Best WONTON soup in the city

A While a go I decided not to write about restaurants in my blogs anymore. I figured that there were enough people who wrote reviews and they could do much better job then I can.... So what changed my mind?... well, the wonton soup and noodles are extraordinary here that I just had to make sure that everyone knew about this place.

When you order pot stickers at any restaurant more then likely it was not made their, if it was, then they just made the filling and wrapped it with factory made skin. Well, Katy's Dumpling is something really special, they make all of their dumplings (pot stickers included) from scratch. For Italian food lovers you know what I am talking about, fresh homemade pasta vs. store bought dry pasta... yes? Place is in a small strip mall next to a Indian gift shop. When you walk through a small glass double doors, you will find a refrigerator filled with ready to take home food, and there is counter where you order before you sit down (maybe 8 tables?). In the back there is a small kitchen filled to the brim with pots and pans, with one cook and one wok. He makes everything with this one wok. It is amazing to watch this cook move around reaching for this and that to produce wonderful dishes.
But by far my favorite is "the house special wonton soup". The dumplings are huge and skin is perfectly aldante, soup is clear chicken stock. It is seasoned with tons of fresh garlic and herbs. The balance of flavor is wonderful when eaten hot, and the fresh greens that are added at the last minute is refreshing.
You can purchase potstickers in quantities of 50 to take home and cook it yourself.. Huge bargain... and they are delicious....

Katy's Dumpling House
665 N. Cass Ave.
Westmont, IL 60559
(630) 323-9393

Hours: 11am – 9pm
Closed Wednesdays
Cash only

iPad and what it means for me....

Do I want one or not... well at first I thought, it is just a bigger version of the iPhone, but the more I read about the potential of the iPad, I can see that I would like to have one --- NOW. Do you remember the newspaper in Harry Potter, where the magic makes all the pictures comes alive? Well, iPad has the capability of streaming magazines, books and newspapers photographs. It is like a video or having "you tube" for each segment. I am thinking that by the time the next generation of children are in grade school, they will be asking "What do books look like?" Anyway, as a photographer, I can see that I will need to learn Video on top of new technologies about photographs and acquire a program that I can edit videos with.... One more thing on my list. I own a Canon G9 digital camera, and use the video quite often, but now I will have to really learn...... There is a great article by Michael Reichman on his blog site iPad and Video Convergence

Wishing for Spring

It is cold and grey....I am wishing for sun and warmth...Spring has to be just around the corner......

"Take Aim" A Juried Photography Exhibition

Today I found out that out of three photographs that was accepted into the "Take Aim" A juried Photography Exhibition at Bloomingdale Museum, Bloomingdale, Illinois "Oak Fairy" received the Fourth place ribbon. Yes, it is not the best of show or even the first place but with over 150 photographs entered, I am quiet happy with the white ribbon and a check.

Two Photographs below my "Oak Fairy" is "Autumn Water" and "Water Lilies" by my good friend AiChen Ho who received a blue ribbon for her honorable mention. She is an amazing landscape photographer who prints all of her works and is an amazing person.

Lose It! Keeps Track of Your Weight Loss

Lose It! Keeps Track of Your Weight Loss

I love "Lose It" app. for iPhone. It is so easy to keep track of what I eat and how much exercises I do (or not) each day. I know that if you consume less calories than you burn you will loose weight, but this is the first gadget that made me realize that if I exercises I can eat more. Check out the link and read it for your self, for me this has been actually fun... maybe I will loose some weight.

Fingerless Gloves

When I go out to photograph in the cold weather, the tips of the gloves get in the way of being able to move the little control dials, on and off switch, and other little buttons and such on my camera. So, after going into the woods without any protection to my hands and freezing them, I decided to buy the fingerless gloves. I found this one at Urban Outfitters for $25.00. Color doesn't match anything that I own, but it has fleece lining for extra warmth and has this wonderful flap that I can flip it over my fingers.


I found other fingerless gloves that are really cute like this one at jaykayknits














or the felt gloves at Pine blossoms









or lacy one at Uniquely Chic For You

Winter Walk in the Woods

This morning when I woke up the whole area was covered in a fog and every branch and blade of grass was covered with ice crystals. So, despite the cold I decided to go for a walk with my camera. I have no idea what I was thinking of, but went out the door with my regular shoes and no gloves. What a mistake.... trails were covered in several inches of snow and below that it had iced up and old footprints that froze in place made it slippery and hard to get footings. It was below freezing so my hands immediately became ice cold and stared to hurt. But, I wanted to photograph the ice crystal covering the branches and grasses. So I tracked along the trail, taking me twice as long as I had expected, so by the time I reached where I thought would be a perfect place for a photo opp. sun had come out and most of the ice crystals were gone... disappointed I started heading back.... then I saw this WOW... bright green pine needles against orange Oak leaves and ice crystals covered grasses in front and the barely visible cardinal... I did not get to photograph what I had hoped but sometimes it is what is totally unexpected that excites you....

Magnetic Photo Rope

When I saw this Magnetic photo rope from Photojojo, I thought, YES!!!! Hang the rope with a weight on the bottom from a pushpin or a nail, using strong magnets that comes with it to put any photo's on the rope and wallah.... I have photo's on the wall.... it is so easy to change and arrange and without the hassle of usual measuring, hammering.... well you get the picture..(no pun intended)

Dale Chihuly glass art

I am at awe every time I see Dale Chihuly's glass art. It is huge, colorful, organic, different and the light that emanates from each one of them is amazing. I have seen his work in Las Vegas, San Francisco and at the Museum of Glass at Tacoma Washington, Bridge of Glass, but by far my favorite and totally unexpected place to see the Chihuly glass is at the second floor of Downers Grove Library. It sits on a pedestal at the top of the stairs next to the door encased in a glass box totally unannounced and glowing. If you have a chance, drop by and see this magnificent work.

Frozen Mississippi River

On the way back from our Ski trip (see last entry) we drove by the Mississippi River. It was frozen at places, and the ice was pushed up against each other. The sun was just setting down and bathed the whole area in this warm glow. I just could not pass up the opportunity to photograph this magnificent site. We were all tired, and son #2 was fast asleep on the back seat, but figured how could I pass up this golden moment? .....I stood right up against the guard rail in the snow while the cars were whizzing by scared to death that at any moment one of the cars will hit me, but I am glad I stopped and took these photographs....

Skiing trip to Chestnut Mountains -- Galena Illinois

As my guys winter break are coming to an end, we decided to take a little trip to Chestnut Mountains to go skiing and snowboarding. The night before I had a nightmare that I couldn't stop at the bottom of the slopes and crashed... well, it has been a while, but how hard could it be? they says that it is like riding a bike, you never forget .... well, as soon as I tried to go down the bunny hill I fell and could not get up. I needed a friend to push me up. Well,I thought maybe a little lesson will re-fresh me.... So, I took a beginners lesson with son #1 since this was his first time on skis.....he did great, never crashed.... me on the other hand...."get out of my way, get out of my way..." was loudly heard in front of me, oh yeah it was me screaming to get all the little kiddies to move so that I won't crash into them.. my nightmare did come true... never learned to stop... just crashed... fell off the lift and got run over. My son #2 did great, only second time on the snowboard and he took off with his friend down the vertical slopes... wow.... He just waved and disappeared.... mean time... I had to concentrate so not to crash and "hands in front... hands in front.." was my mantra for the day...

The year of the Tiger -- 2010

Happy New Years to all of you. I just love the first day of the new years. I feel as though everything is brand new and fresh.... Whatever I have accomplished, or not last year, I can either do better, or forget about it, start totally anew..I think everyone can use a new beginning once in a while, well in this case once a year... Though I don't follow astrology or fortune tellers and such on regular basis, I do occasionally dopple in them. Since today is the first day of the year, I thought I should go back to my roots, and review the Chinese Zodiac -- the year of the Tiger. For fun take a look at jasswin s blog site and find out what to expect this year for your sign. Mine says be proactive and make an effort and save money... well what's new....

2010 here we come.....