Coffee Fiend: Kyoto Style

Oh-so-clean. :)

Have I mentioned that I like coffee? It's starting to become so much of a problem that I'm pretty sure K.yo and Special K were trying to arrange an intervention for me. Well, their wish semi-came true when I got sick last week. I was off the beans for over a week; a record that was broken by the discovery of Blue Bottle's Kyoto Iced Coffee through K.yo and 7x7. Apparently, Kyoto style means long-ass dripping process. According to the mag, each drop of water trickles ever so slowly, one at a time, in order to "[bring] out delicate flavors you might miss in a piping hot cup." Riiiiight. I love coffee, but sometimes even I get tired of coffee culture. Anyways, the coffee was good...as is all Blue Bottle. Think of it as Blue Bottle's New Orleans Style iced coffee but without the cream and sugahhh. Oh, almost forgot to mention that it's only served at the Mint Plaza locale.

Blue Bottle
66 Mint Street, San Francisco
(Across from the Westfield Mall in Downtown. Walk down fifth street, and you'll see a sign for the Plaza.)

Slocombe-sicles: Yay or Nay?

I think that K.yo will agree with me when I say that we're kind of Slocombe fan girls. Case in point: We actually follow the Mission ice cream parlor on Twitter. It's the only way you know what their flavours are for the day...other than calling the parlor, but there's always a line out the door, so they probably wouldn't be to keen on reading the entire menu to you. Oh, and they also update twitter followers on when and where other local restaurants/food stands will be serving their products. As of late, I have ventured into the world of the Slocombe Pops that are served at the 4505 Meats stand at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market.

First Pop Consumed: Coconut Cardamom Pluot Pop. Hmm...If you really like Coconut and Cardamom, you will love this. It was just okay to me because I prefer a more fruit-y pop. You will also love it if you enjoy eating frozen Thai Curry because that's basically what it tasted like. (Hey, some people might actually enjoy this, so who am I to tell you not to try it?)

Second Pop Consumed: Strawberry Margarita Pop. Exactly what it sounds like. Strawberry Margarita, but in popsicle form. I was quite delighted that it tasted like/was made with actual strawberries and not syrup. The legit strawberriness balanced well with the tangy margarita-ness.

Analysis of Slocombe Pops: Like everything Slocombe, the Pops are definitely unique. Be ready for that. But to be honest, I actually like their ice cream more. If you're at the Ferry Building on a Market day and feel Slocombe-y, then definitely give the pops a try. If you're actually at Slocombe, you might want to just go for the ice.

4505 Meats
Ferry Building Marketplace
One Ferry Building

Or

Humphrey Slocombe
2790 Harrison Street, San Francisco
(Cross-street is 24th)

Cha-Ya, Ch-yeah!

I've lived two blocks from this place for over two years, and only recently tried it for the first time. It's weird because I feel like living close to some good eats doesn't necessarily mean you go there all the time. The desire to go to Cha-Ya has increased in past months due to a multiplicity of reasons: there's always a hella long line for dinner, nearly half of my close-friends are vegetarians or veggie-inclined, and I also keep passing by the one in the Mission. Sweet-ole K.yo's b-day was a week ago, so the friends and I decided to finally give the place a try. I ordered the Vege-Tofu Curry with Udon. First of all, I lovelovelove Japanese curry, so I was already pretty stoked before even entering the restaurant. The soup was flavourful, and there were so many veggies! Kabocha, pearl onions, celery, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, mushrooms, and sugar snap peas to be exact! I finished my entire bowl and was surprised at how incredibly stuffed I was. Although Japanese Veggie Food sounds weird, this is really a must-try. The menu was cute and explained how the restaurant is inspired by vegetarian food consumed at Japanese temples. So yeah, it's actually legit even though most people think of either fish or katsu when it comes to Japanese cuisine. Other delicious items consumed that night include veggie tempura. Itadakimasu!

Cha-Ya Vegetarian Japanese Restaurant
1686 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley
(In between Virginia and Lincoln)

Eat Real: Food Carts Are How We Roll

A little late, but here's my rundown of Eat Real, the three-day food fest that went down in the land of Oaks last weekend. As mentioned in my previous post, one should and must plan out food fests. This time, I was eager to hit Homeroom, Chairman Bao, and the Crème Brûlée Cart. Mission accomplished! Here's my account of said success:

Homeroom: Yet to open, this place is already getting a lotta buzz in the food blog circuits. Apparently, they got sued by McDonalds for including "Mac" in their original name (Little Mac). Companies really need to stop suing others for the use of words because if this continues, language will probably die. Anyways, after a contest that asked locals to come up with cute new names, "Homeroom" was chosen. Macs devoured on this glorious day: Trailer Mac and Spicy Mac. Trailer Mac was filled with hot dog goodness and topped with POTATO CHIPS. Spicy Mac was as the title would suggest: spicy. Which do I prefer? Hard to say, but probably the Spicy Mac because it was seasoned quite tastily.

Chairman Bao: Speaking of places that are getting sued, Chairman Bao has also had it's share in ridiculous lawsuits. Some NY chef is suing the cart for taking the name of his best-selling item. Word has it, that said chef finally trademarked his precious Bao. In the words of Christian Bale, "Well, good for you!" Bao devoured: Tender Pork Belly with Pickled Daikon. A very tasty bao indeed! It's a little different from your usual dim sum bao, since it's wrapped the way that Peking Duck is usually. The Pork Belly was flavorful and the daikon balanced it well.

The Crème Brûlée Cart: By the time I was done with the other two, I was pretty damn full. But there's always room for dessert, right? Well, there has to be at a food fest! K.yo, Special K, and I missed out on the Cart at SF Food Fest cuz we opted for funnel cake, so I was determined to hit it this time around. Crème Brûlée devoured: Mexican Chocolate. Because I'm a nerd, I will admit that I love cracking the tops of Brûlées like Amelie. Analysis of top: good amount of crackily-crunchy-ness. Analysis of the stuff underneath: noms, but a bit pot-de-crème-y. Not a bad thing, but I feel like I should have tried the vanilla bean one, since the chocolate distracted me a bit...but that's my own fault. :)

Mission: Street Food

Dudes, I've been attending food fests like no one's biznet lately. First up: SF Street Food Festival in the Mission. Not going to lie, but I planned this to a tee. I printed out a map and literally circled every place that I wanted to swing by. A little crazy? Slightly. But, K.yo and Special K will agree with me, when I say that you really should plan food fests. It's quite easy to get distracted because let's face it, almost everything at the festival is going to be pretty noms. Just make sure that you know where a few of the to-die-for spots are, and head to them first! BECAUSE THEY WILL SELL OUT.

First Stop: Nombe

• K.yo and I have been wanting to go to this place forever, but like any other izakaya, it's expensive. It's also in the Mission, and we don't really hang around there too often at night. Nombe probably had one of the longest lines at the festival. However, it was admittedly worth it. Bathed in sweet-and-sour sauce with green onions, basil and/or cilantro, the fried chicken wings were extremely delicious. The flavourful sauce really made it. Nombe ftw.

Second Stop: Endless Summer Sweets

• The K's and I decided to split a Funnel Cake from Endless Summer Sweets after said wings. I believe that this place is associated with La Cocina, and according to their website, they're served at certain Farmers and Flea Markets. Perfectly fried and topped with cream, strawberries, and powdered sugar, the Funnel Cake was freaking amazing. Definitely a good dessert to split.
  

Third Stop: Ritual

• You have to admit that Ritual's little trailer is pretty damn cute. I go to their coffee shop pretty often, so I wasn't planning to purchase anything that day...until I heard about their Coffee Pops. It's exactly what it sounds like. COFFEE POPSICLES. They cooled me down and kept me well caffeinated. :)

Fourth Stop: Kung Fu Tacos

• Who doesn't love that name? Major points for that before even trying it. But yeah, it was pretty good. And spicy...but I may have gone a little crazy with the sriarcha. The line was also quite long, but they are definitely worth checking out. Pictured: Mu Shu Veggie. It was mushroomy-goodness.
  

--The panda has spoken.

I'M BACK!

well, hiiiiii :B

xoRC

Der Älterer

Finally, I got my hands on some Pliny the Elder. Extra points for it being freshly bottled two days prior. This baby was number two on Beer Advocate's list of Top Beers on Planet Earth. If you're into IPA's, then you'll definitely like this. If you're not, at least give it a try! :)

*I've been going a little post crazy, since RC has gone on vacation and hasn't been able to put up posts to balance mine. But, I'm probably going to be a lot more busy now, so there won't be as high of an influx. Radpanda=Sadpanda.

Places in Berk where said drink can be found:

Bobby G's Pizzeria (It's on tap.)
2072 University Avenue @ Shattuck

Beta Lounge (They gots bottles.)
2129 Durant Avenue Fulton

Word o' advice: Take it easy with the Pliny. Ease yourself in and don't be too ambitious.

--RP has spoken.

"Forget it, RP, it's Chinatown."

After reading a blog that claimed SF Chinatown's Hing Lung had the second best Duck Wonton Noodles in the city, I thought I'd give the place another try. I've been trying to avoid this place for the past few years because I've received really bad service on occasion. So, I know everyone's response (and my response) to this comment should be (à la the title of this post), "Forget it, RP, it's Chinatown. There ain't no service." I mean, this place admittedly has a bajillion customers, so they're not losing anything from me not going there. BUT, I'd still like a little service, please. Anyways, somehow I manage to find myself there a couple times a year, since my family's been going there for a million years. This time, the sis and I decided to start out with a brunch-y dish of Zhaliang, which is basically a chinese donut wrapped with a rice noodle roll. That explanation sounds kind of weird, but it's quite tasty! So far, so good with the food. Next, we had the Duck Wonton Noodle soup that the blog was talking about. Not too shabby. Broth, noodles, and wontons were pretty noms. (Although, I am the type who prefers my mom's home-made wontons.) The duck was well marinated and roasted, but a tiny bit fatty. To finish off our meal, we had Beef Chow Fun with Black Bean Sauce. I, myself prefer a less saucy chow fun, but this is my sis' fave dish. Sauce was good. Noodles were good. A little bit too much beef, and some of it was kind of chew-y. Overall analysis of Hing Lung: Not THAT bad. Service this time was actually alright, and we got a shit ton of food. So for now, I'll try not to hate too much on this place.

Hing Lung
674 Broadway (b/w Stockton and Grant)

Sh-low Day

So K.yo and I got a bit peckish on our way to Trader Joe's today and decided to stop by Slow, a new restaurant that opened in Berk a week ago. The Chef's mission is to provide gourmet, not-overly-priced food from local/seasonal ingredients. Sounds good to me! Lunch actually does look quite affordable...sandwiches range from $5-6. But, dinner's a tiny bit more pricey. Plates range $9-12. However, the Braised Short Rib with Mascarpone Polenta, Escabeche Carrot, and Roasted Cippolini Onion was quite tasty. The short rib was perfectly tender, and the polenta was creamy nom-ness. K.yo and I both ordered it and were quite satisfied. We also left with a Double Chocolate Chip Cookie that was probably one of the best double chocolate chip cookies we've ever had. :) Definitely check it out. But if you're strapped for cash, go for lunch. They have pulled pork! Oh, and also vegetarian options!

After said adventure, I decided to bake some matcha green tea cupcakes. I absolutely love cupcakes, but every now and then, I can't justify buying one for 3 bucks, when I could bake a dozen for the same price. Special K. (my roomie) and I have been eye-ing the "Orient Express" recipe in her Cupcake book...basically it's an almond, green tea cupcake with ying-yang frosting. As you can tell from the pictured I avoided said frosting. Oh, and I despise anything with the word "orient" in it, but I thought I'd give these cupcakes the benefit of the doubt. Honestly, the recipe was a bit weird. The consistency of the dough was kind of bread-y. Not quite sure why...maybe there were too many almonds? IDK. Frosting, which was from another recipe, turned out pretty well though. I had to bust out a new can of matcha green tea, which has a prettier tint of green than my last. So, if you're making green tea frosting, know that the color will vary depending on the matcha.

Life of RP

This is what my life is made up of now: Philz Coffee, Kafka, and Sweets of some sort. If someone wants to hold an intervention for me at some point, please do! Because at this rate, I'm going to become a giant, penniless panda quite soon!

So the delicious morsel in the box is actually a Blueberry Pie Roll from Cinnaholic, one of the new foodie places on Oxford that I mentioned in my last post. Things to know about this place:

1) It's vegan.
2) You get to build your own roll from assorted frostings and toppings.
3) There's De La Paz Coffee.

It was probably the most amazing cinnamon roll that I've ever had. Also, the coffee was equally as amazing. I might need to experiment with De La Paz more. So, gogogo! You might get a little overwhelmed at first because the list of frostings and toppings is quite extensive, but don't fret! They have some specialty and pie rolls that act as assembled examples! Also, don't forget to show your student ID...you'll get a discount.

The other pic is obviously from Philz. :P Mini-red-velvet-cupcake that they strategically put next to the cashier, knowing that I would buy it. Sneaky devils! Coffee was a nom-y concoction brewed by one of the baristas. If you are feeling adventurous or have had a lot of the blends already, ask for something different. There's always one dude who makes me some crazy concoctions, but I can't vouch that every barista there does...so just ask. :)