MelissaSF's Profile
Cooking Schools in Chengdu
I'm about 9 months late in responding, but wanted to share. We had a fabulous time! We ended up working with a travel agent who set up a private class with a chef in a restaurant. Just the two of us, Master Wong, and about 10 curious staffers. We went to the restaurant around 2pm after their lunch rush. We cooked 5 dishes each day, with Master Wong showing us how first, and then we got to replicate it. It was a a bit frenetic with the translator having to talk really fast because everything moves so quickly. We spent two afternoons with them. Then we had our translator/guide take us to a market and she walked around with us helping us buy chilies and peppers to take home with us.
The travel agent we worked with had an office down in Mountain View. She spent part of her time here and part in Chengdu.
It looks like their website is no longer active, but here is her contact info:
Ashley Tan
Chinabackroads, LLC
Director of Sales
415-235-2105
www.chinabackroads.com
Ashleyt@gmail.com
Windy's month of lunches - SOMA edition
Interesting about Hennessy's. I've only had pleasant and tasty experiences there.
For drinks:
SOUTH is kinda expensive, so I've never gone. District is not bad, if you go on Mon-Wed. Its a little over the top with trendsters and hipsters on Thurs - Sat.
B in YB is good fun on (one of the 4) warm days in SF. Nice patio, good views of YB.
Oh and of course there's Tres Agaves for tequila fun.
Windy's month of lunches - SOMA edition
Oooo. fun. My favorites from the last year:
Brickhouse Cafe. Big tasty burgers. Some nice sandwiches. Usually good soups. Still runs you about $8. Call ahead and pick up if you want it to go.
South Park Cafe - Pig Salad. Enough said. Let's go to celebrate something fun.
Toaster Oven - Pretty tasty sandwiches. Made to order. Sort of like Sellar's but cheaper.
HRD Coffee Shop - This is one of those greasy spoon dinery only in SF places. Half the menu is Chinese and the other half is lunch from a school cafeteria. If you order carefully, you can get a good tasty, cheap meal. Yes on roasted pork.. Yes on the fried rice or rice, egg, meat plates. Yes on the Turkey (fresh roasted). But No on the mashed potatoes (instant. tasteless). No on the Chicken a la King. Just tread carefully, and have fun.
Lees - I know everyone knows about Lee's. But I really like the one on 2nd Street. Nice outdoor place to hang out. concerts on fridays in the summer and fall. And their Chinese dumplings are really good! Not the ones on the steam table, the ones you order with the noodle soups.
Chavo's (not to be confused with Chavas in the Mission) - Mexican place. I think its better than Au Parc. Quesedillas are good. Watch out for veggie versions. Sometimes they sneak in tofu, which is a nono in my book. Tamales are pretty tasty. You always need a nap afterwards though. Also they an little outdoor seating, which can be nice.
Zuppa Sausage Gal - Occasionally on 4th street outside of Zuppa, there's a gal who cooks sausages and peppers on this little stove on the sidewalk. mmm.
Sandwich place on 2nd street, across from South Park. Can't remember the name. It's a deli store type place. Very good potato rosemary focaccia for sandwiches. They often sell out so you have to go early.
Primo Patio - Caribbean food with a patio in the back on Townsend. haven't been yet, but lets try it!
Two - Great for after work drinks happy hour!
-----
Zuppa
564 4th Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
Primo Patio Cafe
214 Townsend St, San Francisco, CA 94107
Toaster Oven Sandwich Shop
145 2nd St, San Francisco, CA
HRD Coffee Shop
521 3rd St, San Francisco, CA 94107
Brickhouse Cafe & Bar
426 Brannan St, San Francisco, CA 94107
Lee's Deli
303 2nd St Ste 101, San Francisco, CA 94107
Chavos Mexican Restaurant
595 Bryant St, San Francisco, CA 94107
Buying Sichuan Chilies in the Bay Area
Thanks for all the thoughts. I'll definitely check out Universe Produce! I'm hoping I can pickle some of own.
Buying Sichuan Chilies in the Bay Area
HI All,
Does anyone know where I might be able to buy some of the chilies traditionally used in Sichuan cooking? We went to Chengdu last year and took some cooking classes there. Amazing experience. We brought back as many pickled and dried chillies as we could stuff in our suitcase, but haven't be able to locate any since then.
In particular, I'm looking for 'Facing Heaven Chilis' chao tian jiao [朝天椒] (copied from post here - thanks for the characters!) -- dried and pickled. We've been able to buy the peppercorns, no problem.
I've tried May Way and all the shops on Clement Street, Ranch 99, many of the shops in SF Chinatown, and Sunset Super, but still am not having any luck.
Would appreciate your thoughts!
Cooking Schools in Chengdu
Thanks. It turns out that two of them are at the Sichuan Institute. The classes sounded interesting, but fairly pricey. (About $500 a day - half day classroom and half day hands on). Since we're only going to be in Chengdu for less than a week, we opted for shorter, private classes from a chef in his restaurant. Should be interesting.
Cooking Schools in Chengdu
HI, We are headed to Chengdu this fall and have been researching cooking school options. I've gathered some information from various travel agents who have been able to set up private classes for us to learn about Sichuan food. I'm wondering if any of you guys have heard of these two schools:
BaiYi Cooking School or Chengdu Cooking College (not sure what its called in Chinese).
We also have an option to take a class as the Sichuan Culinary Institute, which I am familiar with.
Its hard to tell from afar what the quality of experiences will be like and I can't seem to find anything on the Internet about these two places. The travel agents I've been working with have been helpful, but the language barriers are making it difficult to get in depth info.
Any info would be most appreciated!
Melissa
