A Coastal Girl's Weekend of Seafood Redemption in DC

Such a wonderful weekend 😢 On Friday night, I came across Jessie Taylor Seafood on Xiaohongshu and sent it to a friend, suggesting we go sometime. My friend immediately sent me the route and said, "I want to go so badly—let's go this weekend." So on Saturday, we biked all the way there. So cheap and such great value 💸 Oysters for $11 for six, blue crabs for $18 a dozen (but the guy gave us 17) (tax included, no tip required)... Never thought I'd find food cheaper in the U.S. than in my hometown... The oysters were shucked right after buying, and the crabs were steamed on the spot after being packed... So my friend and I stood at the pier, eating from daylight until dark (why does it get dark so early even after switching to winter time...). And the weather on Saturday was just perfect... We even saw a gorgeous sunset 🌅. A funny side note: There were so many Chinese people here lol. My friend arrived a bit earlier than me and was alone when someone asked in English to take a photo for them. When they handed over the phone, the interface was entirely in Chinese. So while taking the photo, my friend naturally said, During a break, we went to the nearby pier to watch the sunset and saw a group of uncles who you could tell were Chinese without them even speaking—the "retired cadre" vibe was strong 😂. My friend said, "My dad would fit right in here," and I said, "This place feels just like the seaside back home where the uncles hang out." When buying crabs, we weren't sure how it worked—there were two lines, lots of people waiting, but no one was paying. While observing, an older sister came over and asked a guy in front of us in English. As he explained, I leaned in to listen. He looked at me, then at her, and before finishing his first sentence, asked, "Are you Chinese?" He then explained the process in Chinese, and we followed the sister to buy our crabs, learning from her to buy half male and half female. The crab seller then took us with his basket to get them steamed, where we met an auntie with a stroller—who turned out to be the sister's mom! Of course, we couldn't finish all the 🦪 + 🦞 + 🦀, so I spent Sunday picking crab meat at home while watching two movies... But the perfect weekend is about to end 😢 I don't want to face reality... #LifeInTheUS #OverseasLife #Seafood #GiftFromTheSea #SeafoodByTheCoast #SeafoodFreedom #SeafoodLover #HowCoastalPeopleEat #InternationalStudentCooking