Cinnamon Juice

Cooking: Throwing it all Together

2010-10-09T14:29:00.000-07:00

It's good to get back into cooking since I was eating out a bit much during the months of August and September. I've been more confident in my cooking recently and have been throwing together different ingredients to experiment more.

One day, I decided that asparagus, eggs, and chicken with penne pasta and marinara sauce sounded good. So I tossed them all together, coating them lightly with olive oil (see picture). It was definitely a hearty and healthy meal!

I've also been focusing more on buying fresh and frozen produce rather than pre-packaged meals. I haven't been much into processed foods for awhile anyway, but I've still become more mindful about what I'm putting into the grocery cart. Every week is an opportunity for more cooking experiments.

Eating Out: Educated Palate's Restaurant Classroom

2010-09-28T13:43:00.000-07:00

I had passed by the Educated Palate a lot in the past three years of living here in San Francisco. I never thought to go inside until recently....

The concept is interesting, intriguing: walk on in and you feel like you've entered into a super-fancy, super-pricy place. That's the point: but the prices of the menu items are very affordable. The restaurant is a classroom for budding culinary stars to practice their skills with less pressure than working at a fine-dining establishment off the bat.

Oh, but even though they're all "in-training", they still emanate professional standards. I certainly felt taken care of while I was here; I came here with my brother and we got plenty of bread (freshly made by the pastry students) and water. My entree was unique: mahi mahi, grilled mango, red rice with edamame. I'm all about tropical fruit on top of savory dishes after all!

Too bad I didn't have room for dessert, but I'm sure it's also exquisite. I believe every San Franciscan should check out the Educated Palate if they're downtown (it's at 4th Street and Mission Street). Go, support our future culinary superstars, and have a delicious, affordable meal (average $5-$10 per dish) during the workweek. You won't regret it.

Eating Out: New Eateries in the Neighborhood

2010-09-25T17:41:00.000-07:00

There have been quite a few new restaurants popping up nearby; luckily for me, my brother is willing to try out these places with me, considering they're all walking distance from our place.

From what I've seen so far: seems like noodles are trying to make a bigger presence out this way. We have a lot of casual Chinese eateries around and these new places are trying to break out from the crowd, if only just a little bit. There's a new pho restaurant, a new ramen place, and also a cheap sushi place that also serves noodles and casual Japanese food.

Not bad to throw a little more diversity in the mix, but I wonder if these places will be able to last. The neighborhood basically shuts down after the other shops close, and most people who stick around for dinner go to their tried-and-true.

Well, I walked by the sushi place yesterday and seems like it is doing good business with all the customers lined up. Maybe they'll be the lucky ones in this new wave of neighborhood restaurants.

Eating Out: Off the Grid Taco Comparison

2010-09-18T13:32:00.000-07:00

I went to Off the Grid on Thursday evening with my friend aka Froyo Girl. There were about ten mobile food trucks/carts at the event, but we were especially interested in the tacos offered at a couple trucks.

First up: a sisig taco (picture on the left), a blend of ground meat in sour marinade (well, according to Wikipedia anyway). This was available from the Filipino food truck, Senor Sisig. I went with beef sisig with some spice. The lettuce was finally shredded which helped hold the taco together better. I liked the bit of lime squeezed on top of the taco, and the sauce definitely was a good way to counter the spiciness of the taco. Well done!

Next was a kalbi taco, Korean short rib, courtesy of Seoul on Wheels (picture down below). I personally liked my kalbi taco since the short rib was nice and chewy. The taco was topped with mayonnaise though...a little strange, but the taco was still enjoyable.

So, which taco did I enjoy more though? Well, after I consumed both of them, I decided that the only thing that made these tacos was the tortilla (ah yes, the most obvious part, right?). But I was impressed with how they constructed the tacos with their own unique blends of toppings.

In the end, though, I enjoyed the kalbi taco more. Maybe it's because of the thickness of the meat, but it also seemed more flavorful to me.

Next up, I'll try out a Chinese taco. How about someone make a Japanese taco?

Vacation: Pyramid Salad

2010-09-14T16:50:00.000-07:00

Just a photo to share today: I don't recall the exact name of this salad, but I do remember how I had to topple the whole presentation to eat it (after the picture was taken). One of the main ingredients of the salad was avocado, which complemented the crunchy bits on top quite well. I went to this steakhouse on the last night in Vegas with my family. Really marvelous experience!

Vacation: Room Service Breakfast, Simple Pleasures

2010-09-11T18:08:00.000-07:00

The whole time my family and I was in Las Vegas, one of my sisters and I got room service for breakfast. We wanted to eat something substantial before we headed down to the hotel's fitness center.

On the first couple of days, I went with breakfasts that were similar to my usual: cereal and milk or yogurt with granola and fruit. I admit, looking at the prices for these simple breakfasts made me feel bad, but the presentation of all the foods made up for that aspect.

On the last few days, I decided I needed to branch out of the simple breakfast items and go with food I didn't eat anymore, such as pancakes and huge, stuffed omelets. I was on vacation after all, and, well, that made the meals more special. I could save cereal and milk for my days back at home; I was only in Vegas for a few days, so I just needed to live in the moment.

Vacation: A Vegas Seafood Adventure

2010-09-08T21:09:00.000-07:00

I was in Las Vegas a few weeks ago; tasted many delicious foods there. The trip started out with an Italian seafood dinner consisting of many tastings and unique vintage wines.

The picture to the right was one plate of samples I had; everyone kept saying the sardine was too strong in taste and smell, but I honestly found it perfect for myself.

That's all for today! (Apologies for the 1-day post delay).

Holidays: Autumn Moon Festival & Mooncakes

2010-09-04T11:19:00.000-07:00

Five mini mooncakes, five different flavors!

Ah, a new season is coming. And always at this time of the year I feel excited to eat mooncakes for the Autumn Moon Festival (or, sometimes the holiday is referred to as August Moon or Mid-Autumn Festival). I admit, the significance of many holidays for me revolves around the food; isn't that just how society is? When we think about Christmas, Valentine's Day, Thanksgiving, etc., there are always special foods we think of associating with the different holidays.

So I associate the Chinese holidays with the food eaten around the time.

I walked down to the grocery store and bakery in my neighborhood today to look at all the offerings of mooncakes. Although buying the bulk packages of mooncake would be cheaper, I know that my brother and I won't eat the whole box of mooncake at home. Plus, the regular-sized mooncakes are a bit cumbersome to handle (and highly caloric, sad to say).

So I went for the freshly-made inidividual mini mooncakes instead. At the bakery, they had flavors I had never seen before since all pre-packaged mooncake bundles only really feature red bean and white lotus as the main flavors. At the bakery, they had pomelo, pineapple, ginger, jasmine tea, green tea, oolong tea, and many other flavors. I had a hard time choosing! Plus, the individual mooncakes cost more ($1.99 for a mini mooncake), so I had to choose the flavors carefully.

I went with red bean, lotus, jasmine tea, green tea, and oolong tea. If I'm in the mood to do so, I'll go back and buy the other flavors just to try them out before the festival is over. Why not, right?

I just tried one of the mooncakes, the jasmine one, and I could certainly taste the fragrance of the tea in the cake. Delicious! I sure do love the holidays.

Grocery store featuring mooncake posters.

Sweets: Conchas Taking Hold on Me As Well...

2010-08-31T10:07:00.000-07:00

Another Latin-American treat I've become obsessed with are conchas/conchitas, which are are Mexican sweet breads. I don't have my own picture of the bread, but you can view a recipe and some pictures at Toxo Bread. These breads are unique in that they have a crumbly, shell-like topping. The recipe above calls for a chocolate topping, but there's also vanilla and strawberry available.

Where did I first encounter these sweet breads? Why, at Foods Co. in the Mission. In the back of the grocery store, they have bakery cases with fresh bolillo bread (bread used for tortas), sub rolls, and conchas. All of the above can be purchased individually from these cases or they can be bought in bulk (just like buying croissants in bulk). Last time I went to Foods Co. (a few days ago), we finally caved in and bought a bulk container of conchas. Looks like the bread has gone quickly, since this morning I saw that a little under half of the conchas is left!

So far I've found two recipes for conchas online (the one above and another one on allrecipes.com). I have a tendency to collect too many recipes before I actually try them out....I don't know why I do that, but that happens. Well, I'll add conchas to my list of foods to prepare soon (along with pupusas).

Food: Pupusas and Their Magic Spell Upon Me

2010-08-22T00:03:00.000-07:00

(image from Wikipedia)

I first tried pupusas earlier this year, a day that I won't forget (not related to pupusas though). Still, the threads of that fond memory are interlaced with trying pupusas, so the two memories will always be connected for me.

Pupusas are Salvadoran delicacies, kind of like a savory pancake with filling inside (that's the best description I can come up with). Pupusas are always served with salsa and a side salad. They're also pretty cheap at most places that serve them!

Here in San Francisco, pupusas are a-plenty in certain neighborhoods. Up until yesterday, I was under the impression that good pupusas can only be found in restaurants. However, I was over at Foods Co. in the Mission and I came across a 5-pack of refrigerated, ready-to-eat pupusas! I tried them today and hmm. They're thicker than the restaurant-made variety, but they're still just as tasty.

I suppose the next step will be to try my hand at making pupusas at home. That's the next experiment!

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And, just a brief note for this next week: I will post my next entry on Saturday instead of Tuesday since I'll be away for this week. In the meantime, enjoy your own food adventures, wherever you are. :)

Food: Back to Cooking

2010-08-17T20:07:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia   After spending a weekend on the road and eating out, I felt relieved to get back to cooking yesterday. Granted, it was a fairly simple meal to heat up (buffalo burger and asparagus), but still, it made a part of me feel more alive.

   Somehow, this part of me continues to shout out every time I cook, like a sleeping monster waking up every time to say "I'm here". Oh, so I haven't become quite so adventurous with my ingredients yet, but I'm becoming more comfortable with a few tweaks here and there in recipes. Maybe soon, I will break out of the shell and just experiment, see what works.

   Today, as I made a simple lunch (rice cooker to the rescue!), I also smiled to think about the money saved every time I cook at home instead of going out to eat. Don't get me wrong, I like to try different restaurants in the city from time to time. But eating out all the time really drains the wallet (and can be risky in terms of food quality...who says all restaurants are created equal in terms of quality, healthy food?). A few simple meals at home costs the same as one mediocre meal eaten out.

   I'll be doing more traveling in the next week, but I hope after normalcy returns, I'll be able to get back to my recipe foraging and bringing more thoughts to this blog.

Food: No More Sweets (or Perhaps a Loss of Interest)

2010-08-14T11:57:00.000-07:00

Something I've noticed the past several months that might be a key to my successful weight loss this year: I've lost interest in sweets of most sorts, such as cookies, cakes, ice cream, etc. Oh, it's not like I cut it out completely; I just find that I'm around people who just don't have a preference for sweets, so in turn I'm not tempted to even go for a treat.

On occasion, I still have a small bite of a treat if it's offered to me or if I'm out and about. But I don't overindulge like I used to--I know when to stop, and I suppose with my loss of interest in sweets, I end up just nibbling a bit these days and feel satisfied with just that small bit.

This is definitely a good thing for me, because I know when I am around others who crave sweets more often, I give in more easily. Yes, I'm easily influenced by the people I surround myself with. But at least now I've learned to say "no" a little more especially when I know I need to guard my health these days.

Drinks: Muscle Milk Does a Body Good?

2010-08-10T11:56:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Here in San Francisco, there have been ads in the bus shelters and elsewhere promoting Muscle Milk and how it can help people look "sexy". Of course, they're promoting that image so that people will be enticed and tempted to buy. But--BUT, how come they don't seem to mention the fact that Muscle Milk is only effective if it is used after an intense workout?

There's no magic bullet for weight loss/a toned body, folks. But that's what the food/drink industry continues to push upon us so that we'll consume more and more and more. All-natural, high-fiber, low-sugar, low-fat, etc. etc. None of this stuff works if we're just going to stick with our regular old habits of overeating/large portions/processed foods/etc.

Anyway, I digress.

Today, I decided to try Muscle Milk after having a very good workout. Upon first sip: yikes, this thing is highly artificial in taste. I examined the label of Muscle Milk (it's a habit of mine to examine labels now anyway) and two things caught my eye: "Contains natural and artificial flavors" and "Contains no milk". Hmmm.

Ok, I have to admit I wanted to try Muscle Milk just to say I did, and also to see if the 25 grams of protein would really help post-workout. It's been about an hour or so since I had my Muscle Milk protein shake; I feel full, but satisfied? Not really.

Well, it's best to try some things at least once. I can safely say though that I probably won't try Muscle Milk again--the taste really turned me off and the thought of the product name containing the word "milk" yet the actual drink has no milk in it makes me feel perturbed.

Food: Traveling With Cooler in Hand

2010-08-08T20:48:00.000-07:00

Image by Ken Lund via Flickr

Driving around to various destinations in California and Nevada has given me perspective on saving money when it comes to food. A couple of weeks ago, I went to Reno with family and we managed to not eat out at any of the places we went to; instead, we bought groceries before we headed on the road and made sandwiches for the drive and for our one-night stay. I don't even know the exact amount of money we managed to save by just going simple with sandwiches instead of spending $30+ total (for three people) per meal. I've been to enough tourist destinations to know how pricey food can get!

Yesterday, went to Santa Cruz for just a few hours or so to enjoy a few rides on the Boardwalk but also enjoy some sunshine finally (it's been foggy here in San Francisco). Again, went with family and we went the sandwich route again--managed to save money and also eat healthy since all the food on the Boardwalk is a bit too hearty for me (or for anyone really).

But, there are times when eating out at destinations is well worth it, especially when the location has a special "can't get it anywhere else" dish that everyone must try. I'd dump money down for something like that. But when there's nothing particularly special in the area, sandwiches, or at least portable food from the grocery store, is the way to go for road trips. I'll have to incorporate this more when I travel with friends.

Food: Quick! Grocery Run!

2010-08-03T12:08:00.000-07:00

Image by Squid! via Flickr

I hate when I reach this point in the week: produce is low in the fridge, brain is dry of any recipe ideas, and really, all my brother and I have to choose is to get some food to-go.

It's a good sign, and it's a bad sign. It's a good sign that produce is low because that means it was all used up in a timely manner. It's bad because it means we didn't time the freshness/cooking schedule well enough.

Oh, there's plenty of food in the freezer and in the cabinet, but it's food I'd rather not subsist upon unless a huge emergency came upon us. Processed foods, small snacks, etc. Nothing too substantial.

So, today we'll go to the grocery store, and hopefully I'll have a recipe or two to prepare for this next week. I need some different stimulation after all the studying I've been doing.

Cooking: Meatballs with Chipotle Sauce (Simply Mexican)

2010-08-01T12:47:00.000-07:00

Yes, I've been on a cooking spree the past few weeks. Nothing brings me more joy than meticulously putting together ingredients for delicious dishes. It also helps that these days I'm able to have more and more people try the food I prepare instead of cooking for myself and my brother only. The irony of this situation is that I used to live just a few blocks away from a house-full of good friends, yet they were rarely all able to come over and try my cooking. Plus, back then (a year or so ago), I lived alone. Things were different.

Anyway, this past Wednesday I prepared "Meatballs with Chipotle Sauce" and also homemade crema; both recipes are from that same cookbook, Simply Mexican by Lourdes Castro. The tips in the cookbook have been so helpful and the directions are all organized/laid out in a comprehensible manner. I wish more of the recipes had pictures, though! But alas, can't have it all.

It took me about 2 hours to prepare everything, but it was all well worth it. The chipotle peppers definitely made the sauce super spicy, so it was a good thing I prepared crema as well! We also ran out of corn tortillas too quickly; guess I'll have to note that for next time I have a dinner gathering.

Let's see what this week has in store in terms of cooking!

Cooking: General Tso's Chicken Recipe (from my father)

2010-07-27T14:25:00.000-07:00

I remember how five years ago I had jotted down my father's "General Tso's Chicken" recipe while I was home from university for fall break. We were standing in the kitchen of our family restaurant and he showed me each ingredient as I scribbled it all down. He modified the recipe for home use, but I remember when I first cooked it at my campus apartment, it was still too much chicken and sauce for my apartment.

Today, I dusted off the recipe from my collection and I decided to try out the recipe again. I ended up adding more vinegar than what the recipe called for, but that just made the sauce more tangy/sour. I like it that way; my brother doesn't, but he'll be fine with eating more of the dish anyway.

Well, at least now we have plenty of leftovers for the next day or so. I'm enjoying cooking again, especially from recipes.

Eating Out: Trying Tortas for the First Time

2010-07-24T10:37:00.000-07:00

Image by Omar Omar via Flickr

Earlier this week, I tried out torta, which is a Latino-style sandwich. I was surprised to see the size of the sandwich: I had only HALF of a torta and it was probably about six inches long and quite filled up in the middle. Probably a much better deal than with a regular sandwich!

The part I liked the most about the torta? The bread: so soft and brought out all the different flavors of the sandwich. I later found out that the bread used for a torta is called a bolillo, which is extra soft and spongy compared to other types of bread.

Eating a torta definitely changed my perspective on sandwiches in general, but I think now I will be more tempted to eat tortas over regular sandwiches.

Cooking: Simply Mexican by Lourdes Castro

2010-07-20T10:10:00.000-07:00

Oh, how I've missed cooking. I find that I get a real rush when I cook, especially when I'm cooking for my loved ones. I also get a rush when I'm working with a completely new recipe and it turns out great.

I purchased Lourdes Castro's Simply Mexican cookbook a few months ago, but I only got around to using a few recipes this weekend. I had to hunt for the ingredients for "Red Mole Chicken with Chorizo" at three different markets, but I felt like I had found treasure when I was able to retrieve all the ingredients. The preparation of the dish took a good 2 hours to chop up the onion, banana, and chicken, but it was well worth it!

On the first night, I was the only one to eat it since my brother had already eaten a late lunch. But, he took some to work yesterday and he said he enjoyed the food. The flavor is strong and different, but definitely satisfying. The recipe says to serve the dish over rice, but I went with tortilla instead.

I like that the recipe incorporated bananas and sugar in it; you can't really taste the banana in it, but the recipe does have a little bit of sweetness.

Can't wait to try more recipes from the book!

Cooking: The Different Oils & Cultures

2010-07-17T12:00:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Just an observation from recent months: I've been exposed to more cultural cooking this year firsthand by watching my loved ones cooking at my place or at theirs. I've been intrigued in seeing the cooking oil preference between cultures--

For instance, my father primarily cooks with vegetable oil. Okay, so vegetable oil has a bad reputation these days in the health-conscious world, but really, I think most Chinese/Asian people use vegetable oil for cooking. Maybe it's more efficient? Maybe it's the only kind of cooking oil available or the only kind that will bring out certain flavors.

Meanwhile, the Latino community uses corn oil, which I personally have never used, but it's not surprising to me since many foods are corn-based (at least from what I've noticed), i.e., tortillas, tamales wrapped in corn husks, etc.

Since I first began cooking a few years ago, I've only been using olive oil because of my constant poring over information in health-conscious magazines and such. Olive oil, the Mediterranean staple and also the source of healthy Omega-3 fats. Oh, but when it comes to cooking with olive oil, I have to be careful since it doesn't do well in high heat (everything starts to splatter and I have to jump back).

Meanwhile, when I experiment with corn oil or vegetable oil, the food cooks fine in high heat. Ah, is that the secret to the different oil preferences? Or is it just a cultural preference? What do you think?

Cooking: Experimenting Without Recipes

2010-07-13T10:51:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Okay, I'll admit: I'd much rather cook something with a recipe than just throw together things "just to see what happens". Blame it on my lack of confidence at times, but I've had this fear of throwing together ingredients with no recipe and the food goes flop. It wouldn't be such a big deal if I were just cooking for myself, but these days, I'm cooking for more than one person. So, the feeling of self-consciousness kicks in.

But in this past week, I've managed to discover a couple tasty dishes that were just thrown together on a whim:

- Swiss chard with chorizo: I used corn oil to heat up both together; I served these with corn tortillas.
- Scrambled eggs with salmon and spinach: There are quite a few cans of salmon in the apartment right now, so I figured, "Hey, why not?" and threw in the salmon to add extra protein (and also healthy fat!) to the mix. I used olive oil in the pan.

Now of course maybe these experiments have been done before and there are actual recipes out there written for them; but hey, I'm proud of myself that I stepped out of my comfort zone and just threw the stuff together. The Swiss chard/chorizo dish was a little spooky at first since I wasn't sure the chorizo's strong flavor would work with the chard...but it worked! I was so happy, and of course, didn't hurt to receive some compliments on the dishes.

(Obviously, the picture above was not taken by me.)

Drinks: Japanese Instant Drip Coffee

2010-07-10T09:22:00.000-07:00

So, Starbucks VIA is reinventing the instant coffee market with the little single serving packets. I like the concept, but of course, the Japanese companies already got a head start on cute single serving instant coffee. I received this "Drip Bag Coffee" from my former boss and I was intrigued by the diagrams on the back of the bag. Japanese companies always know how to make their product packaging cute and attractive.

Essentially, the "Drip Bag" is self-explanatory, but I just liked how the small paper contraption worked. I poured hot water into the bag and watched as the coffee dripped through. The only downside of the drip bag? Well, the positioning of the bag was low in my cup, so I was worried that I might drown the bag if I poured too much water into my cup. So, I ended up with less than 8 oz. of coffee after the drip finished. I could have had more coffee in my cup, but I wanted to play it safe.

Hey, at Rakuten (see link above), you can get 40 bags of this drip coffee for $15; seems like a better deal than Starbucks VIA. I certainly like the drip concept more!

Sweets: Peanut Slab from New Zealand

2010-07-06T14:45:00.000-07:00

My brother got this Whittaker's Peanut Slab from a co-worker. The co-worker had gone to New Zealand briefly and brought this back as a souvenir.

Knowing me, I went ahead and tried out the chocolate despite the fact that I hadn't had any chocolate in awhile. But I couldn't resist: snacks from overseas are always so intriguing!

What I like about the peanut slab was the fact that it has only a few ingredients. Granted, not all are completely natural, but the list of ingredients isn't some super-long list of things I can't even pronounce. Nope, just simple stuff, like cocoa, sugar, peanuts. The bar has real whole peanuts inside! Not minuscule pieces either!

The peanut slab did taste a little more satisfying to me since I knew these facts about the treat. Simple ingredients, the protein from the full peanuts, and pure satisfaction.

But of course, moderation is key. These "slabs" are not as huge as US candy bars, but they're pretty dense too. So, be aware! And enjoy them if you get the chance. Mmmmm!

Eating Out: Friendships and Different Cuisines

2010-07-03T11:49:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Last night, I noticed how I tend to frequent certain types of restaurants with certain friends. Some friends prefer Korean food, while some prefer Mexican food, while some prefer plain-old American food.

I was out with a friend whom I hadn't seen in awhile, and we chose the Korean restaurant Hanuri in the Inner Richmond. Mid-way through our meal, I had flashbacks to all our dinners from the past two years and came to realize how we tend to go to Korean restaurants together in general. I had suggested Thai for dinner last night as well, but he told me how he wasn't so keen on Thai food anymore since all his college friends are Thai and continue to take him to only Thai restaurants. He said that when he's out at those Thai restaurants, he tends to read a book while the rest of the group (all Thai) speak in their native tongue and seem to feign obliviousness over the fact that my friend doesn't understand a word they're saying (he's Japanese).

There was one good friend whom I always went to Korean restaurants with during these past few years, but she recently moved away. Actually, we always liked going to Korean and Japanese restaurants together, feasting upon anything new that we found on the different menus. She introduced me to different Korean foods I hadn't tried before back east.

These days, my dining-with-friends (or family) has become less frequent, but I find that when I do eat out it's diner-type/American food with my brother. He prefers this kind of food because normally it's cheap and also because we grew up on this kind of food back east. Of course, he doesn't mind going to the occasional Asian restaurant with me...but we tend to not go to Chinese restaurants by ourselves unless we are accompanied by our relatives. That's just how we are with Chinese restaurants!

Somehow, dining with certain people at certain kinds of restaurants evokes a feeling of comfort for me; maybe it's because I know the other people I'm with are open to all kinds of cuisines, regardless if they grew up with the cuisine or not.

Yelp: The Dark Side

2010-06-29T13:43:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

In the past couple years since I've been on Yelp! as an Elite member, I feel more and more disappointed in the way the website is run and how chaotic the Elite program has become. Whatever happened to quality reviews?

These days, even people who write the most meaningless reviews will get an Elite badge if they know enough of the right people. These folks could write on and on about their "most amusing evening" at so-and-so restaurant and not even write a word about how the actual restaurant was! Really, save this material for your blog, because I want to be reading REAL reviews about local establishments rather than your fun night's adventure.

Also, the whole qualification process for becoming Elite? "You must have a real picture of yourself on your profile". How can anyone verify that the picture is "real"? Also, when does vanity take priority over quality, well-written reviews? I say this because a couple of my colleagues were denied their yearly renewal of the Elite badge after the Yelp staff decided that they "didn't post their real pictures on their profiles". Meanwhile, my colleagues have always written informative reviews on every shop they've visited. Is Yelp a site for reviews, or is it trying to be a dating site as well?

And lastly, don't get me started on the Yelp Talk threads. There are very few quality, serious discussions on there. Go peruse the latest threads and I guarantee most of them are just useless ramblings, people bored out of their minds and wanting to troll the Internet anonymously. When I go in there and try to find a useful thread, I end up losing brain cells from having to sift through all the mindless spamming that people never seem to tire of. Really, can we all grow up and be responsible for our words?

Oh, don't get me wrong with all these complaints here--I'm still on Yelp and still write my reviews. However, in terms of being an active member of the community? No, not really. I like the few friends I've met from Yelp because they're genuine, smart, and friendly people. Yelp IS still good for insight on restaurants, bars, stores, etc., but these days it seems you have to work a little harder to find the quality gems.

Sweets: Fried Twinkies & Oreos from Santa Cruz

2010-06-26T13:02:00.000-07:00

(Deep-fried Twinkie Stand, 2010)

If you've read my main blog recently, you'd know about my trip to Santa Cruz earlier this week. It was a much better trip than last year due to the nice, warm weather and the longer hours spent there. I remember last year a lot of the food stands were closed because they only open during summertime/busier times in the year.

One of these stands was the deep-fried Twinkies stand, and this time around I was elated to see it was open. Even though I could feel my arteries clogging just from the thought of trying deep-friend Twinkies, I knew it was something I should do once in my life. I walked up to the stand and saw they also served deep-fried Oreos, so I went with the Double Deal.

Luckily, I didn't have to eat it all by myself; I had hungry guys with me who weren't afraid to eat deep-fried sweets. Both the Twinkie and Oreos were a little soggy from the frying oil (obviously); the Oreos retained more of their taste and shape, but the Twinkie seemed like it could just pass for a sweet corn dog (minus the hot dog link of course).

There was a choice of having chocolate syrup drizzled on top, but I just went with plain confectioner's sugar. That was just the right amount of sweet and fried anyway.

Food: Mexican Snacks & Amusing Packaging

2010-06-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, I was bombarded with snacks straight from Mexico since friends had just returned from Tijuana. I have to admit, I'm always intrigued by snacks from other countries, even if they are rather simplistic in nature--it's the packaging that really gets me.

I got to try a type of guava gelatin, which was very similar to Asian sweets of that nature (probably created the same way?). I was even more amused by the packaged snacks though, which you can see on the left:

- Japanese style peanuts: Seems they were going for wasabi peas with this product (the peanut tastes a little hollowed out and a small pinch of spice). The logo/character of this product is so politically incorrect yet amusing to me.

- Tamalito Tamarindo: I think this was the name--will have to double-check later. If you can't tell by the name, it's a mini tamale but inside is dried, sugary fruit preserves. This one was Tamarind!

It's always fun for me to discover new snacks from other cultures and countries. Some are so similar to what I'm familiar with, but of course they have their own special vibe to make the snack just as unique.

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A brief note: For those of you reading (I hear crickets somewhere...), I'm back to posting regularly here on Cinnamon Juice. Stay tuned for new posts on Tuesdays and Saturdays! See you next time this Saturday.

Local: Slow Jams Slides on into SF

2010-01-24T17:18:00.000-08:00

Have you heard of Slow Jams yet?

No, not music. We’re talking literal jams here. I forget how exactly I heard about Shakirah Simley’s jam business (I only know it was through Twitter), but I’m glad I discovered Slow Jams.

Yesterday, I met with Shakirah to pick up my order of three of her most popular (and most current) flavors. Here are my thoughts on each flavor:

1. Milk Jam – As Shakirah said, this was sweet like caramel; definitely a dessert jam. I had mine with some toast in the morning. Could have also gone well with a glass of milk as well. I think this one is dangerous for me since it's got an addicting flavor to it. Yum!

2. Onion Fennel Bacon Relish – Long name, great taste! This is a more savory jam, meant to top sandwiches or just eat straight out of the jar. The bits of bacon were a nice surprise inside.

3. Quince Butter – Out of the three flavors, this is the one that could be classified most as “traditional” jam with the consistency/texture. There’s a hint of cinnamon in the butter which makes me think of pumpkin butter. Delicious and smooth!

Overall, I love the jams. Each 8 oz. jar costs $10 with the exception of the Onion Fennel Bacon Relish. For the time being, Shakirah is selling her goods via Twitter and direct email. Check her out; you won’t regret it! She’ll be opening up a storefront soon, so I can’t wait for that.

Holidays: Dragon Boat Festival Eats & Memories

2009-05-29T23:01:00.000-07:00

The Dragon Boat Festival was yesterday, which is a Chinese holiday I always remember by the food made/eaten: the doong, as my family calls it. I can never really remember the significance of the holiday (that's bad, yikes), but I always remember the food and the memories.

For the past couple of years, ever since I moved out to San Francisco, I haven't been able to eat my parents' home-made doong. I remember when my parents and my grandparents would make these treats for 1-2 days every summer; I'd watch them wash and soak the bamboo leaves and then, after the leaves were a little dry and ready for the fillings, I'd watch my parents stuff the intricately folded bamboo leaves with rice, peanuts, Chinese sausage, and other dried goods. It was always a meticulous and mesmerizing process to watch.

Nowadays, doong is much more accessible to me since I live in San Francisco; however, I don't find as much of a connection with these bakery-bought versions since I don't know the doong-makers personally. Of course, I have to make-do with my surroundings and, upon my parents' request, eat the doong that I am able to obtain here in the city. I hope one day I will be able to learn how to make doong from my parents so I may carry on the tradition.

Sweets: Cheesecake Bites in Santa Cruz

2009-05-28T14:46:00.000-07:00

Today at work, we took a school-wide trip down to Santa Cruz as a fun day outside of San Francisco. The weather was unfortunately not so great (cloudy all day), but we still had fun at the Boardwalk down there. The rides were okay, the sights were fine, but I think in the end I was most intrigued by all the foods there.

Since the Boardwalk is just a permanent form of a county fair, the food was all fried and fattening; nothing really healthy there. I came across these interesting creations (pictured above), Cheesecake bites. They were advertised at one of the eateries as deep-fried cheesecake; gee whiz! There were a lot of other sweets there (e.g., deep-fried Twinkies, but the stand wasn't open today), but in the end I decided to go for these treats.

They're pricey for just two (around $4+), but they're worth every bit of fried morsel. Each "bite" has a slightly soft yet crispy shell, and inside is the cheesecake. I feel like I have tried this kind of sweet before, from somewhere in my past--can't quite place my finger on when and where I had it before though. Don't think it was referred to as a "deep-fried cheesecake" though.

I'm sure the treat is found elsewhere, but if you're in the area, why not try a Cheesecake Bite in Santa Cruz?

Cooking: "Easy" Chicken Burns (Slow Cooker, part 2)

2009-05-27T18:12:00.000-07:00

Well...it looks like I didn't really fare too well in making a good slow-cooker chicken today. The recipe said it'd be easy to cook and that it'd be okay for it to sit in the slow cooker for quite some time. I popped the chicken and other ingredients in before work, and then, after work (roughly..10 hours later), this was the result of my dinner.

Sigh, well, now I've learned that I shouldn't leave the food in for so long, especially if it's not a stew/soup. Oh well; the chicken was still edible, but rather dry. Live and learn as always.

Miscellaneous: Slow Cooker Appears on the Horizon...

2009-05-26T12:08:00.000-07:00

I had never really thought much about the method of slow cooking before; I actually don't know anyone (in person) who uses a slow cooker. I asked around at work and my co-workers said that most Californians don't use a slow cooker. I'm not sure if that is a true statement, of course, but it's something to think about at least.

My brother A had requested for a slow cooker for Christmas though, mainly because one of his co-workers back in Virginia had mentioned it to him. "Just toss food in before work, and after work, it's all cooked and ready for you." I guess that line hooked in my brother since, from living with him the past month or so, I do notice he rarely has time to cook. Luckily, he did have his slow cooker shipped over; brand new! He hadn't even taken it out of its packaging, so it seems I'm the first to start using the slow cooker.

Let's see what I can do with a slow cooker, now...

Eating Out: First-timer with an Indian Buffet

2009-05-25T12:39:00.000-07:00

For the past year or so, I've noticed that a trend among all the Indian restaurants here is that they all have lunch buffets. Indian buffet? What? Back east, the only buffets I ever came in contact with were either good ol' "Southern cooking" or Chinese buffets. Nothing overly spectacular; both became norms to me.

Therefore, I had difficulty trying to picture an Indian buffet: did it have curried American foods? A mix of Indian and American foods, like at Chinese buffets? I was intrigued, so I knew I had to go check one out.

Well, the spread at Great India Restaurant wasn't nearly as spectacular as I had expected, but it was still amusing to me. The buffet was small, with a mix of popular Indian dishes, including Saag Paneer (vegetarian dish with cubed cottage cheese), Tandoori Chicken, and various curries. There was also a cold portion of the buffet for the yogurt sauce, salad items, and Indian desserts.

Despite the small selection, my brother and I found ourselves stuffed full after a couple helpings. The naan was delicious and plentiful; the rice was perfect. While I know buffets are dangerous for me (because of the lack of real portion control), I have to say, I'd like to eat more Indian buffet in the future. It's different from the other kinds of buffet, and, for the price, it's a real steal.

That's how we ended up spending our Memorial Day this year: eating Indian buffet.

Eating Out: Yippee Yai-A...

2009-05-24T13:38:00.000-07:00

My brother A had been bugging me with the Jack-in-the-Box "Mini Sirloin Burgers" commercial and got it stuck in my head. So, today, after rearranging all the furniture in our apartment, we went to Jack-in-the-Box so I could see just how "mini" these burgers are.

They're small all right, but pack a big punch. The buns were glistening in the daylight, which made me feel a little nervous to actually eat the burgers. It's a bit of an amazement to see how they stuffed cheese, onions and ketchup (all perfectly proportioned) on top of each of the small patties. I could have probably been satisfied with only one of the burgers since they were so filling.

Here's the commercial my brother was talking about, if you haven't seen it yet:

Review: SoBe Lifewater

2009-05-23T19:37:00.000-07:00

Safeway has been promoting this relatively new drink through coupons (buy one, get one free..or, I think the coupon actually is "FREE SoBe Lifewater"), so I went ahead and picked up a bottle for myself. I usually drink plain water since all these flavored/"vitamin-enhanced" drinks keep me feeling skeptical, but I figured it was okay to at least try the product out.

There's a slight sweetness to it, but not to the point of making me think "this is heavily artificial/sugary". Zero calories and has a light berry taste to it (I'm not sure what they mean by "yumberry"). Not a bad alternative to all the other zero-calorie drinks out there. I think I'll stick with my plain water, though: it's the cheapest after all. ;)

Drink: Sprouting Tea Leaves.

2009-05-22T19:33:00.000-07:00

I had talked about my Teavana experienc e a few entries ago; today I made a pot of the tea leaves and was surprised to see the jasmine pearls sprout open into long threads. When I sampled the tea mixture at the store, I wasn't able to see the tea leaves (post-brewing).

I have to admit, the leaves look a bit frightening after brewing, but they're also intriguing. Makes me not want to throw them out!

Food: Miso Sauce From Japan

2009-05-21T18:41:00.000-07:00

I received this little package of sauce from one of my friends who just returned from Japan. When he had first asked me if I liked miso I had assumed he meant the soup. So when he threw this packet at me at work, I was slightly confused.

He went on to babble about all the things I could pour the sauce upon: tofu, fried pork (tonkatsu), etc. Essentially, the sauce is good for almost anything, at least anything Japanese-related.

I took the packet home and decided to use it on a tofu dish I made up along the way. I wasn't sure if I had actually tried it before, but when I ate dinner, the taste was very familiar to me: lighter than tonkatsu sauce, but still flavorful.

I showed the packet of sauce to another friend and apparently this brand is only sold in Japan. It turned out to be a rather special gift in the end, then.

Eating Out: Continuing the Quest on Banh Mi/Vietnamese Food.

2009-05-20T17:27:00.000-07:00

How many banh mi have I tried so far in San Francisco? Or, I suppose the question should be, how many shops have I tried out? It's roughly around five, but I can't remember either--some of them didn't particularly stand out to me, so only the few, really good ones stick out in my mind.

This place in Outer Richmond (on Clement) was decent, but not one to really write home about. I'm not entirely sure of the store name, and I'm not even sure if it's overly popular or it's known as a "hidden neighborhood gem". All I do know right now is that the banh mi was a little on the small side, but the price was very reasonable (under $5!). The bread was warm and toasty, but I would have liked a little more sandwich filling than was available.

Oh well. I couldn't really complain much since it was really cheap. I may have to come back out to try it again before I think about writing a Yelp review on it. ;)

Drink: Teavana Delights In Many Ways

2009-05-19T17:04:00.000-07:00

Premium tea with premium sugar = pure bliss for me. I had the pleasure of exploring a Teavana shop while in Sacramento over the weekend, and boy, I wish Teavana were here in San Francisco already.

When I had first heard about Teavana, I had assumed it was essentially the same type of store as Lupicia: premium, gourmet tea from all over the world. They both have similar concepts, but what I like more about Teavana is the plentiful amounts of samples they have: the store in Sacramento had two sampling stations at the store entrance, and quite a few more stations scattered throughout the store. There were even sampling opportunities at points in the store where I thought they were "display-only"! I was very pleasantly surprised, and completely indulging in the many flavors.

The sweetness of the pure cane sugar they added to the samples really brought out the different flavors. What differentiates Teavana from Lupicia is that they also have a drink bar, where you can order yourself an individual ready-to-go tea drink, either hot or iced. Mmm. Since it was overly warm in Sacramento, drinking some iced tea from Teavana was my own little piece of heaven.

Since Teavana doesn't have a store in San Francisco (yet!), I went ahead and also bought myself a petite bag of one of their blends they had for sample: It was called the Tropical Dragon Tea Blend (I think), with Rooibos Tropica and Jasmine Pearls. Pure deliciousness!

Food: Leftover Monday (Takeout)

2009-05-18T18:50:00.000-07:00

My parents and sister left this morning, but they left my brother and me some food from Koi Palace (dinner last night). The food was mediocre, and we had a ton of leftovers, but I couldn't quite feel satisfied with the dinner due to overdoing it at Chinese restaurants the past week. Plus, it was just a weird mix of food:

- Coffee ribs
- Noodles
- Vegetable Soup
- Fried Crab
- Various cold vegetables

Eating Out: A Summary of Chinese Dinners & Dim Sum.

2009-05-17T19:42:00.000-07:00

The past few days, I've absolutely maxed myself out on all the Chinese food I've consumed. It's the food I grew up with, the food that gives me the most comfort/the feeling of nostalgia. Yet, it was a bit too much in many ways:

- At every dinner, we had fried pork (with the crispy skin) and ginger chicken (with the skin)

- Dim sum consisted of a lot of the same (albeit tasty) things as well: chicken claws, shu mai, pork blood, and congee

- Each meal, many of the elders fought over the check (at one meal, one elder even felt offended at the fact that my father had managed to sneak the payment to the cashier before the other fellow could)

- I left each meal feeling overly stuffed with food and tea.

I think I may very well take a hiatus from Chinese food/eating out in general for awhile.

Yelp: Froyo Round-Up III, Sacramento Edition

2009-05-16T19:26:00.000-07:00

I found myself on an impromptu frozen yogurt tour while in Sacramento the past few days. My cousin was funny enough to agree to take my siblings and me around the area and try out various yogurt shops. I think I've gotten my sister hooked on froyo now, which is funny.

A summary of my excursion:

Many of the shops in Sacramento are self-serve. I have yet to find one with froyo-istas serving up the icy treat.
All of the shops get their product from YoCream.
They all had plenty of toppings for customers, except for Tops Yogurt (worst shop I've ever visited)
They all featured the same core flavors of Tart, a flavored Tart, Vanilla, and Chocolate
They all had frequent buyer cards, but some of them didn't really market the cards too well (better marketing/word-of-mouth would encourage more return customers!)

My favorite shop was Yogee Yogurt for the atmosphere and the great selection of flavors/toppings. Service was also lovely there, with the cashier recommending which toppings went best with which flavor. Both HeavenLy's locations were in the middle of the spectrum with hit-or-miss on their service and offerings. At least the stores were clean. And, although Tops was the busiest/most "popular" out of the four shops I visited, they were by far the worst one! Highly disorganized and probably violating a few health codes (with all the grubby hands galore reaching for the sticky handles and touching all the spoons for the toppings), I honestly didn't see what was so great about the place. Others seemed to not notice the unsanitary conditions and walked out obliviously happy with their yogurt. I could barely stomach my own serving after seeing the fiasco occur before my eyes.

I'm hoping next time I'm back in Sacramento that I'll be able to hit up more froyo shops (with the help of my generous cousin!).

Eating Out: Buffet at the Casino

2009-05-15T23:18:00.000-07:00

I had nearly forgotten how overboard things can go when at a buffet. Casino buffets are no different than the regular, standalone buffets--well, except for the fact that, perhaps, just perhaps, the casino buffets have a much larger selection (and more risk for the innocent customer to overeat!).

Yes, I found myself eating a bit too much at the buffet when my relatives carted me and my siblings/cousins to the casino to eat and do some slot machines. The sheer variety of food at this buffet (from fast-food Chinese to Italian to Mexican) practically bowled me over and tempted me to stack a bit much onto my plate. I thought I had started off the meal in the right direction by eating a spinach salad first, but then I found myself going back for some pizza, chicken, fried rice, and the petite yet decadent desserts.

Needless to say, I walked out of there feeling a bit on the heavier side and also bloated. Now I remember why I don't like buffets too much!

Eating Out: Dim Sum & the Family.

2009-05-14T13:10:00.000-07:00

It's always like this: every time I'm with my family, we always order way too much food, especially when it comes to dim sum. We can't just order a few dishes to nibble on like most other customers; instead, we order with abandon, and we eat the same way (with abandon). Sometimes it's quite hard to pace myself when I see everyone else around me still chowing away at the chicken feet, baos, bbq pork, etc.

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed and annoyed with the scenery around me, but sometimes, I suppose it's all rather comforting as well. We're a food-oriented family as a whole; we enjoy food to its fullest.

Eating Out: Presentation of food at Chinese restaurants

2009-05-13T19:03:00.000-07:00

People eat with their eyes more than their mouths, which is probably why some restaurants emphasize the presentation of the food more than the actual dishes themselves.

It's a rare thing for Chinese restaurants to really play up the look of the dishes though; I feel like most Chinese establishments just care to have the plates cleaned and nothing else. Tonight I was happily mistaken with my assumption as dish after dish came out of the kitchen at Hong Kong Lounge: they want their guests to be impressed and admire the decor of each dish. And, luckily for me and my family, the food tasted just as good as it looked.

Really, I expected for something just thrown together in a slipshod manner, but everything was tender and juicy with a lot of (good) flavor. Seeing all the dishes has inspired me to put a little more effort into my own cooking/preparations.

Drink: Thai Iced Tea Memories

2009-05-12T18:36:00.000-07:00

It's rare to find myself drinking Thai iced tea these days. Maybe it's more because I don't care to order extra drinks at restaurants in recent times (I only stick with the complimentary water or tea); today, however, I found myself hankering after an icy glass of Thai tea. When the order came, a flood of memories took over me as I remembered the significance this drink has had on me in the past.

Mainly, it used to be a "big tradition" for me throughout college: there was a local Thai restaurant, right by my college campus. At first, I used to go there with one friend; back then, Thai food was something completely foreign to me, and naturally, college kids like to explore "the unknown" more. My friend and I found Thai iced tea something exotic and fun, so we made it a tradition to drink it at that restaurant every time we went.

After she moved away, my dinners at the restaurant became outings with other friends; with each different friend/group, we all decided that Thai iced tea was the beverage of choice for us. We'd order it on cold and hot days, just to get that sweet taste in our mouths. Sometimes, we'd send text messages to each other, saying "I'm craving Thai iced tea and curry." It was fun, it was innocent.

But, I suppose, since I graduated, I hadn't been as enamored with Thai iced tea so much. I've since lost touch/contact with all these friends from college, so when I think about Thai iced tea, the memories aren't nearly as sweet as they were when I was still in school.

So, today, I sat there at a Thai restaurant in the city, sipping at the tea and wondering about the connections that I've lost over the years. It was bittersweet.

Eating Out: A Lost Nostalgia on Cantonese/HK cafes.

2009-05-11T18:56:00.000-07:00

Somehow, I always get this strange, nostalgic feeling when I venture into Cantonese/Hong Kong-style cafes: I feel like, "This reminds me of home overseas," despite the fact I grew up here in the US. San Francisco has its little pockets of the Asian cafe experience, with a fusion of a menu with pasta and desserts; not just the typical sweet treats found in the US, either. Desserts such as the one shown above, sweet beans and ice cream! These are the kinds of desserts I prefer over a humdrum ice cream sundae.

It's not like I ever did spend an extended amount of time over in Asia: I've traveled to Japan the most, but, even though Japan has its own creation of a cute cafe (atmosphere and all), the experience is completely different from a cafe in Hong Kong. The most I've spent in Hong Kong was only a few days, though; so, then, why this nostalgic feeling?

Maybe it's the thought of how life could have been for me had my family chosen another place to stay instead of the US. It's not that I regret not choosing to "go back to my roots" during my formative years; maybe it's just an innocent thought of wondering "What if...?" Nevertheless, going to an Asian cafe for me is a great way for me to be in touch with what I may have missed out growing up in the US. Perhaps that's one of the main reasons why I moved to San Francisco: an inexpensive alternative to going overseas.

Eating Out: New shop in the neighborhood

2009-05-10T18:45:00.000-07:00

I had been anticipating the opening of the new bakery in the neighborhood, but only today did I discover that the place is just a franchise of a bigger company. It's not a terrible discovery, but it disappointed me slightly to find that the place wasn't super unique. I'm all for the local feeling when it comes to shops, especially cafes/eateries. It gives a neighborhood something to be proud of, a homegrown pride.

Well, despite my rant on keeping a neighborhood local, I still gave the place a chance and ordered a couple of treats from them. This blueberry pastry was flaky and lightly sweetened; not so bad in terms of a pastry. At least it didn't taste overladen with artery-clogging ingredients. I'm not sure if I'd go back to the bakery for their treats though; might just go for the coffee next time (it's organic).

Drink: Kombucha and its wonders

2009-05-09T11:36:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, a sweet and tangy drink is all I need. I was first introduced to Kombucha back in December when my brother-in-law bought some at a deli in Williamsburg. It originates from the Himalayan region, where sometimes the tea is fermented with live cultures. I'm not sure of all the locations that sell Kombucha, but I do know that it's a rare find (at least, I can't find Kombucha sitting right beside the other health drinks in a regular grocery store). I was lucky enough to find this at Yoppi Yogurt yesterday, so I picked a bottle up and drank it down before I arrived home. Refreshing!

Cooking: Tofu Fiesta

2009-05-08T18:35:00.000-07:00

This was a fairly simple vegetarian meal to whip up from the Lickety-Split Diabetic Meals cookbook: the recipe was called "Tofu Fiesta" because it had some spices to it plus some salsa added in during the last step. I had some trouble preparing the baked potatoes for the recipe, since the recipe called for peeled potatoes, but I rarely like to remove the skin off of fruits and vegetables (after all, that's where a lot of the nutrients are found!). Since I didn't remove the potato skin, it was harder to chop up in equal pieces; I don't think my brother A minded or noticed that aspect, though.

I steamed some artichokes and cooked rice for us to add a little more to the meal, although the tofu recipe would have been fine as a standalone, filling meal. However, I know A's appetite too well; plus, we had bought some artichokes earlier in the week, and I wanted to steam them before they went bad. A had to work all week, and today happened to be one of his days off, so it was a good opportunity to have the artichokes freshly steamed. Even with the added staples, the meal was relatively light yet satisfying. The tofu chunks were barely noticeable in the recipe since the taste of potatoes and salsa was very prominent. I'd consider preparing this dish another time, though, if it's fine with A.

Sweets: Japanese Snack Cakes

2009-05-07T15:34:00.000-07:00

I've been introduced to a couple of Japanese treats this week; yesterday at M's place, she gave me a raisin and milk cream "cake"/cookie (pictured above). Raisins are sandwiched between two soft, Fig Newton-like (texture-wise) snack cakes with some cream. The description might sound a little weird, but it's a pretty delicious (albeit processed!) treat. She said she had bought the pack of cookies from Nijiya, but I feel like I never notice these kinds of products when I'm out shopping.

My boss at work brought in more Japanese treats (not surprisingly) and this was one of them: "Tiramisu Creme". The description says it's a coffee cake with "cheese cream" inside; I'm thinking they mean that it tastes like a cheesecake. It was fluffy and a little greasy, but I liked it. It's probably a good complement to some hot tea (green or black).

Food: Japanese Home Cooking at M's

2009-05-06T18:33:00.000-07:00

Tonight was a fun night filled with girly chats and yummy Japanese food. I always enjoy M's cooking since she cooks simple yet superb Japanese meals. I feel envious watching her read from a Japanese cookbook and comprehending every bit of the recipes. She continues to insist that we're about equal in our Japanese comprehension skills, but, since she is of Japanese descent, I feel it's probably easier for her to grasp the language in her mind.

Tonight, M tried a recipe where nattou (fermented soybeans) was stuffed into agedashi tofu pockets. It was quite a savory pocket to eat! She felt she might have added too much miso paste, but I thought the taste was balanced out with the rice. She was explaining to me how Japanese recipes are sometimes hard to understand in terms of measurements since the Japanese don't use tablespoons/teaspoons/etc. The recipes simple state "a small scoop of this" or "a large scoop of that". Therefore, it's very subjective and up to the cook to decipher the taste meter.

M rounded out the meal with some instant soup mixes (I didn't even know these existed!), some steamed broccoli, and of course, steamed rice. It was quite a delicious meal to enjoy on a quiet Wednesday night. Sometimes I need an escape from my regular food fare after all.

Sweets: Coach Mints?

2009-05-05T15:59:00.000-07:00

I came to work today and found several of these sitting in the candy bowl: Coach mints! I wasn't even aware that Coach had their own mints; I probably would have known if I actually ventured into a Coach store. I found it so amusing just because it goes to show that just about anyone and anything can have its own brand of candy/food these days.

The mint was one of those buttery mint types that melts in the mouth and becomes soft after a minute. Mm! I'll have to find more of these at the Coach store in the future.

Cooking: Veggie Sghetti & Garlic Toast

2009-05-04T19:58:00.000-07:00

This week, I decided to go with one pasta dish since I hadn't cooked pasta in a good while. So far, thankfully, my brother has enjoyed all the meals I've cooked for the two of us. He's a picky eater, so it's a slight challenge to find recipes that will suit him. Pasta's one thing that never fails to satisfy.

This recipe was titled "Veggie Sghetti" in the cookbook, but probably just to give the recipe a somewhat cutesy name. My friend M stopped by over the weekend to share some Chinese broccoli with me, so I chopped that up to add in the vegetable mix. The suggested meal plan with the pasta was garlic-cheddar toast and a small side salad; I couldn't help but wonder, where's the protein? It's good to get a lot of vegetables in a meal, but I felt like the recipe needed a little something more. There was an optional suggestion of adding ground turkey to the mix, but I opted out of that one since I didn't want to overstuff the refrigerator. Probably shouldn't have done that, though.

I was going to broil my toast as the recipe had called for, but I think the oven pilot light burnt out since the broiler didn't heat up in time. Instead, I just heated the bread in the microwave for a few seconds, which made it warm but a little soggy. The meal filled me up quickly, but only an hour later I felt hungry again. Maybe it was all the fiber or the fact that the vegetables digested very quickly in my system. There are plenty of leftovers for the week, luckily.

Cooking: Benito Burritos Turned Tacos

2009-05-03T11:44:00.000-07:00

I went ahead and renewed the Lickety-Split Diabetic Meals cookbook at the library. I think I like the cookbook enough to consider purchasing it in the future! What I really like about it is that all the meals are very easy to prepare, and that each recipe has a meal plan suggestion to follow. I'm still working on being able to balance all my meals out by myself, so having this guide in the cookbook really helps.

Today I prepared the "Benito Burritos" from the cookbook, but, as you can see in the picture, the burritos quickly changed into tacos when I realized the tortillas were too small to wrap up into burritos. I prepared the first batch of tacos for my brother and myself; the second round, he insisted on his own "trick" by saying that the yogurt (yes, that's yogurt, not sour cream) and cheese be spread on the bottom of the tortilla first and the bean spread should be last on the taco. "It holds the taco together better," he said.

I have to admit, my second taco did hold up a lot better than the first time around. I'll have to take note of that method in the future when I prepare more Mexican food. The tacos turned out very delicious and filling, which was expected from the recipe. Some of the bean spread got a little plugged up in the blender, though, so it was hard to get all the beans processed.

Yelp: Review of the Day, Finally!

2009-05-02T13:46:00.000-07:00

The weather's been dreary so far this weekend, and I was feeling gloomy when I woke up this morning; however, when I opened my mailbox, I was a little surprised to see around 10-15 compliment notifications from Yelp waiting for me to approve them. I felt confused since I hadn't written any reviews in the past few days, so I suddenly felt, "This could only mean one thing." I immediately clicked over to the Yelp homepage and, lo and behold, I made it as Review of the Day (ROTD) for Joe's Ice Cream.

Well, I honestly have to say, I didn't see it coming, at least not for awhile. I had kind of come to the belief that the people who got ROTD honors were mostly those who were very well-known through the Yelp community. Most of the reviews I had seen as ROTD were witty, or, sometimes even, just badly written, but somehow others found the review helpful enough. I didn't think my reviews would ever be noticed to the extent of ROTD--they're long, detailed, and, even if I try to be funny in the reviews (or at least, my own definition of being "witty"), most times people don't seem to find it funny or don't understand my humor.

It is certainly an honor to have this day start out this way though, and also a great thing that I got ROTD for my 200th review. Thank you to all who wished me well throughout the day; it really meant a lot and gave me more encouragement to continue posting detailed, helpful reviews (and in the end, just to keep on writing for the sake of writing!).

Eating Out: Comfort Foods, Southern-style

2009-05-01T18:42:00.000-07:00

I suppose since I grew up in the South (not the Deep South, but still, Virginia is considered part of the South), I grew up with a lot of southern foods around me, e.g., country-fried steak and the like. Since I've been in San Francisco, I haven't seen much southern food here, aside from the chicken-and-waffles/biscuits places. Even with those places, they're far and few. San Francisco ain't the place to be looking for southern food after all; there are so many other foods to try out here that I have tended to forget about my southern roots often.

Well, since my brother A loves diner/southern-style food more than he prefers our home-cooked Chinese meals, I've been going to more diners with him and submersing myself in foods I used to eat a lot as a kid. Granted, most of that food is deemed unhealthy, but sometimes, I just don't really care about thinking of food as good versus bad. In the end, any kind of food is good for filling up an empty stomach.

After a long rainy day out around the city, A and I decided to just grab some dinner out since it was going to be late by the time we got home (and I didn't feel like cooking a late dinner). We were window-shopping in Best Buy and the only two places I could think of that were relatively close by were the Hukilau and Lucky Penny. We settled on going to Lucky Penny since A felt like it was a good deal for dinner. The food was decent, and the decor was so-so; I wouldn't have ever thought of venturing into Lucky Penny alone or with a friend, but with A, for some reason, it seemed okay.

I was relieved to see country-fried steak on the menu; it used to be my favorite thing to eat at the school cafeteria back in Virginia. Yes, it's fried, unhealthy, etc.--frankly, I don't think of all of this so much when I'm diving into the steak. It was just comforting to eat it after so many years--it wasn't THE best, and probably not near close to being truly authentic, but it was enough satisfaction for me. I suppose I put a twist to the whole meal by having steamed rice with the country-fried steak, though.

Maybe in due time, I'll find more comfort foods at other diners in the city.

Cooking: Chicken Dijon Stuffed Potatoes

2009-04-30T18:40:00.000-07:00

Another recipe from Lickety-Split Diabetic Meals. This recipe was supposed to take fifteen minutes to prepare, but it took me a little longer since I had to slice and chop the pepper/asparagus. The chicken salad mixture was easy to put together (I love how the recipes call for full packages of ingredients, so I don't have to worry about measuring out anything), but the potatoes took some time to cook. Actually, even when my brother and I dived into the supposedly-finished product, the potato was still a little undercooked. I went ahead and ate the potato as-is, but my brother went back and microwaved the potato a little longer.

I found it weird how the recipe said to top off the potato with the asparagus and red bell pepper--not because I don't like vegetables, but because it completely covered the actual part of the dish (the chicken dijon). Maybe I should have sliced the vegetables down a little more.

Overall, the potato and the chicken dijon on top were still filling for me, but I would have liked a little more to go with the potato. I didn't have a need to go back for more food after I finished the potato, but it seemed a little odd to me anyway. Not one of the better recipes from the cookbook, I must say.

Miscellanous: Warm Delights Minis Sample

2009-04-29T18:39:00.000-07:00

I opened my mailbox today and felt confused when I saw that I had a small package waiting for me. When I pulled it out, though, I suddenly remembered how I had signed up for a free sample of Warm Delights Minis awhile ago. It must have been at least a few months since I signed up for this, since I obviously forgot about the sample.

It's too bad that I'm still staying away from chocolate these days after my little overdose at the Chocolate Salon in March. So, I've given the free sample to my brother instead. Let's hope I won't cave in and try the cake later on...

Cooking: Whole Grain French Toast

2009-04-28T06:33:00.000-07:00

Another breakfast featured from my cookbook of the week (see previous entries): Whole Wheat French Toast. I have to admit, it was a simple recipe, and, for some reason, I guess I had expected something a little different than what it was. The blueberry topping took a few tries to really get a good consistency--kind of hard to really make the topping perfect since I have to make it for myself only (my brother doesn't like blueberries). The cinnamon wasn't enough for the French Toast, so I added some sugar-free syrup to sweeten off the whole dish. Not bad, but a bit too simple for what I had expected.

Cooking: Turkey Joes & More

2009-04-27T19:25:00.000-07:00

Another easy and tasty recipe from Zonya Foco's Lickety-Split Diabetic Meals cookbook: Turkey Joes. I couldn't find Sloppy Joe sauce at Safeway, so I went with regular barbecue sauce. Browning the ground turkey meat was a little slow, but the preparation time for the whole meal took so little time that I still was able to catch up on some email after dinner. The Turkey Joes were sloppy (ha), but well worth it--so so tasty, yet so hard to believe that they're quite healthy! Zonya suggested topping off the meal with some "Sunshine Carrot-Raisin Salad" (another delicious, healthy recipe from her) and unsweetened applesauce.

Another satisfying dinner straight from a cookbook; not bad at all. =)

Cooking: Cheesy Scrambled Tofu Meal

2009-04-26T18:14:00.000-07:00

This week's menus will come from the cookbook, Lickety-Split Diabetic Meals. It's been hard for me to find truly good "quick and healthy" cookbooks, but so far, this one hasn't disappointed me. I like the layout of the book, where Zonya provides some tips for healthy living alongside her recipes. I chose this one for tonight's dinner since the concept of "cheese" and "tofu" intrigued me. Plus, since my brother loves cheese, I figured it wouldn't hurt to try to get him to eat the dish either.

Really, the dish was so easy to prepare that I had to re-read the directions twice to make sure I hadn't left anything out. Luckily, Zonya suggests using frozen Potatoes O'Brien to speed up the process, which definitely cut down on the preparation time. The cheese melted evenly with the tofu and potatoes; in the end, the dish was light yet still flavorful and satisfying. Another thing I like about the cookbook are the suggest side dishes that Zonya provides. I went with her suggestion of adding a slice of whole-wheat toast and some grapes to the mix. I definitely didn't feel like I wanted to eat more after this meal since I felt fully satisfied. Can't wait to try more recipes!

Yelp: Adventures in the Mission & Authentic Japanese Food

2009-04-25T19:22:00.000-07:00

(from L-R: crowd of people at Anthony's Cookies; half-dozen of cookies from Anthony's; sandwich board outside of Humphry Slocombe's)

Well, today was more than what I had expected (in a good way): what had started out as just an innocent outing to the Mission for Anthony's Cookies' Grand Opening turned out to be a full adventure of hot (sweet) spots to visit in the Mission. Sad to say, but I haven't really been around the Mission too much mainly because it's out-of-the-way for me in terms of my daily commute. It's one of those neighborhoods in the city that everyone, locals and tourists alike, seems to know and love; I personally prefer other parts of the city that aren't as well-known, but that's besides the point.

So, I had known about this Grand Opening party at Anthony's Cookies for a few days, and it just so happened that Lolia S. was planning on going, too, so we decided to meet there. We arrived at the same time, and then out of nowhere came Matt G. Even though the three of us had only met up as a group once before, I felt like we had silently formed a sort of bond over sweets (the previous time was at the grand opening of Tuttimelon on Polk). The whole time while we stood in line waiting for our free cookies, we talked about various Yelp spots and other non-Yelp related conversation topics. After we grabbed our cookies (both free and paid), on a whim, Matt decided to take Lolia and me around a few other places in the area.

First stop was to Humphry Slocombe's, an ice cream shop I had been wanting to try for awhile since it was well popularized via Yelp. Twelve daily crazy flavors, e.g, Olive Oil, Blue Bottle Vietnamese Coffee, and Red Hot Banana, plus Bacon Peanut Brittle: my mouth felt overwhelmed with the variety of flavors. I couldn't quite decide which flavor I wanted, so I ended up copying Matt and getting the Olive Oil in the end. More refreshing than expected; kind of crazy trying to tell my mind that it's ice cream. The flavors at Humphry Slocombe's reminded me of the ice cream/soft cream flavors at Ice Cream City in Namjatown at Tokyo. There, I tried crazy flavors such as Crab and Cheese.

(from L-R: Kappou Gomi entrance; Froyo & Crepe Cafe sign; Kappou fare)

Next, we went down to Dynamo's Donuts & Coffee since Matt was telling me about the bacon donuts they sold over there. I had heard of bacon donuts before, but I must have forgotten about where they were sold exactly. By the time we arrived at Dynamo's, though, they were out of the bacon donuts for the day. That was fine, though; Matt still stopped to get an espresso there. We also stopped at another cafe so Lolia could grab a coffee.

While we were walking around to the different hot spots, Lolia had seen a postcard for a new Froyo & Crepe Cafe; we were confused about whether the place was just another Quickly or not, so we decided to go investigate the location. The place still has the Quickly symbol and everything, but it doesn't have boba: only froyo, crepes, and the snacks they serve at regular Quickly locations. The place was very spacious; even though I felt tempted by the cheap prices, I decided not to try out the froyo since I had already had my share of cookies and ice cream earlier. Still, it was neat to check out yet another place in the Mission, albeit I'm not sure if the Froyo & Crepe Cafe will become as big as the other places mentioned above.

Well, it was indeed a full day of fun in the Mission; needless to say, I had previous plans made with my friend M to go check out a new Japanese restaurant in the Outer Richmond, so after my sweets frenzy, I had to go straight to dinner. At Kappou Gomi, my friend M and I tried out various tasty Japanese dishes and washed it all down with some Asahi beer. I must say, even though I had my fair share of sweets from earlier in the day, I was still craving some dessert after dinner.

Days like these, though, I feel happy to know that I live in such a city where I could have so many chances to sample so many unique foods. Long live the foodie atmosphere in San Francisco!

Food: Treats At Work Never Stop

2009-04-24T18:55:00.000-07:00

All this week, I feel like others continue to offer me food at work; I've said it before, but although I appreciate the gestures, I feel like all the food offered to me is stuff I don't really want to be consuming on a regular basis, i.e., sweets galore. I love sweets, but like the saying goes, everything is good only in moderation.

Anyway, yesterday I had filled up on my own brown-bag lunch, but then I stopped by one of the classrooms and noticed they were having a huge farewell party for two of their students. I tried to escape before they offered me some food from the party, but they chased me down with a slice of pizza (not picture here because it's in a plate below the sushi plate), sushi, and cake pieces. Oh gosh.

Luckily, I saved the slice of pizza for today's lunch; I did have to eat the sushi rolls and the cake on the spot since the sushi was going to spoil and the cake...well, I thought to myself, "They're small, so they're okay to eat." Unfortunately for myself, I ended up eating more cake last night at my cousin N's birthday party. Sigh.

Food: Another Night of Cooking

2009-04-23T18:47:00.000-07:00

This week has felt a lot easier in terms of cooking: since I now have my brother A and myself to cook for, recipes are easier to pull together and ingredients are easier to buy. I realize the portions for the recipes I've chosen are "small" for my A's standards, so I end up giving him double portions so he doesn't end up complaining for more food (I had this happen last year).

Yesterday evening, I went a little overboard in terms of portions for both of us. A bought more asparagus since he wanted to eat it again (and dip it in the mayonnaise he bought), and I wanted to cook the shrimp, parsnips, and carrots that were from the Diabetic Chef's Seasonal Cookbook. I was a little worried about preparing the "Cajun Shrimp" recipe since it was my first time to deal with fresh, raw shrimp (usually I just use frozen cooked shrimp); however, thankfully, the results from the recipe were way above what I had expected. Despite lacking paprika, the shrimp still was spicy, juicy, and flavorful. Mm!

The vegetable recipe I threw in with the shrimp was "Roasted Carrots & Parsnips". It was heavily seasoned with thyme; wasn't too bad in terms of getting a serving of vegetables in. However, I felt truly stuffed after eating that dish, the shrimp, asparagus, and also a helping of quinoa. I'm glad A enjoyed the food a lot, too, though. It's a rewarding feeling to cook for someone else and have them compliment about it.

Sweets: Cream Puffs For Administrative Professionals Day

2009-04-22T16:47:00.000-07:00

Well, I wasn't expecting so much for Administrative Professionals Day. I wasn't even aware of this holiday until I noticed it on my desk planner under Earth Day; then I started announcing the holiday to my co-worker S and he decided that he would buy R and me something for our hard work in the office. So, he bought us Beard Papa's cream puffs:

I was expecting maybe just one cream puff each for the two of us, but no, S went all out and got us two each! Chocolate and vanilla; he also presented us with gift certificates to one of our favorite sandwich shops near work. What can I say, I sure like a little extra attention every now and then, so I enjoyed the cream puffs with my coffee for the day and the extra well wishes from other co-workers and some students. What a great office holiday indeed.

I hope other administrative professionals out there got something sweet from their co-workers/supervisors as well. =)

Eating Out: Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's

2009-04-21T20:06:00.000-07:00

(I didn't think to take a picture of my ice cream since I was too busy devouring it; hence, the empty cup)

Today was Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's! This was my second year to go to the freebie event; I remember how I blogged about it last year (over at my now-writing blog). I wasn't even aware of the event until the night before, and I remembered working the hot dog stand in front of Macy's and noticing the crowds of people leaving the store with ice cream in hand. It was quite torturous to watch.

Luckily, this year I didn't have to watch a ton of people walk out of Macy's with ice cream since I don't chuck hot dogs anymore. Funny thing, though, I still only found out about the exact day of the event the night before; somehow the anniversary date always escapes me. I don't eat much ice cream these days either, so I probably just wasn't thinking about the free scoop (I eat more fro-yo now, haha).

The lines were long, again, but I felt impressed by just how efficiently the Macy's store ran the lines. They had someone handing out "menus" for guests to look at before they approached the counter; people stood around to accept donations/tips along the way. Even though the line looked impossible, it went by really quickly; I was only in line for 3-5 minutes max. The workers were super fast with their scooping, too; talk about working under pressure! The same group of Chinese elementary school children was there again, and I had to laugh about my former co-worker's comment about the school's field trip to get free ice cream (see last year's blog post, link above).

This time around, I went with the Triple Caramel Chunk; I'm still avoiding chocolate for the time being (due to my overdose at the Chocolate Salon last month). The ice cream was pretty smooth and had the right amount of sweetness for me; one scoop of ice cream is really enough for me these days. I wonder if it would have been possible to go through the line twice, though. I mean, I wouldn't have done it anyway, but my brother was curious about that notion. I suppose, if people really desired to, they could hit up several different shops for their free fixings...but that might be overdoing it.

Cooking: Mushroom & Zucchini Frittata

2009-04-20T06:39:00.000-07:00

Last year, I remember my attempt at cooking a frittata for myself; it definitely didn't turn out since I didn't understand the concept of a frittata. I also don't think I had a proper broiler working at my old apartment, so the end result of that was just a slightly undercooked and huge omelet.

This morning, I decided I would overcome my fears and tackle another frittata recipe. My skillet was better this time, and, since I have been cooking more with recipes in the past year, I've become used to the cooking time of certain foods (in this instance, eggs). For the last few minutes, I popped the skillet into the broiler, doubting that the top of the frittata would actually set (the broiler drawer was open a crack since the skillet handle was too long to fit all the way under the broiler). To my delight and surprise, it set this time, and resulted in a beautiful, pictureworthy creation:

The frittata consisted of mushrooms, zucchini, onion, and some parmesan cheese. The recipe yielded two servings, so I split the dish with my brother. I felt so full after eating my half and having some light vanilla soymilk and strawberries to balance out the meal.

It was a great way to start off the week!

Cooking: Home-cooked Healthy Dinner

2009-04-19T18:50:00.000-07:00

After a few days of eating out (a bit too much to my liking), I was finally able to stay in today and cook dinner for my brother and myself. I decided to try out a few recipes I had selected from one of the diabetic cookbooks I checked out from the public library: mini turkey meatballs and simple grilled asparagus. The portions for the recipes turned out a little smaller than expected, but nonetheless, the food was delicious.

The preparation for the meatballs took a little while since I had to mix the ground meat and other ingredients by hand, but it was well worth it. These meatballs were very tender and I liked the little bit of texture that the breadcrumbs added to the patties.

My brother seemed to like both dishes a lot, especially the asparagus. As the recipe states, the asparagus is very simply flavored with olive oil and salt and pepper. I had asked my brother if he wanted some grains with the meal, but he said he didn't need it for today. So we just ate the meatballs and asparagus, and I rounded out the meal with some fresh strawberries. I'm glad to have some quiet evenings like today where I can just cook to my heart's content.

Sweets: Thai snacks, part 3

2009-04-18T17:45:00.000-07:00

This is the last installment in my Thai snack adventure; it's probably the most unique snack out of the bunch, though. What you see in the pictures above and below is a fish snack: the dried fish is presented in long, thin pieces which I have ended up calling "fish threads" to everyone else at work. The package is HUGE; kind of hilarious trying to think about somebody toting around a pack of these as a to-go snack.

The student who brought these said that she usually likes to snack on these fish threads while she's reading since she can just let the threads hang from her mouth and bite along the thread while she continues to read. It's one of those snacks that is convenient and almost hands-free; the snack itself isn't greasy, so people don't have to worry about greasy hands or utensils. I can probably snack on a ton of these if I'm not careful; I found myself running back into that classroom for more helpings after I tried the snack the first time.

It reminds me of the dried squid snacks that can be more readily found in Asian markets here. However, sadly, I don't think these fish snacks are available in the US. Perhaps a petition should be put out to get these snacks imported from Thailand.

Sweets: Thai snacks, part 2

2009-04-17T17:38:00.000-07:00

So here's an interesting snack that the Thai student gave to me this week: these little bundles are wrapped so neatly in bamboo. They almost looked too cute to eat since it seemed to me like such a waste to unwrap such a pretty little package.

Once I unwrapped the treat, though, I saw that they were actually bundled in pairs, so the two parts made the whole bundle. The three colors represent three different kinds of flavors; I tried the ginger-colored one and one piece of the red one, which had a slight hint of jasmine.

I suppose the taste of candy was an acquired one since I offered the jasmine piece to my friend M but she made a face when she tried it. It was another candy with a gummy-like/gelatinous texture. It seems to me that the Thai like these types of treats over the hard kind. From the looks of the packaging, I'm curious as to how much these candies cost in US Dollars. They look a bit too intricately presented to be cheap!

Sweets: Thai snacks, part 1

2009-04-16T12:12:00.000-07:00

For the next few entries, I will be showcasing some tasty Thai treats that one of the students at school brought in this week. It's my first time to try any kind of Thai packaged sweets; I am under the impression that there is virtually no way to get these treats here in the US. I even asked the student if we could buy some of this stuff here in San Francisco, and she said, "No, you can't." There may be a very very small chance of finding some of these treats in Asian stores, but the selection may be so small that most people would miss the display.

Pictured above is a package of candy that, upon first glance, looks like typical hard candy. But once I unwrapped a piece of the candy, I realized I was gravely mistaken since the candy was kind of gelatinous/gummy-like and stuck to the plastic. The level of sweetness is different from the typical Asian sweet: some pieces of the candy were actually a little spicy! I was surprised when I felt my mouth burning a little with the kick of pepper/spice in the candy. I can't quite describe what the flavors all are, but I personally liked the new experience of sweets.

Now, these two pictures show candies which were essentially the Thai take on mochi. The caps say they are "Chewy Plum Flavored"; when I popped them in my mouth, they were indeed chewy (and the orange-capped one was a little spicy!), which automatically made me think about mochi. I could probably finish off the treats in one sitting if I'm not careful, they're THAT good. Too bad I can't find them here in the US yet! Makes me want to go to Thailand just for these treats.

More snack features on the way!

Sweets: "Sweet Banana" from Tokyo

2009-04-15T12:04:00.000-07:00

Here's another amusing Japanese treat to share: yesterday, another student was bidding farewell to us since she was heading back to Japan. Luckily, she presented this box of "Sweet Banana" to the whole office instead of just to me. I had never tried this treat before when I was in Japan; generally, these kinds of treats are what Japanese buy to give to friends overseas and the like. It's not something to really buy and eat on a daily basis (this is evidenced in the way the product is packaged).

Anyway, my co-workers and I each took a sweet banana and were curious to see what exactly a "Sweet Banana" was. One co-worker unwrapped the treat and said, "It's essentially like a Banana Twinkie!" which made me chuckle at how odd that sounded like. When I opened the package, the observation was confirmed as I saw the spongy texture and, after biting into the treat, the small banana filling, akin to the cream filling in a regular Twinkie. Thankfully, the "Sweet Banana" isn't quite as sweet or artificial as a regular Twinkie.

Sweets: A Farewell Present.

2009-04-14T11:55:00.000-07:00

One of the students at school was saying farewell to us today and stopped by the office with this bag of treats for me. Inside, there were chocolate-covered soybeans, mini cookies (from Trader Joe's), and some Japanese brown sugar candy. It was very nice of her to bring this to me, considering I didn't think we were close enough to be exchanging gifts.

Ah, but it seems that most everyone likes giving carb-filled gifts at work! I can't refuse the gifts of course, but I also don't want to feel forced to eat the food. Just wondering: why do people rarely give fruit baskets as gifts these days?

Well, nonetheless, thank you to K for the cute bag of treats. I passed it off to my friend M since she has more of a sweet tooth than I do but she's better able to control her cravings as well. In the end, we all win. ;)

Recipe: Provolone Chicken Melts

2009-04-13T18:45:00.000-07:00

The two pictures don't do much justice to the meal, but really, the dish was delicious and different. I went to see a nutritionist last week and showed her the food journal that I keep on a daily basis. She said that due to my family history of diabetes, I should really try to reduce my carb intake. Then, she suggested some cookbooks/"diets" I should look into, such as South Beach (cookbook only; she didn't recommend the actual diet), and Diabetic Diet cookbooks. So I went to the library and checked out a slew of cookbooks to try out.

The first cookbook I selected recipes from was the South Beach Diet Quick & Easy Cookbook. This was one of the easy dinner ones I selected, Provolone Chicken Melts. I was skeptical of the recipe only taking 20 minutes to prepare, but really, it was that simple! I liked how juicy the chicken was, and the extra slice of flavor that the roasted red pepper added to the open-faced sandwich (you can barely see the pepper in the pictures).

If you're interested in this and more recipes, feel free to check out the South Beach Diet Quick & Easy Cookbook (link listed above). Since I've been in a slump lately over cooking/meal plans, the suggestions from the nutritionist really helped me with some new insight for my meals. I'm looking forward to some more healthy and easy recipes now!

Eating Out: Sunday Lunch Near Civic Center

2009-04-12T17:43:00.000-07:00

I spent the night at my friend's place yesterday and found myself feeling a little under the weather due to the little gathering. Once we all woke up around 11am, I felt famished and wanted to find some food before I headed back home. My normal commute home is generally 30-40 minutes, depending on the time of day and where I board the bus downtown.

I went around the block from my friend's house and decided today was a good opportunity to try out a locally-famous sandwich shop called Saigon Sandwiches. Since there was virtually no place to sit in the shop (it's really just a small store with two window seats for waiting customers), I decided I'd walk down to the plaza area by the Civic Center and SFPL.

The weather was perfect for such a respite in the area, since it was sunny and not too cold with the wind. There also weren't too many strange characters milling about since it was a Sunday afternoon and a lot of families were out. I sat there in the sunshine enjoying my fancy pork sandwich and the tasty tapioca dessert. It was a good thing that the food was satisfying, since I probably wouldn't have enjoyed the small outing as much if the food hadn't been any good.

That little outing made me almost want to stay in that one spot all day and continue to dream about carefree moments like those.

Party: Kushikatsu Evening

2009-04-11T18:16:00.000-07:00

Today was the first time for me to experience kushikatsu, which literally means "fried skewer" in Japanese. My friends told me that pretty much it's anything savory, deep-fried. We had kushikatsu over at a friend's apartment, and I watched in amazement as the whole event unfolded. I was put in charge of skewering the different cuts of food that they were preparing: onion, sweet potato, sausage, avocado, okra, and so forth. At first, I really wasn't aware of why the food was going on skewers (I didn't find out about kushi meaning skewer until later) and how we were going to fry all the food. I thought maybe we would be frying the food over a small fire, kind of similar to a campfire outing.

After all the food pieces were strung onto the skewers, a pot was filled with vegetable oil and my friends proceeded to show me how to coat the food with flour, egg, and panko (breadcrumbs). Then, after the vegetable oil was bubbling, they threw in a few skewers at a time to deep-fry them to a crisp perfection. The whole process was amusing to watch, and of course, the end result was delicious (albeit probably not the healthiest). My favorite fried skewer was either the sausage or the fish cake.

It seems that kushikatsu is a popular form of food in Japan often coupled with alcohol. We all had some wine or beer to drink with the fried skewers, which topped off the evening delightfully. I hope to do kushikatsu again in the near future!

Sweets: Japanese Chocolate Mushrooms

2009-04-10T08:55:00.000-07:00

One of the former students came by the school today and brought me this cute little gift. I've seen this snack around at Japanese grocery stores before, but never really felt interested to pick up a package for myself. I had always thought the snack looked weird, but I couldn't quite place my finger on what they were supposed to be/resemble until today. I shared the package with my co-workers and they immediately said, "What the! Chocolate mushrooms?!" When one of them translated kinoko to me, that was when I understood that these snacks are in fact supposed to resemble mushrooms.

I learn something new everyday.

Yelp: What I Won't Review

2009-04-09T18:42:00.000-07:00

There are just some places that I won't review on Yelp!, no matter how "cool" it may be to do so:

National chain stores - Unless one particular branch stands out above/below the rest, writing a review for a national chain store completely defeats the purpose of Yelp!. The point of Yelp! is to focus on the local businesses; if a local business does happen to branch out with a few other locations, that's okay, too; however, I find reviews for "Wal-Mart" or the like really irrelevant to post on Yelp.
Nonsensical reviews - Some post reviews about their pets, or reviews about a concept. These may be fun to read, but don't really add to the content of the website. Plus, when people post these kinds of reviews, it seems like they're trying to draw attention to themselves or just gain numbers in reviews. These "reviews" should be saved for personal blogs or other review sites.

I also find myself delaying write-ups for places that I've tried once but barely got an impression from them. For example, sometimes when I do try out a new place, I'm with someone else and I end up getting engrossed in conversation with my meal buddy to even notice much about the restaurant. These restaurants generally end up with 3-star reviews, but I don't want to post such a review if it doesn't have enough foundation to it. It's also hard to write a review when I'm being treated out to a meal, too, so I sometimes don't pay attention to the price when that happens (oops).

To me, quality over quantity is always the best, so if I don't get a decent impression of a place the first time around, I wait until I go back and visit the place again to make a decision. This helps me be more objective and fair so I'm better able to focus on what's important to me and other (potential) customers.

Yelp: Featured on Taishan Cafe Ad/Menu

2009-04-08T08:25:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my friend Lolia S. for pointing this out to me: seems Taishan Cafe (one of my favorite places in San Francisco) has featured an excerpt of my Yelp! review in their ad/takeout menu. This is pretty neat, considering I didn't think the owners of the restaurant would take notice of my review. They took excerpts from other Yelp! reviews as well, but I still felt proud of my review making it onto the menu. I wonder how many copies of this menu is circulating around the city right now; some people may not notice it since it's an insert in a slew of other newspaper ads/coupons/etc.

Well, nice to get my 15 seconds of fame still. I showed off the flyer at work today, just because it was fun/amusing to me. Little things like this make me feel more motivated to continue writing more reviews that are meaningful and helpful to others.

Recipe: Chili & Chips

2009-04-07T18:58:00.000-07:00

Another recipe from Fitness Magazine to round out this week's meal plans: Chili & Chips.
I substituted the corn chips with pita chips I found at Trader Joe's over the weekend; the pita chips seemed more appealing to me.

I liked that the whole meal itself was very easy to put together for lunch: just scoop out the chili, measure the broccoli florets, and save the chips/cheese in separate containers. After the broccoli and chili are heated thoroughly, just top off with the cheese and chips. As you can tell from my previous post, this recipe was the other one I was referring to that had nearly identical ingredients with the previous one.

Recipe: Chili-Broccoli Baked Potato

2009-04-06T19:25:00.000-07:00

Here's another recipe from Fitness Magazine: Chili-Broccoli Baked Potato. The recipe on the website says that it's a "potato with veggie chili" but strangely the ingredients say that either turkey chili or vegetarian chili was fine. Odd; turkey isn't exactly a vegetable.

When I was measuring out the ingredients, I wasn't sure if it'd all be enough to top the potato. However, as can be seen in the photo, it was more than enough of chili and broccoli for the potato. I needed to heat up the broccoli a little more, but it was hard to do that with the chili in the same pot; I was afraid of burning the chili while trying to defrost the broccoli florets.

It was a very filling meal, though; all that protein in the chili! I realized when I selected the recipes this week from Fitness that I chose two recipes with very similar ingredients: both required turkey chili and broccoli. It's a good way to be efficient with my grocery runs, though.

Recipe: Peanut Butter & Banana Waffles

2009-04-05T11:28:00.000-07:00

For this week's menu, I'm following some simple recipes from Fitness Magazine's new "You Can Do It!" Plan. Here's one I modified simply by replacing the pancake mix with frozen waffles:

Peanut Butter & Banana Waffles

(Ingredients I used):
1 large banana
2 tsp. unsalted peanut butter
1 tsp. honey
2 multigrain frozen waffles

Toast the waffles to the desired level; slice the banana and top the waffles with the slices, peanut butter, and honey. Enjoy!

Simple treats like these somehow taste more delicious than other recipes that require a little more time. Maybe I've just been feeling lazy lately with cooking...

Food: Not Your Ordinary PB&J.

2009-04-04T19:20:00.000-07:00

I decided to experiment a little today before I went out for the evening: since most of my co-workers have been talking about how cheap and easy peanut butter & jelly sandwiches are (and I had a few sweet recipes involving peanut butter), I bought myself a jar of peanut butter. However, I decided against buying regular jelly and decided that I could save myself a little money by just substituting jelly with the fruit spread I had left over at home.

The fruit spread is apricot and orange; I was afraid of what kind of combination the two flavors would create, but I took my chances. The type of peanut butter I bought was so overwhelming in taste that I could barely taste the apricot and orange spread. It wasn't a horrible combination, but I think next time I'll go back to grape/berry-based spreads.

Food: When Life Gives You Lemons...

2009-04-03T10:42:00.000-07:00

Work seems to be a place to receive many edible gifts, as can be seen from the previous posts. Yesterday, one of my co-workers brought in a bag of lemons to share with the rest of us. Her parents had sent her some lemons from their lemon tree back home, and she had an abundance of the fruit so she decided to share the wealth with us.

I chose these two particular ones: the one on the left intrigued everyone by how it resembled an orange so well with its abnormally round shape. Nobody seemed to want to take it (maybe they really weren't sure if it was an orange or a lemon?), so I took the chance and claimed it. They're quite fragrant and firm, so I can't wait to use them at home.

Food: Mini Haribo

2009-04-02T12:41:00.000-07:00

Another random food gift from one of the students at work: she gave me this mini package of gummy bears and I was really surprised by how small the gummy bears and the package itself was. I had never seen a packet so small before, so of course I had to take a picture of it for memory's sake.

Food: Donuts at Work

2009-04-01T08:40:00.000-07:00

My head boss is always bringing in treats for the rest of us when she visits at work. Yesterday, she brought in a box of donuts fresh from a bakery in Cupertino; she said that the bakery closes promptly at 2pm, so she made sure to grab all the best donuts before she left the shop. I rarely ever eat donuts these days (at least, not American donuts), but I went ahead and took one of the roasted coconut ones to be polite. Luckily it wasn't overly sweet and it was relatively light compared to a regular glazed donut.

Eating Out: Classic San Francisco on the Wharf.

2009-03-31T20:31:00.000-07:00

It was a pleasant evening yesterday: I went out to a nice dinner with some family in town. At first, I was hesitant to head back over to Fisherman's Wharf (my old neighborhood), since I wasn't sure of the restaurant we were going to. But once I saw where it was and what the place was like, my fears were alleviated. Alioto's is one of those classic places in the city: a little pricey, but authentic in what it offers. It's more formal than the food stands located downstairs, but it's well worth the value. When we were seated by the window, I was amazed by the beautiful view we had of the Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance (as you can see in the picture).

Places like Alioto's reminds me of time long gone in the city and in life; one of the other table guests kept saying that it felt like we were in a real time warp inside with the decor of the restaurant and the way the waitstaff was dressed. It was peaceful inside and I almost forgot that I was still in San Francisco.

It's also a rare occasion for me to go out for seafood these days; somehow, whenever I dine out for seafood, I never really feel impressed by the places I have tried. Perhaps it's because I grew up with my father preparing top-notch seafood for our family: the way he prepared it set the bar for me in terms of what seafood should look and taste like. Chain restaurants that sell seafood never measure up to what my dad has cooked before. Although Alioto's was delicious and refined in terms of presentation, of course I still feel a preference for my father's own cooking. Still, Alioto's was one of the nicer seafood places for me to go to in awhile.

I ordered the swordfish fillet; again, I run into that strange block in my memory where I feel like I hadn't tried swordfish before, but at the same time, I know I have (I just never knew the English name from my family). I had trouble deciding between the swordfish or salmon, but I figured that I usually am capable of finding salmon at many other restaurants, so I opted for the more unique item. I should have also considered the Dungeness crab, which I feel like I probably haven't tried yet; at least, not in San Francisco.

The night was well spent though; we were in the restaurant for a couple hours, enjoying the different courses of the meal and catching up on our lives. When we walked back outside, the air was crisp and clean for the evening; it was a nice way to end the time spent at the Wharf.

Food: Hurricane Popcorn Gift

2009-03-30T16:29:00.000-07:00

One of my friends recently went to Hawaii, and before she left, I had asked her to bring me back some Hurricane Popcorn. I first heard about this popcorn from my friend M, whom still has relatives in Hawaii and occasionally gets care packages from them. My curiosity for the popcorn was piqued when M said she couldn't share her last bag with me because, well, it was the last bag! So, I began to wonder about the greatness of Hurricane Popcorn...

Well, so I received this packet from my friend at work today, and I went ahead and prepared the package. Essentially, what makes the popcorn different from the mainland counterparts is the arare (Japanese rice crackers) and nori topping that gets mixed in after the popcorn is popped. There's also a buttery topping, which I was careful with since I didn't want the treat laden with fat. The packet said "Mochi Crunch", and I was hoping for some dried mochi inside, but I don't think there was any. It's okay in flavor, although I feel like maybe I had overhyped it for myself. I could have bought arare and nori at the local Japanese market and just tossed it into a regular bag of popcorn here.

At least I now know what Hurricane Popcorn is all about though. Next, I'd like to try Typhoon Popcorn sometime in the future...

Recipe: Barbecue Beef Pasta with Asparagus

2009-03-29T18:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I went to Safeway to buy a list of groceries that were deemed "healthy and cheap" according to my fitness magazines. Pasta, ground beef, and frozen vegetables were on the list, and tonight, I decided I would experiment a little with what I wanted to make out of the groceries I had bought.

First, I cooked the whole box of pasta, which took about ten minutes or so. In the meantime, I boiled the frozen asparagus spears in a separate pan so they would defrost and become tender. After the pasta finished cooking, I drained it (and the asparagus) and set them aside while I browned the lean ground sirloin in the same pot I cooked the pasta. I wasn't sure if that was the right choice or not since the meat didn't look like it was browning, but it just took a little time.

Finally, when the meat looked slightly cooked, I poured in the pasta and asparagus and mixed the three ingredients together. The pasta and ground meat was a little hard to mix together since they were becoming a little dry and sticky, but I managed to get them mixed nonetheless.

My first impression of the dish was that it was a little bland, so then I decided to use some barbecue sauce to add extra flavor. Turns out, it was a good decision to make since the sauce also made the pasta less sticky. Not a bad experiment! I had enough food for the rest of the week (since I prepared the whole packages of food), so this recipe was a success.

Eating Out: A Foodie Saturday Afternoon

2009-03-28T16:54:00.000-07:00

I realize I have several friends who are just as food-obsessed as I am, and every time we meet up, we go to all kinds of places for food, whether for a meal, snack, or dessert. Today, my friend M and I went to a couple of local places in Outer Richmond: first, we ate a relaxing lunch at Bazaar Cafe, a cute little shop located on California. This place intrigued me with their Japanese specialties; naturally, I felt I had to try one of their specialties rather than go with a regular old sandwich. The unagi don was simple but still filling. We sat sipping at our drinks for a couple hours as we caught up on our lives. The cafe was quiet and warm, which helped bring our conversation along during the afternoon lull.

After we spent time there, M suddenly had a craving for some ice cream since she felt she needed her daily calcium. We stopped by Joe's Ice Cream, a little shop I had been meaning to try out for almost a year (but never had the chance to do so until today). The place was a little busy since it was a weekend afternoon; parents and children crowding in for the ice cream and the grilled food. The couple behind the counter was so cute, and I began to suspect that perhaps they were Japanese? It was an assumption, but the way they acted was rather Japanese in some ways (I apologize if this sounds stereotypical/politically incorrect); my assumptions were confirmed though when I read the articles on the wall about Joe's Ice Cream. Turns out, Murashige-san handmakes all the ice cream, and he's had the place for about thirty years or so. This made me feel immediately enamored with the place much more; my ice cream tasted much sweeter/creamier after discovering this fact.

Then, M and I went back to her house and had small snacks of chestnuts and Doritos before she went off to work. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon: chatting with a good friend, eating good food at local places, walking around in the sunshine. Moments like these make life much sweeter, literally and figuratively.

Eating Out: A Perfect Friday Mid-morning Snack.

2009-03-27T08:56:00.000-07:00

Today, happiness consists of hot Vietnamese coffee with a hot dog bun. I've become quite a fan of Cafe Dolci near work; it's a small cafe/banh mi shop owned by the cutest Vietnamese couple. Their shop is so small and most people would miss it if they weren't walking by it on Market; they're more known for their banh mi than anything else, but I love their other selections as well: Asian baked goods, regular pastries, spring rolls, all sorts of coffee, etc.

I ran out of food today for snacking, so I figured going to Cafe Dolci for a morning treat was fine. There's something about Vietnamese coffee that really draws me in: perhaps the sweetness of the condensed milk. It trumps regular brewed coffee for me, and since I had been avoiding caffeine most of this week (due to my stomach troubles), the Vietnamese coffee was an extra special treat.

The hot dog bun was warm and soft, warmed up from the microwave at Cafe Dolci. The sausage was a little loose inside of the bun, but it was still delicious. It reminded me of this past Christmas, when my father baked a bunch of bread treats for us all to eat. He had made some hot dog buns as well; of course I will always say my father's baked treats are the best, but Cafe Dolci's allowed for me to at least reminisce.

It was a great way to start off a productive Friday at work, to say the least. =)

Recipe: Garbanzo Beans with Pesto (Safeway)

2009-03-26T17:53:00.000-07:00

It's amusing that I found this recipe on the side of the garbanzo beans can. I know that canned/packaged foods usually have suggested recipes on them, but I rarely pay attention to them; when I saw this recipe, though, I knew it was perfect for my evening since I coincidentally had all the necessary ingredients to whip the dish up. I had some leftover pesto that I had been meaning to use up for about a week or so, and luckily I also had some red onion left over from the previous week.

The recipe was easy to put together, just a lot of mixing; in terms of taste, the onion was overwhelming with the other ingredients, but I suppose that's where all the flavor came from (along with the pesto). The olive oil made the dish smoother, and the garbanzo and onion made for a nice crunchy pair. It wasn't bad at all as a topping for brown rice. Perhaps next time I should pay more attention to my canned foods and try the recommended recipes: see what comes up, right?

Eating Out: The guilty pleasures of diner food.

2009-03-25T18:57:00.000-07:00

The past two nights, I've been going to a local diner called Tommy's Joynt since one of my brothers is visiting. The food is probably not the best for a sensitive stomach, but somehow I've found it all rather soothing and nostalgic. Since I don't watch television (or really, keep up with the most popular spots in the city), I wasn't even aware of how well-known Tommy's Joynt was throughout the US and perhaps the world. My brother said he had heard about the place from The Food Network, which I'm not surprised about: it's a true bargain bite in the heart of San Francisco. Nothing overly fancy, just delicious, home-style cooking.

Usually, I avoid diners like these since I've been more health-conscious in recent years. However, whenever I do get a chance to go to a place like this, I feel a strange twinge of excitement; perhaps it's from knowing that I will be eating food that I'm not used to eating anymore, which then evokes memories from my childhood. I remember how I used to eat at places like Tommy's Joynt all the time when I was younger; of course, back then, I wasn't even aware of what "health-conscious" meant, and my ideal meal then was the kind of food found only at diners: greasy delights.

Times do change, of course, but I suppose that feeling for the past never goes away.

Miscellaneous: Aversion to Sweets

2009-03-24T06:54:00.000-07:00

(photo from March 14,2009)
Since my sickness on Saturday, I have been focusing on eating whole, unprocessed foods to calm my stomach down from the chocolate frenzy. With this focus, I have also been avoiding chocolate, intentionally and unintentionally. Just thinking about chocolate the past few days makes me feel queasy; the sight of the candy bowl at work turns me off now. This aversion to chocolate seems to have spread towards all sweets as I found myself refusing ice cream tonight at one of the local sweet shops I frequent.

It's been awhile since I've felt nauseated from certain foods: in the past, I remember staying away from mayonnaise for awhile since I once ingested a spoiled pack of the sauce from my family restaurant. After that incident, I steered clear of the sauce for a long time; I don't remember when I re-introduced it back into my diet, but I just know it took me awhile.

It may be a good thing for me to stay away from chocolate/artificial sweets for awhile though; at times I find myself having an overly active sweet tooth and I end up dreaming about my next stop to a sweets shop. For now, I think I will stay satisfied with natural sweets such as fruit.

Food: Scrounging up food for sickness

2009-03-23T18:44:00.000-07:00

I haven't been feeling well since the Chocolate Salon on Saturday (perhaps, a bit too much chocolate for my liking?). Anyway, I have been battling a bit of anxiety which has caused for me to feel nauseated with a lot of food. Tonight, for dinner, I decided I would have something warm and soothing; I contemplated going out for dinner to get pho in the neighborhood, but I felt tired of spending money (too much from the past few days) and I figured I would have some food at home that I could whip up together.

I heated up a can of low-sodium chicken broth and then added the rest of the small package of soba noodles I had to put together a makeshift noodle soup. Not so bad; I have to say I like the texture of the soba noodles more than the "regular" kind of noodle soup. The only thing that I should have also had on hand was some grilled chicken to make it into chicken noodle soup. Well, the dish was still soothing and calmed my stomach troubles at least for the time being. I'm hoping I will be able to recover from these stomach issues soon, though.

Review: Fiber One Oats & Streusel Bar

2009-03-22T18:37:00.000-07:00

Calories: 130, Dietary Fiber: 9g, Protein: 2g.

After a day full of chocolate, I figured the best thing to do in terms of sweet stuff was go for something with fruit. Why not a snack bar with fruit? I picked up a 5-pack of Fiber One's Oats & Apple Streusel bars today at Safeway since I had heard raves about these bars via Hungry Girl's newsletters. I've been a fan of Fiber One cereals for the past three years now; only in the past year did I really come to like the Original Fiber One cereal, mixed in with berries. I hadn't actually tried any of their other products though, since these days I try to stay away from too many snack bars/quick-breakfast items other than oatmeal, cereal, eggs, and the like.

Fiber One's snack bars seem to be a good pick-me-up for the middle of the day; I like that the bars have more of a fiber boost than most other snack bars. In terms of flavor, they hit it on the mark most of the time. The Oats & Apple Streusel was sticky, sweet, yet fulfilling; I would have liked to taste a little more apple though. The ingredients list is also a bit daunting: way too many items listed, and there's even a little bit of High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), which I try my best to avoid these days.

Other than that, I'm satisfied with my purchase. Maybe, when the craving strikes, I'll pick up some of their toaster pastries (similar to Pop-Tarts) one day.

Food: San Francisco International Chocolate Salon at Fort Mason

2009-03-21T21:12:00.000-07:00

I slapped down $20 from my paycheck to get a chance to go see what this chocolate salon was over at Fort Mason's Herbst Pavilion today; according to the official website, the entry ticket allowed for entry for all kinds of samples, demonstrations, and so forth. I was a little skeptical of "free-for-all" samples, but I decided I would take the chance and check it out. After all, the last time I went to a chocolate-related festival (the Ghirardelli Square event), I was disappointed in the setup, but then again, that event was dubbed "free" yet people had to pay for the taste tickets.

Well, I was pleasantly surprised with the Chocolate Salon, since it came through with its promise of chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. There were signs posted at the entrance with "guidelines" for enjoying the event: 1) Have fun; 2) No storage containers/baggies allowed; 3) No hoarding (will result in exile); 4) New friendships encouraged; 5) Have fun. I did indeed have fun at this event, trying pretty much all of the companies' samples there; there was just a swirl of chocolate frenzy there. The entrance fee was well worth it since so many of the chocolatiers there were well out of my regular price range, so it was a great opportunity for me to sample chocolates I may not get another chance to try in the near future.

Some of the vendors were lively and very helpful, explaining the notes/flavors used in their samples. I especially loved Choclatique's wonderful salesperson (shown above, right) and his explanations of each of the samples: the "Root Beer Float" was creamy and very similar to the real thing; the "Dark Chocolate Butterly" was very crisp and contained only four ingredients. I had a hard time chewing that last piece since it was so bold, but it was well worth it.

Many of the vendors were local from San Francisco or the Bay Area; some traveled from Los Angeles or as far as Florida. And, the stands didn't just include chocolate itself; there was also vodka, wine, hot chocolate, art, and even..."edible" chocolate, for those with a kinkier side.

I can't even remember all the different flavors I tried out, but there were definitely plenty to choose from, from guava to Vietnamese coffee. Even some chocolates with sea salt! One thing I wish they had had at the fair was a place to eat non-chocolate food since, after two hours of sampling chocolates, I was craving something different to offset the sugar high I was feeling. Needless to say, it was a pure chocolate lover's heaven. I didn't stick around long enough to watch any demonstrations or check out the book signings, but the event seemed to be a success with all the people there with happy, chocolate-smeared faces.

I picked up brochures and cards of all the different businesses and I look forward to checking out their stores in the future. For now, though, I think I have really overdosed on chocolate, and may not be able to stomach the food for awhile....

Eating Out: Translated Chinese Menu Items

2009-03-20T13:59:00.000-07:00

I find myself stuck in the same kind of situation every time I walk into a Chinese restaurant in San Francisco: although I may be well-familiar with all the dishes served at the restaurants, unfortunately, things become lost in translation when I have to read the menu items in English. There's almost always Chinese written beside each item, but with me being illiterate in reading Chinese characters, I can't decipher what kind of dish I'm looking for.

It's mainly because I grew up knowing only the Chinese names of many dishes, e.g, taro dishes. Only in the past six months did I finally realize that all my life I had been eating taro, but I didn't even know the "English" name of it until someone pointed it out to me. Before I found out the translation, I just told people, "I don't know what taro is, I haven't eaten it before." My parents, relatives, and whoever else speaks Taishanese to me, they don't know many English names of certain vegetables, dishes, and so forth, so they can't tell give me a translation even if they wanted to.

It puts me in a weird situation when I'm looking through menus (without the help of family members) and trying to decide which foods I would to eat; all the names sound so unfamiliar to me, yet I know I have eaten most all the dishes before. It's just the matter of the way the dish is written; somehow the English names just don't sound as appealing to my ears as the Taishanese/Cantonese names. What's "turtle concentrate"? I'm sure I've had it before, but with that kind of English name, it doesn't sound appetizing to me.

Well, I sure hope one day I can bridge the gap in this dilemma and order my Chinese food with confidence in knowing the English and Chinese names!

Miscellaneous: Boredom Ensues With Cooking...

2009-03-19T17:12:00.000-07:00

I'm finding things a little depressing lately with my cooking: in general, inspiration has flown out of my mind these days, so I haven't felt inspired to write new short works or start on my rewrite to my first novel...let alone experiment with recipes from the few cookbooks I own. I'm all for finding new food adventures wherever I go, but I seem to have hit a mental block with cooking (and writing, for that matter).

This whole week, I've been sustaining myself with some quick-and-easy meals cooked via my rice cooker; for example, I've thrown in some red kidney beans into the boiling rice and have steamed some vegetables on top (potatoes, in this picture). They're easy enough meals to keep me full for the time being, but not really meals that give me a sense of accomplishment and excitement.

Tonight, I was low on my food supply, and had to resort to eating the Indonesian instant noodle that I bought back in January. It was fine, good enough for the evening, but I was surprised to see that the small portion was meant to be served for two people, not one. I was still feeling hungry, so I also had some broccoli with cayenne on top and a small bit of almonds. That was all I could scrounge up for myself for dinner though.

I'm not sure what I want to buy for the next week, or what I want to do exactly. Eating out every night doesn't sound overly appealing to me due to 1) the high expenses involved, with each lunch averaging around $5-$10 and dinner $10-$15; and 2) the expense that will be incurred on my waistline (how can I find out all the ingredients that went into that particular dish in xx restaurant?). But, I'm feeling bored with the food I usually buy at the grocery store (this isn't the first time it's happened to me), and I just need something different (yet healthy).

Any thoughts on this? It's driving me a little crazy just thinking about it...