liujenny's Profile
Oakland: The Mixing Bowl
I did have mocha there, it was quite good and the space was very airy and nice. Will try to go back to try the food some time tho...
Where to find the best fried rice (to go) in SF?
Kimchee fried rice should be from the Bear Ramen store within the Durant Food Court. It is a real hole in the wall but satisfying nonetheless.
PASTA, PASTA, PASTA, ALERT
I love the pasta at Perbacco and Quince. However, I do agree that Quince will be impossible to get into on Friday night. Dopo is a good choice too, except I really think their pizzas are the best. Another Berkeley option might be Trattoria la Siciliana (cash only), but if you get there early enough, you might not have to wait!
fresh-made Takoyaki in SF
I don't believe this stand is still in existence, but please correct me if I'm wrong. I've been looking for fresh takoyaki too...
Dinner in the East Bay
Yeah, A Cote is one of my favorite restaurants, that's why I've never thought of going to Garibaldi's when I'm in the area. However, the happy hour deal is definitely something to consider especially in a time like this when all the prices are going up instead of down. The service in the bar area seemed pretty nice and competent to me. Our total was about $31 including drinks and tax for two.
Dinner in the East Bay
Wanted to add some recommendations, Uzen has really fresh sushi and sashimi but isn't open on Sundays, but Rikyu is also pretty good and has good sushi and IS open on Sundays. Both of these are on College.
I also just tried Girabaldi last night and it's a GREAT deal if you go between 5-7pm or 9pm-close for their happy hour deal at the bar. The deal is that they have certain cocktails for $5 and the whole bar menu is half off! We had their wood oven pizza for $6.50 and their burger for $6 and rabbit pate for $3.25 and salmon tartare for $4.50. The pizza's not as good as the pizza at Dopo or Pizzaiolo, but it's definitely worth the price and more. Will definitely go again for the great value and good atmosphere.
Dining at Perbacco
I've had a really good experience with the service at Perbacco. If I were you, I would write to the management because when I was there, it felt like they genuinely cared about your experience at the restaurant. This will probably help them to train their staff better and avoid further experiences like what you described, sounds pretty bad. I also agree that the food is phenomenal.
Dinner in the East Bay
I second the recommendations that pastryqueen has. It would be best to get a reservation for all of these restaurants on OpenTable if you can to avoid waiting. Rivoli is a bit more formal (I feel) and quieter than the others mentioned. A Cote has a cool vibe, great bar and drink and awesome food. Wood Tavern I've only been to for lunch, but the food is definitely worth it. I would also add Cesar to the list for tapas if you're interested, they have a branch in Berkeley and one on Piedmont.
As for Dopo and Pizzaiolo, the pizzas are really the stars. Too bad they're not open on Sunday nights. Another good place is Bellanico on Park Blvd which isn't open either on Sundays, but the food is reasonably priced and tasty, and they have a great wine list, including lots of interesting wines by the glass and by half glasses.
I believe that Camino, Flora and Mono have all gotten mentions before, but I have not tried them, so cannot comment. Hope these suggestions help!
Xiao Long Bao - Shanghai style soup dumplings
In my personal (and very humble) opinion, the XLB at Din Tai Fung in southern california is extremely inferior compared to the original store in Taiwan. In fact, I don't even think it's worth a trip and the wait even when I am in the area. Perhaps I just went on an off day, but this opinion is shared by many Taiwanese friends who were great fans of the original branch. Just my two cents.
In the Bay Area, I think the top XLB for me are from Yank Sing for a higher priced option, or Sunny Shanghai for a budget option. The ones at Shanghai Dumpling King aren't bad either.
Sunny Shanghai San Bruno dinner report
ju jiao mien sien is considered to wash away bad luck/bad fortune when you eat it. In Taiwan, when people experience something bad in their lives, their relatives would cook up stewed pig feet with thin noodles for that purpose. I've also heard that people who come back from military service or prison eat it as well. Please correct me if anything is wrong.
Sunny Shanghai San Bruno dinner report
I do have to add that their stinky tofu (fried cubes) are some of the best I've ever had here in the US. They are VERY stinky, in a good way if you like stinky tofu, and are fried to perfection. I would trek all the way from Berkeley to San Bruno any day for their stinky tofu plus XLB... mmm... makes me hungry just thinking about it!
I love Japanese but not sushi...
Geta sounds pretty good! I can't believe how many times I've walked past this place and headed straight on to Gregoire. Gotta try Geta next, the prices do look attractive, will report back~
Chai Thai Noodles (Oakland) Thai House Express chef alert
Thanks for the great report and everyone's suggestions. We ended up going there tonight for a late dinner @ 9pm, there was only one other table when we got there. They do take credit cards now (Visa, MC and Discover) with a $10 minimum. We ordered the Chan Pad Poo (Stir fried spicy Thai noodles with Dungeness crab meat, egg and green onions $9.95) and the Beef Noodle Soup ($6.25). Both of them were really good, but I especially liked the Chan Pad Poo, it had generous portions of good crab meat in it and it was definitely spicy enough.
The restaurant was bright, simple and clean. Service was adequate and friendly. They now have a take-out menu that I took home with me. I've never eaten at THE before, but I can say that Chai Thai Noodles is a good spot.
I love Japanese but not sushi...
I think Rikyu on College also does unajyu, tempura, teriyaki and such, but they do also have sushi. Although I've never tried these items (I had sushi), I heard from the owner's wife that the chef was trained traditionally and was very skilled in making cooked Japanese items.
Doesn't Kirala also offer a lot of robata items as well?
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Kirala Restaurant
2100 Ward St, Berkeley, CA 94705
Rikyu Japanese Restaurant
5335 College Ave, Oakland, CA 94618
New job in downtown Oakland, looking for lunch places
If this is the same IB Hoagies that's on Durant and Telegraph, they do okay Philly cheesesteak but I think the chili cheese fries were the highlight of many freshman year nights.
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Ib's Hoagies
2513 Durant Ave, Berkeley, CA 94704
Place for dessert near Ferry Building
I've had REALLY good dessert at the Cosmopolitan. The website says that the bar is open around lunch time, so I'm not 100% sure that the kitchen is working at that hour as well, but if it is, I think the dessert there was really good.
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Cosmopolitan Restaurant & Bar
121 Spear St., San Francisco, CA 94105
Beginning to Panic....!
I know that this isn't in San Francisco, but if you're willing to trek across the bay, the first thing that comes to mind are the mussels in pernod at A Cote (Rockridge, Oakland) which has a really lovely heated patio/back garden that's romantic and intimate, but yet still lively enough. And for $100 per person, I would say you could probably order lots and lots of food and drinks.
Stellar meal at Shanghai Dumpling King - Outer Richmond, SF
I just went to Shanghai Dumpling King two weeks ago after reading all the discussions of XLB here on the board. We actually went to SDK after we went to Shanghai House because I wanted to compare the XLB at both places in the same visit and couldn't resist getting the crab soup dumplngs either.
I thought that the XLB at SDK had significantly thinner skin, but some of them contained a bit less broth than those at Shanghai House. However, I felt that the soup at SDK to be much richer and more flavorful. These two things added together is enough for me to deem SDK the winner of the two. As for the crab soup dumplings, I thought they were very good, full of the sweet seafood taste in the soup and the added eggs on top is a nice addition of texture and taste. I would definitely trek out to outer Richmond again for XLB at SDK!!
I've attached pictures of the XLB at Shanghai House, at SDK and then lastly the crab soup dumplings.
Hiros is now Rikyu
Two more pictures of the garden roll and the tempura ice cream. Now that I'm looking at the picture, it's asparagus that's in the garden roll that I forgot.
Hiros is now Rikyu
We were really craving sushi tonight, thinking that it would be the perfect way to cool-off from the heat wave, so we thought we would give Rikyu a try. It is very easy to miss (especially coming from 51st ave. side). Anyhow, we got there at almost 10pm (which is past their closing time), but they invited us in anyways, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was nicely air-conditioned.
Sitting at the sushi counter, we ordered directly from chef Totsuya Koyake (I think that's the correct spelling, but I may be wrong) who is a native of Kyoto. We got ocean trout, ikura (salmon roe), amaebi (sweet shrimp), hotate (scallops) and tamago (egg) nigiri. We also ordered ankimo (monk-fish liver) and a Rock 'n Roll. I also wanted uni, but the chef stated that since he couldn't find uni that looked fresh and good, he decided not to serve it today. The fish was extremely fresh and the serving was very generous, the ikura was marinated just right and piled high, the amaebi nigiri had TWO fat shrimps on each piece and the ocean trout (which is apparently a type of salmon) had just the right amount of fat. We also enjoyed the delicate flavors of the ankimo.
Since we were practically the only customers in the restaurant during the second half of the meal, the chef told us that his Garden Roll would be a good starter if we came again (it is seaweed and thinly sliced cucumber wrapped around celery, shiso, red onions, avocado and something else I can't remember). Then he proceeded to make a tasting serving of it for us to try! He also offered to let us try his new tempura ice-cream invention which isn't on the menu yet (and I thought, oh, another tempura ice-cream), but to my surprise, it was green tea ice-cream with a layer of purple yam around it and then fried. The addition of purple yam brought a complexity of textures that made it a great dessert that was crunchy on the outside, smooth in between and cold and rich on the inside.
Overall, we spent $44 before tax and tip which isn't bad at all. The key is to listen to the chef's suggestions regarding what's fresh (ocean trout, ankimo and garden roll were on the specials board). The service was very attentive (I think it was the owner/chef's wife). The fish was fresh and priced reasonably, certainly beats having to wait in line at Kirala. Recommended... hope that it lasts!!
I've attached pictures (ikura+hotate, ankimo, tamago+ocean trout, amaebi).
Unterman lauds Xiao Long Bao @ Yank Sing
I've enjoyed the XLB at Yank Sing on many occasions. It is expensive at around $10 per order, but if my memory serves me correctly, the XLB at DinTaiFung in LA is even MORE expensive and not as good.
Oakland Greek Festival this weekend
We tried going on Friday night around 10pm, parking was pretty easy by that time, the party was good, people were dancing to the music and singing. However, the dining room was closing at that time and most of the food was gone. So, we ended up going there again today around 5pm.
We had the chicken ($3.50), lamb shank ($6), rice pilafi ($1.50), moussaka ($4), pastitsio ($3) from the dining room. I felt that the chicken was pretty well-seasoned, but it was too dry. On the other hand, the lamb shank paired with the rice pilafi was a great deal, succulent and tender meat. I also liked the moussaka over the pastitsio.
Outside, we tried the Cyrpus grilled cheese, which is a kind of a salty grilled white cheese on some kind of pide, topped with sliced tomatoes and an olive oil sauce. ($3 for half order, $6 for full order) This was really good, even for people who don't normally like cheese.
Overall, I thought it was a good festival, very festive with lots of people, great atmophere, great location, great views and great food. We even brought back some more lamb shank and moussaka. I've been to the Belmont Greek Festival as well as the SF Greek Festival, but this one was the most festive. Here are some pictures of the food...
Yank Sing - Are Reservations Necessary?
I just went there this past Saturday WITHOUT a reservation at around 12:30 (party of 2), we got one of those pager things and waited for about 10 minutes before we were seated. The service was great as usual and the free parking at Rincon center was definitely a perk. I've also gotten a sameday weekend reservation before by calling at around 10am. Good food, but you definitely pay for it tho~ :)
Two meals in the East Bay...where would you go?
If you really crave Chinese food, you should head over to the Ranch99 plaza where they have Daimo for your regular HK style meal and Asian Pearl for dim sum as well as Great Szechuan for hot spicy Chinese.
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Daimo Chinese Restaurant
3288 Pierce St, Richmond, CA 94804
Great Szechuan (closed)
3288 Pierce St, Richmond, CA
Asian Pearl
3288 Pierce St, Richmond, CA 94804
Gregoire's on a Saturday afternoon
I think the sandwiches do vary a bit according to who's making it/frying it. The last time they offered it on the menu, it wasn't greasy at all, but I haven't gotten a chance to try it this month. I hope it was an off day... sorry for your bad experience!
Dine About Town 2008, Part II
Just looking at the list preliminarily, I would go to Aziza and Les Amis again for their great food, great service and biggest bang-for-the-buck. In addition to those, I might want to try Cortez. Where's everyone else going? Anything else that's a good deal??
2nd Annual Chocolate Salon: Report
We came a bit later (around 2pm) and we not only had to wait in the will-call line forever, we had to wait in a line that went all the way back into a narrow hallway where the bathroom was (not to mention this line sort of blocked the way to the documentary screening room) just to get into the salon. I agree that the organization was extremely bad, although the vendors were quite friendly and informative. The will-call list was organized by first name, AND they didn't check ID, so basically, I could just go in there and say a common first name and try to get tickets that way, very ridiculous. However, the chocolates were heavenly.
Great reports everyone... I also liked one of Guittard's prototype chocolates, too bad I forgot the name, it was a 70% blend I think. It was hot and crowded and very hard to get through, so we left after less than 1 hour. Like Pistou and pilinut, I would not go again next year if they're keeping the same format, perhaps we should have gotten a hint about their organization from their all-over-the-place website?
Beard Papa now in Downtown San Jose
Thanks for the heads up! However, I've tried Beard Papa in Taiwan, Vancouver, LA (more than one location), SF (both locations), Redwood City, but I feel that the quality really is inconsistent between each location. I'm not 100% sure of this, but the chocolate they use for the eclairs seem to be different, and I like the ones in SF best. I would definitely NOT recommend the Redwood City location since their eclairs are amateurly dipped (not enough coverage + uneven thickness).
Zackary's Pizza: how is the Stuffed Deep Dish?
They do take credit cards now for sure in both Solano and Rockridge locations. I've never been to Chicago, so I'm not familiar with what "real" Chicago deep dish should be, but I've found Zachary's to be satisfying, reasonably valued with friendly service. Usually there's no line at lunch or afternoon either...
Oyaji visit - Finally
Yeah, I've been to the one on Robson recently and I have to agree that the food was really awesome (I wrote a review with pics somewhere on the Western Canada board). After coming back from Vancouver (and hitting up 6 different izakayas there), I've been wanting to find izakayas here in the Bay Area to try. Oyaji definitely sounds interesting and we'll be headed there sometime. O Izakaya lounge was in Chron's top 100 list, but mixed reviews on the board. Thanks for the review!!
