Before we discovered ready-made lumpia in the freezer section at the neighborhood Filipino market, my family (okay, my mom), would spend the afternoon hand-wrapping lumpia at the kitchen table while I'd sneak uncooked sheets of roll for the occasional snack. Aunties and ninangs would visit and they'd talk for hours in their native Waray. Best part was how they'd spend an extra half hour saying their goodbyes, sigi! sprinkled in every five minutes.
The old Family Loompya [sic] on Reo Drive was about a mile from my mom's house, across the street from the Raymundos and an old videogame arcade, where we'd spend summers playing Asteroids, Donkey Kong and Defender. Left vacant for 20 years, the old Family Loompya building still stands today, tattered like a ghost ship from years of neglect. Its windows and doors are boarded up and gated. Its signature yellow and black storefront sign was shattered years ago, the remaining shards chipped away over time. Only its metal frame remains. As always, the north wall is still bombed, crossed out, then bombed again by rival gangs.
A couple years ago, this very stretch of Reo Drive saw the tragic end of an epic police chase and shootout.
I digress.
Master Chef Lisa and I made lumpia last night. Okay, she made the filling. I helped roll between nibbling on uncooked sheets.
You know this, man!!!
Dessert first! Lisa found this really rad port. Tastes as good as the label looks.
Separating the sheets. Snacky-snack in meh belly!
Master Chef Lisa worked her magic on the filling. Maybe she'll describe what she did in her blog. All I got to say is, this needed no dipping sauce. Straight flavor explosion on my salivary glands!
Before.
After.
Master Chef Lisa models a perfectly executed lumpia. Side note, I've come to use the phrase "This is for Snow Cat" to describe anything of high quality. Part of it is rationalizing paying a higher price (in dollars or effort) for something better. You know, like the difference between generic mini wheats and Kashi's mini wheats? Exactly. This lumpia is for Snow Cat.
Speaking of Neva Snow Cat, a king size down comforter is for Snow Cat. Luxury.
...
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
28 Weeks Later
A Scanner Darkly
Casino Royale
Breach
1408
The Lives of Others
300
Curse of the Golden Flower
Babel
The Departed
Pan's Labyrinth
Hand to Mouth, Paul Auster
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, J.K. Rowling
Total Chaos: The Art and Aesthetics of Hip-Hop, Jeff Chang
Positively False, Floyd Landis
From Lance to Landis, David Walsh
Ten Points, Bill Strickland
Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Spoon
Both Sides of the Gun (disc one), Ben Harper
Man With a Movie Camera, The Cinematic Orchestra
Languidity, Sun Ra
Sound Grammar, Ornette Coleman
The old Family Loompya [sic] on Reo Drive was about a mile from my mom's house, across the street from the Raymundos and an old videogame arcade, where we'd spend summers playing Asteroids, Donkey Kong and Defender. Left vacant for 20 years, the old Family Loompya building still stands today, tattered like a ghost ship from years of neglect. Its windows and doors are boarded up and gated. Its signature yellow and black storefront sign was shattered years ago, the remaining shards chipped away over time. Only its metal frame remains. As always, the north wall is still bombed, crossed out, then bombed again by rival gangs.
A couple years ago, this very stretch of Reo Drive saw the tragic end of an epic police chase and shootout.
I digress.
Master Chef Lisa and I made lumpia last night. Okay, she made the filling. I helped roll between nibbling on uncooked sheets.
Master Chef Lisa worked her magic on the filling. Maybe she'll describe what she did in her blog. All I got to say is, this needed no dipping sauce. Straight flavor explosion on my salivary glands!
Master Chef Lisa models a perfectly executed lumpia. Side note, I've come to use the phrase "This is for Snow Cat" to describe anything of high quality. Part of it is rationalizing paying a higher price (in dollars or effort) for something better. You know, like the difference between generic mini wheats and Kashi's mini wheats? Exactly. This lumpia is for Snow Cat.
Speaking of Neva Snow Cat, a king size down comforter is for Snow Cat. Luxury.Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
28 Weeks Later
A Scanner Darkly
Casino Royale
Breach
1408
The Lives of Others
300
Curse of the Golden Flower
Babel
The Departed
Pan's Labyrinth
Hand to Mouth, Paul Auster
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, J.K. Rowling
Total Chaos: The Art and Aesthetics of Hip-Hop, Jeff Chang
Positively False, Floyd Landis
From Lance to Landis, David Walsh
Ten Points, Bill Strickland
Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Spoon
Free, Fontella Bass
CéU, CéU
Again and Again, Destani Wolf
I'm Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass, Yo La Tengo
Tonight I Burn Brightly, Bill RicchiniCéU, CéU
Again and Again, Destani Wolf
I'm Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass, Yo La Tengo
Both Sides of the Gun (disc one), Ben Harper
Man With a Movie Camera, The Cinematic Orchestra
Languidity, Sun Ra
Sound Grammar, Ornette Coleman
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