My Favorite Things

Veggie burrito from La Taq, a Sunday tradition; MCF/San Tung sustenance for impromptu 90s R&B karaoke sesh with a few people I love

Yes, all this and more was consumed in the last few weeks. I must say, I really love SF and the east bay. These are a few of my favorite things.

Grilled cheese at Outerlands; chilaquiles from Primavera; pork chop at Nopa


Little star and Cheeseboard


4505 special at the Thursday FB market - that day was fried bologna with bacon and the first time I couldn't finish (I had Teresa act as notary before I even took a bite); In-N-Out


Banana cream pie from Nation's is so perfectly imperfect - beats fancy versions any day. Fresh strawberry mochi from Benkyodo, bun sampler from Sandbox, and finally tried the popular Kika's.


Post-Intermezzo Strada: cup of nostalgia while doing the Daily Cal crossword. This was the first time I had non-third-wave-coffee in a really long time, and it made me appreciate good coffee that much more. I've been finding myself in SOMA quite often lately, meaning many a visit to Sightglass. Btw, Blue Bottle is going downhill and I had a watery cap with weak foam at Four Barrel yesterday. No one is immune, no one is the best!

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On Nhau

Somehow I found myself nhau-ing just about every night I was in Saigon. "You must've been hanging with a lot of dudes" my friend assumed, and right he was! I was unaware of the social significance of this primarily male custom at the time, but I found this interesting article through the interwebs. That might explain the stares, actually. Onward!

It took some getting used to the giant blocks of ice in my Tiger beer, let alone the fact that they kept giving me (and only me) straws. I guess it's the feminine way to nhau

Duck tongue and curried frog legs at Xua va Nay in Saigon


Clams with lemongrass

Some non-nhau food in Vietnam:

Before and after - the tail was a hot commodity


Bun cha in Hanoi


Cha ca la vong in Hanoi


Wraps and rice noodles (can't remember the names of anything - I'm terrible I know) at Quan An Ngon in Saigon

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Singapore Sling

Chicken rice and steamed egg at Sin Swee Kee. Hainanese style steamed chicken, tons of flavor in the rice itself.

I pretty much love all things curry, so it's no surprise that I love the Malay influences in Singaporean cuisine. There isn't much available in the bay area, so I was super excited to eat my way around town and finally have the real thing! Time was limited so I wasn't able to try much actual Malay or Peranakan cuisine, but I definitely had some delicious local food!

Murtabak at Zam Zam, quite possibly one of the most delicious things I tried in Asia


Roti stuffed with meat and served with curry sauce. How can that ever be a bad thing?


Laksa at Maxwell (L) and at a food market around Clarke Quay (R). Did not get a chance to try the OG katong laksa unfortunately


Stingray, satay, and fried oyster pancake (better than the Taiwanese kind I thought) at Chomp Chomp


Maxwell hawker center


Rojak (Maxwell) and popiah (Newton)


The most delicious black pepper crab from First Grade Seafood Palace


The damage


The ubiquitous sugar cane drink at Chomp Chomp; a kalamansi limeade from Mr. Prata (don't remember what it was called)

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On the Street

Bangkok

Thai tea, lime, and ice. So simple, SO DELICIOUS


Tom yummmmm noodle soup with crispy pork in Chiang Mai


Grilled fish in Cambodia; Amphawa floating night market


Amphawa floating night market


Amphawa floating night market - grilling on the boat


Khanom krog in Chiang Mai; zwa bing at Shida night market in Taipei


Pad thai wrapped in egg at Or Tor Kor in Bangkok; soup fixins in Hanoi; gua bao in Taipei


I don't remember what this was called in Vietnamese, but it's like the Chinese rice noodle (Hanoi)

Hanoi


Noodle soup in Saigon

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