By Assunta Ng
Northwest Asia Weekly
COVID-19 lashes at us with two different Thanksgiving days, one is more deadly than the other. Even for the 2021 delta and other variants, I can rest assured after the vaccine. Recently, with boosters, I have more hope for this year than last year. What’s different in a year!
Last year’s Thanksgiving was very lonely-it was only me and my old man who had dinner together, we didn’t see anyone, and there were no activities on the four-day weekend. It is like a dark cloud, with deaths, illnesses and work stoppages increasing every day. We went to the Seattle Center. It is closed and almost no one is there. Nevertheless, we are very grateful to our family for surviving the pandemic. And “Northwest Asia Weekly” has never missed any issue.
Christmas Train Station in Seattle Center
Although our country has not completely eliminated or recovered from COVID, this year’s Thanksgiving is a breath of fresh air. I was wrong last December… I thought the COVID would disappear now. But no, we have COVID variants, and each variant seems to be worse than the previous one. I thought we would return to normal. On the contrary, we have a new normal. My office has not reopened yet, and none of my employees want to come back, including me…
Thank God, social distancing is not part of this year’s COVID requirements. We decided to cautiously gather with friends and family during Thanksgiving. There are no big gatherings, only intimate things. It’s great to be able to dine in the restaurant with only minor adjustments, such as showing your vaccination card and wearing a mask before entering. If you forget to wear a mask, as I always do, don’t panic. The restaurant can always give you one. So we went out to celebrate with three great meals, twice for dinner and snacks with friends in Chinatown, and once in Bellevue.
Decorative lights outside Bellevue Square
We can also travel. Even with COVID restrictions, we can do more planning in our lives. Compared to last year, that is still heaven-literally, we lock ourselves at home most of the time.
Jason Cruz visits the NWAW office and holds his prizes and a bag of goodies
good news
The theme of Thanksgiving is to count your blessings. In the news industry, I like to hear good news. First, our freelance writer Vivian Nguyen gave birth to her baby girl three days after we visited her with a gift on November 15. Perfect timing! Her due date is actually Thanksgiving. Obviously, the baby does not care about the due date. “Prosperity! I’m here.” The baby is the boss.
Vivian Nguyen and the newborn Charlotte
What better Thanksgiving gift than your own baby! We have not seen each other for two years, and I feel very lucky that we were able to meet Vivian before she was born.
Thanksgiving is the best time to reconnect with old friends. My former high school classmate who lives in London texted me after reading my blog. We have not met since 2015. We haven’t even spoken once. I miss her voice. So I just picked up the phone and made a call, not knowing whether the city she was in was day or night. I just want to connect with old friends. Although we only talked for less than 10 minutes, I am happy to know that her 92-year-old Indian mother is visiting from Hong Kong and can beat her daughter on Chinese chess. I vaguely remember her mother, but very affectionate.
My husband and I have talked with all family members and some friends (including friends across the ocean). Their clear voice illuminates my soul, as if they are right by my side. I am very grateful for the brilliant inventions of phones and mobile phones, especially for making these phones simple and affordable, and I am very excited if you have WhatsApp on your phone or even for free. On important holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year, it would be so lonely and scary if there were no letters from relatives!
Our writer, Jason Cruz, has been writing for us for nearly 20 years. He came to receive his plaque last week, which he won from the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association on October 8. As a lawyer, he was too busy to receive the award. To express our gratitude, we filled his bag with Asian delicacies and chocolates. Buying bags is fun. For each award, he will receive $50 in cash. Calculate the amount of the check. Cruz won five awards for his sports column and news reports.
Aiden and Alvin at Ho Ho Restaurant
Kids at work
We have followed CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines for large gatherings. On the eve of Thanksgiving, we had our first dinner with the nephew’s family at Ho Ho Restaurant and ate lobster instead of a big family reunion. Our nephew and his wife have not eaten in the restaurant for a long time. They like all the main dishes of Ho Ho and even take the leftovers home, which is not much anymore when we finish dinner.
We haven’t seen our nephew’s child in 22 months. They are now three and a half years old. How much have they grown, and how interesting it is to see them behave so happy, curious, energetic and playful. They are likable by hugging and kissing, and hold you for one second when they want, and then for another second, they are irritable and cry because of hunger, tiredness, and sleepiness.
Surprisingly, they felt at home when they visited our office. I don’t know anyone can play there. Our labyrinth-like cubicles inspired the imagination of the children to hide and run. They like to play hide and seek with me. Of all the functions my office performs for hosting VIPs and organizing many large-scale fundraising events, this may be the most surprising and positive purpose of my office during the COVID period. I have never heard such loud laughter in the office since my employees worked from home last year.
How to cook delicious turkey
I never thought that turkey and its dark meat would be so delicious. My daughter-in-law Tracey did it again. She discovered the secret of cooking turkey like James Beard’s award-winning chef.
Tracy Luu’s turkey legs and thighs with sauce, pumpkin, mushrooms, pumpkin soup and string beans, and apple pie
“The technique is not to roast a whole turkey in the oven,” Tracy said. “The reason is that the turkey breast takes longer to cook. Instead of putting the whole turkey in the oven, it is better to cut the turkey into different parts and cook it when you want to eat it.” That makes sense. You cook the whole thing, and there will be a few weeks leftovers in the end.
During Thanksgiving, she roasted turkey legs and turkey legs for us. It was mouth-watering the day I ate, and the leftovers the next day were even more delicious. The skin and meat are so juicy and hearty, I don’t mind having turkey for dinner again soon. It changed my view of Big Bird. From now on, if you cook properly, I will list turkey as a delicacy.
And duck
Speaking of birds, we ate Peking Duck with Tracy and my son John at Baron’s in Bellevue last Saturday. We were there for the first time. A friend recommended this place, but it took us four years to go there. Why did we spend so long? Because it is 78 dollars more expensive than the Peking duck in Chinatown. A friend said: “It may be expensive, but you should go at least once.” This sounds reasonable.
Baron’s Peking Duck
If you dine on Monday, the price of the duck is $49. But we are always busy on Mondays because we are working for Asia Weekly so that it will be published on Wednesday. This is part of the news industry. It determines my schedule.
The duck is also delicious. Other dishes such as sea bass, pea pods and fried rice are also well done. Just before we left, the waitress gave us a take-out duck bone box. You see, Peking duck is about its crispy skin. When the duck is served, you have skin and meat, but no bones, which is great for making broth. This is especially good for Tracy, she is a versatile cook who can even create magic with bones.
This year is a very special Thanksgiving, and I will not forget it. It reminds me not to take anything in life for granted. Thank you, thank you, thank God, all the blessings.
You can reach Assunta Ng at assunta@nwasianweekly.com
