san francisco food tour day 2

Day 2. Japantown! The weekend we went was the last weekend of the annual Cherry Blossom Festival, so of course we had to go! There were so many people and vendors and food and did I mention people already? It was pretty crowded. We took a taxi in, and thank goodness we did. My friend Phu joined us that day and told us it took forever to find parking. There were live bands and taiko drum demonstrations among other things. The smell coming from all the fresh food being cooked, from red bean filled pancakes to the bar b q being grilled, was heavenly.

But before I begin on the food.  I was told I wouldn’t actually see sakura trees in Japantown, which I thought was boo, but my sister and I found out about the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park had tons of sakura trees and other flowers. We of course checked it out and the blossoms were still in bloom!  The full size photos are on my flickr page. They also have a mini cafe serving tea while you enjoy the view.

After our visit to the tea garden, we headed to Japantown, and we started with the spam musubi. Spam is a sort of breakfast food staple among Filipino (and Hawaiian) households. We like it fried, with rice and a fried egg. Yum. Anyways, this one stand was selling spam musubi! It was sushi rice, topped with a slice of cooked spam, eel sauce, and wrapped with a thin strip of seaweed wrapper. It was sooooo yummy. My sister and I ended up buying a couple each to save for a midnight snack of sorts. Sorry I don’t have better pics, but it did not last long enough to take photos after opening.

Even the toy from kidrobot wanted a bite. heh.

Next were the pancakes filled with red bean paste. The line was forever long, but you couldn’t resist, because as you walked by, you could smell the sweetness of the pancake batter cooking. They were soft and light and filled with a sweet red bean paste.

The only line longer than the pancake line was the beef takoyaki line. Takoyaki is typically a fried dough ball containing octopus and other vegetables, but there are different variations. As you can see, this was of the ground beef variety. I’ve had takoyaki before in NYC, minus the octopus, and that was definitely better. However, for the price and considering they had to feed the masses, the beef takoyaki I had was worthy of the wait in line.

After that, we were pretty much full. We waited for Phu and co. to arrive and we just ventured out into all the shops and bought manga and cool pencils at Kinokuniya. It felt good to sit down. It was starting to get hot, but that cool bay breeze swept in once in a while making it a beautiful day to be outdoors. Once Phu showed up, it was time to eat again. They were hungry and who was I to say no to food? We decided on ramen at Sapporo-ya in the Kinokuniya center. We don’t have ramen in Houston, not that I know of anyways. And I’m not talking about the 10 for a $1 you find at the grocery store either.

My sis and I shared the bowl of soy sauce ramen with bbq. It was pretty good, in my opinion, but what do I know? The only other time I had ramen was in Hawaii and it was wayyyyy too salty. The noodles were a little smushy, but the broth and the bbq was yums. The boiled egg really added to the ramen. Maybe it was the texture or just the taste of it with the bbq and noodles, but I found every bite better when I had egg in it. Service was just okay and it’s a tiny spot, but overall, it was okay. There are probably better ramen spots in the area, and one that I’ll talk about again on day 3, but it was the closest one at the time.

This day was full of lines. Lines for pancakes, takoyaki, ramen, and then came the line for Sophie’s Crepes. It was out the restaurant and it was also worth the wait. The crepes are thin and crisp, yet soft and flaky. You can choose your own items or they have a variety of goodies to put in your crepe, from hot fudge and strawberries to ham and cheese. I stuck with the nutella, banana, and vanilla ice cream crepe. It was definitely tasty. It was a nice cool treat after a day in the sun.

It was food overdose by this time. We decided to walk it off by going to the Haight area and checking out the shops. There were tons of different boutiques and restaurants, and if you’re a shopper you might like this area. I just wanted to go to kidrobot. Bought a few toys. So cute! And after a long day of wandering the streets of San Francisco, we headed back to the hotel for some rest and relaxation before dinner. Oh yeah, we ate more. Hah.

Phu & I made a trade. Sprinkles cupcakes for Filipino banana chips. I think I’m the winner in this trade off. The cupcakes were rich and moist and Phu was kind enough to buy us all milk from the local convenient store.

And that was our 18th floor view at Hotel Nikko. Well, after getting some rest in, we headed to a sushi joint in Union Square. I am sorry to say that for the life of me, none of us remember the name. We went because a friend suggested it and she didn’t even know the name, only that it was good and we should go. The seafood was fresh, but as I stick to the cooked stuff, I ordered an ebi tempura roll and the spider roll. That was a well cooked soft shell crab.

And that my friends, was the end of day 2. It was exhausting, but it was definitely fun.  Thanks Phu, Hong & Megan for driving up from San Jose to hang out with us for the day!!

P.S. I miss it already.

– Chelle

a friendly feast with korean bbq

I had dinner with Michael & Angela last Monday and they were like, so how do you feel about getting together once a week and each of us taking turns cooking dinner? Like it took much convincing, so of course I said sure! This week was my week, since I was “new” to the group.

Tonight’s menu was Korean BBQ (galbi), a simple soup with ground beef (since it was a bit cooler and soup is always good when the weather is like this), seaweed salad, and ultimate fudge brownies. Lots right? No worries. The only ones I made from scratch are the bbq and soup.

Korean BBQ: Marinating!

• 4-6 strips of short ribs (can be found at most Asian grocery stores)
• 3 tbsp. soy sauce
• 5 tbsp. water
• 4 tbsp. Korean rice wine
• 1 tbsp. Asian sesame oil
• 3 tbsp. corn syrup
• 6 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tbsp. minced garlic
• 1/4 tsp. minced/grated ginger
• Pinch of black pepper
• 1 gallon size ziploc bag (or tupperware that’s big enough to fit all your bbq)

Depending on how your ribs were cut, you might want to wash them thoroughly to make sure there aren’t any stray bone pieces from the rib. The worst thing is trying to eat your bbq and biting into bone fragments. No fun. Once the meat is cleaned off, you’ll want to use a meat tenderizer (this is what i have) to mash the meaty part down to about 1/8th of an inch. You definitely don’t want your bbq too thick. It grills better when it’s thinned out.

In a bowl, wisk the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, rice wine, corn syrup, sugar, water, and sesame oil together. Place your meat in your ziploc bag or tupperware and pour in the marinade, making sure all the meat is covered. Refrigerate anywhere from 4 hours to overnight.

When you’re ready to cook, heat up your grill, shake off the excess marinade and toss it on the grill. For those who don’t have a grill, like myself, a panini press pan or any other stove top grill pan works just as well. You’ll want to cook it on each side about 5-7 minutes to give it a semi crunchy texture, yet it’s still so tender.

Served with seaweed salad, which I picked up at my local Korean grocery store (Super HMart, 1302 Blalock Rd.,Houston, TX 77055). I love this place really. They have tons of prepared kimchi, stewed potatoes, and other side dishes usually served with Korean bbq.

And here’s the soup. It was more experimental than anything and I won’t b e posting this recipe as I really threw alot of items together without measuring and I’d rather not give bad info on the recipe. I just wanted a simple soup with a flavorful broth and it worked! The basics though are garlic, onion, tomato, green beans, ground beef and water. Add salt, pepper, tamarind soup base seasoning, fish sauce or soy sauce (whatever makes you happy) to taste.

Oh and the brownies. Ghirardelli Ultimate Fudge Brownies are the awesomest. I don’t care if it’s not from scratch. These brownies are to die for.

It was a successful night. I’m exhausted and stuffed.

–Chelle

littlejohn’s toffees

It’s been almost a year since I went to L.A. for a cousin’s wedding. We had a few hours to kill before heading to the airport, so we went to the famed Farmer’s Market at The Grove that we had heard about so much. I loved the place as there were all these food stands with vendors selling fresh fruits, meats, etc. I also had some of the best Korean BBQ ever there.

One of the places I saw as I was randomly walking around was this candy shop called Littlejohn’s Candies (http://www.littlejohnscandies.com/) and it had chocolate covered toffees in its window. So, I bought 8 pieces of their toffee sticks. I honestly came back home and wished I had bought more. They were fantastic. The toffee had that perfect crunch. Not too hard and not too soft. Just right. It melted in my mouth and it was absolutely delicious.

I told one of my good friends about the place and for Xmas last year, she had ordered a box and had it delivered to me. Now, this year, for my big 30th birthday on Friday, she ordered me another box. This time, she got 3 lbs. of toffees for me. One pound for every decade. Ha. Thanks Jan! No worries. I won’t eat all that by myself. As much as I wish I could, this chubby girl doesn’t need to be eating 3 lbs. of toffees.

Seriously, I could have picked any chocolate shop in the world, but I love these chocolate/nut covered toffees. So if you’re in the L.A. area and you’ve never been to the Farmer’s Market, you really should. You just might discover a few new things. And, rather than an hour or two there, try setting aside most of your day for it. The whole “Grove” area looked like it had tons of stuff and I was sad I didn’t get to see it all.

–chelle

16 Handles… of yogurt

Half eaten before I remembered the camera.

16 Handles (153 2nd Ave. New York, NY 10079) is different from the crop of fro-yo joints popping up all over. They have 16 flavors of yogurt (2 of which is non dairy sorbet) and a huge toppings bar. It is self serve; you pay by weight $0.46/oz (mine was $4.30, everyone else I saw filled up far more than me). I didn’t get to all the flavors this time, only the mango and raspberry sorbet, the green tea, plain and euro ‘tart’ yogurt. I found the sorbets a bit too sweet, the green tea was good and so were the plain ones. I skipped all the toppings (diced fresh fruits, candies/cereals, and they also had mini mochi which I always like). I can’t really tell the difference between the two yogurts (euro and plain), but I liked them as much or more than Pinkberry’s. They try to use eco-friendly materials; I love the wood spoons but I saw others with plastic ones too. I think it’s a bonus that you can control your serving size, unless you are not big on self control.

-L

La Maison du Chocolat

In the city there are plenty of places to pay top dollar for chocolate but I refuse to drop the big bucks for anything other than La Maison du Chocolat. They have two stores in Manhattan and more in France, London, and Tokyo. When I went to Paris a few years ago, I didn’t go looking for them; instead I was totally infatuated with Fauchon, which had wonderful pastries but their chocolate wasn’t quite up to par.

The first time I had tasted their chocolates I was in college. My wise and most tasteful friend Tamaki bought and shared a Coffret Maison box and some cake from La Maison (I say cake but it was mostly ganache) with me and some classmates. At first my taste buds were out of tune from copious amounts of the much sweeter Lindt truffles earlier that day (it was college, chocolate was often a meal replacement).  I was in a bit of a taste shock, unable to take in the flavors at first, but the texture was undeniable. It was the smoothest airy creamy chocolate I’ve ever had, and I was soon an addict for life before the day was over. The chocolate flavors were so rich but not bitter and did not have the cloying sweetness that I was accustomed to. I couldn’t go back to the way things were, every chocolate confection I taste would be compared to them.

My personal favorites are their macarons, fruit infused ganaches like the Salvador (raspberry) and Valencia (orange), and their truffles are the gold standard for me. After one Christmas when I treated myself to a large coffret and gaining 8lbs, I learned to enjoy in moderation more (and only a few times a year). So I stay away from boxes, except for the boxes of mini macarons (which are a bargain compared to the chocolates). The shells are perfectly delicate, crisp and chewy, and are filled with their amazing ganache. Flavors include dark chocolate, milk chocolate, raspberry, vanilla, caramel and coffee; a flavor I normally dislike but they made it great.

I don’t klnow what it’s called. It’s a 2 inch wide ball, with a hazelnut filling, rolled in hazelnuts and praline and coated in dark (milk?) chocolate.

The Chocolate Bar

No, not a bar of chocolate, but a bar for chocolate. I first visited The Chocolate Bar ( 1835 W Alabama St., Houston, TX 77098) a few years ago when a friend of mine mentioned it to me. Since that one time, I have absolutely loved the place and take anyone who hasn’t been there yet. So, when an out of town friend told me she liked chocolate, I thought what better place to go than The Chocolate Bar.

This place has its own chocolate shop adjacent to the “bar” area where you can find an assortment of chocolates, from seasonal designs to your chocolate covered bon bons. But, I must say my favorite area is the bar area. The walls are a bold purple, adorned with candy inspired movie type posters and randomly placed disco balls hanging from the ceiling. There’s plenty of seating, although it doesn’t seem like plenty on a busy Friday night.

So since we were full from dinner, we decided to share a slice of cake. Do you see how gigantic that happy slice of heaven is? Do you see the bottle of milk behind it? You’ll surely need it to get through your decadent dessert. We decided on a slice of Uncle Darryll’s chocolate cake. This moist, 4 layer chocolate cake had the richest, yet lightest chocolate filling. It was covered with what seems like a chocolate ganache and then topped with toffee bits. It was fantastic. Between the two of us, we still couldn’t finish it.

Besides their different varieties of cakes, they also serve their own home made ice cream. I’ve had it in the past, and I think the one I’ve deemed my favorite is the one with white and dark chocolate bits in it. It was just all sorts of yum, and if it wasn’t so chilly, I probably would have had some tonight. I have yet to try everything on their menu, but one of these days I will. There is also fresh brewed coffee and a killer hot chocolate. The staff has always been friendly and helpful and my trips have always been pleasant. I believe the desserts are moderately and reasonably priced, anywhere from $6.95 and $9.95, for the portion of cake/pie you get. Others may disagree, but I have no problem throwing down for some good old chocolate cake.

The Chocolate Bar is a place “Where every hour is happy hour” (yups, that’s their motto). It truly is. Sitting there and enjoying good chocolatey desserts and good company makes a cold Friday night feel remarkably warm.

–Chelle

we all scream for…yogurt?

Honestly, the only frozen yogurt I’d ever known was TCBY, which I love, but I never really considered it a healthy alternative, because it tasted way too good to be healthy. ha! So tonight, I was driving to the Edwards Cinema off Weslayan & 59, and I saw a sign for berripop frozen yogurt (http://www.berripop.com/index.html). You’ll find it right off the corner of Richmond & Weslayan, in the little center between Chipotle & Collina’s Italian Cafe. Mind you, it’s about 37 degrees outside, and for Houston, that’s kind of chilly. Something frozen wasn’t going to warm me up, but this place looked interesting, so I asked my friend if we could check it out before the movie started. By the way, and so off topic, but 27 Dresses was a really cute movie.

Anyways, it’s a cute frozen yogurt shop with bright green walls, sunshine yellow tables and a variety of frozen yogurts that change daily. The menu seems pretty basic, choose the size you’d like, the type of frozen yogurt you want (pictured above is the original tart), and as many toppings as you’d like, for $.85 a topping. Hey, you even get a deal. Buy 2 toppings and get the third free. There are tons of toppings to choose from..from breakfast cereal like Cap n Crunch to fresh fruits to an assortment of nuts. I chose fresh strawberries and mangos for my first try.

The frozen yogurt tasted more like what frozen yogurt should taste like. The original tart was really light and, as the name states, just a little tart. I totally wanted to try the breakfast foods, but I opted for the fruits and it was fantastic. I enjoyed the fact that eating the tasty dessert didn’t make me feel fat afterwards. Nutritional info is even posted up in the store. 1 oz. frozen yogurt = 24.5 calories. How fantastic is that? They also serve what they call their “Berri Snow”, which is shaved ice topped with the frozen yogurt of choice and then toppings. Then they have a smoothie, too.

I’ll definitely have to take everyone else there. It’s so close to work, and I think this will satisfy my sweet tooth enough. Plus, it’s healthy. Well, healthier than my normal cheesecake ice cream w/oreos mixed in from Marble Slab. ha! Woo for healthy!!

-Chelle

Crepes to go

Cecel Cafe Crepe, 135 1st Ave (btw 9th ST and St. Mark’s Pl), is a cute little place with only a bench and a small counter for eating in. It’s open late (midnight) all week, and till 2am Fridays and Saturdays. The kitchen is right behind the register, wide open so you can see them make and fill each crepe with meticulous precision. The menu has variety of sweet and savory crepes with familiar fruit and dessert flavors and Japanese twists including red beans in sweet combinations, tofu and hijiki (seaweed) for savory creations. The crepes themselves only took a minute or so to cook on the grill, and then they take their time trying to perfectly replicate the filling from the photos on the menu before rolling it all up.

 

I ordered a small Double Mango; fresh mango, sponge cake, mango sauce and thick tasty pastry cream. I love the filling and the soft crepe; but I think I could do without the sponge cake getting in the way of my mango and cream. The hubby ordered a Banana Strawberry minus the custard and chocolate sauce (went with a caramel sauce instead) then proceeded to finish it without offering me any.

We were a bit surprised to see the guy actually slicing and skinning fruit per order, wasn’t pre-cut in containers. It was nearly 10pm and there were only two other customers we saw going in. Makes me wonder what the place looks like during peak hours.

 -L

i love sugarbabys

There’s a place down S. Shepherd you’ve probably driven by a dozen times, but may not have realized it was there. Sure, you’ve seen the pink & black decor through their windows, but just thought “Oh. That place looks cute,” and then just kept on driving by. What you didn’t know is that inside, sweetness awaits you.

Sugarbabys (www.ilovesugarbabys.com) is a cupcake boutique off S. Shepherd near W. Alabama (3310 S. Shepherd, Houston, TX 77098). I only heard of it from my sister who said, “Everyone says it’s really good.” So, I did what most people would do. I googled the shop and found their website. They specialize in cupcakes, and offer a fairly wide variety from red velvet cupcakes topped with a cream cheese icing to their dippity doo-dahs, which are chocolate cupcakes filled and topped with vanilla buttercream and then dipped in dark chocolate. Their menu changes monthly, and different specialty flavors are offered on different days. I love how their website states they’re open from 9am-7pm or until they run out. They even have a private party room which can be used for birthday parties or any other small event.

After thinking about this place for the past 24 hours, I decided to swing by there tonight and try it out. By the time I got there, say 530pm, there were very few cupcakes left to choose from. So I purchased 2 white chocolate macadamia nut, a charming chocolate with vanilla icing and another with chocolate icing, and then a va-va-vanilla with chocolate icing. Can you tell I love chocolate? I spoke with one of the workers there and asked when do the specialty ones run out, because I was really looking forward to trying the toffee crunch cupcake. She said if I wanted the other types, I should try to make it in before 2pm. I was 3 hours late. Sadness.

So, I brought the cupcakes to a friends place for after dinner dessert. I only had the white chocolate macadamia nut and it was DELICIOUS. The white chocolate cream cheese icing was so perfect and even the moistness of the cupcake was just right. Plus, I really enjoyed the white chocolate pieces actually IN the cupcake and not just in the icing.

I will surely be making my way there again, and hopefully next time I’ll get a taste of that toffee crunch or that red velvet one.

-Chelle

Mmmmm puddin’…

Chikalicious Puddin’ (204 E 10th St. New York, NY 10003) is across the street from and spin-off of the Chikalicious Dessert Bar (which is famous for their upscale all dessert menu). Chikalicious Puddin’ is a tiny storefront with a selection of 3 puddings, some shortbread cookies, and some drinks. They don’t plan to add more items, ever!

In pudding, you have the choice of a Vanilla Steamed Pudding in Custard, Adult Chocolate Pudding and a Brioche Bread Pudding. I only tried the first two but will make my way back for that bread pudding soon. The steam “pudding” is cake covered in a thin vanilla custard sauce, was nice and warm. Tho tastey enough, it’s still unexciting. While the “Adult” chocolate pudding is wonderful, a scoop of silky dark chocolate pudding on a bed of crisp buttery chocolate cookie crumbs. It’s definitely crave-worthy.

Another place added to the Chelle-list for her summer visit.

 -Lina