And here's the Blue Angels:

I was very fortunate to have met couple members of the band, "That Man Fantastic"; last friday night when they were dining at Restaurant Furenzu! When they found out I'm closing the restaurant, Stephen; the lead singer and Marco; the lead guitarist offer to play for us on our last day! So this coming Sunday, "That Man Fantastic" will be at Restaurant Furenzu to celebrate friendships that I have made throughout this three years! So come see us this weekend.

While some of you had already experienced my private fix menu dining, I'll keep you on the private dining mailing list as I will still be offering 6-8 course tasting dinners. And if you haven't yet but are interested in joining that mailing list, please reply to this message or feel free to contact me at meet@restaurantfurenzu.com. Private dining is for 8-10 people. And I'll forward the information for how to make reservations.

Again THANK YOU all, see you over the weekend and looking forward to serving you again in the near future!

Last but not least, let me share with you messages that you all had left for me throughout the years. You all had made me feel very special and I'll treasure always! Take care you all and looking forward to be serving you again in the near future!

Cynthia & staff

It means so much to all of us at the restaurant to receive all the love and cares. It was also a wonderful feeling to know we have such a strong community! Old friends stopped by, called or emailed. My regulars have been coming in to support us in an even more regular basis. Then there are more new customers came in, "We saw you on the news, this is our first time dining here and we just want to come show you some supports!"

I just can't express all my feelings in words. How frightening it was during the robbery, and now how touched we are receiving all love and supports from all of you. So here...

...My deepest thanks from the bottom of my heart to all of you! Thank you and see you all at the restaurant!

Just a few days after that on the 16th. That's when that buzz came in! I was standing in the dining room entertaining couple customers by the window table, two guys walked into the restaurant. They made a very quiet and mellow entry but one of them was holding a gun and announced, "Nobody move and take all your money out."

I couldn't believe what had just happened. I saw that a lot in movies or news, but it's real in my restaurant! Until today, I still can't remember if my heart was pounding at the moment or was it stopped?

Restaurant has no cash! Seriously, I wish there would be more cash, but these days everyone pay by credit cards. We were actually lucky that we had about $120 in cash that night. They didn't believe we didn't have anymore cash nor have a safe in the back. One of them took my manager to the back and all I could hear in the dining room was just how he screamed about killing him if he wouldn't show him where the safe was! All I could feel at that moment was helpless. Nothing I could do while I couldn't move or wasn't allowed to.

The whole take over took about 3-5 minutes. However that was the longest 3-5 minutes I had in my life. Life sure flashed in front of my eyes. When you hear from others talking about how they got up from their death bed, how people survived from serious illnesses like cancer, or car accidents...etc. How these people talked about they changed their attitude toward living life. I acknowledged their statements, but was never able to relate to what they were talking about. I might have thought then, I was already living life, quite fully too...

Haven't I? Jumped from a comfortable life to taking the biggest chance in my life to fulfill my dream. How many people even know what they want in their life? I even said I could then die with no regret. However when the moment was there, then you realized there're still a lot I could do I haven't lived enough yet! And I can do better, and live an even more meaningful life!

It was very quiet and nice in the old town while all the shops were closed and only a few people were walking around. Monte and I took a stroll around, sat by the Sacramento river for a while. Shops were opening up one by one, we window shopped for a while, got a few recommendations of restaurants from a toy shop owner for lunch. (I love toy shops, the old fashion kind though, where you can find all kinds of wood puzzles and games.)

I picked Rio City by the river for lunch. The price is very reasonable and service was very good. Both my server Ashley with her trainee were wonderful. They're attentive, alert but also gave me enough space to read my paper since I was dining alone. She gave good recommendations toward both wine and lunch.

I had a baked Cambozola appetizer, similar to the baked goat cheese that I served, but it's a cheese that made from gorgonzola and camembert cheese. As for lunch I had a special seafood pasta which offered a very generous portion for the price! And what I found interesting was the shrimp. They cut it in some way that the shrimp is straight and not curved after cooked! If you know my history, then you know I didn't have any professional training before, therefore I'll have to find out from some of my chef friends how they did that!? As for dessert, I was already too full. However it was that feeling of, "I just need that little sweet." Therefore I asked for a biscotti and an espresso. Just perfect! FYI, they have free refill for espresso!

Thanks to my buddy Chris, from Maria Seafood on College Ave! Called him at 10:30PM, told him about my situation and he offered some space in his freezer for me. The rest, of course all in my own house and Simon, my manager's house.

Since it's over the weekend, there's nothing much I could do or shop for. I finally found a replacement and scheduled to pick it up on last Tue. Chris even loaned me his truck! Another buddy of mine, Dave, who's kind enough to replace my Japanese maple for me after it was stolen the first time...oh well, his was also stolen after 6 months it was replaced; took a day off and helped me picked up the freezer from Morgan HIll.

We left the restaurant in late morning, took us longer than we thought for the whole process. By the time we were ready to leave Morgan Hill, it was already past 2PM. Poor Dave hadn't eaten anything for the whole day, so we decided to stop at Milpitas, where all the Chinese restaurants are. Most of the restaurants had already closed after lunch hour by the time we got there. Finally we walked into this one and...

It was a self-serving restaurant, and it was supposed to be a very famous one in Taiwan(I don't want to mention the name here since I'm not writing anything good.) I had heard of it and had been meaning to try it. So I was glad they have one in this restaurant mall. First I was standing at the cash register for almost 10 mins trying to place an order. There were people acknowledged my presence, just no one took my order!? Finally someone came, but when I tried to ask them couple questions about the food, all he could do was just to point at a picture on the wall and told me "that's how the food is, looks like that picture." ("Ok..." I thought.) I still ordered a few dishes:

So first was a satay beef noodle. The beef was marinated in baking soda for so long, that yes the beef was very tender, but totally tasteless. (This is an old trick, but if you use good and high quality meat, and cook it right, please don't use baking soda! It'd kill the texture and the taste of a good piece of beef!) If it wasn't the satay sauce, I'm sure I would be tasting the bitterness from the baking soda. The noodle was fine, but the sauce and the beef... I only had one bite.

Then it was supposed to be an oyster omelet type of dish. I know the Taiwanese version was probably serve with some rice flour while the ChowZhou version, a province in China; only stir fry it with egg and green onion. I actually had the ChowZhou version served at my restaurant before and it was featured in one of the food magazines! This one that I ordered, again I only had one bite. There was so much rice flour in it that it just tasted like glue and I couldn't taste any of the oyster at all! And for the sauce, I really had no idea of what that orange looking thing is!

For this brown soupy noodle, while it was supposed to be hairy fine noodle in their special sauce, just looking at it, I thought it somewhat looked like shark's fin soup. Not until I put my spoon in and scoped a spoonful in my mouth, other than corn starch with soy, I really didn't know what was that!?

The fried fermented tofu was the best of all if I may say. Of course it didn't get the texture of the really good fermented one like you could get in a Shanghainese restaurant. At least for this dish, I had two bites!

The last one was a side order of porkchop. Since it was only $3.50 for a side order of porkchop, I thought why not? This was the time to remind myself again how important it was to cook with good ingredients! All pork that I use at the restaurant are good grade and porkloin with high quality. This porkchop that I tasted, I couldn't even tell if it was the oil, the meat or the oil and the meat. I got a mouth full of grease and fat, that I was ready to spit it out.

Another thing was filthy dishes! We asked for couple bowls to split our dishes, even there were only 2 other tables, I guess if it's self-serve, we just got to serve ourselves. We're told to get our own utensils at some corner. They were all plastic and the bowls were oily. Later the day, Dave told me he was very surprised I didn't just walk out already(he knows me well in this one!) while I was standing for so long just to get someone's attention to place orders. Well, I would have usually but he looked like he was going to die from hunger, and I felt really bad since he helped me and I hadn't fed him anything the entire day so far. Now I know, even if he's going to faint half way to another restaurant, I would chance it next time!

Each couple were offered with a shrimp and vegetable consommé, a "hug & kiss": sea salt crusted radish and salt & pepper chili after they're seated. And for those who ordered the tasting menu, two different Rosé Brut were sent to them in addition for a toss.

Every course was pair with wine for the classic tasting and sake for the exotic tasting. The first course for the classic tasting was a "Sesame crusted Ahi tuna salad with ginger sesame soy dressing" while the exotic tasting got the "Sea cucumber & fennel salad with citrus & mustard dressing".

Then second courses were "Roasted chestnut & mushroom soup with truffle honey" and "Traditional Chinese ginseng & chicken herbal soup".

Finally the main course were "Oven grilled duck breast w/ goji berries couscous in demi-glace" and "Black mushroom & Chinese ham stuffed quail baked in clay"

Since the night of the Valentine's day was so crazily busy, we did a "re-run" the following night, so that we could video taped the quail and how we served that. Of course also hopefully to let you see how much fun our guests had on the night!

Lastly dessert! It's a dessert trio consisted of "Persimmon sorbet w/ organic ginger liqueur", "French rose Tiramisu" and "Layered carmel & chocolate cake w/ Cointreau marscapone cream". Some asked me why was I serving the rose tiramisu again this year? I wasn't planning on it until the week before when I found out "tiramisu" actually means "pick me up"! So how could I not then? However I serve it in a different way this year in a martini glass.

Thanks again to all my extra helps! Craig Roby, my guest chef; wouldn't have done it without him! Patty Chu and Auntie Maureen, my last minute called-in help; they certainly had been a great help in the dining room! Last but not least, my regular staff & all of you who continuously supporting the restaurant! Special thanks to those couples who made this their 2nd or even 3rd year celebrating their Valentine's night at the restaurant! You all sure made me felt very special! Thank you!

I remember when I was a kid, Saturday morning came and mom would ask what should we have for lunch over breakfast. My brother and I would then screamed out for mom's wonton. Yes it's a very common thing in my family, before finishing breakfast, we would try to figure out lunch and while having lunch, we're already discussing dinner, or where would we be having our meals the next day!

On a day like today, stormy wind is howling from the outside, cold that chills me to the bones, and the rain is so heavy that I thought bullets were shooting through my skylight. Staring at the fireplace with the heat on, I don't feel much warmth or coziness, but a cold and lonely concrete loft. I closed my eyes and started imagining....

I can almost smell it, then taste it... my mother's Shanghai style pokchoy and pork wonton! No, my mother wasn't from Shanghai, in fact; my entire family is pure Cantonese. Canton is a food paradise, and Cantonese are foodies! Being born and raised in Hong Kong, by the most cosmopolitan and adventurous eaters like my parents; I was spoiled with food from all over the globe. However what touches my heart always... home cooking from mom.

Therefore I decided, not only to celebrate Chinese New Year, which is coming up on the 7th of Feburary; I'm also going to dedicate this up coming menu to my family and share my personal comfort food with you all. The new menu will be focusing on Asian comfort food of dumplings. Of course we are going to keep our signature dishes and your favorites such as Shrimp in a nest, Honey ribs with Thai basil, Salt & pepper fried tofu, Garlic chili chicken wings...etc; but we are going to devote the rest of our menu to the comfort food of dumplings!

In addition, I would like to introduce to you our guest chef Craig Roby. Craig is a wine importer and a former Chef de Cuisine at Relais & Chateaux. With his extensive experiences in both food and wine, he will be collaborating with me to bring you a new venturous dining experience!

Criag and I will be offering you a private dining experience every Friday, Saturday and weeknights (on demand). This will feature a six-course menu with sake and wine pairing to each course and it will focus on classic Cantonese cuisine with a slight twist such as Beggar's quail (black mushroom & Chinese ham stuffed quail slow baked in clay), Chinese herbal ginzeng soup... This is by reservation only and seating is limited. You can call me on my direct line at 510-601-0836 to make reservations and discuss the details. Tasting dinner will be starting at 7PM, but starting time can be flexible if you bring your own party of minimum 6 guests.

I am excited and hope you are too! Stay dry and warm, and I'm looking forward to touch your heart with my mom's wonton and my new creations of dumplings! Last but not least, call me soon to reserve a seat for your tasting dinner!

Well after the server problem was solved, we were busy doing promotions and marketing for the holidays, then we had 4 attempted burglaries! FOUR!? In less than a month! That's just crazy! Everyone knows there's nothing to steal in a restaurant. For sure there's no cash! Only thing I could have thought of was we got a big shipment for wine...about 20-30 cases? However as soon as those cases got dropped off at the restaurant, it didn't even get inside and was already put into another car and driven away. So if someone really was watching, they should have seen that too?

The first attempt was on the 15th of Dec, right after a big private party. They tried to ply open the door and the padlock. Broke some of the wood from the door and bent the handle bar to the door. But that was it. Second attempt was 3 days later on the 18th. This time they brought a cutter and cut the padlock. Almost got the door open, thanks to the strong deadbolt. Guess must be someone came by or something happened that scared them away.

After this we put in a shielded lock that they just can't cut. We also removed everything out of the restaurant. Including all the wine since we were closed from the 24th - 1st. On the 30th, I went into the restaurant to cook for a party, that's when I found all my locks got super glue in them! This is just wrong! So they're actually targeting my restaurant! Nothing we could do but to uninstall all the locks and replaced them. On the 5th, they're back again, cut the padlock, couldn't get the big one, broke my door handle again, and probably got so mad and kicked the door? So this time they cracked my glass door.

We now have a camera installed. I just want to see who was that, so desperate to get into my restaurant!? It's because I don't think he's trying just to break in to steal anymore but to prove a point that he could get in. It's more like a vandalism now! This is just so wrong! However I always say, it got to have someone like that out there to make us appreciate who we are and what a good person we are sometimes! Only if they use those energy and build something rather than break something, they actually could be quite successful!

Well...do I really want to see who that was? NO! PLEASE DON'T COME BACK!

First was my best friend Vicky's wedding, a long awaited one, while they have been together for more than 15 years! I can't put into words of how happy I was for her...for them. Since we live afar, I had only met Ronald less than 10 times in all these years. However 15 years later, I still see how much love and care he has for Vicky, how he caters to her and the way he acts and takes care of her... And that's all I care about. They sure are the couple who has my whole heartedly blessings!
In addition, seeing all the dear friends from school, talking about the good old days... delightful! Care to check out our 17 years ago and 17 years later pics?

Then was my mother's 61st birthday banquet. In Chinese traditions, men celebrate their big birthdays on the zeros, 60th, 70th, 80th... while women celebrate on the 1's, 61st, 71st, 81st...etc. My mother is a very nurturing person. She always thinks of others first. She always gives. She would over exhaust herself, just to make sure everything was done right before any celebrations or dinner gatherings. She might only have 2 hours sleep on Chinese New Year's eve, wearing herself out to prepare the best meal and the cleanest house for my entire family and my dad's best friend to come and feast on New Year day. She wouldn't mention a word but she knows everyone's favorite food and would surprise you on the table when you're least expecting. She's a super thoughtful, super mom! She's the one in blue. And have you ever seen such bigger than a fist Chinese birthday buns before!?

For her banquet, it was just a very small and low profile one with only family and my parents' best friends. It was because she didn't want to bother anyone for gifts. Even if you mentioned no gift in the invitation, Chinese would always bring you something. Especially family members. Therefore my mother used me and the mid-Autumn festival which was just around the corner on the calendar as an excuse, "let's get together and have dinner" was how she put it. As for me, any family gatherings would being me joy. I miss my family, and I miss all the gatherings that we ALWAYS had when I was a kid or when I was living in Hong Kong.

It's true that I have a very unusual family! A family that others always asked, "How come you all are so closed, and get along so well?" I think the answer is we truly love and care for each other selflessly? My grandfather had 3 wives (yes, all at the same time! ;) but the strangest thing was all the kids(my uncles) all got along so well that I didn't even know they're from different grandmothers when I was little! All the cousins are like bothers and sisters. It's just too bad that we had spread around the world quite a bit, but our hearts are always together! We're the FUNG, a name that I'm very proud of, a family of food and a family that many others envy!

Lastly was my second uncle's 80th birthday banquet. Uncle Ban had couple strokes a few years back. He has been doing better and now is able to hold his chopsticks and bowl and feed himself. However he still can't quite walk much. Therefore he and my aunt had chosen to reside in the resort they bought more than 10 years ago in the Canton area in China, where they can hire two full time live in domestic help.

The food was good but the company was the best! The restaurant that my aunt chose for the banquet was HUGE! We all had a great time. We joked around, played around and had a wonderful time.

Since I need to stay put at the restaurant most of the time and couldn't go too far, during Chris' visit; we decided to go water rafting at Cache Canyon, something I hadn't done for more than 5 years! Karin and her assistant joined us also. Of course I was in charged of the food! Choices were limited because I had to make sure it tasted good while it's cold and it could toss around inside the cooler as we might flip the boat!

It was a hot day, so I had only made 3 dishes: Roasted sweet pepper and herbed goat cheese roll w/ balsamic reduction, organic yellow watermelon w/ prosciutto, and jumbo shrimp cocktail w/ Cynthia's cocktail sauce. Well the honest truth is, after being in the water for 3+ hours, anything would taste just great! ;) And of course we had a great time too!

Oh, have I mentioned it was a HOT day!? Yes I got major sun burn on my legs! It was horrible and painful! Be sure to apply your sunscreen...and keep re-applying it if you're in the water!! :-S

Software shell crab and homegrown cherry tomato salad:

Foie Gras with poached pear and lychee puree in port demi-glace:

Pan grilled Kompachi in lemon soy glaze with avocado & mango salsa:

Oven grilled lamb chop with cilantro rice:

Avocado and mango salad with cilantro and hot chill oil:

Oven grilled duck breast in cognac and orange ginger reduction:

I had been noticing big iron sculptures being built around the West Grand bart station, but didn't know what's that about. Until a few days before the fire festival, I was driving my ex-coworker/good friend; Jean to the station, then we saw even more sculptures were being built. We drove around and noticed postings were up about Crucible Fire Festival. Amazing huge sculptures. Then we learned about these were all part of the burning man.

"Great!" I thought, since I have never been to the burning man, and with the restaurant; I doubt if I'd ever be able to make it there. So this would give me a taste of it. I drove by Friday night just to check it out and planning to attend on Sat night and hopefully to watch the show. However I didn't get the ticket since I didn't know how busy the restaurant would get and what time I would be able to get there. While I thought I would just get ticket when I got there, sure enough, tickets were all sold out. So I could only capture some pictures and video from outside the fence.

If you're familiar with the dancing game from the 1st generation of Play Station, then you'd know what I'm talking about. (Believe it or not, that was my mother's favorite game and she even bought me a Play Station and two dancing pads! So that I could compete with my friends, she said! Yeah...and I won't tell you how old I was! ;) There at the festival, they sure brought the game to the next level! If you made a mistake, you'd "get fired!"

Here's a little taste of it for you:

Click on the follow pictures to check out some of the actions of the day! ;)

For more pictures, please visit: Furenzu's 2nd Anniversary at Flickr.