Chicago: Day 17 - 18

Dear Diary,

Today's Monday and the start of my third week here in Chicago. Time really flies by so fast. I can't imagine what it would be like when my time here ends... but I'm not gonna think about that for now ;P

Steph and I went jogging yesterday in the morning, from Armitage all the way to the beach. I was burnt out actually, after awhile, cause it's been awhile since I last jogged (last year maybe?) and my abdomen was aching from all that running. The sun was out too, shining brightly and all that I wanted to do was jump into that sparkling sea right in front of us. Steph had exactly the same inspiration. We kicked off our shoes, took off our shirts and just jumped into the sea.

It felt FANTASTIC. The feeling was just simply AWESOME. Thankfully, the waters were not very deep and stretched out quite a distance from the shore, so we could wade safely out from the shore. It felt good, just sitting there, out on the sand and letting the cool water cover me from my shoulders down (that was just how shallow the waters were!). 

There were a few kids already playing in the water near us. Their families must have set up camp here pretty early! It was the perfect day for a day out at the beach :)

After soaking in the cooling water for a bit, we headed home. Steph wanted to go eat Dim Sum @ Chinatown (he's been craving it since earlier this week). He woke Cheng up and asked if she wanted to go with us. She had recommended the place and knew the location best ;) 

We took a drive down to Chinatown. Apparently, you can take the CTA there too. The station is along the red line of the CTA subway. According to Cheng, the dim sum place was located at the "newer" part of Chinatown. However, the place was packed! We had to find parking instead along the same street as Da San Yuan, where Steph had brought us during our previous trip for dim sum.

We wanted to go to this restaurant called "Ming Xuan", which sells dim sum until 2am on weekdays too ;) However, the place was packed! And we had to wait 20 minutes to get our seats. We decided to grab some bubble tea in the meantime instead. By the way, did I tell you? Bubble tea here is a novelty. Strangely, the focus here is not on the tea, but on the "pearls" made of tapioca starch. So they call it "tapioca" here. And they sell it mainly as a smoothie, instead of tea :) 

Check out the long queue!

Animate Cheng;)
They have a variety of fruit smoothies and freezes here.

Posing while waiting for our turn to order.

Stereotypical asian pose :P *Kawaii*

From L-R: Taro Green Tea Freeze, Watermelon and Lychee Freeze, Coffee Freeze
(All with Tapioca)

The drinks all come in one size - GIANT size.

By the time we got our drinks, it was time for us to dig into our dim sum! Cheng left us to do the ordering - "I eat anything!" She quipped. Steph had some personal favourites, so by the time we combined our orders, we had about 9 dishes: stewed pork ribs with black beans, glutinous rice, char siu paos, shao mai, stewed chicken feet, fried crabsticks with seaweed, taro puff with salted egg filling *my favourite!*, rice rolls with beef and beef balls with beancurd. We were stuffed full by the end of the meal that we had to pack the remainder home!

We did some marketing after that at the Chinatown Foodmarket. They sold all kinds of asian snacks and drinks there, including wet and dried market stuff. Cheng bought a fish home to steam:) She also got some taiwanese rice makgeolli paste, which she eats as dessert. "It tastes exactly like the korean rice wine, just sweeter!" She explained. She's loves experimenting with cooking, so it's great getting ideas from her:) 

The strange thing is, ever since I came to Chicago, I've been wanting to do grocery shopping, but I'm always at a loss about what to buy from the supermarkets here. I thought going to an asian supermart would be a wonderful change (and it was) but ironically, I'm still at a loss at what to buy to cook :P It's really ironic. I always end up buying snacks or sandwich foods instead. This time round, I got a pack of buckwheat soba and a packet of "Wang Wang" rice crackers :)

The good thing is, I managed to find the alcohol I wanted from the liquor store there - a bottle of Choya and Makgeolli! *superhappy* 

Steph had dance practice at 3 pm, so he dropped me and Cheng off at home first. We munched on a pack of chestnuts as she experimented with some slabs of pork and miso paste. As a control experiment, she rubbed one with char siu sauce. This is a picture of the end product:

Our verdict? The miso paste alone was really salty but the meat was super tender :) She had roasted it in the oven. It was a really yummy dish to go with some rice. (An idea for dinners with Steph!) She actually inspires me to start cooking delicious food for myself at home! 

Cheng is also super innovative. She's a programme designer by profession but she loves designing toys as well. As seen, in the picture below, toys aren't the only things she's good at creating:

Cheng working on a long, sleeve coatee from an old blouse.
Something I had assisted with, to help mark lines on for her to sew and tidy up :)

At about 4.15 p.m., I scurried out of the house and headed towards Wells Street. There was an Old   Town Art Festival somewhere along Wells Street and I wanted to catch it before it ended at 6 p.m. There was a $7 dollar donation collection at the entrance and a free booklet marking out the layout of all the stalls and participating artists. It was a gathering of sculptors, printmakers, painters, photographers and metalsmiths from around the States and other countries. There was an endless array of art pieces on displays. Some used mixed mediums and would even invite you to touch their art pieces. Most of the items understandably were pretty costly!   

One of the many rows of stalls. 

Metal sculptures of people suspended from the trees, dancing in the air! 

I love these robots. They're called "FOBOTS" as they were made from found objects. Each one has a name and the bodies of some open up to reveal a metal heart inside. According to the artist, the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz was her inspiration ;)

The artist explaining the design of a FOBOT to a little girl.

There were drinks and food there too. I could not resist a delicious cup of Sangria ;P After walking around for awhile, a ring from a jewellery stall caught my eye. Unfortunately, they didn't have it in light silver. The artist however was willing to make one specially for me in my size! She explained that she had one more show to do, before she could return to her workshop and work on it. It would take about 3 - 4 weeks but she would have it mailed to me, free-of-charge. She also gave me her website address.

The artist of my ring, metalsmith Hilary Hachey. 

Turns out she's an award-winning metalsmith! I was really attracted to her work at the festival. I love her Avocado collection, especially the cuff necklace that she was wearing! It costs US$750 though:P

A clearer picture of the cuff necklace taken from her website.

 It was a pretty good Sunday overall :) Steph came home and we went for evening mass together at St Clement's. There was a Wine and Cheese Social for Young Adults after the mass, but we were too tired. We decided to grab a simple dinner at Chipotle Mexican Grill. "It's like the MacDonald's of Mexican food," claims Steph. I found the concept interesting. 

Diners first choose whether they want a taco or burrito. Then they get to choose the filling: (1) Cilantro-lime rice (white or yellow) (2) Beans or grilled vegetables (3) Meat (chicken, steak, barbacoa or carnitas (4) sauces: salsa / sour cream/ guacamole/ cheese? It reminded me of Subway Sandwiches - the ingredients are laid out at the counter and you witness your food being prepared in front of you. It's also a healthier idea of fast food and absolutely satisfying! 

I had a burrito with yellow rice, beans, barbacoa (stewed beef in spices), sour cream and green salsa sauce. Steph claimed it was tastier than his:P We had a side order of Chips and guacamole - and I must say, the guacamole here is really FRESHLY MADE and delish. I would order that just for lunch next time:)

A tree near Steph's place that has a face :P

That pretty much brought my third weekend to an end!