Alba

I already posted about the sunset view from my window. Yesterday I discovered that the sunrise is as charming as the sunset. However, the sunrise arrives subtly, and you can see it from the reflections in the colors of the clouds.. it would be impossible to see the sun rising from the ocean, as we're facing west.
Do you see the moon, almost full, high up in the sky? This was the first shot I took in the morning. It was around 5.45 am (just as a point: I'm not usually up this early, it just happened that for some strange reason I couldn't sleep, and seeing this view was a wonderful gift). A few minutes later the sky was more and more violet, as you can see here behind the Campanile.
The colors kept changing, and there was a white light diffused all over, which reflected in the water of the bay, while the rising pink sunlight reflected in the skyscrapers windows of San Francisco.
And then at some point, the Golden Gate bridge changed color, and became pink! I had never seen something like this. In the very clear days, you can see the red color of the bridge from our windows. But this pink color was unseen. This is the best picture I managed to take, although it doesn't completely capture this phenomenon.
I'm not sure when I'll be up so early in the morning again, but this view was definitely worth it.

Ristoranti Asiatici in Berkeley

I've been collecting pictures of food I ordered in good restaurants here in Berkeley and closeby, and now I think it's a good moment to post a little summary of a few of them. The theme of this post is going to be 'Asian Restaurants in (or very close to) Berkeley'. I'll describe a Szechuan Chinese, a Nepalese and a Modern Vietnamese restaurant that I went to in the past few months.

China Village
This is a Chinese restaurant serving very traditional Szechuan cuisine, located on 1335 Solano Ave (Albany). From the outside, it doesn't look very pretty (or at least, not as pretty as all the other restaurants on Solano). Still, I went here because one of my Chinese groupmates told me that it was the BEST chinese restaurant in the whole Bay Area, the most authentic one. I've been there twice, and I must say, it hasn't disappointed my expectations of authenticity. It's completely different from any other Chinese restaurant I've been to. The food is quite spicy and oily. This is the characteristic of Szechuan cuisine, and you have to keep it in mind. You can find some non spicy food, but you have to look for it.
One of the best things we had were this wonderful bread:
In my ignorance, I didn't know that Chinese had also such good bread. All the restaurants I've been to always served rice. This bread is quite soft, and stuffed with vegetables. A must-try if you go to this place.
The best dish we had was a wonderful pork roast, which unfortunately I didn't take a picture of and I don't remember the exact name. The description said that it was cooked for hours in a special mixture of spices. It's spicy and sweet and cinnamony and soft - even for someone who's not that big on meat like I am, it was delicious.
I must tell you, though, to follow the suggestions of the waiters. The will tell you what is really very chinese and they don't think that Westerners will like. We tried some stew which was really chewy for us.. and I really wanted to try 'bitter melon', so I ordered 'bitter melon with eggs'. The plate looked great:
So colorful. But the bitter melon is really bitter! It was like eating a medicine, in the first bites. I tried to finish it (at home), and I finally ate it, mixed up with other vegetables and sauces, but it took me a while to get used to it. So, if you're vegetarian and you don't want to try this .. interesting experience..., I'd recommend getting the eggplant with soy bean paste - they were really good.
So, pay attention to what you order.. everything will be an experience - in the end, it's nice to have something that's really authentic, to understand what people eat far away in the world.
Prices: low - also because I'd recommend sharing your dishes (one is usually more than enough for two people or more..)
Service: variable - depends on how many people there are, but in general, ok. There is a guy who seems to be more like the owner, who was suggesting to us what to have and what not to have, at some point.

Yak and Yeti
This is a recently opened Nepalese restaurant located on 2985 College Avenue, Berkeley. It's owned by the same people who own the small shop 'Derby' that's a few blocks from our place - we like them, and they really insisted on us trying their restaurant. Of course, I was curious, and we went. It was a delicious experience. They serve only organic food. He recommended to us 'Chicken Momo', these great dumplings, as appetizers:
They were very good. Then, he suggested to have the specials - I had a vegeterian one and Lucas the lamb version. Unfortunately I don't remember the names, but they have only four specials in their menu - and I promise I'll update this post as soon as I go back to the restaurant. They came with rice, and some greens and various sauces. It was really good, especially Lucas's (mine was a bit less intriguing). The taste was slightly similar to an Indian dish, if you want to have a comparison, but the spices were somewhat different, and it was less greasy than most Indian restaurants around.
So.. we'll definitely go back! Ah, and one more thing: if you go to the upstairs floor, the ambiance is very particular: the tables are very low, and you eat seated on cushions! My friend told me it's the usual way they have their meals.. so, one more plus for the authentic experience!
Prices: moderate (~$20-25 a meal, depending on what you get)
Service: good (a little slow, but it was good to feel relaxed - sometimes they didn't seem to understand 100% what we were saying though)

Bui
This is another restaurant on Solano Avenue (1647 Solano Ave, Berkeley). It's defined 'Modern Vietnamese cuisine' - we went there last week, after our trip to Sonoma.
The atmosphere is very elegant, and the food is presented very nicely. It's definitely the most 'upscale' in this small collection. We went there with Sonya, whose mom had explained to her some tricks of Vietnamese cuisine. So we had some fried rolls with meat and vegetables, as appetizers, which we were explained by Sonya how to eat: take a piece of a leaf of the lettuce that comes with the dish, put a piece of roll and a leaflet of mint inside, and wrap the lettuce around. Dip in the sauce and eat! It was very good.
All the entrees we had were also delicious, although I think mine was the best:
It was 'basa' (a fish, similar to bass but not bass), broiled with some delicious spices around, served with mango salad. I really liked it. Sonya had some filet, and Lucas a curried duck. Also their dishes were very good. We also shared a Creme Brulee with lime as dessert - this was wonderful, served with a leaf of basil! So, I'd recommend this place especially if you're in the mood of something a bit 'special', or for a date.
Prices: moderate/high (~30 dollar a meal tip included, no wine)
Service: perfect - the waitress was super attentive and not overwhelming

Berkeley Botanical Garden

When we went to see the Titanus, we also visited a large part of the Botanical Garden. Apparently it's the second largest in the US! It's really nice, with plants really from all over the world. One of the most impressive sections is that of cactuses and such.
They have thousands of them in several greenhouses, with shapes that I never saw even in movies:
And outside, huge ones:Some of them were flowering:
On top of the hill, there are the European plants, and the 'garden of old roses', with plants from the XIX century! Here are some flowering daliae:
There is also a Japanese garden, with a peaceful and beautiful small lake, with water lillies. This was one of our favorite places.
So, if you're around Berkeley, this is a nice place to visit. There are also picnic tables here and there. It's free for affiliated of UC Berkeley and Lawrence Hall of Science... I'm going to come here more often!

Amorphophallus titanus

It's not a curse word, believe me! It's the latin name of the extremely rare and amazing plant that recently bloomed in the Berkeley Botanical Gardens, also known as 'The Corpse Flower'. Never heard of it, eh? :) It's a tropical plant that blooms every 5-6 years. Its English name is derived from the fact that when it blooms, it really smells like dead flash for the first twelve hours. Then, it closes up again and the plant goes back to sleep. When we heard that this incredible event was going to happen, how could we not go and see? So, Lucas, Sonya and I went there last Sunday. Unfortunately the flower was just preparing to bloom, and was not smelling yet - but the show was still amazing.


The 'flower', we were told, is actually just an inflorence of this amazing plant. The plant produces just _one_ leaf, that grows up to a certain height. At the beginning, the leaf is quite small:
In the picture, you see a few of the small plants - and each of them is just one leaf. Then, the leaf dies, the plant becomes dormant for a while, and the seed that's in the ground grows and grows, till it has enough energy to produce another leaf, bigger than the previous one. After some years, the leaf really looks like a tree, such as this one:
Look at the green huge thing behind the man who's explaining to us all about the Titan. That's the leaf-plant. He said that one was probably still going to grow for another six months, and then it would die and fall on the floor (making a lot of noise). Then, the plant becomes dormant again, and the seed grows. When the seed is large and filled with enough energy, it produces.. the flower!
When you look at it you understand the reason of the Latin name. :) - that huge thing grows super fast, 3-4 inches per night. So in some weeks, it's ready to bloom. Its temperature increases of about ~20 F higher than the rest of the environment, and the 'skirt' opens. The flower is red, the smell is that of dead flesh. This combination is on purpose to invite mosquitoes and flies to arrive, thinking that they can find something to eat. The plant needs them to spread its pollen. In fact, at the bottom of the flower, there are both the female and the male reproductive organs, but the day the male part produces the pollen, the female part is not ready to receive it. The day after, the male part stops producing the pollen, and the female part is ready for it! So, of course, this is to prevent self pollination. So, the plant needs a mosquito to arrive and get the pollen on itself the day when the male part produces it, and then fly on another Titanus one day ahead in its development, with an active female part. That's a pretty slim possibility.. but it seems to work somehow!
In any case, seeing this plant (even without the smell) was a fascinating spectacle. I may decide to go back tomorrow, to see it falling down. You can see the entire sequence of its life on the Berkeley Botanical Garden website.