Obviously you know what movie I saw, so we’ll circle back to that in a moment. I promise no spoilers!  First, let’s talk about food.

Last weekend I got to visit my sister for my birthday.  She’s about 2,400 miles away from San Francisco – and traveling that far can make a girl hungry. Yup, we flew to Honolulu, HI.  And whenever my mom and I visit my sister, we usually do a lot of eating and try a good handful of new places.  This time, we ate at Piggy Smalls.

Opened by the same masterminds behind The Pig & the Lady, I knew Piggy Smalls was going to be fantastic.  Expect unexpected asian fusion combos galore here.  My personal favorite was the hurricane creamed corn.  For those that aren’t familiar with hurricane popcorn, it’s popcorn that has furikake seasoning and japanese rice crackers mixed in.  It’s another name for addictive deliciousness.  So hurricane creamed corn is creamed corn with furikake, rice crackers, and popcorn bits on top.  I’m sure there’s much more cooking involved than just throwing furikake on top, but I’m no chef, so I’m not even going to try to explain to you why this creamed corn was the best creamed corn I ever ate.  Other winners were the Laotian fried chicken and the fish of the day.  And bonus points because the whole place is sprinkled with pig memorabilia.  Please note the small Pua figurine to the far left in the photo below.  Piggy Smalls, it calls me!

Now on to Hidden Figures.  It was incredible.  I’m sure like many people, I never knew about these amazing WOC.  On the way out, even my sister said, “That’s crazy we never learned about people like that in history classes!”  And she’s right.  We should already know about these incredible women.  But what I love about this movie is that it shows how race, class, gender, and family values play a role in how these women live their lives.  It influences how they approach relationships, navigate the workplace, and ultimately, how they feel about themselves.   In the end, it’s what makes them stronger and smarter.  I also appreciate that the movie wasn’t an outright drama movie.  I’m not a huge fan of watching dramas in theaters since they tend to feel a little tooo heavy.   But Hidden Figures excellently addressed the impact of identity, while still retaining an element of fun and humor.

And with a full pig belly, I still decided to eat some real hurricane popcorn at the theaters.  And reclining seats?!  Yes, please.  I had to celebrate my birthday in style.💁🏻

I think I’d like to make this into a mini-series.  Every month or so, go out for dinner and a movie, then write up my thoughts.  We’ll see how I hold up.  Ok fine, it’s probably an excuse for me to go out for dinner and see a movie once in a while.  Can you blame a girl?! 🙂

ABW

OOTN:Dress: Free People, Shirt: Homecoming, Shoes: ZOU XOU, Angry Pig King Logo: Piggy Smalls