lester invited my parents to his taipei wedding.  my mother confirmed her attendance 2 days prior.  even then, u still never know if she’s going to show up.  (that’s probably where i get it from).  my parents showed up expectedly late, but i was unfortunate that they werent more late on saturday afternoon wedding at the w hotel because i was once again a groomsman. (always a groomsman - never going to get married)    

the wedding party walked down the aisle.  the groom waited for the bride to be walked down the aisle with her father.  they toasted.  the girls did a dance.  speeches were given.  queena went to change.  and lester sang to the crowd for his wifes 2nd entrance.  

we ate.  we drank a little bit.  and the crowd migrated over to my mom to take a photo.  to say hello.  it wasn’t the first time my mother stole the spotlight.  but it was the first time she realized, weddings can be stress free.  lester and queena landed a 3 days before the wedding.  relaxed the day before and went to the venue on saturday.  they didn’t lose sleep, they didn’t get sick.  just showed up.  changed.  entertained. got married.  and by 3.30 pm.  it was all over.  

this is a real photo

fan see

after party!

lesterwedding w hotel

7:53 PM

i'm going to toot my own horn a little bit here....and that's because what i am able to produce, cook and serve out of a 2 burner kitchen with no oven....i find pretty amazing.  with that being said however...at this point with a number of overseas years under my belt....im a veteran at the homemade cut throat kitchen....call it ex pat life.... and thats what henry and i set out to do....bring america to taiwan...on a thursday.   with a 8KG frozen turkey already purchased....no cooking vessel to fit it in....only 2 burners....and not enough kitchenware to fit the food, we just made it work.  "lets just wing it....we will figure it out....lets not buy a bigger pot because i'm never going to use it again....i do not want to cut the turkey in pieces....i want the wow factor of the full turkey....this is a fire hazard....whoa....can you hold the pot while i flip the bird....i don't want to get burned....lets pour this soup into this bowl...then transfer the oil into this pot...and then put the bird in there....and put the soup into the other pot....what do you do with the creamed corn then?  how about the mashed potatoes?...lets take a break and have a whiskey...."

"...juiciest turkey i've ever had"

3:54 AM

mom has fomo.  and when she heard we were taking a day trip to 宜蘭 she told us to wait for her.  even though she had told us that she wasn't going and she wasn't feeling well.  i would've gotten the bigger car, but she prefers to squish the hour ride.  i think most families would have gotten two cars...

first stop...宜蘭礁溪福哥石窯雞

and then we went to the kavalan factory to pick up a bottle of the prize winning soloist whisky.  sold out everywhere.  and even sold out at the factory....that is until mom took over the show...#缺貨 #kavalan #soloist#taiwan #宜蘭。 "你不知道我是誰嗎？ 趕快寄給你嗎。  我等你。 兩瓶拿來。 快點拍照。。。要打折。。。我幫你打廣告要付錢。。。" #大牌 #楊燕

宜蘭 福哥石窯雞

8:08 PM

brides wait their whole lives to have "their day" and in order to do that in our family....my sister needed to have two weddings.  as kims day is inevitably my moms day.   and after a week of useless preparation, exhaustion and illness...the wedding happened and ended after 15 minutes.  The bride and groom were introduced on stage...and then quickly escorted off stage because the concert portion of the night was to begin.  my mother remained on stage while moms old stage mates made their way to the microphone one at a time, clinging onto their glory days in bedazzled blazers, tweezed hair, and sequined scarves.  they graced the stage flicking their hair, twisting their hips and singing vibrato on every note.  19 tables of fans sang along while 4 rows of old ladies bum rushed the stage taking photos with their iPads.  2 tables of family sat quietly while my 2 tables in the back went bezerk.  laughing at the fiasco and drinking every drop of liquor in sight.  it was a sight on both ends and finally....kim got married.  again.

3:42 AM