Down the Rabbit Hole

Another slow Sunday. Another crisis of activity. After the successful IKEA trip , I had to think up another location that would engage both parties. Anna had suggested a visit to Placerville, and I jumped at the chance because it promised to be a perfect detour on our way home from Lincoln. But could the charm offensive of this gateway to the Gold Rush live up to a grandma's thirst for window shopping and a child's sense of adventure? What is Placerville? Placerville is a city in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Before the Gold Rush , the area was home to the Miwok and Southern Maidu indigenous peoples. When gold was discovered in the area in the late 1840s, multitudes of people from the eastern U.S. settled there, displacing the indigenous people  from the land or decimating them through exposure to pathogens like smallpox . The miners used to carry dry soil to the river to wash out the gold, which gave the city its old name, Dry Diggins. This, along with other mining activities,...

Listening to Steven Bartlett's  Diary of a CEO  episodes on  inflammation  and  herbal medicine  coincided with my exploration of how to improve my vitamin levels. I used to take prenatal multivitamins and then individual vitamin and mineral supplements. I even tried green juices. However, the habit of drinking vitamins and minerals in tablet or capsule form doesn't stick; I didn't like the taste of green juices. As I continued researching, I encountered IM8, a product that claims to contain 92 nutrient-rich ingredients, including vitamins, minerals, superfoods, antioxidants, prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics.  It sounded too good to be true; however, it contains  spore-forming probiotics,  Bacillus subtilis  and  B. coagulans .  This is consistent with what Dr Jamnadas said about what he's personally taking to improve his gut microbiome. Moreover, it promises berry flavours with chocolate undertones; not my favourite fla...

I regularly listen to Steven Bartlett's Diary of a CEO (DOAC) podcast during my commute to work (it's currently in my driving playlist, along with finance podcasts) and during my solo lunch-time one-mile walks because his discussions with guests are compelling and informative. One of the episodes I listened to featured Dr Pradip Jamnadas , the founder of Aristotle Education LLC. I found this episode interesting because it followed soon after the discussion with Simon Mills on herbal medicine . Simon Mills discussed inflammation and its relationship to the body's immune response. To recap, inflammation occurs when blood vessels become more permeable, allowing white blood cells and other immune system components to leave the blood vessels, enter the injured area of the body, and attack the pathogens causing infections. NSAIDs are not ideal medications because they tend to dampen one's immune response. His treatments of choice are concoctions of different plant materials,...

I have subscribed to Steven Bartlett's Diary of a CEO (DOAC) after I listened to the episode about feet and barefoot running. I appreciate his inclination to invite scientists to discuss their expertise... these guests are conversational, not overly technical or jargon-filled. For instance, the episode featuring Simon Mills (my favourite so far) was all about phytotherapy. Antibiotic resistance limits the medicines available for treating illnesses. Enter phytotherapy. I've witnessed the alarming effects of antibiotic resistance firsthand while at work. Patients with bacterial infections must be screened for the antibiotic susceptibilities of the causative pathogens so that doctors can determine the most effective treatment.  In the lab, isolates identified as  Mycobacterium tuberculosis  complex  from specimens submitted by the same patient are sent to the California Department of Public Health  every 90 days (based on collection date). This is crucial in a pat...

Google Scholar has always had this quote on its website. It resonates with me because my scientific work builds upon the products developed by scientists before me. This is why I still marvel at the impact of Miracle Rice (IR8)  in preventing widespread hunger in Asia, and wonder if the work I previously did in improving rice quality made a dent in rice breeding pipelines . My contributions in developing the gastronomic systems research framework, such as the Robinsons Mall auctions  (Quezon City, Philippines) and the expert elicitation workshops (Kolkata and Bhubaneswar, India), helped shape the consumer research angle currently being pursued by IRRI, particularly for gauging the market acceptability of rice varieties that can potentially curb the risk of developing diabetes . My work in applying machine learning tools  to classify rice into quality types  is five years ahead of its time; I now see more people using   big data approaches  to answer incre...

A slight fall of rain didn't stop us from visiting the Dole Pineapple Plantation  in Wahiawa, Oahu. During my first visit, I was part of a tour group visiting the island. This time, I drove with Mommy, Daddy, and Donan. I was determined to ride the train to see the plantation (because I didn't have a chance to do that previously). Donan immediately wanted to try the Pineapple Garden Maze when we saw it. Our two-hour scheduled stop was short. We were supposed to find eight stations inside the maze, but we only saw three because it was huge (it is the largest maze in the world, after all) and we were pressed for time. It would take about an hour to find all the stations (accounting for the fact that we also got lost in the maze). We wouldn't be able to catch the train tour if we attempted to complete the maze. The train tour circled around the Dole Plantation's pineapple farm, where we saw pineapples in varying stages of maturity (to ensure that there's pineapple all ...

Starbucks branch in Pleasant Hill, CA. When Starbucks was still a new coffee shop in the Philippines, my extended family would go there for drinks and pastries after dinner or for desserts after lunch at Lola Bats' house . I used to stop at one of its branches to eat while taking a break from long drives . I also made sure to stop by a branch somewhere in Loyola Heights to have my venti signature hot chocolate with peppermint syrup to drink during my lecture class at the Ateneo de Manila University . In short, Starbucks was my "third place", or a location other than home (the first place) and office (the second place) where people gather to socialise and/or people-watch. In fact, Starbucks was one of the first places I visited with Sherry Lou, a classmate in the BSc Biology program at UPLB, on my first evening in Sydney ! I was culture-shocked to learn that my third place in the Philippines was just a pitstop for many people in the USA. The classy coffee shops I was a...

Since I was exposed to Filipino gastronomy movements , I have visited Filipino-owned restaurants featuring Filipino cuisine in each city I explore. This hobby led me to insist upon dining at Kaya in Orlando, Florida , during my family's trip there in December 2024. Although I had difficulty finding time for our Kaya dinner, there was availability for our group on our last night in the city! (Kaya's signpost by the sidewalk. ) We went to Kaya straight after our gator adventure in Lake Tohopekaliga and arcade time at WonderWorks. The restaurant's façade was a welcome sight: a parol with twinkling fairy lights, kids playing street games in the parking lot, and a party in the front yard. The scene was the closest I could get to a fiesta in the Philippines. It was good that we had snacks before travelling to Kaya because the wait was long! Chef Lo Lalicon and General Manager Jamilyn Salonga Bailey brought over salabat to ensure we were warm and cozy while waiting for our tab...

(screenshot from  https://www.restaurantmaligne.com/ ) Anna and I have always looked for opportunities to eat delicious food. During our most recent trip to Monterey , our research led us to Maligne, a restaurant in Seaside, CA. The restaurant is located at the corner of Broadway Ave and Hillsdale St. We were expecting Danville or Walnut Creek vibes (e.g., brightly lit streets with a bustling restaurant scene). Instead, we drove into a quiet city where the shops were closed when we arrived. The corner street lamp highlighted Maligne's minimalist (or brutalist) concrete façade (it was hard to tell; I'm not an architecture expert).  Maligne is small, with about 10 to 12 tables (if I remember correctly). The distance from the door to the open kitchen and the dining area was so short that I felt awkward standing there, not wanting to seem like I was ogling at people eating their dinner while waiting an hour for my family's table to get ready. To me, the wait meant that this res...

We drove for about three or four hours (~250 miles) en route to San Diego when we decided to take a stretch and snack break. We happened to be close to San Luis Obispo, so we searched for any familiar coffee shop franchise with vacant parking spots. After driving around the downtown area and not finding a suitable place to stop, we headed back towards Highway 101 and discovered the House of Bread Bakery and Cafe. The interiors smelled delicious! Just outside the open kitchen area, there was a good selection of freshly baked breads and pastries. The staff had us try several of their bread samples, which were so yummy! I ended up buying the chocolate zucchini bread. It contains unbleached flour, zucchini, and cocoa. Donan had no qualms about eating the bread despite the presence of zucchini because of the rich chocolate flavour. The texture was soft, chewy, and easy on the palate after a long drive. Mommy, on the other hand, got a prairie bread. It contains a wheat and rye flour blend, h...

I came across Dr Cielito Habito's opinion piece entitled "Dumb and Dumber?" in the Philippine Daily Inquirer while browsing LinkedIn posts. This article highlighted the Philippines' poor performance in the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), a test measuring selected students' math, reading, and science performance. Because I now work in the public health space, the last portion of this article resonated with me: poor performance attributed to weak cognitive and learning capacity is brought about by malnutrition. The author then mentioned that children's academic performance is closely linked with agriculture (e.g., farm productivity). Dr Habito's article resonates with Solano County's Public Health Leadership meeting agenda before Christmas. During that meeting, I learned (a bit more) about how public health is not just about diseases (being a microbiologist, my focus is disease diagnosis). It also covers maternal and child w...

Mommy and Daddy recently celebrated their 44th wedding anniversary. In faithful Anna and Rochie style, we suggested eating somewhere "masarap" (aka fine dining). Anna suggested we go to a Korean restaurant in Danville; however, we discovered it was closed that day while en route. So I suggested (while we were on I-680) that we eat at Restaurant Abaca instead. After all, they haven't tried the wagyu salpicao and the bougie halo-halo that Ate Maddie and I raved about on a late summer visit. Thankfully, Abaca had an available table at 5:30 pm.  Abaca now has a four-course degustation menu called "Paubaya". However, we weren't too hungry, so we ordered a la carte for this occasion. We ordered wagyu skirt steak salpicao, sisig fried rice, Manila clams, pork lumpia, pork barbecue, crispy pata, and Java rice.  The portions were big enough to fill us but not overly so. In fact, we had room for dessert! Sadly, the halo-halo I was raving about a few months earlier was...

The Jelly Belly factory is a popular destination for families with young children. Tita Babie had good memories of it. Anna recommended riding the choo-choo train. Ate Maddie brings her school-age out-of-town visitors there if schedule permits.  On one of the last warm days of the year, my parents and I took Donan to demystify the Jelly Belly experience. The factory grounds were busy as a fair was going on. We rode the choo-choo train, but it was a letdown after the Tilden steam train experience. We bought a few books about outer space and about Santa Claus in one of the shops. We saw a glimpse of a cultural show. And then, there was the factory tour. It was worth the visit. The self-guided tour wound above the production floor. We saw hoppers, packaging machines, conveyor belts, spraying machines, ingredient pallets, and crates and crates of jelly beans.  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rochie Cuevas (@rochiecuevas) The sights all reminded...

It's Filipino-American History Month in the USA. This piece is my small way of contributing to this celebration. --- While working in rice quality research , I encountered several discussions on why Filipino cuisine has not been "elevated" to fine dining and why it is not as popular as Chinese or Thai cuisine in the USA. I did not follow the discussions, unfortunately. However, I have been discovering Filipino restaurants in the Bay Area. Many of them, like Lutong Bahay  and Island Pacific's PhilHouse, are of the turo-turo style (think cafeteria). Others, however, have ventured away from this restaurant style and sought to feature Filipino food in their own way.  The fare has, so far, been satisfying.  Aldas Kitchen and Bakery My go-to pick-up counter for brunch. I found the owner's business model to be very smart because he/she can concentrate on preparing delicious food instead of dividing his/her attention between food preparation and service. The food comes b...

What a difference a year makes! Last year, Anna and I brought the wee one to the Three Nunns pumpkin patch; this was his first pumpkin patch visit ever (for us, too, by the way)! I carried him in his toddler carrier, or I let him toddle along the pumpkin farm, or I chased him through a corn maze. Overall, he had fun during last year's trip to the pumpkin patch. Because he enjoyed it, I decided to bring him to the same pumpkin patch, but with Daddy and Mommy this time. We didn't stay as long in it as last year, however, because Mommy had a dental appointment on the same afternoon. No biggie; it was still a fun trip to the great outdoors. Once we got there, I saw noticeable differences between our visits. One, we didn't need either stroller or toddler carrier anymore. He was more balanced and had higher stamina for walking. Two, he was more interested in walking along the pumpkin patch and rearranging the pumpkins, though he did pick two small ones for us to buy. Three, he w...

We opted to celebrate Val's birthday on a different day so that we could invite as many of the family as possible. This is in such a sharp contrast to last year's birthday celebration at home because we had to limit the number of guests to his party.  (Thank you, Moderna and Pfizer vaccines and booster shots, California, and medical professionals for slowly bringing us to something near normal!) The Fuji Sushi Buffet in Concord was in its soft opening period when we celebrated Val's birthday.  When we arrived, we joined the queue by registering on the restaurant's waitlist. A few minutes later, we were ushered to our dining table and our drink orders were taken. The server also listed down our orders for appetisers, soups, and salads. However, the server did not hover too much since the stars of the show were the sushi... and we could get them on a centre island where chefs worked their magic. Thanks to my allergies, I could not explore all the options that the chefs ...

Val and I went with our toddler to Rutherford CA. It used to be a part of a Mexican land grant given to George Yount, the first Euro-American settler in Napa Valley, by Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo. Rutherford is famous for its wineries and its tulip fields (we missed seeing the blooms in spring). Its claim to fame also includes Auberge du Soleil, the reason for our excursion. Auberge du Soleil is not as accessible as restaurants along the St Helena Highway, like Brix Restaurant and Gardens , and requires more effort to get there. However, the way we were welcomed already promised that this place was well worth the visit. After all, it's not every day that we're told that valet parking is complimentary and it's okay if we're a bit late going into the restaurant (because getting the wee one out of his car seat takes some time). In other restaurants, reservations are only held for 15 minutes and then the host starts calling from the waitlist. Val and I were excited to eat a...