For my birthday this year, we ventured out to Sacramento to dine at a very unique restaurant recommended to us by our long-time friend Yunji who now calls Sacramento her home town. As its name implies, the concept of this restaurant is that, as a customer, you are invited to someone's kitchen where you can see how your foods are prepared and you can talk freely with chefs while you dine. The Kitchen Restaurant is only open for dinner and only serves 50 guests per night. All 50 guests are let in at 7pm sharp and the door is shut behind you. Then you are pretty much locked in until its close at 11pm. It sounds like a scene from a horror movie, but once you are inside you'd forget that you are "locked" in. Instead, it really feels like stepping into someone's fancy kitchen where your dinner is about to be served.
We sat at the bar. These are probably the best seats in the house because they have the best view of the kitchen and the chefs at work. Once you are seated, Noah the head chef or the "MC" of evening, starts giving you a vivid and detailed introduction to today’s menu and its ingredients. He goes into details, for instance, explaining how close the DNA of his selective Montana-raised "Kobe" beef is to its Japanese counterparts or whom he procures the wild frogs from. He would waive the live lobsters and frogs at your face or would make you gaze at his fingertips as he slices the truffles and place them on your pasta.
The dinner consisted of 7 courses (or "Acts" as they called it on their Playbill themed menu) plus an intermission where various sashimi, sushi and oysters are served buffet style. Each course is delicately prepared with the freshest ingredients and tastes original and savory. Although the portion is small, as is usually a case in fine-dining restaurants, the best part of all is that you can request for more servings until you are truly satisfied and full. The chef says if you don't like the food, you can even ask them to make you something else, but I doubt if anyone has ever done it.
We were a bit shy at first, but Min and his cousin ended up repeating their main dish and dessert twice, and Yunji and I did get double servings of our dessert vanilla ice cream with apple fries. In between courses, we were free to walk around and got to observe the restaurant operation in first hand. This is, in fact, encouraged.
It was truly an amazing and unique dining experience I have had to date. By end, we were completely full and were entertained in luxurious but friendly atmosphere by the kitchen staffs. The bill came out to be about $150 per person with corkage and we thought the experience was worth every penny. I hope to go back to the Kitchen for my next birthday.
Min and I were out all day shopping on a rainy day (few weeks ago), and I was being cranky from being hungry and tired. I really didn't feel like cooking at the end of a tiring day. So, we decided to eat out. On rainy days, there's nothing that makes you warmer than hot steamy soups. Seoul Gom-Tang in Oakland specializes in hot-pot Korean soups. Min's favorite from Seoul Gom Tang is bugaguk, dry pollack soup. I ordered sulungtang, beef soup. It was perfect for the weather.
Universal Cafe 2814 19th Street San Francisco, CA 94110 (415) 821-4608 We searched for the best brunch place in San Francisco, and yelp kindly gave us a straight answer. When we arrived at Universal Cafe, there were already several people scattered around the sidewalk waiting for a table. We ended up waiting for an hour, but didn't mind because coffee was self served while wating. I also loved the fact that they have a daily menu which changes every so often to incorporate the vegetables and fruits that are in season. Most of the ingredients used in Universal Cafe are organic or locally grown, and every dish was very fresh and delicous. It was an excellent choice for sunday brunch.
On Valentine's day, we drove down to San Jose to watch the quarterfinal of SAP Open. Min is so much in love with tennis these days that it was sort of my valentine's gift for him. My coworkers were also to join this valentine's celebration with Andy Roddick and Radek Stepanek. The quarterfinal were to start at 7pm, so we decided to have dinner before the game. I chose Gaesung House of Tofu because their foods are very authentic and I felt like having hot soft tofu soup on rainy day. One of their specialty is the bossam kimchi, which means a wrapped kimchi as shown in the picture. It is a special kind of kimchi originated from the northern province of Korea. Each kimchi is meticulously wrapped with cabbage leaves and inside are shredded radish, Korean pear, dry dates, pine nuts, salted squid, oyster and many more. Their soups are very authentic, too. I had soft tofu soup and others had yookgaejang, spicy beef soup. All of them were very good.
Sketch 1809 4th St Berkeley, CA 94710 (510) 665-5650
After our successful excavation of Scoop in Farifax the other day, we became inquisitive of other popular ice cream shops in the Bay Area. After reading some good reviews about Sketch in Berkeley, we went to try it.
If the Scoop were known for their fresh homemade strawberry ice cream, the Sketch sits on a fancier side. The price also reflects that. Frankly, I didn't think Sketch lives up to its hype; I thought their ice cream tasted kinda bland without much characteristics. I think it's ok to try once, but not twice.
We stumbled on Scoop when we were passing by on our way back home from Tomales Bay and saw a long line of people snaking on the sidewalk. It is a tiny, narrow ice cream shop tucked in between some random shops in downtown, Fairfax. When such a tiny shop draws a long line of people, you gotta peek inside at least. We ended up waiting for about half an hour for a cup of ice cream. And, I had my first 'i scream' moment here. Yes, we all scream for ice cream! Ever since then, I've been so spoiled by their ice cream that no other ice creams taste good any more. Really, I think this place gotta be the best best ice creamery on the planet...
Everything here is organic and locally grown. Even their waffles are fresh homemade and their warm smell makes people keep waiting in a line with their smile on. Fairfax is about a forty-minute drive from where we are (Oakland). No matter what, it is definitely worth the drive and wait. Our favorite flavors are Vanilla Honey Lavender and Organic Strawberry. If you are looking for a third scoop, the chocolates never disappoint you. Actually, they are all very good!
I feel super guilty about posting this almost three months after we came back from the trip. But, it's better to be late than never. So, here they are... We went to New York as our first anniversary trip. I know... it's been a year already since we said 'I do'. Among the many things that Min and I had promised to do was to go back to New York as our anniversary trip.
New York holds a very special place in both of our hearts. Min and I met each other in NYC, fell in love in NYC and with NYC. When he popped the question, I was sitting on a bench in the Central Park. After all, it is a wonderful city to fall in love in and with. So, when we went back this time, it was like riding a time machine. We went to places where we left our memories and hearts in. Many of them turned out to be places to eat...
New York is best known for its pizza. Di Fara in Brooklyn must be the best of the best pizzeria in New York City, if not in the world. Frankly, we had been craving for Di Fara ever since we moved back to California. The first thing we did after we checked in to our hotel was to get on the subway bound to Brooklyn. It takes about forty minutes from Manhattan. That's considered short when compared to the usual wait time in Di Fara. One time we went there, we waited an hour to place an order then wait another hour or so to finally get our pizza. After the first bite, we both agreed it was worth it. This time, we said it was worth the trip from California.
The 32nd Street between Broadway and 5th Avenue is a little Korea Town in the heart of Manhattan. Despite its cramped location, this place probably offers the most number of 'good' Korean restaurants per block than anywhere in the world. Almost every single one of them is my favorite restaurant. Woorijip, shown in picture, sells many Korean main and side dishes in buffet style. One of our favorite dishes from Woorijip is the Kimari, deep-fried noodle rolls. Yummy.
Gham Mi Oak is one of my favorite Korean restaurants here, too. Gahm Mi Oak is known for sulungtang, the beef noodle soup and is probably better known for their homemade kimchi. Their bibimbap is also one of the best I've ever had. I heard rumors that when Lee Kun Hee, the CEO of Samsung Corp visits New York, he always orders a bowl of bibimbap from Gahm Mi Oak to take with him on his return flight to Korea.
This is aged kimchi mackeral stew from Ham Ji Bak in Flushing. It is one of the rare dishes that you cannot easily find in many Korean restaurants. Thanks to Sujung/David couple, we got to taste this special dish in Flushing, which is another mecca for quality Korean foods/restaurants. Flushing is about forty minute subway ride from Manhattan, and this is the place where all the locals (including Koreans) go to get Korean foods.
Our anniversary trip to New York made us feel like being back in time. And, every street corner we turned, there was something we remembered together. On our way back, Min proposed that we move back to New York on our 30th anniversary trip. That would be November 3, 2037! Yes, it's our retirement plan. I know... we would have to have lots of savings until then. Happy planning~
It certainly felt special to be able to order in a museum cafeteria [in the US] a bowl of fried rice, Malaysian curry noodle soup and a side dish of kimchi. That comes probably true only in a museum that is dedicated to Asian arts.
Thanks to Target First Free Sundays, we were granted free admission to the San Francisco Asian Art Museum on Sunday few months ago and spent the afternoon exploring all kinds of Asian art forms, starting with Asian foods in the cafeteria on the first floor. The foods tasted pretty authentic and "clean," meaning no artificial ingredients or MSG added. I liked that. If you are in the area, be sure to check out the Asian Arts Museum and their cafe on the first floor.
Vicks Chaat Cafe 726 Allston Way Berkeley, CA 94710
According to Min, who happens to be a huge fan of Indian foods, this place gotta be the best Indian restaurant on earth. Well, we haven't been to India yet, so let's say it's one of the best in the West coast or in the SF Bay Area at least.
Vicks was so goo...d. I used to not like Indian food, but my taste has changed and I've gotten to enjoy it very much over the time. And, I agree this place serves one of the best Indian foods ever. The place looks more like a big food court than a restaurant. When we went there, it was full of people on Sunday afternoon. There were lots of Indian people along with non-Indian people like me. I think that's a good sign because it's an indication of authenticity :) The price was very affordable, and the service was very prompt and straight forward. We peeked at side tables to get some visual hints for our menu choice. They all looked very good. We narrowed down to some three choices. I forget the names of the foods we ordered. A crepe-like bread with some bean-based curry was very good. So were vegetable and lamb samosas.
It was our second year anniversary. No, not our marriage but from the day we started dating. Though we decided to consolidate such anniversaries to one - our wedding day, it just feels good to find a romantic excuse to eat out like this on a regular weekday. Couple months ago, Min had surprised me by taking me to a nice Moroccan restaurant on our 100th day of the wedding. See, there are so many ways to celebrate everyday!
For this particular day, we decided to try an Ethiopian restaurant on Telegraph in Oakland. Given the location on Telgraph Ave in Oakland, honestly, the place from the outside seemed far from a place where any couple would like to celebrate their anniversary. Until I stepped inside, I still had a doubt whether the place was open or not. To my surprise, the interior was neatly arranged and there were quite many people inside. We ordered, I forget their name, some basic Addis platter which came with so many foods. I wish I could elaborate on all those dishes that came out, only if I had known their names and the ingredients... They were all very delicious. Their soury Ethiopian bread was also strangely addictive in a very good way. A special thing about Ethiopian food is that you also get to taste how delicious your fingers are when eaten with hands. :)
From outside, this small Korean-run Japanese restaurant near Jack London Square could be easily overlooked. Signage is minimal with almost bare side walls, and the entry to the restaurant feels somewhat narrow. Apart from its facade though, as you walk inside, the place looks quite cozy and feels welcome. Ginza's Sushi rolls are not the best of its kind (I mean compared to real fancy ones), but for its price, the quality and taste are excellent. Fish are very fresh and rolls are always so yummy. I also love the fact that they have so many different kinds of sushi rolls on their menu I can choose from. Some of their signature rolls are Lion King Rolls, Rainbow Rolls and many more that I forget their names of. It's certainly a hidden gem of Oakland that would make any sushi lover want to go back for more. Best of all is that it's so conveniently located in Jack London Square! It only took us like 8 minutes by walking from our apartment :D We are definitely going back there again.
I used to live just around the corner from this cozy French bistro when I was attending Cal several years ago. Despite the proximity, however, regretfully I only dined there twice during the four years of my studying and living in Berkeley. The price range was, and still is, only about $10 to $15 for brunch and maybe a little more for dinner. But back then it felt too expensive for a hungry student and I often opted for cheaper meals (or for quantity as opposed to quality) in student food court near campus. Everything tasted good back then anyways...
This time, I went back to La Note for Sunday Brunch with Min and my parents who were visiting from Southern California. As usual, there were several groups of people scattered over the sidewalk in front the restaurant waiting for a table. While this could be a little inconvenient, I think a waitlist is always a good indication of how good restaurants are. Having gone for brunch, we ended up ordering several versions of egg dishes plus some bread which were all very delicious and fulfilling. Especially, I forget the name - baguettes topped with fresh goat cheese and pickled bell peppers and some herbs were really good.
Sushi O' Sushi 2789 El Camino Real
Santa Clara CA, 95051
Boy, isn't this a beauty? Sangsoo, our sushi chef friend at Sushi O' Sushi, made us this beautiful sashimi platter when Kevin, Min's long time ex-roommate, Min and I went to SOS few weeks ago and sat at the bar in front of him. Just watching him meticulously slice each piece of sashimi and place onto a plate was an eye-gazing experience, and the next was when he passed that platter over to us. Though I could hear gulping sounds from all three of us, I had to seize the moment and take out the camera to capture the picture-perfect scene.
The hardest part came when I had to make the first pick. The shiny gold foil placed over white fish (upper left hand corner) caught my attention. It tasted like metal (yea, they are real gold!) with subtly sweet flavor, and it certainly felt luxurious. :) Min's favorites were the sea cucumber (the slithery brownish thing in the middle with sesame seeds on top) which has uniquely strong sea flavor and the unis (yellow eggs) that are very soft and sweet. Everything was so fresh, delicious and chewy. Oh my, looking at this picture just makes my mouth wet. I'd better stop here...
Does anyone know anybody who is allergic to chicken? I didn't, until I married one. Thinking I could live without chicken, I married the guy (last fall) and have not been cooking it ever since. ;) But few weeks ago, I had a serious craving for Samgyetang, Chicken Ginseng Soup, so we decided to eat out in a nearby Korean restaurant instead of me trying to cook and spread the smell all over the house.
It was a good excuse to eat out anyways, and we went to Jong Ga House, one of our favorite Korean restaurants in the neighborhood. Their main dishes are all very delicious, but their specialty is in the cold water-kimchi noodle soup served as an appetizer and 14+ different kinds of side dishes that come at free of charge. Their appetizer noodle soup is Min's favorite and he drools over it. He says, he would go there just for the appetizer soup. For me, I get all excited when they bring out mini morsels of so many different side dishes. On the day we went, they had 14 side dishes. Even better is they didn't mind giving us free refills as we finished each side dish.
I ordered Samgyetang as planned, and Min had Tofu Bibimbop. They were both very good, and my craving was well settled :)
식도락[Shik-Do-Rak] Shik Do Rak
9691 Garden Grove Blvd.
Garden Grove, CA 92844
Shik Do Rak in Garden Grove is undoubtedly my family’s favorite restaurant in town. In fact, when the family decides to eat out, we rarely ask where we are going - we are supposed to know already. Also, when we go, there is a favorite table in the restaurant that the family specifically requests to be seated...
The best in their menu - which we don’t even bother to look at knowing already what we want - is the combination meal of Chadolbaegi (thinly sliced beef chuck) and Agujjim (a spicy seafood casserole with Agui fish and bean sprouts) served with an assortment of side dishes, vegetables, and sliced pickled radish and rice cake wraps. When chadolbagis are cooked on table top together with mushrooms and garlic, take a piece of chadolbagi and mushroom and garlic, and fold them into a Ttuck (ricecake) slice and/or radish slice to eat, just like illustrated in How to eat Samgyupsal.
The quality of foods in Shik Do Rak and their service are excellent. (There is another Shik Do Rak in LA, but the one in Garden Grove is supposed to be better.) Considering the quality of foods and service, I think they are fairly priced, too. It definitely goes on my favorite restaurant list. :D
Beard Papa 845 Market Street Suite # FE 16 San Francisco, CA 94103
This past weekend, my aunt came to visit us from Chico. Though it was not her first time in the Bay Area, we wanted to take her for some sightseeing. We hadn't decided where to go until we were already in the car and up on the ramp to I-880. Min asked again - so where are we going? When we were up on the ramp and on the highway, the skyline of San Francisco across the bay came into sight before us. As spontaneously as we plan things, few minutes later we crossed the Bay Bridge and took the downtown exit. As we were about to cruise through the downtown, Min asked with a smile if we want to have cream puffs. Then I remembered there is one Beard Papa store in SF downtown.
When Min and I were living in New York, we often stopped by Beard Papa (on Broadway and 84th in Upper West Side) on our way back from grocery shopping in Fairway a few blocks down. They sell the freshest, giant vanilla cream puffs and also offer daily special flavors. We'd order one regular and one daily special and finish them on the spot. Since we left New York last fall, we haven't had their cream puffs for the longest time. So, when Min mentioned Beard Papa, it took me back in time and place when we were dating in New York, and spending much time and money pigging out on foods like pizza, sweets and finger foods. Sometimes it's overwhelming to think that all the changes in our lives (getting engaged, moving back from the East coast, getting married, and finally settling down in the Bay Area) took place within just past year... Like Min, the cream puffs make me smile, too. It may be because we are still "newly wed" after all, for we tend to attribute sentimental values to everything we do and stuff we eat :) I wish that we continue to enjoy Beard Papa's cream puffs with the same smile and excitement like today again and again in our years to come.
We forgot to take a picture of cream puffs this time, but instead here is one from few months back from New York. :D
Just about when I was flipping through recipe books and comparing available ingredients in my fridge, Min im'ed me and suggested that we eat out with friends for dinner. I sure needed a break from my cooking and wanted to step out of my kitchen for a day.
We used to eat out very often when we're living in New York, but after we moved to California and got married, we've been eating at home most of times. I like eating at home because it is much healthier and enjoyable, and also money saving. But, occasionally, you do want to taste someone else's foods. And, I did.
I'd say Sushi House is a place to go if you feel like having lots of fresh sushi (meaning big sushi's) at a relatively affordable price. The sushi boat that we ordered for 4 people was quite impressive. Whenever we order one of those big boats, ships, or whatever, I love staring at them with chopsticks on one hand, before taking the first pick. I can feel my mouth slowly getting wet... :D
At Last, a $20,000 Cup of Coffee - NY Times
No way, I didn't pay $20,000 for this cup of coffee. $11 for 2 cups - still expensive but they only came in 2 servings. This article came out just couple days before I set out to San Francisco to run some errands. I printed out the map (even with the map, I had the hardest time finding this place because it was so hidden without any signs) and planned to stop by.
They seemed to represent everything chic and much hyped - having no signs, all white interior with minimal decorations, clean-cut waiters, very crowded space, etc. The name of this coffee I ordered reads like Idio Misty Valley Ethiopia. They claim they have the only halogen-powered coffee brewing machine in the country and it took so much time and efforts to get it approved. So what does it do to coffee?
I enjoyed the experience of having this specially brewed cup of coffee and all. But, if anything gets attention by making it ridiculously expensive, that's not fair...
Hyo Dong Gak 36th St. between 5th Ave + Broadway
New York, NY
The picture above is Jja-Jang-Myun from Hyo Dong Gak where my husband Min and I used to go often when (of course, when we were living in NY) the craving for this mysterious black noodles kicks in occasionally.
It is mysterious for its lost national identity. According to many, this noodle is only found in Chinese restaurants in Korea or Korean restaurants in China. I believe it was first created by Korean Chinese living in China, and then when they moved to Korea, they were simply treated as Chinese.
According to Min, this place makes the best Jja-Jang-Myun he has ever had. He recommends to order 'Seafood Jja Jang Myun with Red Pepper', which is rarely available in other restaurants alike.
