In late September last year, I had a packed weekend in San Francisco.

First, Chris, Dustin, Jeff and I drove up. We met up with Geoffrey, who was in town from Seattle to hang out with his Hong Kong friends. We had some brunch at Sweet Maple. Unfortunately, I wasn’t on top of taking photos and ended up only with this photo of my omelette. A few of us ordered their signature item, the Millionaire’s Bacon. I haven’t got the hang of bacon yet, so I’ll reserve judgement on that for now.

Afterwards, Chris and Geoffrey headed out together to hang out. Dustin and Jeff left to do some shopping.

I went over to Dan’s house for a potluck and Columbia reunion. I saw a lot of familiar faces and made some new friends. Unfortunately, I again didn’t take any photos. >.<

After that, I found some parking in the Mission (which was an adventure of its own) and met up again with Jeff and Dustin. When it came time for dinner, we got an Uber to Ssisso in Japantown. Not pictured is Jeff’s roommate in SF, Ari. He is the most punny guy I have ever met and really smart dude. We met JJ there and had some decent Korean food.

After dinner, we Ubered back home and played games and talked about life, philosophy and other topics late into the night.

The next morning, we met up with Jeff’s other roommate, Majd and walked to Starbelly for some brunch.

The second maple bacon item of the weekend! This time it’s doughnuts.

Many pictures were taken of the doughnuts.

Jeff and Majd ordered pizzas. I’ll probably order a pizza the next time I go.

I had the chilaquiles with chorizo. It was delicious. The chorizo added some spice and the salad kept things light.

After brunch, we parted ways with Majd and went back to Japantown where we happened upon a cosplay contest. If you look closely or click for the larger image, you can see a girl dressed as Naruto posing for pictures.

We spent a lot of time at Kinokuniya, the Japanese bookstore.

We stopped by Nijiya for some snacks and drinks.

Then, we continued walking around the area, trying on clothing at Mission Workshop, buying some stationary at Itoya Topdrawer and browsing through Aqua Forest Aquarium, Ocean Aquarium and Utsuwa Floral Design.

Dinner was at Cordon Bleu, a Vietnamese restaurant in Nob Hill.

I loved it. No waiters, small menu, huge portions and delicious food.

It’s a hole in the wall with a small bar around the kitchen. There were only a few people behind the bar including the owner. I ordered the mapo tofu, though next time, I’ll probably order one of the chicken dishes they are famous for.

If you are in the area, you have to go. A regular was sitting next to us and she couldn’t stop talking about how much she has loved the place for the last decade.

On our way to our next destination, I spotted this beautiful car. I usually don’t like pinstriping or fancy paint jobs, but this C3 Corvette is an exception. The copper and gold stripes perfectly compliment the Corvette’s lines and the white base coat.

I can just imagine myself riding it down a long straight road in New Mexico with the t-top down.

Also, take a look at the typeface Chevrolet used for the nameplate. So unbelievably cool.

We topped off the night with a stunning concert at the Regency Ballroom.

Nils Frahm was the first to perform. Just like all the performers that night, he is a classical trained musician that has reached his own unique sound through experimentation and refinement. He produces sounds on the piano that are captured, distorted, looped and processed on electronics. The result is a trace-inducing cross between classical and ambient music.

During his set, a tipsy Ólafur Arnalds (the headliner for the concert) walked out to stage and performed a seemingly improvisational duet for 4 hands with Nils.

The next to perform was Hauschka. I was actually listening to a lot of Hauschka around that time, but I never realized he would be at the concert. It was a great surprise and pleasure to hear him in person.

If you haven’t listened to his music, you should at least listen to a few pieces. He is best known for a technique called prepared piano, where performer alters the piano by placing objects on the inside of the piano. The nature of each object and the placement of the object can enormously transform the sound. What used to be middle C on the piano could then be the sound of a tambourine or could sound like C on a harpsichord. Hauschka and his assistants took at least 10 minutes before he started, just to prepare his piano.

I think the highlight of his performance was a piece in which he removed objects during its course. Then, he abruptly shifted from a quieter, simpler, sound to a deep, rich sequence with many voices. It was a change from an instrumental or electronic sound to a distinctly piano sound. If you are a dubstep or hip-hop fan, you might have even called it a “drop”.

Almost 2 hours into the concert, Ólafur returned to the stage. As was expected, his part of the performance was nothing short of amazing. His music is art in the purest sense. At first, it seems simple and flowing, but as you listen, you start hearing the subtleties and complexity that come together to create that ostensibly simple sound. You can tell that he wields a vast array of techiques, but applies only the ones that are appropriate.

I’m in awe of people like Ólafur. They push the envelope on composition, production and performance all at the same time.

This concert was special. The acoustics, the lighting, the crowd and the performers were almost all perfect. These components culminated in an unforgettable, moving experience. I know that Dustin, Jeff and Sophia, would agree.