Six questions for a San Marino Local: Dora Liang

Dora Liang owns local bakery/eatery Sweet & Savory. Dora is a friendly and vibrant lady with a deep love for her community.  Sweet & Savory is packed with delightful bites that taste as wonderful as they look. The concept for her shop comes from a complete commitment to very high quality ingredients and realization that as she got older she couldn't tolerate as many calories so she had to make each one count as much as possible. When I asked her what was special about her shop she said, "I am very particular about how food tastes, how it is presented, and the quality of the food. We try our very, very best to provide a sort of unique food experience."

Sweet & Savory is Dora's retirement project, she started the business in 2008 partially because she felt that she was going out shopping too much, now she spends lots of time shopping for the perfect ingredients for the treats in her store.

Each week I ask a San Marino resident six questions, and here is what Dora had to say:

What do you like most about San Marino?

San Marino to me is a little gem of a town, it has the feel of small town America but we are really accessible to all the big city activities. You can go to LA in ten minutes, you know, we are close to the Glendale theaters and Pasadena is just a hop and a skip away.

It's a very small town feel, and pretty much everybody knows everybody. Especially if your kids go to the public schools, and my kids did… it makes you feel very much a part of something.

Prior to living here I lived in another city for four years and I barely knew maybe three neighbors. Then, when I came here I knew all of my neighbors around the block, we have block parties, I go to the grocery store. I see people I know all the time. Which is good and bad, because now I can't really go out unkempt!

What is your favorite place to eat in San Marino?

Julienne is my favorite--actually I would say Julienne was my inspiration. I give a lot of credit to Susan Campos, because I went there and ate for the first time many, many, years ago, and I really loved her sensibility, and I loved the quality of her food.

What is your favorite place in San Marino to take a walk or go for a run?

Around Lacy Park and up Virginia road up into the hills…I'd love to live up in the hills. That's where I like to walk--it's one of the most beautiful parts of the city.

What is a little known fact about you?

I'm kind of an ADD person, I get bored very quickly…I designed kids clothes, I sold commercial real estate, I love to remodel homes…I'm a pharmacist, I just like to do a lot of different things.

What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

That's easy, Coffee.

If you didn't drive a car, how would you choose to get around?

Well of course I would prefer public transportation.  I grew up in San Francisco, so to me it's the most convenient thing in the world! I actually love public transportation because I can read, I can sleep, lots of things, you actually get lots of things done when you ride public transportation. Unfortunately LA is not really a city where that works as well as San Francisco.