My 2015 Holiday Letter

December 2015

5 Alban Mews

New Albany, Ohio 43054

Email me at: roderickchu@att.net 

Friend me on Facebook: www.facebook.co/rodchu

A holiday note to my family, friends, and colleagues —

A quick recap of my past year: I ate a lot and very well, but surprisingly managed not to gain weight! Now here are some details.

After a winter bout with the flu -- despite her annual flu shot -- that had Mom in the hospital for Christmas and New Years weeks and in her home for weeks more with intravenous antibiotic treatments, she recovered well and came back with me to Ohio to relax and recuperate, regaining her health and enjoying herself. It’s been a great pleasure to have her here with me for four extended visits and she has come to appreciate the pleasures of living in what has been rated as “America’s Best Suburb” (www.businessinsider.com). 

I continue to be active with Peace Lutheran Church in Gahanna, OH, and am honored to have been elected to the Board of Directors of Trinity Lutheran Seminary where I am bringing my past experience to its mission of forming leaders for Christ’s work in the world. I’m also delighted to have been elected a Life Member of the Cornell University Council, on which I have served since 1988.

Looking back on the 15,000+ photos I took in 255 events in this past year (not a surprise to my Facebook friends), I guess I’ve continued to be rather active. To my friends who aren’t shown in this letter: Let’s try to get more memorable photos together in 2016! And to all my family and friends: Please come visit me in Ohio so I can share the joys of living here with you!

Thanks to my terrific family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues for such a full and happy year. All my best wishes to you and yours for a special holiday season and a 2016 filled with peace and happiness -- and wonderful food!

Sincerely,

Rod

Mom’s Visits to New Albany

FEB & MAY-JUN: Recovered from her Xmas bout with the flu, Mom came to Ohio with me to relax and recuperate. Ambrose & Irene Ng and Ping & Virginia Chen invited us out and held dinner parties at their homes for us. We enjoyed seeing Edwaard Liang & his BalletMet’s new The Great Gatsby. Traditional Chinese Hot Pot dinner at Bethia & Andy Dehus’ home with young foodie friends. Many meals at Mom’s favorite dining spot, New Albany Country Club, including the sumptuous monthly Sunday buffet with friends, and meals in Easton, that we tried to work off in the NACC spa. Many trips to Scioto Downs Racino & Hollywood Casino, where Mom’s many bonus wins help keep her “entertainment fees” to a reasonable level.

AUG-SEP, NOV: Mom returned with me to New Albany and we again enjoyed many meals at the country club, entertaining Midge & Tally Krumm and other friends there. She came prepared with white outfits for this year’s Fete en Blanc picnic, with Mary Duffey, Tony Logan, & Sherran Blair. We joined Ping & Virginia Chen and S.L. & Theresa Lee at Ambrose & Irene Ng’s home for a delicious pot luck dinner. Mom came back in Nov. for more exercise at Hollywood Casino while I indulged at the nearby Supreme Buffet with AYCE sushi and stone crabs! NACC blessed us with even better food, with famed Columbus restaurateur Kent Rigsby taking over as the club’s Executive Chef. Still, the best food was at friends’ homes, as exemplified by the home-cooked pot luck dinner at the Chen’s with S.L. & Theresa’s Wintermelon Soup cooked in the whole melon. Our feasting culminated in fabulous Thanksgiving dinners at Irene & Ambrose’s home and NACC’s lavish and bounteous buffet.

Trips to San Francisco

JAN: On my way to L.A. for a conference, I stopped in San Francisco to meet nephew Steven’s lovely fiancée Shari. We had an incredible dinner at Zagat’s top-rated Gary Danko where we shared 15 courses we picked from their tasting menu. Steven accompanied me to the new Exploratorium, where he has volunteered, and lunch at anther top SF spot: Kokkari for octopus.

JUL: I met Laura & David in San Francisco for a little sightseeing and fine dining before Steven & Shari’s wedding. I hosted a pre-wedding dinner for us at the famed French Laundry in Napa with many luxurious dishes. Private wine tasting at Amista, where the owner sabered a bottle of bubbly in the couple’s honor. Beer tasting at Russian River Brewing Co. for their award-winning Pliny the Elder in our flight of 18. Visited the DeYoung Museum and its huge photomap of SF. Thanks to Andy Dehus, found terrific xiao long baos at the tiny Kingdom of Dumpling. Hiked up the colorful mosaic Moraga Steps. After the wedding, ferry to Alameda for more wine, beer, and spirits tastings. Thanks to Jessica Mah, found good dim sum in South SF at Hung To. Ended with beers at Park Chalet and a visit to the SF Botanical Gardens, just blocks from Steve & Shari’s apartment.

The Metropolitan Opera & the Opera Club

DEC ’14-NOV’15: I saw only 12 performances at the Met this year (my fewest!), but happy I could entertain new and old friends at some magnificent performances. The grand Triumphal March in Aïda with Ashley Le Liu & Patrick Gorman, from L.A. New Year’s Eve’s The Merry Widow with Tom & Pat Shiah. La Bohème with Marney & Joe Thomas in from Ithaca. In February, saw La Donna del Lago with Sherran Blair and Pat Shiah. Lucia di Lammermoor with Minalie Hsieh and Ray Chen. Michael Richardson came in from Chicago for the new production of Cavalleria Rusticana & Pagliacci and the next day for The Rake’s Progress with his Oxford classmate Nicholas Kadar. Started the fall season with the lavish Zeffirelli production of Turandot with UNIS classmate Bill & Cindy Ling. The new production of Otello (with Minalie & Jackson Hsieh and Ray Chen), The first of Sondra Radvanovski’s singing the three Donizetti’s Tudor queens in Anna Bolena (with Pat Shiah). And delighted to entertain C.C. & Harriet Tung, in from H.K., for Tosca and again, with Pat, for Turandot.

Weddings and A Monumental Birthday

JUL-AUG: Laura & David and I flew out to San Francisco for Steven & Shari’s intimate wedding in majestic City Hall. Many picture-postcard sites there and at the Palace of Fine Arts for the ceremony and post-wedding photos. Lunch for wedding participants at The Brixton. Steven & Shari had a reception luncheon 2 days later for their friends at their favorite Basil Thai restaurant. We got together again in NYC two weeks later at Michael Tong’s Shun Lee Palace for Mom’s Chinese wedding banquet and cake cutting for the bride & groom’s families to meet and celebrate with the newlyweds.

JUL: Steve George & Jeff Gatwood’s wedding at Lindey’s, filled with guests who made up a political Who’s Who of Ohio.

SEP: Mom & I were first in line among hundreds of family and friends - the glitterati of NY Chinese society - to wish Auntie Juliana Koo our best at her 110th birthday celebration in the Hotel Pierre’s Grand Ballroom. Her great-grandchildren performed with giant mahjong tiles recognizing her favorite pastime to keep her mind sharp and she led the group in dancing the night away. Thanks to Gene, Shirley, Oscar & Agnes for letting us all again honor Auntie Juliana’s inspiring life!

Cornell’s Trustee-Council Annual Meeting

OCT: Attended the annual Trustee-Council Annual Meeting as a new Life Member of the Cornell University Council. Beautiful fall sights around Ithaca. So good to see long-time friends Nels Schaenen & Bob Cowie and President Emeritus Frank Rhodes. Richy Petrina of Moët Hennessy USA had a champagne tasting for the Johnson Wine Club & friends. Also had a few wine tastings & dinners by my hosts Joe & Marney Thomas with the magnificent view from their home above Cayuga’s waters.

Enjoyed Getting Together with Family and Friends and Many Special Dinners

JAN, FEB, JUN, SEP, OCT: Elaine Lai invited Mom & I, Sharon, Tony, Teddy, & Tommy Lee, and my Cornell friend Gligor Taskovich, to dinner at her house in Bedford, and again at NYC’s tony Hakkasan with Jackson & Minalie Hsieh, to celebrate the western and Chinese New Years. We enjoyed fishing at the twin lakes of Elaine’s house, catching huge bluegills and largemouth bass that we took to Central Seafood where they cleaned and cooked the deliciously fresh fish for us at many dinners, including those for: Mom’s neighbors Jay & Jean Glassman and Drs. Miller & Fass who had restored her health; her longtime work colleague Stu Neill and his wife; and good friends Henry Shum, Chester Mah, and James & Elizabeth Wong.

JAN, MAR, APR, JUN, AUG: In NYC as Marney & Joe Thomas’ guest at Kelleri Taverna. Cornell’s Asian Alumni Assn Banquet, honoring Ginger So, as Henry Shum’s guest. Patty Tang’s guest at her 20th Anniv. Gala for the American Friends of the Shanghai Museum in the Morgan Library. I caught Karen and her colleague Kaylie Abela in from Boston, and Sacha Craddock in from London, for lunch at the Cornell Club. Ray Chen’s dinner at Taste of Hong Kong for food writer Daniel Young & family in from London. Always a treat to see my 103-year-old godmother Aileen Pei in her apartment with Zang Toi, Mom, & Patty.

WINE TASTING DINNERS - MAY, NOV: Joined young foodie friends Katie Chio & Adam Einhorn, Bethia Wolf & Andy Dehus, and Bear & Kristen Braumoeller at Rigsby’s Kitchen for Silas Caeton’s first Cellar Selection Dinner as Executive Chef. (Alas, it was a brief tenure as Rigsby’s closed on Nov. 8 due to a huge rent hike.) Hermitage wine tasting at The Refectory featuring 7 luscious wines paired with Chef Richard Blondin’s exquisite food. Mom & I joined C.C. & Harriet Tung, Tom & Pat Shiah and others as Hamburg & Miranda Tang’s guests for NYC’s famed Four Seasons Restaurant’s lavish Bordeaux wine tasting reception and dinner with 14 wines. (Sadly, this historic NYC restaurant will also be closing due to a big rent hike.)

JAN, MAY, JUN, AUG, OCT: Pop-up dinners by some of Columbus’ most interesting chefs at Kate Djupe’s The Commissary that “connects those who love to cook with those who love to eat” - Avishar Barua & Silas Caeton (Veritas Tavern); Matt Heaggans (Flatiron Bar & Diner); Lara Pipia (Freedom a la Carte); Bill Glover (Gallerie Bar & Bistro). Other special dinners with: Tom Smith at Slow Food Columbus’ Taste of the Midwest Dinner at the Worthington Inn; Plate’s Alfonso Contrisciani at SFC’s Shake the Hand that Feeds You VIII at Folsom Pine Farm; with Angela Liu at Flatiron for Matt Heaggans’ Tiger Mushroom Farms Dinner; Bill Glover at Gallerie for his James Beard House Dinner and SFC’s Taste of the Midwest II Dinner.

Printed 2015 Letter

I fit all the above into one double-sided legal sheet to include with my Christmas cards. I used Adobe InDesign to lay it out. If you'd like a hard copy, I'd be happy to mail you one - just send an email with your mailing address to me at roderick.chu@att.net.