The People You Meet in Yum Yum

Last night I tried something new. Thought outside the box. Colored outside the lines. Broke the rules. Dared to be different. Tested my comfort levels. I dined with 5 complete strangers. *GASP*, yes, I said strangers. Actually, one of them, Courtney, wasn't a complete stranger. She is an awesome gal I met at a recent running event, but going into tonight, I knew very little of her. I had the pleasure of learning more about her life and seeing her infections personality spill over.

A week ago I had signed up for my first GrubWithUs dinner. It's a funky, mostly unknown, site that organizes dinners in various cities around the US and allows strangers to come together for a great meal and even greater conversation.

We all met at Yum Yum Hunan Garden in San Francisco and spent the next 1.5 hours covering conversations from work, to play, from pets to potstickers. All while enjoying a 10 course meal.

Some might think it uncomfortable to knowingly dine with strangers, but it was oddly beautiful and communal. I met 5 wonderful people from a Yelper, to a runner, to a gal who reminded me of my cousin Nina, from a dog lover to a fellow "work from home" guy, that I would otherwise have never met. The great thing about it is you get to try a vast array of the menu. Ours consisted of:

Hot & Sour Soup

Spinach & Tofu Soup

Vegetarian Pot-Stickers

Vegetarian Spring Rolls

Bok Choy w/Mushrooms

Vegetarian Orange Chicken

Salt & Pepper Tofu

Fried Bananas

*Not pictured is Kung Pao Tofu and Eggplant in Hot Garlic Sauce.

All in all, this was a fantastic experience. I will defintely come back to Yum Yum, will most certainly enjoy the experience of another GrubWithUs dinner and I hope to see the 5 strangers I met at a table of mine in the future.