2023 February List | 二月清單

February was a lively month! We were visited by many friends from Taiwan and different parts of the United States.  So happy to hang out and catch up with friends that we haven’t seen in a long time. Hopefully our friends will still visit us when we move to Ohio!

二月好熱鬧！有朋友從台灣和美國各地來找我們，真開心能見到這麼多許久未見的朋友們。希望大家之後也能到Ohio找我們玩！

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Extraordinary Dessert

1430 Union St, San Diego, CA 92101

We did a staycation in San Diego. UN and I revisited my college favorite dessert place, and it happens to be a tourist favorite spot! All of their cakes are beautifully designed and decorated using real floral petals. Irresistible to someone with a sweet tooth as myself.

這次下來聖地牙哥Staycation，我們來回味大學時代好愛的甜點店，也是在遊客來玩必吃清單裡！超美蛋糕和經典食用花瓣，味道總能滿足無甜食不歡的我，還能拍好多照片。

Little Italy Farmer’s Market

600 W Date St, San Diego, CA 92101

I love farmer’s markets, especially for the fresh blueberries and raw oysters! Crowded as ever before. You will find all kinds of fresh produce and delicious delicacies, guaranteed you won’t go home empty-handed or hungry. There used to be free parking, but with inflation, it is now $15 an hour!

我好愛的農夫市場，每次來必買超甜藍莓和吃生蠔！人潮一樣多，超美超新鮮蔬果，每次絕對滿載而歸。以前的免費停車場，如今也抵不過通貨膨脹，一小時竟然15塊美金！

2023 January List | 一月清單

Happy New Year everyone! Beginning of the year was packed with so many things, definitely started out with a bang! We were able to celebrate the Lunar New Year with our family. Wishing everyone a healthy and prosperous 2023! My hope for this new year is that I will efficiently utilize every minute of my life. Even if it starts with a 5 minute workout during the day. What about you guys? What do you wish to accomplish this year?

各位，新年快樂！2023一開始，行程滿滿，開啟美好的一年。我們也和家人一起過農曆新年，祝大家萬事如意身體健康！今年希望我能善用每一分鐘，即使是五分鐘的簡短運動都算是完成件好事！你們呢？

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Restaurants

Tom Ham’s Lighthouse

2150 Harbor Island Dr, San Diego, CA 92101
http://www.tomhamslighthouse.com

The scenery is unparalleled here. Vast ocean dotted with sailboats. The food selection is on-par with buffet restaurants of equal value, including fresh oysters, clams, and crab legs. My favorite was spaghetti, where you get to pick your own ingredients, and the cook will cook your spaghetti in front of you. Buffet is only available on Sunday.

超美風景，海上滿滿的帆船，絕對是這裡的一大賣點。食物種類大致上和許多這價位雷同的餐廳一樣，有生蠔、扇貝、螃蟹腳，熟食區絕對有小孩最愛的mac n cheese。我最愛的是義大利麵吧，自己挑自己想要的料，廚師現煮出來加上白醬或綠醬，應該是這餐廳我最愛的食物了。自助餐只在星期日提供。

The Plot

1733 S Coast Hwy, Oceanside, CA 92054, United States
http://www.theplotrestaurant.com/

One of my favorite plant-based restaurant! It markets itself as a zero-waste business, and doesn’t even have a trash can. However, I don’t get why plant-based restaurants always name their dishes with meat. For example, I ordered the Hot Chicken Sando, but there isn’t any chicken in it! The meat is created with tofu, I like the texture, and when paired with the house special sauce, it tastes really good. They have their own “ketchup”, the consistency of which is more like jam, worth the try!

我很愛的全植物性餐廳！全植物性餐廳，標榜不產垃圾，餐廳沒有垃圾桶。但我總是無法理解這類餐廳特別愛用動物肉類命名每道菜，像是我點的Hot Chicken Sando，明明沒有雞肉呀！肉質部分用豆腐製作而成，我很喜歡有點嚼勁的豆腐口感，配上店裡的特製醬料，特別有味道。店裡的自製蕃茄醬質地很像果醬，值得嘗試！

Gonzo!

300 Carlsbad Village Dr, Carlsbad, CA 92008, United States
https://www.gonzo-japan.com

This place makes us miss Japan so much! They sell authentic ramen and Okinawa Orion beer here! I want to go back to Japan now! The owner Mika-san is from Niigata, and we chatted her up about our Niigata trip. If you are a ramen head, you must come here. This is the most authentic ramen place in Northern San Diego. Fun fact from owner Jamie, there’s another Gonzo ramen, located coincidentally in Niigata, but completely unrelated to the one in Carlsbad.

讓我們太想念日本了啦！店裡賣著道地拉麵和沖繩Orion啤酒，真的好希望能回日本！老闆娘Mika San從新瀉來，我們大聊去新瀉玩的趣事。喜歡日本拉麵的人，一定要來這裡吃，絕對是我們回來後在北聖地牙哥這帶吃過最道地的拉麵。對了，老闆Jamie說新瀉也有一家Gonzo Ramen喔！（但沒有關係啦！）

Hai Di Lao (San Diego)

4545 La Jolla Village Dr F9, San Diego, CA 92122, United States
(Located in UTC)

We ordered tomato soup base and spicy soup base. Still very delicious but missing the noodle pulling performance, so didn’t really feel like the typical Hai Di Lao experience.

我們點了番茄湯底和麻辣湯底，還是一樣好吃！但少了變臉和拉麵表演，氣氛不太像印象中的海底撈。

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Activities

Annie’s Canyon Trail

498-450 Solana Hills Dr, Solana Beach, CA 92075, United States
Hiking Level: Easy

Had planned to hike this trail last month, but changed our plan last minute to go eat dim sum in Irvine instead. We drive by this trail every week, on the side of the I-5 freeway. Google maps leads you straight to the parking lot of the trailhead. The trail starts off with a slight uphill, but overall is not too difficult, even my mom could keep a pretty good pace. You will get a great view of the I-5 freeway as well as the Pacific Ocean.

愛吃個性還是不變，上個月原本要來這裡健行，但臨時改成去吃港式飲茶。新年不頹廢，我們週末來這裡爬山。這裡就是在五號公路往南開的路上會看到的步道，照著Google Maps就能找到路邊停車和路口。一開始以上坡來嚇大家，但整體偏簡單的步道，連我媽都能飛速走完。沿路上的風景最吸引我的就是俯望五號公路和遠方的海景。

2022 December List | 十二月清單

2022 came quietly to an end, how was everyone’s year? From being pregnant in the beginning of the year to our babies being three months old now! Time really flew by. Looking back there were too many blessings to be counted!

2022悄悄的進入尾聲，不知道大家今年過得如何？從年初懷孕到現在寶寶們三個月大，時間快的不像話，但回顧這一整年真的是滿滿的感恩。

Izola

710 13th St Suite 300, San Diego, CA 92101

Known as the best croissant in America! (click here for UN and I’s review) Thanks to our cooperative babies for sleeping very well the night before, we were able to get up early and leave the house on time to make it down to San Diego for some croissants. On Christmas Eve, not many people were on the road, usually a parking spot in downtown is rare to find, but we found one right in front of Izola. When we got there, there was a sign out front that said “sold out”, and some customers in front of us left in disappointment. But we drove for almost an hour, I had to at least go in to check out the place for myself. There were two lines, one for online pre-order, and the other for walk-in order. I refused to believe all croissants were sold out, so I went to the guy at the cashier and asked. He told me they only have original croissants left, but in 15 minutes there would be more options coming out from the oven! Even my mom was happy for us hearing the good news!

Business Hour: Thursday to Sunday, 8 am to 1 pm

吃到傳說中全美第一名的可頌！（我和UN的吃後心得請點這裡）感謝寶寶們配合，前一晚睡超好，讓爸爸媽咪阿嬤能出發到San Diego吃可頌。可能是聖誕節前一天，市區沒有太多人，平時超難停車的downtown，我們竟然能找到門口的位置。Izola位在三樓，但轉角和門口都有放指示牌。當我們要進去時，在我們前面一組客人看到門口寫著Sold Out（售完）就轉身走人。但我這人，售完還是要進去看一下，太好奇了沒辦法！裡面有分預售隊伍和現場購買的隊伍，不死心的我向前問店員，店員說：我們只剩下原味可頌，但15分鐘後會有不同口味！我的天啊，連我媽只是來陪我們吃可頌都替我們開心！（原本我們想網上預訂，但餵完寶寶後一看，全賣光！）

營業時間：星期四至星期日，早上8點到下午1點

Capital Seafood Restaurant

770 Spectrum Center Dr Suite 770, Irvine, CA 92618

Have you heard of the saying that “after having kids, all your meals are eaten cold”? When the food came out, our babies started to get really fuzzy, so UN and I needed to take them out and leave my mom by herself at the restaurant. By the time we got back all the food was cold. But this is what made this restaurant’s food special: their cold dim sum dishes were still so delicious!

有聽過”生完小孩後吃飯都是冷的”這句話嗎？我們食物來時剛好寶寶們情緒起伏比較大，我和UN把我媽丟在餐廳裡去處理。回來後食物全冷掉了，但這就是這餐廳的厲害之處，連冷掉的港式點心都超好吃！那鹹水角是我們的最愛，外皮酥脆吃起來還特別香，第一口下去我和UN，我們一口同聲稱讚這家店。今天點的每份點心都超滿意，UN一直說我們下次回來要把沒點到的全點了。我們也很愛燒鴨皮蛋粥！

San Diego Botanical Garden Lightscape

Quail Gardens Drive and, Ecke Ranch Rd, Encinitas, CA 92024

Last day of 2022, we came to the San Diego Botanical Garden for the light show. Hmmm… how should I describe the light show? We all agreed that the light show in Japan made our expectations too high, but I’d like to come back during daytime.

2022年最後一天我們來這裡慶祝！以前在聖地牙哥住這麼久，我們第一次來這裡。日本燈展還是比較厲害（朋友也這樣認為），但下次我想白天來參觀植物園。