I met up with Steph, Jeremy, Lindsey, and others at Pho Vi Hoa. I biked over and it turned out to be a pretty nice day. I got there early and was able to cool down after the ride. We waited a while for everyone to show up, and got a table for the pho, it was super tasty. After Pho, we went back to Beachhead to play a game. We chose Puerto Rico to play, with Candice joining Jeremy, Steph, and I. The game went well, and I got an early lead. The early lead made people look to me to figure out how to not let me get points. I was one turn off from winning, but the game ended earlier than expected. Steph took it with me in second. Jeremy was in a close third.
We met Stephanie’s parents at Panda Dumpling in San Carlos, and the dumplings were pretty good. The portions were very large, so we got some really good leftovers as well. They seemed to be doing well, and they are going to be going to Russia soon.
We met with Lisa and one of Lisa’s friends for a picnic in Dolores Park. We got there right on time, but Lisa and friend were running about 20 minutes late. Steph and I went to get lunch really quickly and then we went back to the park to meet Lisa. We played Mr. Card Game, but I don’t think Lisa liked it. Steph seemed to be a little more enjoying it, but still didn’t understand the basis of the game. After the picnic we went back to our bikes and I had a flat. We walked over to Ritual Coffee to meet with Stefan.
I joined Steph and her martial arts group at BJ’s. The dinner wasn’t that good, but the dessert was great. We had a big cookie with ice cream on top of it. It was delicious. Steph’s martial arts group are enjoyable to be around, and I might want to go to one of their lessons.
We met Nima and Caryn at Skyline and Alpine roads. There was a really great hiking area up there, but the day was really really nasty. We were protected near the parking lot, so it was only wet. When we crested the ridge at the start of the trail we got the full blast of the wind, which made the hike completely undesirable. We decided to head back to Mountain View and go to Esther’s Bakery. We had a decent lunch there, but not a great one. We probably should have gone to Pho Vi Hoa since it was just across the street, but we wanted to try something new.
Jeremy, Steph, and I went to Shezan for dinner, and it was delicious as always. We got the typical Tikka Masala, and it was the highlight of the meal as always.
We went to dinner with the Lee’s on Saturday and had a really tasty dinner at Da Sichuan Bistro. I had taken Steph there the week before, and she liked it a lot since it had a full vegetarian menu. The food was really good, and I had the steamed dumplings this time. The steamed dumplings were pretty nice, but I still much prefer the dumplings from dumpling kingdom.
For a valentines dinner Steph and I went to a well rated place that we hadn’t been to before, Da Sichuan Bistro. They had a separate vegetarian menu that was pretty expansive. Their dumplings were very different from the ones we got in SF, but still really good. I enjoyed it and wouldn’t mind going back.
Saturday morning Steph and I took a quick ride to the Chocolate Garage. It was a very nice morning ride and we got to taste some of the chocolates we had gotten in the past. The hot chocolate they have been serving at the Chocolate Garage is also some of the best I’ve ever tasted. We aren’t sure what has happened to the Saturday morning farmers market in downtown Palo Alto, but it seems to not be showing up any more. We didn’t usually get that much at it, but it is still sad to see it go, even if only temporary.