Ni Hao.

Guess how much I paid for the brunch I had last Friday. 
10.75 dollars for two. Less than 6 bucks per person. WHAT A DEAL! 


One thing I learned from traveling around various places is this: When in doubt, go to Chinatown if you're hungry.  It's like a treasure island where you can find some unexpected surprises. Last summer, I was on a mission to find a decent Dim Sum place. I went to few places in SF Chinatown with my Chinese friends but no place was worth 4+ stars. I was looking for a place where you go in and you only see REAL Chinese people enjoying their small meals. I Googled and Yelped for about an hour and found Joy Luck Restaurant in Oakland Chinatown, 15-min driving from Berkeley. 


My first visit to Joy Luck was a satisfying and stomach-filling experience. They had ladies with carts!!! Also, when I saw people making hundreds of dumplings by hands in the back of the kitchen, my stomach filled up even more. NOM NOM NOM. The best time to go there is around 11. Just like a typical brunch cafe. 
Some extra tips: they do not speak English well so you would have to study a bit before you make your first visit. These are some of the popular/common dim sum dishes! Shrimp Dumpling (蝦餃 har gau) Lotus leaf rice (糯米雞 lou mai gai) Egg tart (蛋撻 dan tat) Char siu baau (叉燒包, char siu baau) Rice noodle rolls or cheong fun Potsticker (鍋貼, woh tip) Shaomai (燒賣 siu mai)

C i e l e e

F A C T S
1. Christine Jiwon Lee.
2. Had Twenty birthday cakes and countless candles. Now, waiting for the 21st one.
3. Believes in God.
4. Studies Media Studies and Psychology.
5. Speaks Korean, English, very basic Japanese (forgetting), and Chinese (learning).
6. Lives in Berkeley, California and visits family in Seoul, Korea every year.
7. Listening to Comfortable by John Mayer
8. Subscribed to Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, and TIME.
9. Interested in men.
10. Has visited Paris, Giverny, London, Tokyo, Osaka, Nagasaki, Sapporo, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Phuket, Boracay, Cebu, Manila, New York, Chicago, Honolulu, Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Diego etc.
11. Loves looking at the blue sky, taking pictures, traveling around the world, trying something new, sleeping in on weekends, working out and practicing yoga, looking up lyrics of favorite songs, cooking food with and without recipes, sunbathing on the grass, trying out new restaurants in town, going to concerts, wearing scarves, talking on the phone, reading old and new magazines in bed, listening to old music, going shopping alone, drinking black coffee and green tea, and writing letters or notes to the loved ones.
12. Prefers chilly winter over hot summer, puppies over kitties, phone-calls over texts, nutty dark chocolates over creamy milk chocolates, listening to others than leading the conversation, going skiing over going to the beach, vanilla over chocolate ice cream, water over soda, any other genres over horror film, wine over vodka, thin crust over thick crust pizza, oatmeal raisin cookie over chocolate chip cookie, quiet music over loud dance music, taking notes on paper over typing, and walking over running.
13. I will...Do something memorable and crazy, something that I would never do more than once, every year in my twenties; Always believe in love; ;Study abroad or live in a different country; Travel, travel, travel, and travel; Go on a backpacking trip in Europe; Write+publish my own book. hopefully a travel journal; Live a physically, mentally, and spiritually healthy life. Keep a smile on my face no matter what; Be optimistic; Cherish every moment I breathe; Always believe in myself.

A proper funeral to my innocence: Zenga

To whomever undergoing a 'growing up'
Baby, Growing up is no big deal, Let me explain. You are to play a Zenga game of life: growing up. Life, a lot like a game of Zenga, we assign whatever that are meaningful or valuable to us to each Zenga block of life and make a pristine tower out of it for a while. After a while, about a time when the Zenga tower is completed, we remove each blocks one by one, sometimes unexpected circumstance of our lives forces us to remove them or we just simply feel the need: 'it is about time. We still cherish the tower,thus try keep the tower stand still as long as it can hold. However, it does not hold too long. The tower breaks down and blocks fall apart and that is when we give a proper funeral to our age of the innocences.  So what is on your Zenga blocks today? What did you remove and make?  I realized that I had discarded my innocence while ago, back when I could not even remember and had not given any consolation for it. So here is it: things that I loved, my past, my yesterdays, my youths. Now I am only naive but innocent. I miss it sometimes.

On my Zenga piece: family, friend, relax, stretch, lust, loved ones, anger, sin, charge, crest, virginity, time, collect, flight, fountain, plane, situation, recess, unconditional, faith, naive, divorce, organic, youth, joy, fun, I and Me, Timothy, birthdays, exploration, discovery, life, innocence, temperance, Elijah, baby, surprise, expectation, hope, fear, correct, stance, smile, mind, enthusiasm, birth, everlasting, morning, cigarettes, whore, colors, freedom

ohh Cass.

1. Cassandra Jiun Seo ( CASS)

2. Had 20 birthdays so far, almost all were enjoyable moments

3. Believes that there is God. ( However, I do find myself somewhere in between Agnostic and mild Atheism)

4. Studying Cognitive Science (Neuro) and Art ( art)

5. Speaks Korean, English, some Japanese

6. Lives in Berkeley, CA but have lived in everywhere: Japan, Korea, Seattle WA, Portland OR, and made everywhere home to her. 

7. Listening to The Raveonette's Love in a Trashcan

8. Subscribed to Cosmopolitan. 

9. Interested in men. But sometimes do find a woman to be beautiful and refined and attractive. 

10. Has visited and have seen some parts of the world. 

11. Loves genuinely interesting people and conversation with them, seeing and making art, reading, music, 

movies, Friday afternoon downtimes, good vegetarian food and dessert, hugs and kisses, hiking, walking, running, yoga, life. animals, tea, good movies, 

12. Says about herself: quirky, eccentric, eclectic, unclassified, sweetly edgy, creative, artistic charms, without trying anything too hard.

13. Wishes to keep her starry- eyes even when she is old - keep them thinkin' & aspirin' , stay as an artist at whatever she does. 

people have said: "Cass, honestly, I had never seen a person like you. "

"you are one of the most unique person that I have ever met" 

Cinnaholic - CAUTION: YOU MIGHT GET ADDICTED

"Isn't it magical?"My friend Veronica commented on the photo on my facebook.
I have had cinnamon rolls many, many times in my life but this one is SPECIAL + alpha. Can I compare it to the ones from Cinnabon? or famous Ikea cinnomon rolls? NO.
I had Cinnaholic's Old School Cinnamon roll with Vanilla frosting, raspberries and brownie chunks for $4. (Bring your CAL Id! Discounts!) I know.. a cinnamon roll for four bucks or more is a bit pricey. But you've got to check this magical, and possibly addictive delicacy. Once you take a bite of this warm, chewy, crispy, mouth-watering, and fresh cinnamon roll, you will feel like you are jumping into a king-sized bed with goose down comforter. So cozy and cushiony that you cannot get yourself out of it.
At Cinnaholic, you can choose from different kinds of toppings, frostings, and rolls. It's like Coldstone.. but you get to create your own cinnamon rolls. If you are craving for some good dessert/snack but the weather is too cold and rainy for Yogurland, this place is definitely the one to stop by!

OH MY SALAD- Cafe Intermezzo/Cafe Mattina

I LOOOOVE SALAD. No, I'm not a vegetarian..(you see the chunks of chicken salad on top of my Veggie Delight). Cafe Mattina has the BEST SALAD I have ever had. It makes my mouth water every time I think about it. I remember eating the salad for 6 hours when I was studying for my finals last year and I went into the longest food coma after that. 

mmmm nom nom nom to the max.

Buttery avocado, sweet tomatoes, crispy croutons, an egg, and last but not least the BEANSSS. I was never a fan of chickpeas and beans but now I am addicted to them. That is not the end. They also give you an inch-thick loaf of honey-wheat-bread and a cute slice of pineapple that complete your meal perfectly. For dressings, I highly recommend either their homemade vinaigrette or poppyseed! You will never regret :)

They made something impossible possible. (Making salad so yummy and stomach-filling at the same time) 

I have never seen someone finishing the whole bowl of salad alone. 

Gentlemen, I know you all cannot have a meal without some kind of protein and fat. Add some bacon or roast beef on top of your Chef Salad. It will be beyond perfect.

Ladies, make sure to bring your bestie with you to share the giganormous salad that cannot possibly go into your tiny stomach. 

Delivery Sushi: a college gal's best friend

My (personal) experience of pulling all-nighters-

which means continuous loop of coffee,'5-hour-energy', and Red Bull and late night snacks and of course that damn essay that I have to finish, or the midterm that I need to conquer. 

So around 1-2 am, post midnight, I (almost always) break my 'lets-stick-to-healthy food' diet resolution and browse delivery-food website which is filled with the pictures of lovely sushi, rolls, and many other goodies. 

Nude Sushi, located in South Berkeley delivers warm, freshly-rolled sushi, rolls and many late night Asian version of 'comfort food' to Cal students. Ok, honestly the sushi is not the best sushi that I had ever eaten however can anyone beat their late-night ( til 3 am) delivery service?  How can I not order thee!

Yes, and I have fall into the temptation once again 2 am Monday night while writing that paper for my Psychology class. But these small, lovely, high calorie things in life makes me happy- :D

So here we go again, Oh Nude Sushi, you shall never close!