Meet the Ben, the Single Guy, our Top Commenter for the month of August. To thank Ben for being the top commenter, I want to showcase his site and ask him a few questions to introduce himself to you.
I first noticed Ben’s site because he was a commenter on mutual friend Carolyn Jung (the Food Gal)’s site. His was one of the few blogs I’d run into that was talking about eateries in the East Bay (Oakland, Berkeley) as well as San Francisco. I found out that we had something in common – we were both Hawaiian-born Chinese who had transplanted to the Bay Area. So we began commenting on each other’s sites.
Last year we had the pleasure of meeting up with him at a dinner at Carolyn’s house. Ben has a great sense of humor – just read all his snarky recaps of reality food tv shows like Top Chef. He’s a prolific blogger – keeping to a posting schedule that resulted in an amazing 1,000 posts in a little over 3 years – but his content is consistently high quality. In addition, he is a prolific commenter…which is why he’s the top commenter on the House of Annie this month!
The Interview
HA: What school you went?
TSG: McKinley High School, one of the oldest public high schools in Honolulu. There were 1,000-plus students in my graduating class.
HA: Tell us what your blog is about. What does it mean to you?
TSG: It started out as a blog for single people to help them get dinner on the table fast and easy. But it has turned into my discovery of food, which makes it even more personal.
HA: What’s your favorite place in the East Bay for noodles (any kind)?
TSG: Oh, you had to restrict it to the East Bay! Tough call because it’s harder for me to get around trying places on the East Bay without a car, compared to maybe San Francisco where I can just catch a bus somewhere. But in the East Bay if I’m looking for noodles, it’s usually Vietnamese pho and my favorite place is Binh Minh Quan. It’s not so much the noodles but the clean broth and fresh ingredients. It makes me happy every time I get a bowl. That’s right, it’s magic noodles!
HA: Any new favorite recipes that you’ve made recently?
TSG: I haven’t made that many new recipes lately, just making old favorites. But my most recent recipe was pretty outstanding, which was spicy pork with Chinese okra. It was something I just put together, just thinking what would make it taste good and it worked out on the first try. I love it when that happens because then I don’t have to do it again.
HA: Any travel plans? Can we look forward to more travel eating in the
near future?
TSG: I so miss traveling, which I try to do every year. But this year is the year of my kitchen renovations, so I’ve put off major travel until I can save up enough to renovate my kitchen. I hope to get that done in the next two months, and if there’s any money left, I’m hoping I can travel. My next dream spot would be Melbourne, but your posts recently have made me focus my attention on Japan, which I have never been to.
HA: Are you still the Single Guy? Why aren’t you dating?
TSG: Wow, treading on dangerous grounds there. The last time this topic came up I stormed out of the interview. But then again, that was with myself. 😛 [[http://singleguychef.blogspot.com/2009/10/my-1000th-post-but-really-whos-counting.html]]
But to answer your question, yes, I am still single. And yes, I am currently dating someone special. But technically I’m still single so I don’t have to change my blog name just yet.
HA: Thanks for being a great sport, and for answering our questions!
Leave a Comment…or 30
Want to be featured this month as our September Top Commenter? Start commenting today!
Aloha, Nate
Hey Nate and Annie, thanks again for featuring me! It was a lot of fun. Hopefully one day I can visit House of Annie in person! Aloha!
Ben,
whether in Malaysia, the Bay Area, or someplace in between, we will meet up again! 🙂
Aloha, Nate
Ben and his blog are awesome! I remember him from the U. of Hawaii where he was the journalism student extraordinaire. He doesn’t remember me, but I was still a Journalism 101 newbie hoping to one day become a PROFESSIONAL like him!
(And, yes, that’s my way of saying I’m younger than him. But not by much.) 😉
Jenster –
How interesting! I remember you saying you were born in Honolulu but moved away. Didn’t know you were a UH alum. Did you end up getting that journalism career?
Nate, I did end up working in journalism but now work in PR. Was a part-timer at The Honolulu Advertiser during my middle college years (loved it) and then a PR intern for two local corporations. Then I moved to the mainland and did a variety of related and non-related jobs, including editor of a community newspaper in Seattle, and now work as a part-time media relations coordinator for a small public-affairs firm.
I’m also a mom of two and really appreciate my flexible work hours!
Sorry — That was an essay, wasn’t it? 🙂
Jenster –
How very interesting! Are you one of those people who invite food bloggers whenever there’s a restaurant opening or introducing a new menu? (Not that we’d be interested in anything like that… )
How do you feel about the merger of the Honolulu Advertiser and Star Bulletin?
Unfortunately, we don’t have any food-industry clients, but if we ever do so, you and Annie and Ben are on the top of my invite list! For now, I’m just a food-fan.
I’m very sad about the merger and the demise of two-newspaper towns, especially when I have friends whose jobs are affected, butyou have to adapt with current conditions and keep going. In Seattle we lost our second newspaper, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, a few years ago, but it was reborn as a local news Web site. I actually read it more now than when it was a paper (since I subscribe to the competitor, The Seattle Times) and I hear they’re gaining more readers all the time. Change does force the resourceful to be more creative.
Aww, what an awesome way to thank commenters! Now I’m off to go check out Ben’s site, too, hehe.