My Public Garden

I'm often by my computer working, so I thought why not dump what I'm reading, listening to, or watching here. I jot down quick notes about Chinese content I consume, and AI helps generate explanations at different HSK levels, plus context about who made it and the history behind it.

Full disclosure: AI generates most of the reference material, so take it with a grain of salt!

Eventually I'd love to organize this into a searchable database with fun visualizations. For now, enjoy!

滿漢全席

Man Han Quan Xi (The Grand Banquet)

2025年12月31日 show HSK 4-5

Friend told me it was because of a TV show with the actor Zhang Dong Guan, she learned about Beijing Zha Jiang Mian. I found out the show is called Man Han Quan Xi (THe Great Banquet) 滿漢全席.

cookinghistorical dramacomedyChinese cuisine period dramacomedy

水杉

Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia)

2025年12月28日 experience HSK 5-6 China, United States

The Dawn Redwood. Last year I was shocked to learn that (1) there were redwood trees in China, that (2) a botanist brought them to America, and (3) that they planted them right where I was standing, at the UC Berkeley Arboretum. Well, today I was shocked again to find out that they were also planted at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, only 20 miles from where I grew up. And that they've been here a lot longer than all of us...

botanical historyliving fossilsSino-American connectionsnatural history discoverycultural exchangedeep timebotanical conservation

双八超市

Super 88 Market

2025年12月28日 experience HSK 4-5 Boston, Massachusetts, USA

I grew up in the Boston suburbs, but I don't know what Super 88 is. I guess it's probably I wasn't exposed to Chinese or Chinese American culture very much growing up as a Chinese adoptee. Anyways, my partner was shocked since it's an iconic Chinese grocery store. Sounds like I'll have to check it out next time we visit :)

Chinese grocery storesdiaspora cultureChinese American community cultural discoveryidentityfood culture

手抓饼

Hand-Grabbed Pancake (Shouzhuabing)

2025年12月26日 food HSK 3-4 Northeast China, Taiwan

我学习了咋么做抓饼！非常好吃～

street foodbreakfastcooking techniqueslayered pastry pancakesstreet snacks

稻香村饼干

Daoxiangcun Cookies

2025年12月25日 food HSK 2-3 Beijing, China

I ate 稻香村饼干 that my friend's mom had shipped from China. They were all very different designs, colors, and flavors! Such a treat!

traditional snacksChinese bakerygift culture traditional pastriescookiesbiscuits

越南华侨餐厅

Vietnamese Chinese Restaurant Experience

2025年12月25日 experience HSK 4-5 California, USA

I was at a Vietnamese restaurant and it was the first time that I saw Chinese written in the menu along side English and Vietnamese. My friend is 越南华侨 and she thinks the owners are too, there's a good amount in California. So she grew up eating both Cantonese food like clear brothed soups, as well as Vietnamese food, a lot of fresh seafood, veggies, and rice. I learned something new today!

diaspora cultureVietnamese ChineseCantonese cuisinecultural identity immigrationcultural fusionlanguage and identity

舌尖上的中国

A Bite of China

2025年12月22日 show advanced medium china

I watched the second episode of 舌尖上的中国, it was all about the different staples 主食 (this was a new word I learned!) across China. I probabably only understood 25% of it, but my partner helped fill in a lot of the gaps : )

foodculturegeographycraftsmanship documentaryeducational traditionregional-diversityculinary-heritage

打卤手工面

Hand-Pulled Noodles with Gravy

2025年12月22日 food intermediate china

昨天跟我的朋友和他的妈妈一起做了打卤手工面。这是打工的"打"，卤肉的"卤"。我们加了新鲜的刚采的香菇。非常非常好吃。好久没有跟她一起做手工面。我一年多前，那时候我还没去中国，开始学习中文，跟她一起做手工面，那是我第一次做手工面。所以我很开心，昨天我们可以又做手工面，都是非常好吃的。

noodleshomemademushroomsgravy traditional-cookingcomfort-food familytraditioncraftsmanship

风流一代

Caught by the Tides

2025年12月14日 movie advanced long china

I watched 风流一代 with my partner. I went in thinking it was a love story, but it felt pretty different from what I expected. Somehow, the main character went the whole movie without saying a single word. This was the first movie I've seen (in any language) where it's part documentary, part fiction. Would like to see more of his films in the future.

lovetimedisplacementmemory documentaryfictionart-filmexperimental unrequited-lovepassage-of-timesocial-changeloss

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