some of our closest friends. When I heard, I admit, I got jealous, and I’m still bitter he got more park/friend time in than I did. But hair and make-up was fun (when do you ever get to do that?), and I felt an overwhelming sense of calm and confidence as I prepped to marry my best friend.

'Mooning in Bali

Since yesterday's entry was dedicated to our first few days back in Shanghai, I'll continue in reverse chrono order and tell you a little bit about our honeymoon in Bali. We chose Bali because it seemed like paradise conveniently located near Shanghai. In actuality, the two places aren't that close to one another, and coupled with a two and a half hour delay, it took us 19 hours to get to our destination. But it was worth it. 

Unhappy about the delay

We first traveled to Ubud, in central Bali, and took refuge in the Ubud Hanging Gardens. Perched on the side of a mountain and above the Ayung river, the hotel was gorgeous and its staff members, warm and friendly. We ventured into town a couple of times, exploring Bali's cultural center, its streets lined with temples, handmade jewelry shops and art galleries. Ubud is also home to the Sacred Monkey Forest, to which we, of course, paid a visit. We rode bikes through rice fields and attended a glorious, two-hour yoga session led by a Balinese instructor with sounds of the jungle in the background (just like those sound machines!). 

The second and final part of the trip was spent in Jimbaran for some much-needed beach time -- lounging by and swimming in the Indian Ocean. The highlight there was the three-pound lobster Mike devoured as we sat at a table in the sand with the tide coming in. 

Here are some photos of Ubud, the monkeys, the people, and the beach. 

And we're back!

After a truly whirlwind trip -- San Francisco for a few hours, then to Los Angeles, back to SF, Shanghai for 24 hours, and finally to Ubud and Jimbaran in Bali -- we returned "home" late last week. Shanghai welcomed us back with lovely fall weather (the stifling heat is gone!) and fewer crowds due to the national holiday week. It was Mid-Autumn Festival, another holiday whose significance isn't terribly clear, but involves a specific food item (remember Dragon Boat Festival and zongzi?). This time, it was mooncakes, which sound delicious in theory (who doesn't want a cake made from the moon?), but aren't. You'll have to take my word for it.    

While on the Shanghai leg of our honeymoon, we enjoyed all of our favorites we had temporarily left behind: a crepurrito breakfast and a visit to the Avocado Lady. Somehow, we also became professional tennis fans. The 2012 Shanghai Rolex Masters is in full swing (pun intended), so we attended yesterday's matches and bought tickets to the finals next Sunday. With Federer, Murray and Djokovic set to play, we'll likely see two of these stars battle it out.  

Food in the foreground, 
a happy man in the background

Although the honeymoon will never be over ;) -- we decided to end our two-week extravaganza on a high note with dinner at Mr. & Mrs. Bund, one of Shanghai's best restaurants and certainly comparable to top offerings in San Francisco, LA, New York and Paris. We started with two Kumamoto oysters (small, plump and delicious, and hard to find in China) and seared foie gras served with pomelo -- in an ode to the appetizers served at our wedding. The third starter was a tuna tartare served with a mini scoop of mustard sorbet. For dinner, we shared (although it's technically for two people) a wagyu beef ribeye, grilled veggies, and the best mashed potatoes I've ever had (and I don't particularly like mashed potatoes). They're called Aero Mashed Potatoes and the dish tasted like a cloud -- a light, fluffy, savory cloud of goodness. Room for dessert? Of course! A tarte tatin that Mike called a game-changer and a profiterole with Nutella ice cream. You read right. Nutella ice cream. Before you judge us, you should know that we were given a very generous gift certificate to the restaurant as a wedding present, and we didn't have lunch that day. 

And now with Mike back at work, reality sets in for me as I figure out how to spend my days. Do I continue Mandarin classes? Do I find myself a job? Or do I look for other classes of interest (cooking, web development, graphic design, photo editing)? I've given myself this month to figure it out, and I'm starting by looking for work. We'll see if I can find something that makes sense for my career, for me, personally, and for us, financially.  

P.S. Stay tuned this week for more on the wedding and the 'moon.