Lingbo Li
Getting Rejected at Harvard
A topic close to my heart. I write about my rejection/waitlist/eventual meaningless victory in this week’s Crimson column on Harvard’s first science of cooking class.
(The photo is really old. I no longer have bangs. Also, I just… Ok, I’ll stop. Not a fan.)
I’ve been absent from blogging as of late because school has proven to be a sleepless whirlwind. But no fear, I have a grab bag of photos to share soon! Here’s a taste:
Lobster gnocchi at newly opened Deuxave in Back Bay
My lab partner and I in the science of cooking class, ready to make our pressure cooked custards. I think I closed my eyes? Don’t answer that question.
Mmm… this is what my Saturday brunch looked like! Maki (snow lady? snow something?), octopus carpaccio, and general tempura-laden deliciousness at Super Fusion in Brookline.
The Ugly Truth About Beauty Pageants
Looking at this 2011’s Miss New York USA’s top 7 unearths no new memories. The white-garbed winner, Amber Collins, took the lead. About one year ago, I entered and lost my first beauty pageant in that same hotel – and I’ve mentally walked through every moment of that weekend five times over.
What you don’t see from looking at the photos or watching Miss USA in the spring is how these women get there. How low rent state-level competitions are. How the contestants who never get anywhere look. It’s a bizarre and fascinating experience, one that I wouldn’t dissuade any woman from trying out herself.
I can only describe it as a brain-bending, empty calorie endorphin rush, like drinking a pink can of Tab in one enormous gulp. It’s watching the water turn brown as you wash off the pancake makeup. It’s the exhaustion as you perfectly turn out one false eyelash for the fifth time. The headiness of a post-workout glow, then staring yourself down in the gym mirror, hair wispy and skin sallow. Then you look around and realize that all your efforts are for naught – the girls who end up in the top ten rigged the genetic lottery in their favor.
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Harvard Food Science Class Promises 50% Kill Rate
I got this email just now, regarding that Harvard food science class I lotteried for:
Currently, over 670 students have signed up for the lottery for Science of the Physical Universe 27: Science and Cooking. Today’s lecture is NOT a shopping class. Only 350 students will be allowed to attend the class because of fire code regulations. Students may begin lining up at 12:30 p.m. Students who are admitted into the classroom should plan to stay for the entire class and will not be allowed to re-enter the classroom if they leave.
We will have overflow rooms in Emerson 105 and Science Center Rooms 309 & 309A with live streaming of the class. In addition, students will be able to watch live streaming of the class on the course website. The video of the class will be posted on the website as well within a few days.
You will be notified about the results of the lottery by 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
Uh, great. 50% chance in lottery, essentially no recourse if it falls on the wrong 50%. A TF told me that some students sent in two page essays listing out why they should get into the class. You can look forward to an incensed YouTube video if I don’t get in. They should have done the lottery with preference for Asian girls named Lingbo. (Ok. How about that us seniors are graduating and still need the Science requirement? Eh? Eh?)
Take that, random number generator.
On the plus side, El Bulli’s Ferran Adria is the lecturer today.
(But what about the class lottery?!!)
Myers + Chang in Boston – Dim Sum Review
Myers + Chang in Boston doesn’t fall under the category of Chinese restaurants.
Yet I frequently hear it compared to one. Chinese food in the US, as Jennifer 8. Lee would say, is the true American cuisine. It has wooed the stomach of millions. Its takeout vessels have become iconic of American culture itself. It is the gateway cuisine to other Asian foods. Myers + Chang (not Meyer’s and Chang) is the post-gateway restaurant.
Asian food has been pigeonholed mostly as… efficient. There are grease-cheap Chinese food joints that seem minted from a humorless factory line. The only ambience in these outposts is the sparkle of a sputtering neon sign. Then there are the cramped Chinatown places that Chowhound loves, serving regional specialties and packing serious heat.
But as in any major market, there’s room for niche players. Myers + Chang in Boston has angled itself as a pan-Asian restaurant with all the trappings of a hip bistro. It’s menu is self-aware, even preciously trendy (Asian chicken and waffles, anyone?). There are gluten-free options. It has the benefit of nimbleness without the issue of catering to the lowest common denominator.
Entrees are around $11-17. The waiters don’t wear those awful black vests. Food arrives on nice plates. My coke had a pink twisty straw and a lime wedge. There’s an open kitchen, a crimson dragon print on the windows, and airy, uncluttered seating. You could take a date here, not spend a ton, but not look cheap.
Some people might complain you can get more “authentic” food for less money in Chinatown.
I would say they’re missing the point. Even though I love the divey food experience, sometimes you just want the rough edges sanded off your Saturday dim sum brunch, you know? I appreciate atmosphere. Sometimes you have to fight for your food in a Chinese restaurant and that makes me cry a little inside. It reminds me too much of being in China, the one that travel agencies don’t talk about..
Plus, those places don’t make things like fried egg banh mi! Myers + Chang does. (I took these photos with my Canon Rebel XS, for those interested in such things.)
I tried a few dishes off their weekend dim sum menu.
Inside Harvard’s New Science of Cooking Class
Ten minutes before Science of the Physical Universe 27 — better known as the food/science extravaganza that’s bringing in Ferran Adrià (El Bulli), Wylie Dufresne (wd-50), and José Andrés (minibar, Jaleo) to campus — the doorway was already mobbed. See the press release about the food science class here. .
There’s a seven minute rule at the school. Classes never start on time; students always arrive at least a few minutes after the hour. But this was something different. By the time Applied Math and Physics Professor Michael Brenner pushed his way to the door (see video below), anxious students were ready to charge through the doors.
Finally, I managed to run over to a seat, but not before almost being trampled over. People were sitting in the aisles, standing in the back, and between the seats. Some ended up just leaving in defeat.
The class sounds amazing. You can read through my notes after the jump. Except… it’s being lotteried with no preference for seniors! Even though it’s probably going to be offered again next year (albeit, with different speakers). I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll get in, but will be pretty upset if I don’t. Sigh. I’m sure taking intro to Computer Science will take up enough of my energy…
Anyway, if you’re curious about happened in that first lecture, check out my notes.
Notable events: Brenner made some insta-gel using Calcium Chloride. He also fried an egg, had students whisk up some mayonnaise, and promised that we’d make custards, sous vide eggs, molten chocolate cakes and use MEAT GLUE to make shrimp noodles. Man.
Also, there were some bizarrely actor-like chef photos that caused the audience to explode into giggles. Dan Barber of Blue Hill, I’m looking at you.
Lana Lingbo Li
I'm a world traveler / enthusiastic eater who's now blogging and producing videos over at HelloLana.com. Visit me there!
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