vickichowder

GRAND CRU DELI: TORONTO

2023-05-04T13:28:00.008-07:00

I rarely leave my home for drinks and food when I'm in Toronto, but when I do it's got to be an outstanding place, so I come to Grand Cru Deli.

Other than racks and racks of an amazing wine selection (you'll see that France dominates, being the first thing you see on the tables when you walk in), its cozy, intimate and they have napkins that matched my pants!

All their food changes seasonally so you are sure to get fresh ingredients and for me, that means I get to try a new menu every time (although I used to always still order the boquerones when I was Spain-sick)

Shareable dishes mean you can taste a bit of every thing with your friends! This was the duck and it was AMAZING. I would say it rivals with Botanist's duck when you take price and portion into consideration.

Carbonara because we could not resist.

They've got one of Canada's few master somm's in the house so you're sure to pick a good wine because all of them are well selected!

KUSAKABE: SF

2023-05-03T14:17:00.004-07:00

We aim to have one "fancy" dinner every time I visit SF. This time it was Kusakabe:

Before walking in, we were offered a cool (in temperature and taste) welcome sake in the cutest frosted cups. They hadn't gotten our seats at the time we requested and due to the small sized restaurant, we waited at the entrance for the former party to leave.

The menu seems to go on forever

Junsai Ichiban Dashi - junsai is harvested from the waterlily plant and has a pleasant slimy texture. The meyer lemon zest is refreshing, and we slurped this down too fast.

I love how the plates come with at least two bites of sushi - the pace of the dishes feel less rushed.

*Interesting* presentation of the sushi on the seaweed just like that.

Nothing remarkable except that the beef was LIKE BUTTER

My goodness this soup was glorious. The taste of corn was just sweet enough with the miso. Could have two bowls of this.

I love uni + ikura combos. A good creamy and poppy texture all in one.

I don't remember which sake we ordered, but I remember the need to take a photo of this glass because its paper thin, yet feels sturdy and won't crumble in my hands. The glass puckers at just the right places for your fingers to fit in perfectly.

THE BUTCHER'S DAUGHTER: ABBOT KINNEY

2020-05-15T19:55:00.000-07:00

I used to be pretty skeptical about vegan/vegetarian food - how can there be something that is more satisfying than biting into a juicy buttery piece of red meat?

You cannot brunch without a (ginger lavender) alcoholic sippy

But summer season beckons for consumption of flora - just look outdoors!

Yellow was tumeric, and don't remember the rest

Shakshuka - very ripe tomatoes were used. It was so yummy I had to go home and recreate it, complete with poached egg

What I think was on this, bottom right counter clockwise: cashew "ricotta", a sweet maybe fig jam, mushroom pate (SO GOOD WAO), bread, olives, mustard schmear, a really good cheese

Lots of mushroom pizza with arugula. I usually don't eat pizza but the table beside ordered one, and I started drooling. Crispy thin crust, and option to add burrata, which we did.

Pizza with some vegan meat (bacon?) The egg yolk was golden

LOOK AT THAT SEXY YOLK

No one can resist a crispy hash and some generation Z beckoning avocado eggs benny

What beautiful colors

Scream LA inside

GET BBUL: LA KTOWN

2019-06-25T09:48:00.002-07:00

This has got to be the best deal of a korean dinner I've had in LA. We got a seafood bbq set for $60 USD and couldn't even comprehend the amount of food that came with this set.

Spicy salad

Dwenjang

I was probably really hungry at this point

Ahjumma arrived with an overflowing tray

So many layers of food..

We eat kimchi like veggies

The toppings on the shellfish!!!

Can't beat charcoal. They also throw in some sweet potatoes in there so you can have at the end of your meal

Fiya

Bossam comes as a side dish!?

Cheese corn also

A marinated cold cooked meat and lots of onions

They cook all the seafood for you - you only need to sit back and eat nom nom

Was lovely watching these pop open

Some ramen and fish cake included on the grill

Hagfish! it danced around as it cooked and was delicious. Jolgi jolgi texture

Foiled up are some oysters

That are nice and plump the moment they are unwrapped

And ending off the meal is the kalguksu, and potato and goguma that was nestled in the coals beneath

Sweet seafood broth

BEYOND BURMA: TENDERLOIN, SF

2019-02-25T11:29:00.000-08:00

My good friend has fulfilled her long time dream of opening her own restaurant!

Having been unable to attend the grand opening a couple months ago, I've made up for it by going nearly every weekend I was there this past month.

Shaan noodles. Not quite soup noodle, not quite jjang noodle. high slurpability, topped with crushed fried beans, peanuts, green onion, spicy paste.

Served with picked veggies and more dried chillis

Chicken curry noodles. We asked for another bowl of coconut rice to suck up all the leftover curry

topping for curry noodles

Mahi mahi curry - needs to be eaten with rice!

Between her full time day job, a full time super mom to the most adorable (read: smart and cunning) three year old, she's now also runs a food establishment!

QUALITY SEAFOOD, REDONDO BEACH

2018-09-24T17:55:00.000-07:00

My cousin and I have only one similar mission in LA: eating. And shopping for food.

Somewhere in Malibu

All the way up

All eyes on seabass

Instructions

All eyes on seabass

The sear. This was an very buttery piece of cooked fish. We asked for it with salt and only, and it was the only thing needed to bring out the sweetness of the fish. Will eat again.

Clam chowder. Bring on the puns.

You grab the food from the counter and grab your own seats.

Passed on desserts

The entrance looked like this.

RED WINES (GERARD BERTRAND)

2017-12-15T15:12:00.001-08:00

I love red wines. The extra dry, preferably at 2g/L, not so fruity but oak-y. Can't say I've had a large variety of them, but I can say I know which ones I tend to like, so here I will share some of them and share some specifically from Gerard Bertrand (GB)!

I have a tendency to prefer southern Rhone blends on the dry side - perhaps that is how I have taken a liking to these GBs!

I bought from The Market (the grocery store is simply named that) from across the street while in SF, and tasted GB's Languedoc for the first time. So good that when I came back I needed to see if LCBO stocks it.
At 2g/L and being considered an extra dry, immediately that's +20 points for me.

Yes, found plenty of GB in LCBO and this is where the GB adventures began...
Smooth, extra dry and a very pleasant go-to red (the Languedoc). Good on its own, with cheese/meats, and a full out meal. The 2013 one seems to be well stocked in LCBOs here. And is one of the reds that I enjoy frequently. Does not disappoint.
Is there any difference between the 2011 and 2013? Perhaps. But really hard to test that difference out because the 2011 is no where to be found around me.

Tastes oakier and deeper than the Languedoc; requires shorter aerating time to taste delicious. Makes Languedoc almost fruiter in comparison. But again, like the Languedoc, it is smooth on the tongue.
Also a 2g/L one, and extra dry.

Also had this a few times. My drinking girl friend and I believe that it is better than our staple Languedoc. Is it the addition of Mourvedre? Only had the 2013 La Clapes and would love to try other ones. I believe both La Clape and Languedoc would age well kept a few more years.

To be very honest. I do not remember drinking this wine at all. Heck that thumb doesn't even look like mine (my nails are never cut that way) - who was it?! Must have been a couple bottles into the night when this was opened. Purchased in SF and have not found in LCBO yet. No comment.
The blend seems quite promising - I love Grenache-Syrahs. Not sure how the Mourvedre would come into play, but seeing how it blended well in La Clape, I'd really like to try this one a bit more sober.

Was never a fan of Cab Sauvs, not too sure why? It definitely feels more acidic, but this is also a much younger wine. We had bought it because it was a twist off (good for when you're a few bottles in and cannot operate the corkscrew). We did not have this a few bottles in, to see how it tasted. Seems like we did not like it at first, so let it decant for some time.
Still not a fan.

Pretty gooood! I wonder if this is what the Corbieres could have tasted like. Quite fruity, floral, and in plain words, tastes more like a juice. May not be buying this one again - but it was fun to try. Great to drink with some peanuts and other dry snacks.
Comes in at 6g/L

Very fruity notes on this one. We found this during our hour long LCBO trip, and had not seen this one before. Not bad, but not our preferred taste. Still very full bodied, smooth, but fruity.

Besides the twist of Cab Sauv, this is another one we did not like so much from GB. It had a sticker on the bottle saying some 91 points stuff, and we thought, yes must buy and try. It's very acidic and sweet, perhaps needs more air time, and some different food to pair alongside.
Never ended up buying another bottle to try again because we've lean towards ones we know we like or new ones we have not yet tried.

Low stock! Seems like other people also like this one. We bought both remaining on the shelf

That time we spent an hour in LCBO. They asked if we were doing Christmas shopping. We said yes! [Christmas shopping for ourselves]

My drinking friend used to say, ok we just buy one bottle (or two), and grab the little basket. But then each time we resort back to the cart because it's always > 4 bottles by the end of the trip.

DINNER AT HOME: MOUNT WASHINGTON, LA

2017-12-01T07:45:00.001-08:00

Grocery shopping is sometimes a chore, or a task to cross off your list, but quite the exciting trip for me. You know that feeling that little kids get when they walk into a toy store?

Equivalent of myself in a grocery store. I tend to have shoukugeki no souma reactions when grocery shopping. My cousin is never impressed and is never ready to deal with this hyper-excited child.

But how to contain oneself when you see this one (AND it's on sale):

THAT MARBLING. Regretting that I did not buy two (or three). At least we could have had some more the day after.

Can't go to Mitsuwa without picking up sashimi. I'm currently reliving the moment as I type away and drool over this picture

Oh yessssssssss

My all time fav - hamachi. So fatty and finely marbled. *drooooool*

This was all we had for dinner. I kid you not. Somehow it was enough to satisfy two tummies.

This is the stuff that appears in my dreams. Cue shoukugeki no souma reactions.

Had to pepper and salt this using the abundance of salt and pepper packets acquired from Chik-Fil-A. Quick sear on all sides

Do you watch Shoukugeki no Souma? The meat girl. I felt like the meat girl as I was cooking this, and as I cut that first slice.

Back to the sashimi. The beloved hamachi and chutoro.

Wishing my weekly sashimi meals were a daily thing. This ootoro was lovely.

Pretty convinced that staying at home for meals like this is an astronomically greater deal. I cannot fathom the bill at the end of the meal if I had these for dinner at a restaurant. We ate this with freshly grated wasabi (Mitsuwa is the besttt)

Bubbly sake

IT'S PINK = VICKI MUST PURCHASE. Who cares about the taste. (although it tastes pretty good)

Chik-Fil-A is always on promotional stuff on Postmates LA. Cousin stocks up on sauce. I don't think we ever made use of them though. CORRECTION: Cousin brought them all back home with him. Did not offer me any at all.

QUARTERS: LA KTOWN

2017-11-27T11:44:00.002-08:00

We made it to the corner of 6th and Kenmore. Hungry, thirsty, and ready for some korean bbq. Quarters seemed to be hyped up quite a bit recently, and a couple friends had gone and said it wasn't bad.

The green onion salad (shredded green onions, spciy/sweet/sesame oil sauce). SO GOOD.

It was a tough decision. Do I return to my beloved HangHoDong BaekJong or try out a new place for once? The line was empty for both (it was around 1400 and we were far far away from the 2 hour queue that would ensue come dinner time). My parents said, you've already been to this KangHoDong one how many times, why not try a different place?

Ah yes. Make this very difficult decision for me.

Upon walking in, I'll say that the smell is less strong than it's neighbouring kbbq place (pretty important, because after kbbq you usually smell of smoke and meat and oil. . But is it better tasting?

After they sat us down mom attempts to get her share of eye candy and wave down the servers who were all potential kpop stars (in her eyes). Dad and I flip to the drinks list and telepathically agree on the pitcher of Sapporo.

We only ordered a few cuts of meat because I expected a tremendous amount of side dishes, some dwenjang jjigae, and also the steamed egg because they give you all that (and more) at the neighbouring kbbq. We got neither.
This here is a potato salad. Beside it is kimchi jeon.

This place is full service, so you don't need to do any flipping or cutting yourself (seems to be the case for many kbbqs in LA ktown though). The brisket comes first as it cooks the fastest (is that really the reason why? It just seems like brisket is always the first cut that gets served). Was just like any other beef brisket slice. Okay.

Actually now that I look, I remember we ordered beef brisket and beef belly.
The belly was no more amazing tasting than the brisket. At this point I wish I had gone to KangHoDong.
But people are going to hate on me and say some sort of the following: "Oh what do you know, you've only gone to Quarters once", "But you only had two cuts of meat, how can you say another place is better already"
Unfortunately, I must shrug and disregard those comments.

Short ribs, not marinated. One of my favs. I can't say this is the best one I've had but it wasn't bad. Okay.

They gave us two kinds of greens. The leafy one here appears to have been taken with an exceptional amount of blur. My apologies. Pretty standard salad.

We killed this plate of broccoli. I sometimes still have trouble spelling this cruciferous vegetable.

Still trying to figure out why this place is so hyped.... *the thinking emoji face*
Also the spacing and font is so messed up for this post. Why :(

THOUGHT STYLE: SOMA, SF

2017-05-11T05:51:00.001-07:00

This is supposed to be some fusion-y (pretty much most restaurants in sf are fusion-y in some way) Thai cuisine place, specifically an italian-thai fusion. We, however, did not happen to order any of the seemingly fusion dishes (a thai flavour infused risotto amongst them)

Wow this place is rather pretty inside. We loved the white decor. And the ribbons on the lightbulbs made it feel like there were birds flying up above.

Wut. A salad on top of omelette. Our initial thought.

Oh here are my fuudz. The sausage. The carrot (I wish it were finely julienned. Or pickled. Not a big fan of large strips of raw carrot) was sad. The sausages were super salty. The egg was also super salty.

Ah - that is why they gave us this spring mix on top. So that we could eat it with the omelette which was seasoned with a heavy hand of salt. There was minced pork in there as well. But all I could think about eating this was salt.

SO COCONUT CREAMY. Wow. But even still, it was incredibly spicy *yay*. What meat was this? Maybe lamb, or beef. Also has lots of those little round green eggplants. Yum yum.

How did they know I over(re)acted about the omelette? They appear to be low key calling me out here...

We ordered this roti paratha for the curry. This is probably the best dish of our entire meal here. Freshly stretched and fried. So light, and the layers - the layers! We ordered another one of these even before we demolished the first one.

We were not satisfied with out carb intake. And wanted to increase it. With the consumption of pad thai. This was pretty sweet. Too sweet for me likings. Oh well.

Would I go back? Not for the food at least. Maybe to take some pretty pictures of myself.

CHOTTO: MARINA, SF

2017-05-08T18:02:00.003-07:00

We came in as a party of two without reservation, and thankfully we were still able to be seated, albeit being bar seats.

Uni sandwiched between halved scallops. Yuzu soy seasoning, some mircogreens that served as aesthetics enhancers. Tobiko was cute. Chili flakes brought the dish home. Reproducible at home level: 80%. I made this at home, with the uni, scallops, yuzu sauce, tobiko, chilli flakes. No microgreens because they are $$$ for such a small amount. Really should start growing them at home instead.

We looked over to the other man sitting beside us at the bar. And told the owner we wanted whatever it was he was drinking. It was this. Translates to Man Mountain. Hello yes let me drink that.

A chilled drink

And he filled it righttt up

Soft poached egg, roasted shrooms (funny story. I was talking about shrooms one day with my coworkers. About how I watched a documentary on them, a documentary by vice. About how there's this ancient sacred culture of shrooms somewhere in south america - or was it Mexico? That was not a funny story. I apologize. It seemed like a better story when we were talking about it), fancy designer greens. Tart dressing. The yolk helped kill some of the tartness. It was delicious. Reproducible at home level: 100%

Why has brusell sprouts got such a bad rap amongst children? Is it because TV shows says they are the enemy to the palette of those under the age of 12? What a tragedy - because these are delicious. A sweet, very umami soy glaze coats each ball, flecked with chilli (I see they enjoy flecking with chilli at this place). Generous squeeze of lemon (meaning, squeeze every drop of juice you can get from that lemon) is needed. It is quite oily and heavy from the sauce and oil in which its been roasted.

Beef tongue. The least amazing. Was not bad, but wasn't great. They used sichimi togarashi (the Japanese seven spices powder) all over (again). The red sauce on the bottom was so unmemorable that I have no recollection of what flavours it brought upon my tongue.

Sliced hamachi (I presume this was near the belly. The fat was so graciously marbled), avocado. This was one of the specials (the other one was a roll if I am remembering correctly), and it really just alternating slices of avocado, hamachi, topped with tobiko and the yuzu sauce. Hamachi was very fresh. But still was not worth however much we paid. Not sure how the avocado helps the hamachi (or the other way around). Both are so fatty and moreish. At least place the tobiko on more neatly - maybe in small blobs and not just sprinkled all over. Looks messy. The microgreens also make an appearance here. They were not eaten.

Service was amazing though. The owner took care of us well and is a friendly guy with some long time friends of >10 years that still come to visit him here. Okay that is all I have to say.

IZAKAYA RINTARO

2017-01-08T23:24:00.000-08:00

Why my love for izakayas is greater than yours:

1. the variety of small-portioned dishes allow me to eat a greater variety without sacrificing stomach space

2. pork cheek is almost always on the yakitori option (and I love pork cheek/neck/jowl)

3. my alcohol tolerance increases, and devastation of hangovers decreases when consuming asian alcohols

The most delicious firm-ish tofu ever. The texture holds, but is also soft. Creamy, but with a touch of graininess. It is accompanied perfectly with the freshly grated wasabi and a clean tasting soy sauce.

Lovely sauce here. The tomato was a beautiful addition.

I believe that there is a anti chicken breast field emitting from my body as I'll never buy it nor will I order a dish containing it. But friend who says, let's order the chicken breast yakitori, has defied my wishes. I ate a piece and was mindblown. Wtf is this tender piece of what I had previously perceived as a cardboard of a meat. So juicy, soft, flavourful (the japanese have a knack for seasoning savoury grilled foods really well. I suppose it is so that it can be better accompanied with beer). My anti chicken breast field shall not only be turned off when I'm in Rintaro.

The outside area where you can enjoy some okonomiyaki on Thursday nights. They'll bring it to your table if you're dining at Rintaro and there just for the Japanese pancake.

The crowd of Japanese people just chilling out here makes it all feel so authentic and real deal.

Okonomiyaki courtesy of the stall just beyond the doors of Rintaro - all with their own tables and steady gathering of peoples constantly ordering. I love that they bring it to your table inside of Rintaro. Other than that, it's pretty mediocre. Probably would not order again.

Omg doneeee. Getting ready for the next post now.

CRISPY CHESTNUT CREAM PUFF

2016-11-26T21:55:00.001-08:00

I HAVEN'T BAKED IN SO LONG. Actually I have but never got around to putting it here...

cut and serve

It's been a hassle to edit my pictures cause I had to partition my Windows machine to Windows/Ubuntu and I use Ubuntu around 96.7% of the time. So why do I still keep windows? For goddamn Photoshop. It is time. To purchase a mac.

Trying to fit as many as possible onto the sheet

When I got around to not be lazy and boot from windows; did this long editing marathon and was exhausted.

my babiessssssssss

So I had this urge to make cream puffs and this dream to fill it with chestnut + choux cream. I've been making so many mont blancs every time we got a batch of chestnut puree and I was not down to make tart shells to make use of the chestnut puree and fulfill my chestnut love.

100% chestnut puree + vanilla creme pat.

I wanna eat you everyday. But filled differently

That is all.

FREDIES FANTASTIC FISH, HALIFAX

2016-10-01T23:33:00.001-07:00

There weren't many choices. It was either this place or the other, after consulting Yelp which didn't provide many 4+ ratings to choose from (why eat anything less than 4 stars though?)

So we ended up here and were so glad we did when we sat down on an outside table after placing our order at the counter:

Owner Tammy greeted us and knew we were tourists cause a Chinese family of four stuck out so hard in that city. She gave us a list of places to which we should, and warned us of the tourist traps.

Possibly the best first stop we could have made on our East Coast Canada trip.

Lobster roll was not like the ones from fisherman's wharf in SF. You can actually see the lobster claw meat here, which is not mixed 50/50 with mayo. Shredded lettuce, and a toasted bun with a drizzle of the melted butter that they serve with boiled lobster was missing. Whole leaf lettuce made taking bites of this thing rather awkward. Not piping hot toasted bun makes a bad mouthfeel with the lobster. Lobster/mayo part was good, the entire lobster roll was okay.

Batter is like super crispy, thin, and stays on the fish even when you cut it up. This was our first fish and chips upon landing, and since then we had many more fish and chips places. So I can say that this was by far the best one. The fish they used was not too flaky, and they cooked it so that it was still nice and moist inside. Very good

Sweet potato fries, flatter (not square) cut, came with a chipotle mayo that we were not fond of, and just dipped it in tartar sauce instead. Nothing out of the ordinary here. Okay

We came here a second time to eat their fish and chips again because the fish was that good.

A big thank you to Tammy who treated us to great food and the extensive list of places to eat and visit!

PS

Completely forgot to blog about this trip even though I had all the pictures edited wow

Waking up to this

MENSHO, SF

2016-10-01T23:33:00.000-07:00

I really rarely eat ramen. The last time must have been last year, and I also happened to be in SF as well. Also have zero recollection of where it was in SF, or what ramen I ordered. In the back of my mind, ramen gives off an instant noodle vibe - which I love, when you scramble in an egg.

So we came here after a long day at work. Actually I'm not sure if it was long or we just happened to stay back later than usual. Seeing that none of us had consumed anything for our meal of the evening yet, one of us had suggested this very *amazing* ramen place that has notorious lines and a killer broth.

And the four of us embark on a ramen trip. Where there was no line and no wait for tables *gasp*

Chicken broth. Did they make this broth like how the French makes their beurre blanc? Cause the creaminess was no joke. A viscous broth with an equally intense and creamy taste that coats each ramen strand more than it needs too. Also very salty. The lack of veggies in this makes me concerned about my well being after a few spoonfuls of the broth. Okay.

The shoyu/soy sauce one is very different from the chicken broth. Not as salty and pleasant to drink. Clean taste - is that kombu I suspect? Reminds me of the clear korean soups too. Good.

Wow my favourite one. This soba has everything your soul desires: egg yolk, thick savoury sweet sauce, pea sprouts, more veggies than the other two, peanuts. Reminds me of the noodles we have in Malaysia. If only we ordered the spicy version of this. Good.

Between the four of us, we still managed to struggle to clean the bowls. This is the kind of food that knocks you out and makes you fall into an eternal slumber.

Good night dear friends.

IMAI, GEORGETOWN

2016-08-23T20:37:00.001-07:00

Our friend's had their Japanese restaurant opened for almost a year and I still haven't been yet! After I went once a couple of months ago, I've been visiting once a week since then.

Now every time we come on a weekend (is when they stock types of fish aside from salmon, tuna, butterfish, mackerel, ...), we get orders of these fish:

Clockwise from 1200: Hamachi/yellowtail, sea bass, sea bream, flounder

Flounder is the one laid out in a fan. Texture has more of a bite and does not necessarily 'melt in your mouth'. You can get a varying taste by adding the grated radish (orange), green onion, and an almost yuzu tasting sauce. Very good.

I've ever only had sea bass cooked, and knowing that there was a sashimi sea bass available, we had to try it. Maybe because I have been so used to the texture and flavours of cooked sea bass - that I think I enjoyed this less that I would have hoped. Good.

Sea bream. I've had it where they score the skin in a diamond pattern and then torch the skin lightly. Here, the sea bream is completely skinned. Nothing special here, but a good change in taste from salmon and tunas. Okay.

My favourite hamachi / yellowtail. I order this everytime now, and it isn't even one of the in-stock-on-weekend only fishes. The fat marbling is dispersed well (unlike salmon where you can clearly see the lines of fat from meters away - which of course is not literal.)

And then when it is not weekend we get the chef's choice:

I don't usually get these cause it'll come with the surf clam, of which I was never fond (cause it would be tough and hard to chew). But chef here scores the underside of the surf clam in a criss cross manner so that it is remarkably easy to bite into.

Tuna tataki here is coated with black pepper and when not ordered as an appetizer, does not come with the yuzu sauce and green onion, radish garnishes.

Clam sake broth soup. So intensely flavoured. I underestimated the flavours simply because this broth looks see-through and clear. But it hits you right away - the sweetness of the clam, the umami from the mushroom (which I would assume is heavily involved in the flavouring of the broth), the kombu, dashi (involved in this seafood taste), and the sake (very mellow). The amount of clams in there were very plentiful. This kind of soup is the warming soup you'd like to have when you're sick or trying to recover from a hangover. Very good.

Cool Autumn: One of the four season rolls they offer. Chef makes 4 very different rolls with different techniques to capture the 4 seasons. The autumn one includes a sweet savoury eel and crispy salmon bits, and a smooth avocado. It's drizzled with more of that sweet savoury sauce, bonito flakes, and refreshing slivers of green onion. Probably ordered this at least three times. Very good.

I actually came here on so many occasions I'll need at least three more posts of the same restaurant. Coming soon.

Currently in the lovely SF where I am reunited with my very missed foods and a drink that only bartenders here know: Tokyo Tea. But the people living here don't seem to know it well?

Anyhow, its been so bittersweet leaving home after only spending a week there and then having to leave yet again. I will, however, make good use of my time here to take in all the good food. Speaking of which I still have a bunch of places that I shot in SF from a few months ago that are still due a post.

I have been lazy as usual.

HALU, RICHMOND SF

2016-06-07T09:54:00.000-07:00

My very first yakitori experience and before I even had anything, I was already drooling.

Super hole in the wall restaurant

Perhaps I was extremely hungry that day after a day of strolling through warm sand and Golden Gate Park. Or maybe because it smelled so damn good inside the store, especially when you're sitting at the bar seats right in front of the (was it charcoal?) grill.

When you have a shelf of sochu and sake in front of you, you pretty much can't go away with not having one. I had pointed to a random one (I think it was a sweet potato based sochu) on the menu but turns out they just ran out, and instead recommended this sake:

A new one they just stocked

I'm always inclined to go for Asian alcohols (except for China's baijiu which sets my innards on fire) cause I seem to handle them quite well. And it's fitting for an Asian meal. So we had some of this first while they took a while to get our order started. Served chilled and really smooth. Waitress made a hella good recommendation.

Once the first round (beef belly) came by, the others rolled out one by one (pacing was perfect), and we got some edamame on the houseee (No, they don't give it to just anyone cause I'm super nosy and checked out the peoples beside us)

They have beef belly on the menu and I'm sold. I'm trying to image the fatty layers before it even arrives on my plate and it's hard to not get excited. SO DELICIOUS. Could this be like a wagyu-wannabe? (I don't know cause I haven't had wagyu either) When it first lands into your mouth you taste the grill flavours (you know, the yummy color and flavours from your Maillard reaction) but then the fat hits your tongue and begins to melt. It's juicy, rich, and you think you've reached the peak of your love but then you bite down onto a meatier bit and the beefiness hits you. Yes, I am beef, it reminds you, and you think, wow. You'd think that the fat>meat ratio is too much but no. So then you take another strip of beef belly (they've arranged 5-6 well-portioned pieces of the belly onto the skewer to satisfy your pleasure). Very good

So while the beef belly still lingers in your mouth, the next plate comes by with chicken cartilage (right) that isn't super crispy (I've only eaten it deep fried so I was expecting a similar texture, which was stupid and ignorant of me). A bit on the salty side. Not sure if I would order it again, but I'll have a couple of pieces off your skewer when you order it. Bad

No, eating chicken heart (left) doesn't creep me out, I'm Asian. Actually this was marinated really well, and the texture when grilled was amazing. Nice bite, not chewy. But I was still thinking if we should get another order of the beef belly.... Good

Pork cheek is so delicious grilled - you can't get the same cooked-ness from even pan frying it on high heat. And it sounds good in Japanese too - tontoro. Very fatty, but unlike pork belly you get a nice bite (wow what's with these 'nice bite' descriptions I have today - current count: 2, I promise no more). And salted nicely so they also give you a yellow wasabi mustard which helps you cut through the savoriness. Usually I've had this served with some yuzu salt. But perhaps this wasabi mustard is a better accompaniment. Good

Chicken skin had crispy edges and a soft kind of chewy interior. Nice way to end off the meal. Maybe a bit too salty for my liking (I enjoy the sweet - savoury mix). (My favourite skewered chicken skin still has got to be this satay in Malaysia, specifically, the cart a few steps away from our apartment, whose chicken satay would be tender chicken thigh meat and chicken skin alternately). Okay

We didn't have dessert here and actually I was reaching a good volume of satisfied. This place is tiny and only fits maybe maximum of 25-30 people? We stayed seated for a bit after our meal but see that there's a crowd outside waiting for seats.

Beatles memorabilia everywhere

The next day we needed to grab something to eat quick and I wanted to come back for only the beef belly. My friend thought that idea was ridiculous. We went to a Japanese place (run by Koreans of course) instead.

Major-ly missing my previously daily cafe and the baristas who were hipster AF, and loved coffee more than anything else.

Waiting for our 'Clever' coffee (pour over)

And because I can never make coffee or espresso like those guys I've now been making my routine batches of cold brew to try and cure the lack of good hot coffee and lack of cali cold brews.

OJs, TORONTO

2016-05-10T19:42:00.003-07:00

For the past four months I've been in love with cold pressed juices. From fruits like grapefruit, berries, veggies like kale, spinach, to added stuffs like activated charcoal, cayenne, and oil of oregano (oh God that oil of oregano was killer and its taste was clinging onto my mouth and throat for life - never again will I try oil of oregano/cayenne-added juices).

And for the first three months of the four, OJ's was under construction. But when it finally opened in April, I had already been part of the Belmonte Raw cult and was addicted (it's a healthy addiction though) to their Hydrate (activated charcoal, coconut water, lemon) - until OJs had little samples out at the front that lured me in on the way to work.

I had some green one and it was refreshing - not salad-tasting like some of the green ones at Belmonte, but more like a green lemonade.
But like any other place in the PATH, you can't just sell one thing and hope it'll rake in all the dough to pay your rent:

Owner Aly says people often come for coffee/espresso drinks with the almond milk that you may not be able to get at other cafes.

And a fridge-full selection of Kombucha (which was all the rage in Cali, but seems to not be as well known here...yet), coconut water, chia pudding jars, more juices!

Loving how flexible they are with what you want in your juices - though the menu lists exactly which fruits/veggies go in there, you're free to ask for substitutions: I've switched red apple for a green one, added kale/cucumber to ones that didn't contain it.

One complain was the intense frothiness which filled up half the cup. Aly says that's where all the fibre and good stuff lies, and I told him a few ways they can turn that fibre-filled foamy layer to a fibre-filled layer of liquid so we can slurp it through the straw. Berry taste was amazing until you got to foam.

This espresso bean, cacao, banana, peanut butter and other stuff filled smoothie was super satisfying, but unfortunately, is unable to replace that morning caffeine fix we all need. Tasted like a blended up coffee + Reese. So good

Coming soon are their in house made organic green yogurt bowls which would be a great breakfast if you don't like the idea of replacing a breakfast/quick meal with a drink. Looking forward to the different toppings they'll roll out for these yogurt bowls soon!

Coming soon

OJ's Team

Big thanks to team at OJ's - always fuelling my juice fix

Was asked to make a wedding cake for a dear friend's wedding this past weekend (Congrats you two, who may not even be reading this right now cause you're busy eloping)

Oh silly me didn't bring camera for my cake's big day

Flowers are courtesty of a bouquet and a extra helping of baby's breath (the white one)

Sponge cake with three flavours (for the cake base): plain, coffee, cocoa

And the fillings: matcha cream, chocolate cream, peaches

EGG SLUT, DOWNTOWN LA

2016-04-27T20:21:00.001-07:00

Wooooo I've wanted to get me some slutty eggs for a while now, where for the whole while I've thought, just how good can mashed potatoes and a soft soft cooked egg be? The perpetually long line should have really hinted at how delicious it is, though I've still had my doubt while waiting in line with the 15+ people

Not until I saw the stacks of potato and egg filled mason jars stacked sous vide-ing did I start getting egg-cited *oh, haha there*

They are very good at handling their orders chronologically (you get it very in the order that the orders are made, no fighting, children). The seats there are limited so I sniped one right away when someone left.

Served with two very thin slices of baguette (wow, how did they slice it so thin? A very skilled handler of a very sharp serrated knife. Or those bread slicing machines), drizzled with olive oil and toasted so very evenly until nice and super crisp.

The egg yolk is cooked all the way through, but the yolk is a nice runny consistency all throughout. Diced chives and flaky salt top the egg.

Ad underneath is the smoothest pomme puree that has ever landed into my mouth. Very smooth, not overly buttery/creamy, salted just right.

I bought two more to-go for my friends, and they'll wrap it up nice (meaning you also keep the cute mason jar)

Cue sounds of pleasure

After this I was cafe hunting around DTLA, for one with available outlets and decent wifi so I could work remotely (I had told my boss I'd be working while I was away, but I ended up doing close to nothing. Coming back home, boss never expected me to get anything done anyway. so it's all good)

Spent a few hours sipping on cold brew at Verve Coffee Roasters (based in the Bay). I don't think I've gotten a single hot coffee/espresso drink in Cali yet. Cold brew's killing ittt

HWA SUN JI, LA KTOWN

2016-04-23T14:49:00.001-07:00

After a I-did-not-know-my-stomach-could-stomach-that-much-food kind of meal, you wonder what the next logical thing to do is. And that is, of course, to take a walk to make enough room for part two of your late, late, lunch, in order to enjoy afternoon tea.

So we took a walk (for a good half hour maybe), where, under the hot LA sunshine, our feelings of itis was elevated even more so than before, and stopped by this tea house in hopes of resting to prepare ourselves for the 36 hour hackathon to come.

When you need something thirst quenching (and this is for the kind of thirst that resides in your throat), this Korean sauna/bathhouse staple drink is pretty damn refreshing. And because you're at a tea house and not a jimjilbang, it's served with slivers of ice in a bowl, and a wooden spoon. It's made with fermented rice, and reminds me of the barley/rice/soy sweet drinks back in Malaysia. Slightly to sweet for my liking. Good

Never understood how people could ever have shaved ice with syrup and find it so delicious now - though back as a child (who am I kidding, I'm still a child) I'd shave my own ice and drizzle of cherry red and berry blue syrups and be all happy in my own little summer bubble - because after bingsoo, you'll want to always have ten thousand toppings on your shaved ice. Including, but not limited to: condensed milk, endless fruits, red bean, kinako, ice cream, mochi, crisps, whipped cream, brown sugar syrup... Good

I thought, okay, green tea can't be that different - I know there's matcha and the leafy green tea and so all the other types of green tea that isn't powder must fall under the latter flavour profile, right? How foolish of me to think that way. This was so good I even went to David's Tea to order it when I came back to Canada. The cup houses a tea filter, and a mini kettle of hot water is kept with you so you can continuously enjoy a cup of steeped tea.

You also get a never-ending serving of seaweed crackers. And a cup of roasted rice tea to bid us farewell

So extremely relaxing, we almost ended up taking a nap here. We had the whole place to ourselves, save the ahjumma who took good care of us, and there was a mini waterfall. She told us that this place isn't as popular during afternoons as it is after dinnertime.

Rose tea

So I came here again on a weekday night (after a different kbbq), and it was extremely busy, as ahjumma had said. Young and old people come here, but mainly only Koreans. I've been blessed with living with a Korean family for 4 months that I can get by as a Korean, but there is also an english menu, and when language fails, you just need to point to what you want.

Science Museum

The night we came here, we took a bus, and the driver was the best. At every stop, he'd declare, not the stop names, but:

Everyone! Mucho good night

Have a mucho good dreams!
Have a mucho good sleep!

Mucho!... (and other mucho - prefixed things)

All the bus patrons were smiling and so were we.

KANG HO DONG, LA KTOWN

2016-03-22T20:25:00.001-07:00

LA Kbbq is really something else. I mean Kbbq itself is already damn satisfying but having the LA style in LA is:

I've been to so many kbbqs in the Bay and Toronto, but this one beat them all in many ways..

We got the beef set (~$60) and it started us off with the brisket. The first time I had this cut at a Korean bbq place was at Gen (San Jose location), and I fell in love with the thin marbled slices of meat that were very meaty in flavour (because it's brisket). Even if its left on the grill too long you won't not want to eat it because it might turn dry, because it actually stays moist (because the fat omg), and caramelizes too. So good

Then was the prime rib cut. This one has to be eaten right after they cut it up and so you see that it is still a very nice medium rare (why can't any other restaurant not over cook a medium rare order and turn it into a medium?!). But it was just the two of us devouring this meal so the last few pieces of the prime rib were no longer medium rare, but medium. The flame was a nice presentation and very picture worthy. If you're looking for a melt in your mouth experience, this is not the cut for you. If you want a beefy taste and substantial bite of beef, this is the cut for you. Okay

Last of the three plates was marinated boneless beef short rib. This is the melt in your mouth beef cut that you were waiting for. The one were the marbling of fat was apparent before and after cooking. The one where it glistens on the grill because the fats are melting above the embers. The one where you go for that end cut of meat that has a chunk of fat on it that you left it on the grill until you ate every other piece because you want to savour that piece of 9:1 ratio of fat to meat because that 90% would have crisped up so nicely on the hot grill. The one where you then wrap it in a thin slice of pickled radish because the lettuce salad can not handle the umptuous-ness of that 9:1 ratio.Very good.

The cheesy corn on the side of the grill, which usually only makes an appearance in Korean pubs. But cheese could have been creamier. I didn't like how the cheese didn't stay very melty and gooey - once it's off the grill (when you pick it up), the cheese starts to harden. Bad.

The egg that is cooked on the side of the grill so it catches all the meat juices and fat. Very custardy and flavourful. I suspect some sort of MSG or broth was mixed into the egg. Good

The salad for which LA style bbq is famous is not the kind that I had eaten or that I had expected to be served here. There was a bed of marinated bean sprouts underneath the green onions (which were good though!) But what happened to the leaf lettuce? Did they run out of leaf lettuce so that they were forced to put romaine as a stand in? SMH.

Pickled radish and a fatty piece of short rib

Kimchi pancake was meh, kimchi stew was also meh. But who will actually fill up on that stuff when you have incredible meats in front of you? But I admit to finishing the tofu and two servings of sliced pickled radish.

Cue orgasmic reaction to food

Oh yes, there was also water cabbage and radish

And someone (not me) doesn't know how to pour beer wow

We took a stroll around ktown after the extremely heavy lunch meal:

I'm not even Korean but having been in Ktowns so often it feels comfortable whenever I'm in one

REEL IN, LA MALIBU

2016-03-11T19:39:00.001-08:00

I was supposed to be working the Monday after I attended Hacktech in Caltech (more on that below), - but I'm in LA and with a cousin who ended up taking us for a day-long drive. Part of that drive included going up a nondescript road up the mountain off of highway 1. Which led us onto what felt like driving in a video game feels like.

Then stopped by a seafood place, which had sea bass. Which is the fish I will choose to eat for the rest of my life if I could only have one type.

Juicy, moist, and crisp edges. The steak of a fish was basted in a bit of butter, and all you really needed was maybe some salt and pepper. I only put some of the former, and my god it was delicious. Maybe if it was seasoned better (ie more salt) this would be quite mind blowing. We both ordered this. Very good.

You choose how you want your fish prepared (grilled, with cajun - not spicy, or), and two sides. Sides are nothing compared to the fish. I won't even comment on them.

cousin ordered a clam chowder. It came with little 'oyster' crackers (that has no oyster whatsoever) and kind-of-chewy clams. Very thick and rich. Okay.

SEA BASS was all I really saw

I only realized now that we spent more than half the day driving around & up a random street off highway 1 which led us up the hill (very high hill) in Malibu, just off Topanga beach. The difference between the bottom and the top was more than 5 degrees Celsius, as well as the presence of sunlight:

Top of the hills

Middle ish of the hills

Sea level, Topanga Beach

GUISADOS, LA WEHO

2016-03-10T20:31:00.000-08:00

There's this youtube channel I watch consistently (there are ones that I don't frequent because the content is not the most interesting --> really all channels except for this one I am going to disclose), called Munchies.

The series, Chef's Night Out, is the one I watch to decide where I want to eat next (Night and Market was one of them), and Guisado's is another. Basically a bunch of chefs plus their friends going out for drinks and food for a night, and Guisado's was one of the restaurants where the chefs went out.

I only started liking Mexican food ever since I worked in Bay Area for a bit (but to be honest, I don't think I've had any Mexican food besides a quesadilla at Taco Bell, which cannot even be deemed as Mexican food, I'm afraid). And so since the start of my love for Mexican food, I've been very open to saucy meats on soft corn tortillas:

I love the chili verde here, it's not too spicy and would be nice if it was spicier. It's heavy cause it's meat but fresh because, chili verde, and if anything, it's the verde part of the chili verde (I'm assuming verde = green here, correct me if I'm wrong. I could easily Google up the actual translation here as I'm typing this too, but I'm not) that makes it so fresh and pleasant to eat.

The seafood one here is grilled fish, and topped with dressed salad (cabbage, onions - too much and too raw. I should have had the seafood one first so that the meat could somehow overpower the raw onion taste in my mouth).

Cousin got the steak as well, and a chicken one I think. I added a beer to start my morning which I immediately regretted like 15 minutes into the meal and realized I should have just stuck with my routine morning coffee, which I ended up having later (I think).

We sat on the outside seats. A man came by during our meal and asked for a smoke. And to light it for him too

Then we went to Santa Monica Seafood, where cousin previously bought some really good candied salmon (I had a version of that from Waterloo, but it wasn't as good as this one, which is less hard/dry and jerky-like). I didn't end up taking a picture. We snacked on it at home in the morning or night or both times of the day.

From here we went to Santa Monica Beverley Centre, where I almost bought a rimowa luggage but cousin stopped me and I ended up buying two other suitcases at a price still much less than that light pink rimowa one I ~~slightly~~ do not regret not getting.

We went to santa monica beach that night:

MOMOFUKU DAISHO, TORONTO

2016-02-15T08:35:00.000-08:00

It was nearing the end of winterlicious and I had only gone to one winterlicious dinner! So we opted for a lunch one, and it seems that among the few we places at which we wanted to dine, just Daisho had an open table for 1200.

We took the stairs up to the third floor, passing by the milk cold room (and making a note that we should make a stop there after we've had our meal). The bright bright room filled with natural light was a huge plus for making the dining area feel open and optimal for food pictures (actually, any pictures in general).

Pink lady apple wedges kimchi'd, arugula, maple labneh, pork jowl bacon

We both chose to start with an apple kimchi salad. The spicy kimchi was great with the sweet and crisp apple wedges. Argula kept it fresh, jowl was crisp and contrasted nicely. The smear of labneh was too thick for out liking - both of us used it sparingly. We spent a while debating what type of apple they used to make into kimchi. Was too sweet to be granny smith but was so crisp, maybe golden delicious? Turns out it was pink lady, a type of apple I've never had until that day. Good

Chicken + pork 'spam', coconut rice, fried egg, spicy sauce, shittake mushroom, napa water kimchi, cilantro, fried egg

Chicken & pork sausage rice bowl. The sausage is shaped like, might I even say, a crispy an fried spam, and had a 78% resemblance to a level-upped spam. Rice is not the Asian kind but the Western kind that doesn't stick together. Sauce is like a thick soup consistency. Very filling and moreish. Okay

Rice cake, mussel, yuzu, thai basil, sake, steamed bun

Mussels with a steamed bun. The bun though. It is not your typical asian steamed bun, and I feel that it is a western style dough that has been shaped and steamed, yielding a fine crumb which disintegrates very quickly upon dipping in the mussel's broth (but dipping it in the broth was the intended purpose of the bun, no?) Mussels were plump and fresh; the portion was on the large side. Lots of fried shallots, and lemon-grassy (fresh tasting) taste. Tastes like the kind of flavours my mom makes (south east asian). Would have been significantly better if they replaced the steam bun with any other bread, baguette would have been great. Okay

Chocolate ~~mousse~~ ganache, stout, deep fried banana, freeze dried banana, ice cream (maybe vanilla, or wait, was this cold thing supposed to be the mousse? I don't know and forgot to ask)

Chocolate mousse. But where is the goddamn mousse? Oh, its hiding in the form of a chocolate ganache. Then why has it been called a mousse? We felt quite fooled. Was the chef playing a joke on us? (Haha, I laugh in reply) There are deep fried bananas, freeze dried bananas, an ice cream whose flavour I do not recall, and some chocolate sauce. The ~~mousse~~ made the dessert moreish and decadent. Though I never liked chocolate desserts to begin with. So can't really judge this one.

Vanilla ~~custard~~ foam, honeycomb/brittle, orange, microgreen (basil? I'm kind of dying to know what it was now.)

Vanilla custard - is more of a vanilla foam (they siphoned the custard I'm guessing?). Topped with crushed brittle that doesn't taste like it's been infused with any flavours (ie it tasted like sugar). And was that micro basil leaves on top? Was a nice touch. Especially enjoyed the cooked saucy orange bits which refreshed the dessert bowl. Cake bits were almondy - was it a madeline? genoise? Would be nice if that was less sweet because the bits of honeycomb/brittle was sweet enough. Okay

Americano

Being only my second winterlicious meal for this year, I can't really make any solid assertion but both times I found the appetizer to be significantly better than the main and dessert.

Wow, haven't blabbed on this much about food in a while. All three courses were a hearty portion, and much larger than what I would expect for winterlicious, and any lunch for that matter. We had to take an americano and a walk afterwards to keep the itis from kicking in hard at work.

We got crack pie and chocolate malt cake truffles to go and eat back at the office for a midday pick me up.

CREAM, PALO ALTO

2016-01-30T07:58:00.000-08:00

It was very long, the line for this place, when we passed by after getting our coffees.

As usual I have the most difficult time of my life when there are too many choices in front of me:

I had to take a picture of the menu cause my eyesight is bad and I needed to read it from my camera instead

I said, okay I will get ice cream sandwich because that's what they do here. But was already super full from lunch sandwiches so I decided on no cookie.

And then settled on the cup of almond ice cream

But was still wishy washy and ended up telling the girl to change it to ice cream sandwich

She was like, girl, are you seriously making me change your order like more than once?

Seems you can mix in toppings like cold stone (the steel counter railing is a chilled one)

Cookie was warm and ice cream melted fast

We devoured the whole thing in store

P/S

Whenever i look out the window now it's very gloomy and looking like it's going to rain...

Sun shining in Stanford

Because the weather affects my mood quite a lot (though I wish it didn't so I could be happy and bubbly sans sunshine)

Dear readers, your favorite weather is...?