maine in between

One of the twins in the twin lobster condo at Dock’s Seafood in South Portland, Maine

Last month, in between all of the moving and the packing and the renovating, we dumped our stuff and ran all the way up to Maine, where my cousin Grace was getting married. We flew into New Hampshire, and as soon as we crossed over the border into Maine we were on a hunt for lob-stah.

After some hemming and hawing (how many lobsters? where? how quickly?), we settled on Dock’s Seafood in South Portland, a decidedly local affair tucked just off a busy street in South Portland (although in Maine, are streets every truly busy?). The lobster and their house made lobster bisque were mind-blowingly delicious; the over two-hour wait we weathered while we waited for our order (placed at the counter) with hungry preschoolers who’d traveled 500+ miles earlier that day was not as awesome. Nevertheless, it was so tasty that we’ve already planned how we would theoretically overcome the slow service on our next visit (keywords: advance team).

At the Portland Head Light, we got a taste of the seascapes coastal Maine is known for (and Meimei braved the slide at the playground).

Top: the huge lobster roll and fries at Portland Lobster Company; bottom left: grilled swordfish; bottom right: lobster bisque

The Portland Lobster Company gave Ge Ge his first taste of lobster roll, which we all loved — it was lightly dressed with huge chunks of lobster to savor. The swordfish and chowder in a bread bowl didn’t disappoint, either.

Our “final” destination in Maine was an old inn north of Camden, where we reunited with bunches of family from Taiwan, the West Coast and Singapore. The kids, as you can see, did not enjoy it one bit.

Lobster roll at Marriner’s Restaurant in Camden – hey! this guy is round!

During our six-day stay in Maine, I made it my mission to eat lobster every single day. Lobster rolls, lobster bisque, steamed lobster — nothing was sacred. I ate it all.