Kiki Raina Tahiti Fete

This weekend the 33rd annual Kiki Raina Tahiti Fete was held at the Merced County Fairgrounds.  Dancers and drummers came from all over California, other states, and even other nations, to compete and celebrate Polynesian culture and dance.  Our friend was able to score us some 3-day passes from UC Merced Ohana (a campus group that promotes Hawaiian culture).  The dancers were amazingly talented and their costumes, which most made themselves, were incredible.  We enjoyed some island food and pina colada Hawaiian shave ice and did a little shopping - coconut shell jewelry and a new sarong for wearing by the pool. 

Unfortunately, given the fact that I only had my phone camera and did not want to block anyone's view of the dancers, my pictures don't do the event justice.  You'll have to come to Merced next March and experience it for yourselves. 

A teenage contestant wows the crowd.

The headdresses were amazing.

Delicious island wonton noodle soup.

Pina colada Hawaiian shave ice.

The group numbers were amazing.

Blossom Time

The fruit and nut trees are blossoming a little early this year due to the mild winter.  It is difficult to describe the extent to which Merced and the surrounding communities are filled with orchards in bloom.  There are pistachios, almonds, walnuts, plums, apricots, pluots, peaches, and more.  We took a short drive to see and smell the orchards and to walk through the falling almond blossoms.  The smell is almost sickeningly sweet and the falling, swirling petals reminded Sean of Japanese anime.  The most disconcerting thing is to stand still, listen, and both hear and feel the hum of bees.  They were too busy working to bother us, but we avoided their boxes nonetheless.  What a beautiful way to spend a Saturday afternoon in spring!

Local Food

This week there was some good news, bad news, and neutral news related to local food in Merced.  The bad news involved the announcement of the closing of the Merced Organic Store.  Unfortunately this store was not able to overcome the loss of revenue caused by the massive summer construction project downtown that closed off the nearest street and made access difficult.  While I do not eat much prepared food, organic or not, it was nice to have them in town and I did stop by every other week or so to buy staples and snacks.  Honestly, I feel a bit of nostalgia for the place since I sought it out when I first visited Merced for my interview at the UC.  They gave me a coupon that I saved in case I got the job and I used it the week after we moved in.  I am sad to see them close, but am not entirely surprised as I was often the only shopper on the days I stopped in.

The good news is that Merced now has a great bakery called Little Pink Boxes that just opened on Main Street.  I am excited to try their croissants and other pastries and can vouch for the deliciousness of their cookies as I brought a dozen to a work meeting on Thursday.  They will be open late on the weekends and early on weekdays, so will accommodate everyone's schedule making it difficult to pass them up. Last week also saw the opening of a new hot dog specialty restaurant owned and operated by three graduates of UC Merced.  While friends and colleagues are initially underwhelmed by the selection, in spite of the locally sourced meats being served, we all hope to see improvements as the business grows.  In a town of 80,000 with high unemployment, local food and businesses take on great importance and many of us try our best to give them our support.

The place that never lets us down, of course, is the Merced Farmers Market.  A salon appointment had me shopping at the Modesto market last weekend (and I particularly appreciated the local cheddar and portobellos) but this morning Sean and I once again hit our favorite stands in Merced.  Along with the second week of persimmons, this week brought locally grown kiwi fruit.  The farmer told me to wait 2 weeks for them to be fully ripe unless I am willing to place them in a bag with an apple to speed up the process.  Since Central Valley apples are nowhere near as delicious as the Minnesota grown variety I am used to (I miss those fabulous U of M creations, with Honeycrisp still the hands down favorite) I have no problem sacrificing one of the Fujis I picked up last week at the Modesto market.

Another reliable favorite that has appeared in this blog before is Houa Khong Laotian/Thai restaurant.  We've been back a number of times with guests and they all love it as much as we do.  Last night we dined with our friends Nora and John and it was finally chilly enough (sort of) for me to try their version of Pho.  It was fabulous!  I am so happy to have found my spot for that delicious noodle soup.  As an added bonus, on the way out Nora found the homemade specialty cookies they sell to go and bought us each a bag.  They are made with coconut milk and are very fancy and delicious.  Served with a scoop of Ben & Jerry's vanilla, this cookie was better than any waffle cone I have ever had.

Yoga

Last year about this time Sean and I began attending yoga at River Garden Yoga Center in St. Paul.  It was a great opportunity to relax, focus, improve strength and flexibility, and, for me, concentrate on something other than my dissertation for 90 minutes twice a week.  I have been working out on a regular basis since moving to Merced, but realized I was missing yoga.  After asking around a bit, I found out that Holistic Xchange, where Sean goes for chiropractic care, has a great Hatha yoga class on Tuesday evenings taught by a Physics lecturer from UC Merced.  I tried the class for the first time last night and really enjoyed it.  I always feel more flexible, relaxed, and taller when I leave yoga class.  It will be great to have it back in my weekly routine.

Holistic Xchange
561 West 18th Street
Merced, CA 95340
209-726-9762
customerservice@holisticxchange.com

Class Calendar; Includes yoga, Capoeira, belly dance, and more

Visitor from Home and Agua Fresca

When we told friends and family we were moving to California they assured us they would visit when work or other travel brought them to the area.  The trouble is, work doesn't really bring a person to Merced.  But it might just bring them near Merced.  Case in point, my friend Mao whose good friend lives in Sacramento. She awesomely drove down Highway 99 to visit this evening.  We gave her a tour of campus, had dinner at Houa Khong, and purchased delicious aguas frescas at La Super Michoacana Paleteria & Neveria.  The owner gave us samples of rose petal, tequila, and strawberry/cinnamon ice creams.  So fabulously freshly made and delicious!  It is one of our favorite places in Merced and will be one spot we take all visitors.  Then we walked down Main Street for the Market on Main where there were fantastic farmers, bakers, and others selling treats and gifts.

We passed by Merced's Multicultural Arts Center, which was saved from closing by generous, creative donations from the community, and Mao told us about the symbolism in the tiles on the side of the building, so we had to pose for a picture.  What a fun visit from a good friend!  More visitors from home are welcome anytime!

Market on Main
Thursdays from 6-9 pm, August 3-October 13

La Super Michocana Palateria & Neveria
http://www.yelp.com/biz/la-super-michoacana-merced
661 16th Street, Merced, CA

Merced Animal Medical Center

We feel fortunate to have found a home to rent that welcomed our dogs and has a large, shady, fenced-in backyard.  The huskies love to roam around and sniff and wrestle.  Last weekend, however, we were introduced to the perils of letting them have free reign of the yard.  Having no sense of what is and isn't actually food, Ili decided to eat this:

We are not positive what it is, but it appears to be some sort of fruit pit.  A really expensive fruit pit.  It is small enough to have gotten down her throat, but too big to have passed through her system.  It got lodged in her stomach opening, causing her much pain and preventing her from eating.  The folks at the Merced Animal Medical Center were very kind and helpful and Ili's surgery to remove the thing was completed at 1:30 am, with a call from the veterinarian to assure us that she would be fine.  They are open 24 hours, are affiliated with the University Pet Resort, where we take the huskies to be kenneled, and both offer a 10% Catspots discount for members of UC Merced Staff Assembly.  We are grateful they are so professional and competent.  Now Ili, shaved belly, stitches and all, is healing comfortably at home.

Merced Animal Medical Center
3765 East Yosemite Avenue
Merced, CA 95340
209-383-0434

Merced County Certified Farmer's Market

Saturday mornings are farmer's market mornings when we're in town.  The Merced Certified Farmer's Market has multiple locations on multiple days, but Saturdays fit best into our schedule.  The location on 19th & N downtown is open on Saturdays from 7 to 12.  Merced Farmer's Market link  This morning's purchases included yukon gold potatoes, peaches, arugula, butter lettuce, sweet corn, and rosemary & olive bread.  One of my favorite farms has the most delicious fresh figs and I was happy to hear there will be a second harvest starting next week.  The myriad opportunities to purchase fresh produce in the Merced area mean we are eating healthy, fresh, locally grown food for every meal.  And, as much as I love and miss the St. Paul farmer's market, it's fun to have this view while I shop:

Houa Khong Restaurant

As if the editors not only personalized their magazine but also predicted my future, this month's issue of Saveur magazine featured an article on the food of the San Joaquin Valley, "the most productive agricultural region in the world".  Featured in the article was a small, "bare-bones" Laotian restaurant called Houa Khong.  We ventured there this evening with some friends from UC Merced.

Having come from the Twin Cities, which has the largest population of people of Hmong descent in the United States, I have developed a taste for Southeast Asian cuisine.  Merced County has the highest concentration of people of Hmong descent in the U.S., and I hoped this demographic fact would equate to tasty restaurants.  So far, the Southeast Asian restaurants of Merced have not disappointed.

The chicken larb was flavorful and the Thai-style papaya salad was perfectly spicy and reminded me of a trip to Hmong Town in St. Paul I took with my friend Mao last winter.  Deliciously crunchy and cool.  Perfect for the hot valley weather.

While paying my share of the bill at the register I chatted with our waiter who imparted his culinary knowledge of the subtle differences among the Southeast Asian cuisines as well as the Laotian names for the Thai and Vietnamese dishes I was familiar with from St. Paul.  When I inquired whether he was aware that the restaurant had been featured in a national magazine, he asked whether I had written the article.  I sadly told him I had not, but promised to bring him a copy of the article which he plans to hang on the wall.

What Merced restaurants may lack in trendiness, they definitely make up for in pride and personal attention.  Hearing this young man's pride in his family's business and lament over loss of business due to the relocation of the hospital and major construction on the main road leading to the restaurant made me want to spread the word about this gem of a place.

Houa Khong Restaurant
85 East Street, Merced
209-722-5541