goddess.girl's Profile
Source for Korean Chili Paste and Chili Flakes in SF
When we make kimchee at home, we season whole leaves of fresh napa cabbage, and layer them into a large glass jar or crock. The old time sauerkraut crocks work very well. We then either use cheesecloth and a rubber band over the top of the open jar with no lid, or use a plate that fits down into the crock and will hold the cabbage down. We usually add a little water, but unlike sauerkraut we don't fill it up above the cabbage as much water will come out in the first day. Leave the jar or crock out to ferment, in a cool dark location, like in a cooler in the shade. We usually only make it in the winter, as summertime temperatures in Concord are too hot. Check it every day, and I usually poke into it with a chopstick to try to get all the air bubbles out. Once it is fermented to your taste, or slightly before, repackage into smaller jars that you can seal tightly, and then store in the fridge. If you don't want kimchee flavored butter and milk, put the sealed jars into a ziploc before putting them in the fridge. Many Korean households have a seperate fridge for kimchee.
As for the ingredients, I shop at Hankook Market in Concord, on Monument Blvd. They have everything! I'm sure any medium sized asian grocer in SF should have what you need.
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Hankook Market
1450 Monument Blvd, Concord, CA 94520
Italian Rainbow Layer Cookies in San Francisco?
These are my favorites! I don't know about in SF, but in Concord, we have Alpine Bakery, and they have these cookies almost all the time. I know they make more around the holidays, but I bought a cake there on Saturday and saw a whole tray of these waiting for you!
Didar Persian Cuisine in Concord
This newly opened restaurant on Clayton Road in Concord is very nice. Our family went friday night for a birrthday dinner, and we enjoyed both the food and the service. The location is the former Korea Palace, which died a slow sad death over the last few years, and the new owners have done an amazing job renovating and updating the restaurant. The decor is simple, but elegant, and I would not be surprized to see weddings held here. They have a traditional seating section, and a small dance floor. It's always exciting to have another good restaurant open in the burbs.
For appetizers, we had Kask Bademjan, a roasted eggplant, onion and garlic spread, Mast-o-Moosir, a thick yogurt mixed with shallots, and Tah-Dig, and crispy rice patty with lamb and lentil stew over it. All of this was served with hot pita bread and a plate of radishes, feta cheese, and plenty of whole fresh mint and basil leaves. The Eggplant dip was thick, garlicky, and next time I'll try the version with eggs, tomato and herbs added. The yogurt dip was like your fantasy french onion dip, so rich and flavorful. The Tah-Dig was good, and teh stew over it has cinnamon and maybe clove in it.
I shared the 2 person dinner special, so I had a plate of very good saffron basmati rice, a tomato split and grilled, and shared skewers of Kabob Koobideh (ground seasoned beef), Kabob Barg (filet mignon slices), and Joojeh Kabob (chicken breast). The Koobideh was very well seasoned, the filet was sliced thin and cooked to medium-well, and the chicken was seasoned with turmeric and garlic and very yummy. All of these are cooked over an open fire in the kitchen, and arrive sizzling at the table. I also tried some of the lamb filet kabob, which was great. They have kabobs of prawns, salmon, and many combination plates. Most appetizers run $4-7, and entrees are $12 -22. They have several vegetarian options available, a dinner portion salad with the chicken kabob, and a variety of lunch specials for $7 to $10.
Desserts are amazing. Bakhlava, Rose Water ice cream with pistachios were both excellent. The Zoolbia, a crispy and sticky sweet fried treat described as a pretzel is like a crisp funnel cake soaked in honey and rosewater, and one of my favorite sweets ever. They have a few other desserts, all were enjoyed at our table.
Overall, a fun place for Persian food, nice welcoming family atmosphere, and a welcome addition to the Claycord area.
Didar Persian Cuisine
36 Clayton Road
Concord, CA 94521
925-689-3432
www.didarrestaurant.com
Dinner Recs for booth seating in Oakland?
I'm looking for a good dinner somewhere in Oakland that has comfortable booths or small private rooms. We're looking to have semi private work meetings over dinner, and would prefer somewhere with good food, below $50 pp. A place near Jack London/Old Oakland would be ideal, but travel to other parts of Oakland, Alameda, etc are ok. Something like the booths at Claimjumper's or Back Angus would be nice, but I don't really want the chain food.
Old Weang Ping Thai restaurant in east Oakland
I would hate to see this place become popular, or (god forbid) trendy, but it's been a favorite for years. They are only open for dinner, 5pm-10pm or later. The owner, Pat, is the entire front of house, and his wife is the entire kitchen staff. They are a great team, but you have to realize that service may be slow, or very quick, depending on the circumstances of the evening.
The menu is great, because it's basically Thai to order, however you want it. Pick a protein, pick a sauce, or just tell Pat what you like, and it'll be great! I usually get chicken in Panang Curry, and mahi mahi in a green curry. The sticky rice is fantastic!
I took a friend there for dinner, and he'd lived in Thailand for several years. He ordered a Som Tum salad (green papaya), not on the menu but a very common Thai dish, and wanted it extra spicy. Pat took care of him; he was sweating it was so hot. He also said the food was the most authentic Thai home cooking he'd ever had this side of the Pacific.
Go, enjoy, don't tell all your friends....
Spices!3 recommendation?s
A group of us from my office go there about once a month. Note that the whole menu is rated in heat from one to three stars. One star is usually like HOT at any other chinese restaurant. Favorites from our group are:
Kiss of Fire Orange Chicken or Beef - sweet thick orange sauce with just a bit of heat.
Satay Beef Chow Mein Taiwanese Style - good savory beef chow mein on a sizzling platter.
Salt & Pepper Chicken - spicy and crispy chunks of breast meat and skin.
Vegetarian Chow Mein - Very spicy, and lots of veggies.
Tofu Snowed with Garlic - Deep fried tofu and a literal mountain of fried garlic slivers.
Kung Pao Chicken - very hot, not too many peanuts.
Curry Beef or Chicken - thin curry sauce, a little heat.
Just get plenty of rice, and DO NOT order any of the special fruit drinks. They are like watered down Kool-Aide mixed with dry milk powder, and not so refreshing. I recommend going with a group of adventurous people to try a selection, but they do have rice plates at lunch and do a considerable take out business.
Peanut Oil - need a quick answer!
We have purchased our peanut oil at Smart & Final for the last few years, and it is good quality and without additives. Target in Walnut creek also has the fryers and plenty of oil, but they are kept in the garden center at the very back, like they might burst into flames any minute!
Oakland - Beef patty and ginger beer at Art's Jamaican Market on Broadway
No, it was illegal to import from overseas, like from Jamaica! Maybe Art doesn't know about the ones in Florida, maybe it's national pride that he won't buy them from anywhere else, who knows. I'd rather go to the caribbean to eat it fresh than eat it out of a can here.
Oakland - Beef patty and ginger beer at Art's Jamaican Market on Broadway
Bammy can be steamed or fried, usually cut into quarters, and then makes a nice scoop for saltfish & akee, goat curry, etc. There's a whole series of steps to prepare it, so I've read the process in cookbooks and then just missed having it!
Much like canned kimchee, there is an aftertaste of metal for me with the canned stuff. For a while you could get "fresh" and frozen akee at the market, but maybe I should try out a local place. It's been years since I attempted jamaican food in the bay area, given past disappointments. Where do you recommend?
Oakland - Beef patty and ginger beer at Art's Jamaican Market on Broadway
bulla is usually sold in a plastic bag of 4 breads. Art's usually has them in the glass case, with the spice cakes (imagine the best fruitcake your grandma ever tried to pawn off on you, but without the fruit or mystery nuggets) and the other baked goods. I also love the bammy bread, like a thick tortilla made from cassava.
Art's is also a good source for frozen goodies from the caribbean like goat meat, salt cod, and breadfruit. Last I checked ackee is still illegal to import, so I have to wait until my next vacation to have a traditional jamaican breakfast. I guess whatever excuse it takes to have the hubby buy tickets to Montego Bay, right?
Oakland - Beef patty and ginger beer at Art's Jamaican Market on Broadway
I found Art's market a couple years ago, and though the hot beef patties are a very good reminder of the times spent on the beach in Negril, I like the chicken curry ones better. If you get there early, Art may have a few heated up, but I usually buy a dozen of each and shove them in the freezer. The veggie ones are heavy on potato and greens inside, with a mild spice mix. The chicken has a nice yellow curry, and is as hot as the beef, or hotter. If you aren't into ginger beer, try a Ting! Ting is a grapefruit soda made from Jamaican grapefruit, and is like a less sweet fresca. It's perfect on a hot day, and at home, a Ting with a pourover of rum is very nice.
I also highly recommend getting some bulla bread, like a cross between gingerbread and a soft molassas cookie, but not as sweet as either. Traditionally, it's spread with ripe avacado (known as pears in the West Indies) which they refer to as poor man's butter.
I think a highlight to the market is also the huge box of "Jamaican Size' condoms up on the wall next to the register. Maybe that's just my sense of humor...
Noodle Theory -- Oakland
I went on Wednesday, 9/26, and it was pretty good. As a long time fan of the food (but not service)at Nan Yang, and went on a friend's recommendation to try this place out. Noodle Theory has a way to go with service too, but overall, it was the food that disapointed. We shared the pork wontons in chili oil (mild chili oil, pretty plain wontons,) the pork and spring onion dumplings (like plain, steamed pot stickers, fine, but nothing fancy,) and the grilled chicken over ginger noodles. The chicken was flavorful with good grill marks, and the noodles were the best! They had good texture and the sauce was light, no goopy mess at the bottom of the bowl. I would say it might be best to concentrate on the noodle dishes and leave out the dumplings and wontons. I'd be happier in a second rate japanese place with fried gyoza that jumped out of the freezer and into the oil. The food did come out quickly, but for the money, I'm not going back...
Cheese Tasting in Marin or Sonoma Co.?
I highly recommend Matos Cheese Factory. My family has gone there for many years, and it's really a farm. You drive down LLanos Road until you see their little sign that says Joe Matos Cheese, and head down the gravel (now halfway paved) driveway and park between the barn and the cheese house. Most of the Matos family lives on that farm, and speaks mainly portugese. The cheese they make is St. Jorge cheese, somewhere between an aged swiss and sharp cheddar. Mary Matos (Joe's wife) usually cuts you a nice sample, and then you tell her how many pounds you want off of the wheel they have ready. If you want a whole wheel, they have a variety of sizes from 8 to 20 lbs. that will age nicely at home. The cheese is great for eating with fruit or making an outstanding mac and cheese.
Also, Marin French Cheese is where my family usually has a picnic at the end of one of our "cheese runs." We go to all the farms in the area for cheeses and fruit, getting some salami and bread in Petaluma or at Andy's Market on Hwy.116, and then filling out the picnic with some Triple Cream Brie (ask for well aged) and Quark. They have a great picnic area, with a pond and ducks to feed. Very pretty setting, even if the cheese is only a 9 out of 10.
