Asian in a Strange Land

Van Hung Asian Market

Thanks to a tip from Daniel in the comments of my previous post about Van Hung, I found out that Van Hung simply moved to a better location.  Denise needed some light soy sauce and chili bean sauce to cook dinner with, so I went there to check it out.  Good selection and prices as always, and it’s great that the owners are always there to greet you and they remember all their regulars.  The new store is much nicer than the old one, and it looks a lot less cramped.  Good move, I say.  Despite the Oriental Supermarket opening up to deserved acclaim, I’ll still be a Van Hung regular for everything Asian except those few items that they don’t carry.  They’ve been in the community a long time and provided a tremendous service to the Asian and Asian-food-loving community for quite a few years, so I think they deserve our continued support.

Frozen section

Aisles of good stuff

Van Hung Asian Market
51 Place
637 Highway 51 North, #B & B1
Ridgeland, MS 39157

(601) 856-9638

Closed on Tuesday
Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat: 10am – 7pm
Fri: 10am – 9pm
Sun: 11am – 7pm

Store is on the opposite side of the street from where Google Maps says it is.  It’s on the northwest corner of the intersection of Highway 51 and W. Ridgeland Ave./Sunnycrest Dr.–on your left if you’re going north on Highway 51.

Tiger Roll and Tsunami Roll at Edo

Just a quick public service announcement reminding everyone that Edo is still the best sushi restaurant in Jackson.

Sofia's sushi

Sofia and her chipmunk cheeks agree.

Denise feeding Penelope Chicken Teriyaki

So would Penelope if she had sushi.  Not quite ready for that yet, so she had Chicken Teriyaki instead.

Sofia's first sparkler

I’m late as usual, but happy 4th of July.  Hope you had a great long weekend.  We went to the Mississippi Gulf Coast for a couple days (more on that in the coming days) and came back in time for the 4th.  We thought we would catch the fireworks here in Clinton on the 4th but they did them on the 2nd instead.  Lolwut???

Sofia got to play with her first sparkler, which she enjoyed immensely.  We also got a few other tame fireworks to play with, all of which were a big hit with Sofia and Penelope.

Going to town on a fruit bar

And of course there’s gotta be something food related.  Saw these Edy’s fruit bars on sale at Kroger so I picked up a box.  We got the non-Splenda sweetened Lime, Strawberry, and Wildberry assorted flavors.  Sofia is pictured here gnawing on a strawberry one.  They’re so good–made with real fruit.  The lime is refreshingly sour, and the strawberry tastes oh so strawberry-y.  Definitely getting the bigger ones soon (we tried the small ones this time).

E-P3 black no lens with pop-up flash

As anticipated, the Olympus E-P3 was announced today.  They also announced the E-PM1 and E-PL3 (“Mini” and “Light”), which aren’t as interesting to me due to lack of physical controls–much more touchscreen oriented.  Among the E-P3′s headliner improvements over the E-P2:

• Fast AF–not just faster, but actually fast!
• Built-in flash
• Much higher resolution screen on the back, touchscreen too
• Better video
• New sensor

Compared to the E-P1 you can also add the accessory connector to allow use of the very nice VF-2 electronic viewfinder.  So on paper it ticks all the boxes in terms of what I was looking for in an upgrade to the E-P1.  For me the big question marks are:

• Just how fast is the new AF?  Olympus claim outright fastest of any camera.  Bold, bold claim, but I’ll wait and see.
• How much has the noise and color rendition at high ISO improved?

Pending answers to those questions, I’ll start drooling from now until I can try one out in the store.  You hear me, Deville Camera?  You’d better stock some of these, and soon!

Second but just as exciting are the new 12mm f/2 (24mm equivalent) and 45mm f/1.8 (90mm equivalent) lenses.  These lenses are ones that many Micro 4/3 users have been clamoring for since the beginning–the 12mm because it’s a high grade lens with a beautifully made metal barrel (and I’m assuming stellar image quality too), and the 45mm because it’s the first lens to fill the common portrait focal length and aperture.  24mm equivalent isn’t a focal length I use much, but if the 12mm lens is great and can also be used for silent and quick AF during video I might have to retrain myself on it.  The 45mm lens I’m more immediately excited about since I’m familiar with the short telephoto focal length and have some good uses in mind for it.  Both of them look to be terrific additions to the Micro 4/3 family.

I went by Van Hung Asian Market in Ridgeland to pick up a few supplies, but the store was dark and when I peeked in the window the shelves and merchandise were all gone.  Have they moved or have they closed down completely?  Hopefully the former but I can’t find any info on what happened, so I fear the latter.  With the big Oriental Supermarket opening up business was bound to be tougher for them, but it’s a real shame if they had to close.  If anybody knows what’s up with Van Hung, please let me know.

Update 7/22/2011: yes, they’re still in business!

E-P1 family portrait

So I’ve been rolling with the Olympus E-P1 for 2 years now–time sure does fly.  I’ve used it and discovered its various joys and flaws along the way, so I figured I’d share a few thoughts from having used it and the Micro 4/3 system for the past couple of years. Click for more

Steve's Downtown Deli

This is a long overdue post on Steve’s Downtown Deli, one of the best lunch spots in downtown Jackson.  It’s the closest restaurant to my office, so whenever I’m in a rush or can’t be bothered to walk further for lunch, Steve’s is a constant standby.  Maybe I’ve taken them for granted all this time.  Forgive me, Steve! Click for more