Musings of an Australian in San Francisco

Despite being known for it's fog ( which by the way was given the name Karl by locals and happens to have its own Twitter account ) it's actually not uncommon to have a sunny day with blue skies in San Francisco. But a sunny day that is also warm ( i.e. over 25 degrees C ) is rare and when it happens it is loved by all, especially us Aussies who are used to blistering hot summers.  The only thing about a hot day in San Francisco is that the city is kinda unprepared for it. I don't know a single person in the city who owns an air-conditioner and it's almost impossible to see ( public or private ). I think there is one pool at the UCSF campus in the Sunset and I suspect there may be a few mansions with pools along Billionaire's row.  I guess this type of ill-preparedness for the warmth is not too dissimilar with how Australian's prepare for winter. Most houses in Australia (unless new builds) are just not prepared for the cold. Houses generally have pret...

I didn't realise how quintessential a good bowl of laksa was to the Australian diet until I moved to San Francisco. Growing up in Sydney, a delicious creamy bowl of laksa was easily accessible from pretty much any local "Asian"* takeaway joint or food court. If you worked in Sydney's CBD then you've probably had some amazing laksa for lunch on Hunter Street, Wynyard on a cold winters day. But ask most people in the Bay Area if they know where to get laksa, they'll probably ask you in return "What's laksa?"... to which your heart might just sink into a dark dark place with the sobering realisation that you are living in a dystopian reality without laksa . If you're Australian you know that almost nothing else can satisfy the flavours and textures that your body seeks when it seeks laksa. The coconut-ty / slightly fish sauce-y broth, a bowl filled to the brim with noodles, bean sprouts, chicken, prawns, fish cakes and maybe a boiled egg, an...