Chinese Hot Pot

                Hot pot is very common in Chinese families. Hot pot consists of a simmering metal pot of stock at the center of the dining table. While the hot pot is simmering, ingredients are placed into the pit and are cooked at the table. Typical hot pot dishes include thinly sliced meats, leaf vegetables, mushrooms, wontons, dumplings, and seafood. Vegetables, fish, shrimp and crab should be fresh. We will usually eat hotpot with a unique dipping sauce and drinks to accompany. We usually eat hot pot in the winter because it keeps us warm. We can pick the soup base to be spicy or mild. Nowadays they introduce a pot that can have both, which we call it “yuan yam.”     

                The Chinese hot pot has a history of more than 1,000 years. Hot pot was first originated in Mongolia where the main ingredient was meat. It then spread to southern china during Tang Dynasty and Chinese people develop different ingredients such as seafood. By the Qing Dynasty, the hot pot became more famous. Back then we use traditional coal heated hot pot. Today in most families replace it with electric or propane gas. There are many ways to call hot pot. In Japan and Taiwan they call hot pot as shabu-shabu. In Thailand hotpot is called Thai Suki. In Singapore and Malaysia hot pot is known as steamboat.

                Other common ingredients for hot pot includes Fish Ball, Lobster, Octopus, tofu, spinach, pumpkin, taro, udon, crab stick, mussels, clams and etc.   

Lobster

             Lobster is my favorite food. I grew up eating lobsters. I love most of the seafood. Yesterday I eat a lobster and it made my day. There are several ways to cook lobster. For example, we can boil a lobster, steam a lobster, and bake a lobster, grill a lobster, butter flying lobster tail, and lobster with butter. I like it all and it taste so delicious and healthy. In the restaurant, butter flying lobster tails are most common where the lobster tail meat is sitting on top of the lobster shell. Baking lobster tails are other most common dishes in the traditional Chinese restaurant.

I only know how to boil a lobster. Here is a simple method for how to cook a lobster.

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 lobster per person
• Salt
• A large piece of dried seaweed (optional)

Preparation:

1.      Get your largest pot, fill it 3/4 of the way full with water

2.      Take your live lobsters (lobsters must always be alive when you buy them) one at a time and put them in the pot.

3.      Once your lobsters are in the pot, quickly cover it and wait for the water to return to a boil. When it does, count off 15-20 minutes, depending on their size. A normal 1-1 1/2 pound lobster will take 15 minutes once the boil returns.

4.      Remove your cooked lobsters and place them on a plate to cool and drain. Water will drain out of them, so make sure the plate has a lip to catch it.

5.      If you serve it on the spot, do so with clarified butter, olive oil, mayo, or, do as I do: a squeeze of lemon. I think lobster is rich enough without butter or other fat, so lemon or lime is all I give it.

 

 

 

Japanese Food

              My favorite food is Japanese Food.  I am very interested to learn about how to make Japanese food.  My young uncle, he is a Sushi Chef and sometimes he will make sushi for me. I am always on the side to watch him and learn from him. There are many Japanese restaurants out there in Manhattan, Queens and all over the world. Japanese food is very tasty and healthy. The fresh Salmon, Tuna and other fish are good for our body.  The appetizers such as edamame, seaweed salad are my favorite.  I also like Dragon roll and sweet potato roll the most.  Moreover, I like the chicken teriyaki with rice. In addition to that I like Japanese Green Tea ice cream. The ice cream is just the best because it is moderate taste. It is not too sweet. I usually will go out with my friends to eat Japanese food in Long island. My favorite Japanese restaurant is called Mizumi. Mizumi is a Japanese Sushi restaurant. I get to eat as much as I can with good prices too.  

 

 

 

one of my dreamed vacation place: Cancun

            One of my interests is to travel. Today I would like to share some information I found for this wonderful place Cancun. Cancun is a city in southeastern Mexico, located on the northeast coast of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexican state of Quinrana Roo. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea. Cancun is world renowned tourist destination. The history of Cancun dates back to 1967 when Mexican government, recognize the importance of tourism to the country’s economic future, began to search for an ideal site for tourism development.

            Peak season in Cancun tends to run from December to April. Prices in both airfare and hotel increase dramatically during these times, while dropping in the summer and early autumn months. Late June is especially hot, so come prepared or try the off season. Hurricanes can be a major threat in late summer and autumn. The climate in Cancun is tropical, with consistent hot and humid weather throughout the year, and very warm sea temperatures.
            Downtown Cancun is a real Mexican city. There are many restaurants (One example of them is La Parrilla, , Los Arcos, El Timon de Cancun, Va que Va. all of them are really good restaurants,  Shopping centers, markets and clubs in the downtown area that you can visit during your stay.
Most popular activities in Cancun:

1)      Ocean and beaches

2)      Bird watching

3)      Swim with Dolphins

4)      The Lobster Dinner Cruise

5)      Cancun Yachts Club

6)      Scuba Diving

7)      Spa

8)      Exotic Rides Mexico

9)      Jeep Adventures

Chinese New Year

                Chinese New Year is an important traditional Chinese holiday. The Chinese New Year is often referred to as the “Lunar New Year.” Chinese New Year celebrations traditionally ran from Chinese New Year's Eve, the last day of the last month of the Chinese calendar and it continues on for 15 days. This long Chinese New Year is meant for Chinese all around the World to go back to their hometown and celebrate with their families. The evening preceding Chinese New Year is an occasion for Chinese families to gather for an annual reunion dinner.

                The Chinese New Year does not have a fixed date. It changes every year according to the lunisolar Chinese calendar. This calendar is also used in counties that have been influence by Han Dynasty, notably the Koreans and Japanese.

                Few days before the Chinese New Year are the traditional for every family to clean the house, in order to sweep away any ill-fortune and welcome good incoming luck. Windows and doors will be decorated with red color paper cuts with popular themes of good fortune, longevity, wealth, happiness, and luck. Other activities include wearing new clothing, giving money in red paper envelopes, lighting firecrackers, parade and candles are lighted during prayers. The first day is for the welcoming of the deities of the heavens and earth, officially beginning at midnight.  It is a traditional practice to light fireworks, burn bamboo sticks and firecrackers to chase off bad sprits. The second day of the Chinese New Year, known as kāinián, beginning of the year “was when married daughters visited their birth parents, relatives and close friends. The third day is known as Chìkǒu directly translated as "red mouth". Incense is burned at the graves of ancestors as part of the offering and prayer ritual.

horoscope

          

               Looking up horoscope is one of my interests. On my free time I usually will go online and search information on horoscope. There is daily horoscope, Love Compatibility test, Psychic Readings and etc. Personally I think it is fun to read horoscope information. I like to read my own horoscope and the one that are close to me. I’m a scorpion and I keep track of most of the updated information about Scorpio. For example, I read about Scorpio Love Horoscope, Scorpio Career Horoscope, Scorpio Money Horoscope, Scorpio Wellness Horoscope and Daily Chinese Horoscope. Another good thing about horoscope is it tells you your personality. For instance when I look up scorpion personality, they will tell me scorpion is Passionate, determined, brave, and a true friend. In addition to that if you want to know love compatibility, you can find out by entering your horoscope and your partners. For me I found out Scorpio is a perfect match with Cancer. They are both water signs dominated by sensuality. Cancer and Scorpio share a common desire. Both want to settle down. Both are comfortable in the realm of silence. In addition to that I do a lot of tests about my personality, love and work. This is a great thing to discover and to know.

http://www.horoscope.com/

klout

               

              Recently, I just started using Klout. Klout is a site that measures your influence in the society.  Klout collects all the data and information online and measures your influence on society. For example they collect information from Facebook, Google+ and Twitter and create a profile for you. I heard that everyone has Klout even when you don’t know.  People basically sign up either with twitter or facebook to allow them to get information from your social websites. Klout measures user’s online influence on a scale from 1 to 100, with 100 being the most influential. The score are calculated using variable that can include # of followers, frequency of updates, number of likes, and retweets.  Klout is a very good tool for employers to determine if you are a good employee.  People with high scores means they are very active and are the one who participate on different things and comment on others post. Company and employers all like people who are active. Klout score is distributed to different people using different technologies. Most people use computer, ipad and etc. Now, you can also find Klout on any smart phones such as iphone.  With smart phones it offered klout users a handy way to keep track of their Klout score on the go.  It is very convenient to use a smart phone. I usually check my score when I’m on the bus and on the train. It is a pleasant experience using klout and I will like to share to everyone!

Basket Ball

 My family and I love basketball and we often watch basketball (NBA) during our free time. I was influence by my younger sister and brother. In the beginning I did not like to watch basketball game  at all because I do not understand the rules. Slowly people around me influence me to watch more and more because they constantly watch. For example, my sister would watch while she is eating. My brother would practice basketball at home. Now slowly I like basketball and will join my family to watch when im free. My favorite team is Houston Rockets and Knicks because they have some of my favorite players in there. For instance, Jeremy Lin, Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, they are all good players. Once in a while my sister and her friend would go to watch their game in the madision square garden. I heard it was great and she took picture with them. After I heard she get chance to take a picture with Carmelo Anthoy, it makes me want to go too. This year im planning to go to watch the game.

Bubble tea

Bubble tea is also called pearl milk tea. Bubble tea was first invented in Taiwan. Most of the bubble tea contains a tea base with fruit or milk. They also have what is call slushy drink, it is made of ice blended mix fruit. This is the best drink in the summer because ice make you feel cooler.
There are many kind of bubble drinks. The most popular bubble tea are bubble milk tea with tapioca. It is made from black tea and some milk. The second famous one is milk green tea with tapooca. I milk green tea is made from jasmine infused green tea. Personally, i like it all but my favorite one is passionfruit green tea. I love passionfruit green tea because i like passionfruit and I like how the tea would give me a relaxing feel.
As bubble tea gets more and more popular, it is now all around the world and most people enjoy drinking it. Nowadays more and more flavors appeared such as taro milk tea, peach green tea, green bean bubble tea, strawberry milk tea, melon green tea and etc. one of the place in that sells the most bubble tea is in Flushing New York. There are many bubble tea shops around. Some famous one are kufu tea, coco, come buy and etc.
I love bubble tea and I srink it at least twice at week. It is very tasty and I will recommend to anyone who never had it.

Halloween stories!!!

This is a scary story. I remember this story since a friend told me a year ago. and i would share with everybody.
A man went to a hotel and walked up to the front desk to check in. The woman at the desk gave him his key and told him that on the way to his room, there was a door with no number that was locked and no one was allowed in there. Especially no one should look inside the room, under any circumstances. So he followed the instructions of the woman at the front desk, going straight to his room, and going to bed. The next night his curiosity would not leave him alone about the room with no number on the door. He walked down the hall to the door and tried the handle.
if it was me, i would never first check in the room and stay over.

 

 

Weibo

Weibo is the Chinese word for "micro blog.” It refers to mini-blogging services in China, including social chat sites and platform sharing. Weibo is very similar to twitter.  Weibo is one of few popular Chinese websites. It was launched in August 2009. So far there were 309 million people micro blogging in China. About 100 million messages are posted each day on Weibo. Most of the users are from china. The main language of the site is Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese. Weibo is now developing its international version in English and other languages. Users can set up real-time information sharing communities individually, and upload pictures, share videos and update information anytime. Users can also act like an audience; browse the information that you are interested in Weibo.  Information includes famous celebrities from Hong Kong, mainland China, Malaysia, Taiwan and Macau movie stars, singers, famous business and media figures, athletes, scholars, artists, organizations, religious figures, government departments and officials. The purpose of the site is to provide users a social platform, make friends, mention to talk to others, follow other people to make his/her posts appear in users' own timeline and share with friends and families. Additional, it is a study platform. We can learn Specialty knowledge. The revenue model is mostly thru advertising and apps.  Personally, I recommend this website. It is very fun to explore a website that has many things I like such as singers, amazing talented people and etc. I am using this site since 2010 and I am still using it. I met many new friends as well as knowing news about celebrities. It is awesome.

one of my favorite chinese dessert (Do fu hua)

Tofu pudding is a popular Chinese dessert. It is made with very soft tofu. It is referred to as tofu pudding.
In mainland china we eat tofu pudding with sweet ginger or clear syrup. In Taiwan, tofu pudding is served with sweet toppings like cooked peanuts, beans, tapioca, nuts and etc.
Tofu pudding is usually serve in the morning and afternoon. In the summer we eat tofu pudding cold and in the winter, it is served warm.
I love tofu pudding because it is very yummy and after eating it, it feels great and icy. we usually buy tofu pudding in a small Chinese cuisine. However it is relatively easy to make. This is the  recipe.

Ingredients:

• 11 ounces (about 1 lb) soy beans
• water for soaking beans
• 7 cups water
• edible terra alba* (about 1 teaspoon)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• Syrup: 
• 10 ounces sugar or brown sugar
• 1 cup water
• 2 pieces lemon or a little vinegar

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flixster

This site is one of the best sites if you are a movie lover. I go to this site often. This site update often and the information are useful most of the time. The site is based in San Francisco, California. The majority of its users come from United States. Most recently they had about 1,325,685 users. The main language of the website is English. The purpose of the site is to allow users to share movie ratings, discover new movies, learn about movies, and meet others with similar tastes in movies. The site allows users to watch movie trailers as well as learn about the new and upcoming movies. This site is free. Their revenue model is from advertising and apps. In my opinion, this site is wonderful. It is so good to see the rating of the movie before I pay to watch it. I also like to see other people’s comments about the movie. I use Flixster whenever I have time just to check if there are any good movies.  One of the features I like the most is free, fast trailers. I can watch the trailer in just few clicks. I would recommend this website to anyone who likes to watch movie. Overall I like how the site is; maybe I would like to see some nice and interesting background.

a good movie

The Thing From Another World is a science fiction movie where many investigation and researches are presented. The movie starts out in the Officers Club in Alaska, the pilot Captain Hendry receives an order from General Fogarty to investigate something that has crashed on Earth. At the post they discovered two objects. One was the spacecraft buried in ice. The second object which was a frozen life form buried in ice. With a closer look the scientist assumed it was the pilot of the ship. The failure of using thermite bomb to release the spacecraft led the group not to risk it again on the frozen pilot, instead they made plans to transport the block of ice to the research station. Hendry intended to move the block of ice to the storeroom to prevent any melt downs. Barnes has taken over to watch the creature. Without thinking, he accidently throws an electric blanket over the ice causing it to melt. Barnes reports Hendry and the scientist and that the creature is alive. The creature escapes from the storage room. The creature’s arm is discovered. Through further investigation they discovered that the alien is made of vegetable matter that needs blood to survive. In the movie, the social group were not working together. Therefore it takes them a long time to kill the alien. First, they use fire to burn the alien. It did not work out. At the end they want to try electrocution and the creature is reduced to ash.  

I like this movie because it proves that it will work out much better if the groups can form a plan of action, communicate and fight back together.

Annabel Lee- love poem

This was one of my favorite love poem. Whenever I read this, I felt touch by the love in the poem. This poem is about eternal love. I felt his love and sorrow to his beloved Annabel Lee. I think this poem is beautiful and Allen Poe is the best writer! i remember i read this poem in high school and in my previous college. I guess this poem was my professor's favorite poem too.

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of ANNABEL LEE;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was more than love-
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me-
Yes!- that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we-
Of many far wiser than we-
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea. 

Edgar Allan Poe

 

MSG (Monosodium glutamate) is not healthy

          
             MSG is not natural. MSG is a flavor enhancer that makes cheap food taste better, and a company can uses less real ingredient to make their product. MSG has been added in larger and larger doses to the prepackaged meals, soups, snacks and fast foods we are tempted to eat everyday.
Many of us do not know about MSG. companies do not use the word MSG. Nowadays they use words such as hydrolyzed protein, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, plant protein extract, hydrolyzed oat flour and etc. These words are complicated and that is why we are mislead by the information provided in the label.

              In addtion, consuming too much MSG is bad for our health. According to the researchers and FDA, food and drug administration, they had found MSG cause brain cancer,high blood pressure, destroy brain cells especially those with asthma, headaches, chest pain, weakness and hair lost.
               Lastly, it is better to avoid the food such as grilled chicken, BK chicken fries,hot wings, and burgers because the meats are mostly prepare with little MSG.

Which social network has stronger network effects: Google+ or Facebook? Why?

I believe Facebook have stronger network effects than Google+. According to Gallaugher, more user = more value. As we all know Facebook has more users than Google +. This is why Facebook bring more value to people. One of the reasons why I use Facebook more than Google+ is because all my friends have Facebook. Facebook makes it easy for me to communicate and share with my friends. Personally, I check Facebook few times a day to see what my friends is up to and many cool things on my page. Also, I can play many games on the web that is just a click away.  

Lastly, because Facebook is so popular, businesses and individuals use it more and more. Facebook have the people traffic therefore many small entrepreneurs use it as a platform to advertise their product for free. For example I know a friends who create a page of her clothing business and she will post the pictures and price of the clothes. Then she will tag people and thru tags we can see it on our homepage. This is why Facebook is better than Google+ since Google+ do not allow promotions.

The Road Not Taken

I would like to share this poem. This is one of my favorite poem. I feel this poem really relates to our life. It relates to our everyday decision. This poem basically talks about a speaker standing in the woods and he sees two road. while, he notice he will need to choose one, telling himself that he will take the other another day. personally, I like this poem a lot because the road symbolize a opportunity that we all will need to go thru one day and we all will take a different road.   

The Road Not Taken


TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,  
And sorry I could not travel both  
And be one traveler, long I stood  
And looked down one as far as I could  
To where it bent in the undergrowth;          

Then took the other, as just as fair,  
And having perhaps the better claim,  
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;  
Though as for that the passing there   

Day off

Day off!
I was so excited to have a day off tomorrow. I always plan ahead and wait for a day off to come. I plan to cut my hair and go to a movie with friends. Everything was planned out nicely in the beginning and of course something happen in the middle. A good plan turns out to be bad. As I was lying on my sofa, I thought of my 5 classes. I realize I need to catch up with lots of reading and homework.  Naturally, the first thing I do is to ask myself which one is important? My plan or school work. And also naturally, that lead to my decision, finish school work before going out.
The thing about this case is I feel plans sometimes turns out not working because I have too many things to do.

book: the world is flat

I like to read books. The most memorable book I have read is “The World is flat” by Thomas Friedman. I read this book in my CIS 2200 class. This is the most entertaining book I have read last semester. The book talks about how the world is getting flat in the 21 century.  Nowadays everything has an equal opportunity. For example, people have been using same technologies all over the world in the same time. Most countries are now using internet as a worldwide web. Also the book talks about the world as a level playing field in terms of commerce.  Friedman defines ten "flatteners" that he sees as leveling the global playing field.  The one I like the most is Outsourcing. Outsourcing talks about how companies split works and services into components which can be subcontracted in the most cost efficient way. For instance many company manufacturing in china because of cheap labor and cost efficient.  Another one I like is offshoring. This book talks about company’s manufacturing to a foreign land to talk advantage of cheap labor and cheap operation. For example, now businesses have expanded to Malaysia, Mexico, Bangladesh and Brazil. To conclude, I agree with Thomas Friedman idea and his ten flatteners that the world is becoming flat and we are all equal.

http://web.archive.org/web/20061106211147/www.credoadvisors.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/The_World_is_Flat_begley.pdf