Day 1: I Left my Heart…

…In San Francisco.

I’ve always had a soft spot for San Francisco.  Its among one of my favourite cities in the world: Hong Kong, Tokyo, London, San Francisco, Singapore.  Possibly in that order.

I have had the fortune of visiting some pretty incredible places, but there is just something about San Francisco, that gives me a feeling of almost being home.  Not sure, if it’s the blue skies, the city, free to air television (and Cable TV) (and that’s all of America I know), my family, or the people  but my love for this city grows with each visit.

I love the Inner Richmond, and it’s diverse Cantonese culture.  I love Downtown and its melting pot of International business and the American dream.  I love Napa and Tahoe, for the same reason I love Sai Kung in Hong Kong.  I love that there are places like Castro and Chinatown.

But really, most of all I love eating here. The choices here are not as random as they are in Hong Kong (I still love HK and food), but they certainly offer a plethora of choices at the highest of quality. Seafood here is brilliant, and the meat is always amazing.  That is why my first choice for one of my first meals here was a Burger, and Bill’s on Clement was perfect. Beef seared to perfection, and Bacon so good you’d have to drag me out.

Having been coming here regularly since 2000, the Golden State Warriors have absolutely endeared themselves to me.  I was a casual fan until recently, but I can honestly call them a favourite now. I do make it a point to catch a game if they’ve got a home game on every visit and this trip was no exception, with a season/home opener at the Orcale Arena in Oakland against the Kobe/Nash-less LA Lakers, it was going to be a doozy.  And they didn’t disappoint! Klay Thompson had a MVP game scoring a career high 38 points! final score 125-94. I call that a blowout!

Waking up here this morning, smelling the fresh air and feeling the cool crisp air on my skin is a feeling not among many others. It’s sad that i’m only here for such a short time, but I value the opportunity to even be here. I look forward to seeing what Halloween has in store for me tomorrow.

Talk soon,

Jonathan

@jonleehk

@theriothk (instagram)

roadtrip2013