the supper club comeback
was it always this vulnerable?
last weekend, i held a supper club for the first time in 9 months! it was 85 degrees outside and a balmy 88 degrees in the apartment, which was.. trying. i was extremely grateful our apartment has AC (as most homes in the area don’t), although we learned that there isn’t a vent in the kitchen itself 😅. this is the kind of thing we never had to worry about in sf, where heat waves are rare and our apartment, if anything, ran cold.
it felt a little surreal to be doing a supper club again. it feels… like it’s something from a different chapter of my life — from the before cancer times. a little strange, a little unfamiliar — was it always this vulnerable? did i really used to open my home up once a month to strangers, cook for them, and talk to them? it felt like i was doing it all over for the first time again. nerves, overthinking, and all. (recap on ig of favorite things i made!)
but it was a very special night! everyone brought such warm and kind energy. the most special part was that mom attended too :’) ever since i started doing supper clubs, my mom has talked about coming to my dinners to support me, especially in the early months when seats were slow to sell. so i loved being able to finally have her attend one.
for this dinner, i had asked my mom to make kao fu, a shanghainese appetizer made with spongey wheat gluten, a dish i haven’t learned how to make yet. she showed up at 628pm with a surprise dessert of ba bao zhou (8-treasure porridge), which was perfect as i was running behind on schedule for my desserts. two of the other guests happened to also be shanghainese, and it was just so heartwarming hearing my mom’s laughter in the kitchen, hearing the excitement in her voice as she shared bits and pieces of our asia trip and made restaurant recommendations. i so happy 😭
the most challenging part this time was definitely the sourcing. in san francisco i had prep down to a routine.
wednesdays: i’d swing by the civic center farmer’s market on the way to the office (they open at 730am!). the boy would come with me and take the groceries home while i hopped on muni
thursday and friday: i’d sneak out from work to do an asian grocery store run for any pantry staples or asian veggies i was missing. trial and error had taught me that yin xing food co in the inner richmond has much fresher produce than new may wah.
saturday, if needed, would be another farmer’s market run either to alemany or the ferry building. but more importantly, this was my seafood + meat sourcing day. sf meat co was just down the street and always had high quality, fresh ground pork and chicken. for seafood, i’d swing by seafood center on clement st or sun fat seafood.
so yes! i had a routine. i knew my farmstands, my grocery stores, my mom and pop shops. hopefully, these pieces will start to slowly come together for me in the suburbs as well.
noodlings of the week
dining: the boy and i always try out a new bakery post-supper club. the first place we went to was meehh so we drove to manresa bread and tried their artichoke escargot — this was divine!! like spinach and artichoke dip wrapped in a flaky croissant pastry. we went to the campbell location and the farmer’s market next to it on sundays also has a ton of variety. i even went back with my mom later in the week heh.
wearing: i’ve gotten so many compliments on this colorful cardigan i rented from nuuly. my promo code gets you $30 off your first order!
cooking: i thought banh mis are going to be my sandwich of the summer. air-fried baguettes (costco, 2 for $5!), mayo, pickled daikon and carrots (white vinegar + sugar), tinned sardines, greens, and cukes. so good!
watching: sirens — i’ve seen a bunch of people call this show bad but idk i thought it was good?! yes it was a little messy at times but each character had so many layers to them — the complex family dynamics, trauma, mental health issues, aging parents narrative, responsible older sister who sacrifices for the family
listening: we went to the alex warren show! my friend couldn’t go any more and gave us her tickets. it was fun to get out to sf on a weeknight, and we ended up grabbing drinks after at key klub and munchies at cocobang (cue: flashback to my early 20s)
working: i was behind the pastry case at the bakery, and i heard this voice that sound familiar. turns out, it was my elementary school computer lab teacher, mr thornley 😭 in college i’d always get asked how i learned to type so fast — and mr. thornley is why!! it was so special to see him again and be able to tell him how he’s made my life easier/better. i really love this job 🥺♥️
ok that’s it for this week!! going to be dropping some recipes from supper club over the next few weeks. stay tuned :)
thanks for noodling with me. x christy