I’m finally wrapping up on posting on our trip to California from earlier this month! Besides getting to spend a lot of time exploring San Jose, Monterey, and the San Francisco Zoo with Dan’s parents and visiting our dear friends in El Cerrito, we got to also spend some time seeing some of our favorite familiar faces in the area and eating at our favorite spots! There were some delicious eats that I had seriously been missing and craving, so I’m so glad we could get a fix while catching up with some of our dearest friends!

Dan and Ted in Alameda
Catching up with Uncle Ted in Alameda over lunch.

 

Samosa salad at Burma Superstar
The samosa salad at Burma Superstar. Never disappoints!

 

garlic noodles with pork
Another favorite from Burma Superstar: garlic noodles with BBQ pork.

 

Tot Tank in Alameda
Checking out the toys at Tot Tank in Alameda.

 

Junko trying pho for the first time
Bay Area newcomer Junko trying pho for the first time!

 

Dinner with Junko at House of Pho
I’m so glad we could see Junko in Sunnyvale! We hadn’t seen each other in almost five years, since our wedding back in 2008!

 

This just happened. I've missed you taco truck!
A trip to the Bay is not complete without a visit to our favorite taco truck in Oakland!

 

Catching up with the Kims
It was great visiting the Kims so we could catch up with Sung Kook and Kayo…

 

Cutiepie brothers!
…and see their adorable sons JinWoo and SunWoo again!

 

Sung Kook was so sweet to Mio!
Sung Kook loves Mio, and she can tell… she was stuck to him the whole time we were there!

 

Dinner at La Méditerranée
Dinner at La Méditerranée with Tarrin and Jason in Berkeley!

 

Dinner at La Méditerranée
I really missed their pomegranate chicken, among their other delectable bites…

 

Dessert at Ici
And since we were on College Avenue in Berkeley, we had to stop by Ici for their amazing frozen desserts!

 

Revisiting one of our favorite spots in Berkeley!
So happy to be reunited with Tarrin in one of our favorite spots in Berkeley… 🙂

 

Lovely foil stamped labels for my baked goodies, cherry blossom pen, and macaron-shaped trinket case, all wrapped in matryoshka doll wrapping paper to boot! Thank you Tarrin for somehow gathering all of my favorite things. ❤ She knows me better than my ow
Lovely foil stamped labels for my baked goodies, cherry blossom pen, and macaron-shaped trinket case, all wrapped in matryoshka doll wrapping paper to boot! Thank you Tarrin for somehow gathering all of my favorite things. ❤

 

Dinner at Usagi
We also got to try the awesome yōshoku restaurant Usagi in San Mateo and see some of our favorite faces from Nakayoshi! Special thanks to Sam for organizing the dinner and making the reservation.

 

あさりのパスタ
ボンゴレ(あさりのパスタ)~ Some of the best vongole pasta I’ve ever had!

 

Sam and Matt!
We missed this beautiful couple!

 

Mio with Uncle Graig
Mio with Uncle Graig. Probably one of her most favorite people in the entire world… 🙂 She’s always giggling and smiling ear to ear when she’s with him!

 

Loved seeing everyone again!
Loved seeing everyone again!

 

It always feels like our time with friends is too short (especially taking into consideration toddler bedtime), and we wish we could have stayed longer with each of our friends, but we were so happy that we could see them again even for a short time! We are truly sorry for all of those who we were unable to see because of our limited schedule, but rest assured that we will be back soon enough to visit again! :)  Thank you also to all of our friends who showered Mio with such thoughtful and generous early birthday gifts… it was totally unexpected and so sweet of everyone. ♥ Our family is so blessed just to have the pleasure of knowing all of you!