A Day in the Life: South Bay Edition

A lot of my friends live in the south bay and have been talking up a few places. It was just a matter of time before they let me in on their recent finds....

Korean bakery - what?? I didn't know such things existed. Paris Baguette is like a Guppy's/85 Degrees but Korean-owned although you wouldn't be able to tell. They have a lot of modern/westernized Asian pastries, some more traditional Korean buns, and of course, shaved ice. There isn't any point of reference in the photo, but our "mini" size could feed like 5 people.

A green tea cream cheese pastry, and a pastry filled with sweet potato mochi (very interesting and unexpected, texture-wise)

There's also an older Chinese man who sells roasted sweet potatoes in the same Korean plaza. Brings me back to China! Too bad it's freaking hot, or else I would've gotten some.

And then there's Mama Chen! Apparently this is the place to be for Taiwanese cuisine, and you can tell how popular it is by the availability of their dishes. Even at 7pm, they had run out of cucumbers and beef noodle soup. I will just have to go back another time! Mama Chen is also sporting a new 'do, much more chic than her previous stylish perm.

A glutinous rice bun filled with meat and stuff, doused in ketchup sauce. A little too chewy for my taste, but interesting (I can see why Cynthia likes this stuff). Lo mien, refreshing cold noodles with a touch of sesame oil.

Pork chops, flavorful and tender. Taiwanese sausage is much sweeter than its Canto counterpart, and Jess had to get popcorn chicken in the foreground

Ketchup fried rice with an omelet on top. Tofu skin filled with meat and onion, then deep fried (served with ketchup sauce of course).

We capped the day with some "roti" bread from Honeyberry, this yogurt shop that also sells other random sweets. Roti bread has absolutely no relation to the flaky, fried roti of southeast Asian cuisine. It's pretty much a Chinese pineapple bun, but the draw is that it comes in different flavors (plain which is mocha-ish, butter, and green tea) and they warm it up so it's nice and toasty right out of the oven. Really nothing special, but the craze is really impressive in itself.

Thus concludes my south bay day. It was really like being in a foreign land.

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Pre-Thanksgiving

November is always insanely busy, even before Thanksgiving. This year... bachelorette in Napa, 24 hrs in LA, Mike's birthday + his family visit, lots of potlucks, Mom's birthday, my birthday!

Dinner at Redd: not as amazing as I thought it would be, but it was a solid meal

San Tung and Zuni - SF classics

Dishdash lamb marinated in yogurt... amazing and much tastier than 53rd+6th halal cart; Citizen Cake pudding pop... chocolate overpowers all other flavors

Other things...
Savory bread pudding
Zankou chicken
Soup galore: butternut, split pea w/ ham, lentils + chard
Hobees

Tanto

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You're A Wolf

Alice and I finally tried MSF's latest venture - lunchtime burgers served out of a corner in Duc Loi supermarket. After walking past the beautiful swan squash, Kern's horchata, and bottles of Mad Housewife, we patiently awaited our fried chicken sandwich and beef burger.

Now friends, this is no Bakesale Betty fried chicken. It's difficult to tell from the photo (greasy hands) but it ended up being exactly like the fried taro balls you can find at most dim sum restaurants. Kind of furry and full of oil, this sandwich was overwhelmed by the friedness and we could barely taste the chicken. We both regretted eating our entire halves after the meat sweats began.

However, Mission Burger was more than redeemed by its true star, the burger. Different cuts of meat from Harris Ranch were ground into a very coarse and perfectly molded patty. I don't think I've ever had a burger with such a coarse grain, but perhaps it's to maintain the integrity of the meat (who knows, it's SF).* The caramelized onions had a good amount of char on them which gave a lot of flavor, but almost overpowered the meat. As a whole however, the burger was delicious and I wish I had gotten only that.

We capped off the meal with a cookies n cream cookie from Anthony's Cookies. $1 is a bit steep for a small cookie, but hey there are bills to pay.

* Their explanation: "granulation is our term for the process popularized by Heston Blumenthal, a michelin 3-star chef based in London. Blumenthal combines strands of ground meat to create a loosely grained 'meat column' (not Blumenthal's phrase), then slices the column into patties. The result is, well, a delicacy."

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Hello, Goodbye

It's been over a month since Mike moved into his new condo, but we finally introduced ourselves to his hood by having a food crawl down Piedmont Ave. We started at Adesso, Dopo's semi-new sister bar with quite a selection of salumi and other small plates. Very well aware that they have happy hour with free food from 5-7pm, we clocked in just before it ended but I guess they stop serving food around 6:30pm. My wallet was sad, but that didn't stop us from ordering.

One of the absolute best things about Adesso is the integrity of their menu. In both the drinks and food we tried, you could taste how each individual flavor component contributed to the dish/drink as a whole. It was straight and simple - transparent and exactly what you expected.

Salumi was essentially a similar experience to Dopo, rabbit pate was a bit dry, sardines w/ mozzarella were refreshing and not fishy at all, and the risotto balls w/ pork ragu in the middle were AMAZING. Good thing they only gave us 5 because I could eat them endlessly.

The drinks were also really tasty. They have a large selection of wine and beer in addition to their cocktail and aperitif menu. From the five we tasted, they were all deceptively strong and incredibly delicious. The pisco sour left a lasting impression on Mike - he was still talking about it the day after. The pisco sours I've had in the past usually have more of a frothy egg white on top, but this one was so thick that it almost seemed like they were whipped with some sugar. It was also topped with a sprinkling of spices that made me think of vanilla chai. The strawberry-cucumber-mint cocktail was my favorite. It was just a perfect summer drink, as girly as it may be.

Despite our hefty bill (about $100 for 2 ppl, inc. tax and tip), I would definitely return. The quality of the food is very high, and the atmosphere is still down to earth and chill. Too bad it's so far for me, because I would otherwise try to get there at 5!

After our delicious experience at Adesso, we somehow thought it would be a good idea to ruin it by going to Cesar. I'd been once before to the Berkeley location years ago (my 21st birthday, when my palate newly discovered a taste for "fine" food) and it was a terrible experience, but Mike had never been so we figured we'd stop in for some more tapas. The food was warm and comforting, with a lot of spreads, stews, and essentially anything you can dip your bread into. While satsfying, it was still another case of a menu far exceeding the actual execution of the dishes. Mike likened the atmosphere to Cheesecake Factory, but I wouldn't go that far. It was indeed much larger than its intimate Berkeley counterpart and the techno music didn't really help, but hey it's Piedmont. You can't be that picky. =)

We ended the gluttonous evening with, of course, Fenton's. I'm actually not a huge fan of their ice cream, but its popularity really stems from being a long-established institution of the community. Oh yeah, and I guess Up. Regardless, I enjoyed my second ice cream of the evening, coffee + cookies!

The next day, we also stopped into the new Berkeley Bowl (West) and its adjoining cafe. My first time was actually last week when I was picking up some fruit for a wedding, but this was my first time actually exploring it in its spacious glory. Selection is comparable, but it just feels like more because the warehouse is so Costco-like. The cafe is still working out many kinks in efficiency and menu (mostly sandwiches and salads), but the old burrito and Panda-Express-quality "Chinese" food is still available in the market-side.

So while we said many hellos this weekend, there were also many goodbyes. My absolute favorite shop and ice cream store closed its doors this weekend. The normally friendly chef-owners of Sketch were visibly stressed and not in the mood to chat, so it was a sad goodbye. I did leave with sweet memories and some nectarine sorbet swirled with vanilla bean ice cream, before the onset of our Piedmont run.

One of Mike's childhood friends is also leaving SF, so we said goodbye to him with lots of food including Little Star, fried chicken, lots of sangria, and much much more. I made some leche flan for a tasting earlier that day, and brought the leftovers with me. The ultimate compliment: tastes like a Filipino person made it. Success!

It was a bittersweet weekend, full of happy and sad moments, but great food wherever we went. RIP Michelle.

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News and Notes, Candy Edition

Check out Grace's gummy lei! I also blogged about it here.

I put together a candy table last month for an article I was writing for Project Wedding. It's finally posted on the site, so check it out! The candy was donated by Fiona's Sweet Shoppe near Union Square -- they're super cute and the staff is so sweet! I also got the flowers from Nancy Liu Chin the day I stopped by Kitchenette SF. Mikey took the photos - pretty rad, right? Now I have my very own personal photog! <3

I made the truffles, baked off the little cakes, and the pocky sticks are stuck in sugar in case you're wondering. Grace also made the polka dot print for the candy bars with her baller ppt skills.

More photos after the jump!

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Humphry Slo-what?

There's a new ice cream shop in town named after characters from BBC's Are You Being Served? - Humphry Slocombe. Since it was opened by Jake Godby, a former pastry chef at Coi, it's obvious to expect the unexpected, and their line-up already lists a ton of bold and arresting flavors. There's a really great interview of him at 7x7. I don't really know if "ice cream is the new cupcake," since it's not really a trend (although there was a huge gelato fad back in the early 2000's). Plus, most of the establishments he listed have been doing business for quite some time.

Since it's still so new, they are only offering a limited selection, but people are already starting the Mitchell's/Bi-rite/Sketch/Ici comparisons. What did I think? I really enjoyed how "daring" the flavors were. The textures differed between the flavors, but that's as to be expected when using different ingredients (see Michael Laiskonis' lastest blog post). We ended up trying practically all they had to offer that day: we sampled the balsamic caramel, "secret breakfast," blue bottle vietnamese coffee, thai chili lime sorbet, malted dulce de leche... and I think that's it.

Both Stacy and I ended up getting the combo of the first two. The balsamic caramel was really balsamic-y which was almost gross, but quite perfect. The texture was very smooth and melty, too. The "secret breakfast" was like a morning meal for adults - bourbon ice cream with candied cornflakes. While I really liked the boozey cereal flavor, the cornflakes were mostly tiny bits, with maybe one random chunk. They weren't crunchy either, as to be expected since they get soggy so easily, even if they are candied. It was still yummy though.

Will definitely return! I really appreciate their innovative flavors, and even though they might not all work, they're definitely worth trying.

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Dynamoooo

I woke up early last Saturday, and since I currently have an empty fridge without even milk for cereal, I decided to drive down to Potrero/Mission (I really don't consider this area the mission, although a lot of people do... it's very borderline) since my schedule for the day was flexible. There's been a buzz going around about Dynamo Donuts since its summer 2008 opening, and I decided to spend my morning finally checking it out. It was really the perfect day to do it, too! The city is so great when the weather is warm(er), especially on a lazy and quiet morning when there isn't any traffic. I had never actually been by it, so I was really surprised when I got there because it's really just a kiosk. A very big kiosk, much like the Blue Bottle in Hayes.

It's called "Dynamo Donut + Coffee," but it really should've been the other way around. If I had been just a passer by, I wouldn't have even guessed they were known for their fried treats since their coffee machines and such take up almost the entire counter space. Their donuts seem almost like an afterthought displayed in domed cake stands. All that aside, let's talk about the donuts.

One of their most popular flavors is a maple bacon donut, which isn't exactly a particularly new flavor combination, but I wanted to try it nonetheless. Apparently they only make those "usually Fridays or Sundays." Shouldn't they make that information available? Blah. Instead, I opted for the meyer lemon huckleberry, and the banana dulce de leche filled one. I also specifically went fairly early in the morning, too, so I could get a good, fresh selection, but the ones I ended up getting still felt cold and as if they'd been sitting for awhile. I was hoping to avoid what happened with Doughnut Plant, but I guess it didn't matter in the long run.

The dough was nice and light, not greasy. However, I really feel that "gourmet" donut shops should either fry batches to order, or throughout the day. They would really taste ten times better, and wouldn't be susceptible to the chewy-ness that starts to happen after sitting for awhile. I think they are made off-site, possibly because of lack of permits or something, and that's really a shame. As for the flavors? The dulce de leche was very nice and creamy, but only one side had the filling, while the other side had a few mashed banana pieces. Are they adding the fillings separately? Doesn't make sense to me. It was nice that the huckleberry one wasn't just about the glaze, since it had actual pieces embedded in the dough. The meyer lemon, however, did not come out.

While I appreciated their flavors, I left feeling like I had wasted my morning. I would consider returning if I was in the area and they had the maple-glazed apple bacon donut available. Otherwise, I wouldn't trek back over there unless they started making fresh batches to order.

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Sun Diego

For the holidays, my family and I went down to socal to bring in the new year amid great weather, roses galore, and of course lots and lots of eating.

I got to sneak away for a day and went to SD to have brunch with Wendy in Hillcrest. We went to Hash House, which was packed with post-Holiday Bowl Oregon people. We both ordered hashes, because, well, it was the Hash House! They give you a lot, served in cute skillets, with gargantuan biscuits. This isn't a great picture of the food, but you can see the huge stalk (too big to call a sprig!) of rosemary and Wendy's adorable self.

Later on, I met up with Mike and he showed me around Chula Vista/Bonita, where he grew up. Awhile back, I wrote a post about El Farolito and how Mike is completely elitist when it comes to Mexican food, so he took me to get some of the "real stuff" he grew up on.

First up was Lolita's, supposedly the best carne asada fries in town. I had only had carne asada fries once before in college at Cotixan, but from what I remember it was just fries, carne asada, and some kind of white cheese or cheddar. The fries at Lolita's are totally different - with just the addition of queso blanco (more powdery/melty), guac, and some good salsa, it was a meal all on its own. Actually, while we were waiting for the order, Mike went to get the salsa ready and I was like "Are you supposed to put salsa on carne asada fries?" He just shook his head and rolled his eyes.

After eating about a fourth of our ginormous order, we headed to Tacos El Gordo for some TJ street-style tacos. We shared one carne asada and one adobada, which is this marinated pork. The adobada was definitely the winner with its creamy avocado sauce, fat drippings and all. It was an interesting setup - the shop was like an old school fast food joint (for some reason Wienershnitzel comes to mind) but the counter was divided by stations so you ordered from the section you wanted. Tortillas were fresh and one lady was just banging them out every 3 seconds.

We were about to get some flautas and tamales at Cuatro Milpas, but luckily for us (and our stomachs) it was closed. Instead, we went back to Hillcrest, where a friend of a friend recommended Mille Feuille, a newish dessert bar/tea salon/bakery/patisserie. We just bought some pastries to go - the classic of which they are named after, and their "paradox," an almond/hazelnut/chocolate confection. I only tried the latter, and the prailine had a very nice crunch... the glaze, however... well, let's just say that I didn't know it was supposed to be a glaze. It was strangely rubbery, as if they put wayyyy too much gelatin in it. The shop in general was kind of disappointing, but then again, we didn't actually experience the whole "afternoon tea" or "chocolate buffet" concepts they advertised, so I can't really say I know what they're about apart from what I tasted.

A bit underwhlemed, we drove down the street to our old faithful Extraordinary Desserts. When my interests in the pastry world were just beginning to develop, I was completely enamored by this romantic dessert cafe (referring to the original). No trip to SD would be complete without a visit to one of their two locations. It is still what it was, but I think my tastes have changed. It's been consistent throughout the years, but I guess actually working in the industry has exposed me to so much, and XD just isn't as exciting to me anymore. Don't get me wrong - it's still a nice place to go to. But... yeah.

So yes, all in all it was a great day (despite the hours and hours of driving to and from LA). I made it back in time to drive around Pasadena for 30 minutes trying to figure out how to get back to my sister's place with all the roads closed and drunken crowds holding up traffic. Yay 2009!

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