2017 San Francisco Writers Conference Chinese Banquet

Once again, Board member Harvey Pawl treated the speakers and volunteers of the 2017 San Francisco Writers Conference to a Chinese banquet at Great Eastern Restaurant on Jackson Street in San Francisco.

  

Elegant Place Setting and a Big Bowl of Fluffy Rice to go with everything 

We started with an appetizer of barbecued pork.

Honey Glazed Barbecued Pork

After the appetizer, the dishes rapidly followed.

Deep Fried Chicken

Sauteed filet of flounder with lily bulbs & asparagus

Deluxe Mixed Vegetables

 Noodles, of course, for longevity and good luck.

Chow Mein with Mixed Vegetables

Sauteed Scallops with Bean Cake and Vegetables

Fried Sweet Potato

Sauteed Fillets of Beef with Vegetables

HoneyGlazed Walnut and Sauteed Shrimp with Mayonnaise

Peking Duck with Steamed Bun

As usual, at the end of the meal, there was a beautiful presentation of orange slices.

 

Eat Real Festival 2016

I volunteered with setup for Eat Real Festival 2016 but this time I stuffed vendor badges instead of goodie bags. This was much easier and didn't end with washing and drying all the cookware for the chef demos.

I returned for lunch on Friday. I usually case the whole festival first, but couldn't resist a crab cake near the entry. It was served on a bun, with slaw.

  

Mozzeria was there, with their fancy pizza truck, but Tea Time occasionally eats at their brick-and-mortar location in the Mission.

After checking out the rest of the offerings, I decided on a poke bowl. This looked so good that I forgot to take a picture of the truck.

And for dessert, I again had a chocolate fudge popsicle from Fat Face Popsicles.

The Eat Real Festival is on for the whole weekend, and there are more vendors on Saturday and Sunday. More Festival-goers, too, which is why I go on Friday, but if you don't mind crowds, you will be rewarded with a wider choice. There are also exhibits and free samples, which vary from year to year. This year Clover was giving away yoghurt and Toyota was giving away plants in pots that could be decorated on the spot, among other swag.

Afternoon Tea at Pardee Home Museum in Oakland

Tea Time Adventures has stumbled across a Facebook group, Second Sunday Tea at Three (SST@3). We signed up immediately once we learned they planned to take tea at the Pardee Home and Museum in Oakland, because while we had been there several years ago, we hadn't gotten any pictures—and therefore no blog post! This is another volunteer led Afternoon Tea, so guests must make reservations through the Pardee Home to book a tea event  All proceeds from tea ticket sales and the gift shop benefit the nonprofit that cares for the Pardee Family Historical Home. 

Our visit begins with a greeting from one of the volunteers and once our all of our party arrived (shamefully J.K. and I were running a bit late due to reading on BART and missed our transfer stop) they led us into the lovely dining room which was set with sandwiches and savories to begin our Afternoon Tea.













The savory course was served family style so each person took one of what they liked and passed on the plate.  These delightful bites and garnishes are all made by volunteers in-house and served on beautiful plates with thoughtful attention to detail. Garnishes included edible flowers from the Pardee Garden, which were in great demand by some of the guests. (Your menu will depend on who's in the kitchen and what is seasonal.)

7 savory delights from traditional to the unexpected

Our tea cups were kept topped off by volunteer waitresses who buzzed to and from the kitchen (since the kitchen is used to serve afternoon tea, it is the only part of the house not shown during the tour). After a lot of conversation, tea and sandwiches, we were served the scone course which included local jam and yummy curd  on the side. Our group spent a lot of time admiring the decor in the Pardee dining room where we took tea as well.

There were plenty of conversation starters hanging around...

Dessert was the last course (as if we could eat more...good thing we had to walk around during the tour) and featured more good cooking by the volunteers.

There was definitely a dessert flavor for every sweet tooth.

After our group was full and content we met in the front hall with a smaller party who were only participating in the tour. There are lots of photos, so we'll let them speak for themselves. If you're curious you can ask for more details in the comments or simply take the Pardee Home tour yourself!

A room with a view

The dining room with the original Pardee home cutlery and dishes.

Close up of painting-see the deer?

Thanks to the ladies of SST@3 for organizing this event. Tea Time is happy to have made it back and checked this Afternoon Tea Adventure off our list! If you're interested in learning more about the Pardee home, taking Afternoon Tea or Volunteering, reach out and contact them! They love to entertain.




P. S.
We made it home on BART just fine. No side trips since we were vigilant after the mishap on the way to the event... and on the way home, J.K. stopped at Ben & Jerry's for her birthday dish of Chocolate Therapy. Well, it was almost time for dinner, but J.K.'s motto is "Life is uncertain—eat dessert first."

Angela says, "Sometimes ice cream is dinner." Not sure if that's a motto or just a fact.