Emily's Azuki Red Bean Soup

If you're like me and are into Chinese desserts (they're not too sweet and have a "taste of home" -- at least for me), you'd probably really enjoy Emily's azuki red bean soup. (Sorry, you're going to have to know her personally to enjoy this dish. Suck up, suck up, suck up!) She delivered a tupperware-full of the soup yesterday afternoon (along with Beans' crazy-fabulous birthday cake), and somehow I did not get around to tasting her dessert until late-evening. It was amazing! Perfectly flavored and sweetened. Em's take on the recipe is very different from any red bean soup I've had in the past. The soup's texture was suprisingly thick (more beans!)--not watered-down enough to be liquid, yet not thick enough to be a paste. But you know what, that's what made it so tasty! I've had anything like it. So-so-good.

Potsticker Prince

Last night, after a meeting with Flaring Nostril's webdesign team, Pam and I drove down from San Francisco to Cupertino to indulge ourselves in a carb-heavy meal at the much-talked about Potsticker King. The reviews had been mixed, and well, Pam and I felt it was our duty as gluttons, to resolve the discrepancy in reports.

The strip mall in which the restaurant is located is *gasp* not Cupertino Village. It's actually located in a plaza nearby on Steven's Creek near a funny-sounding restaurant called "Merlion." Pam was digging the ginormous neon sign spelling out the restaurant's name. See photo above.

We weren't sure what to think when we saw a lot of non-Chinese in the dining establishment (Will the food be authentic?!), but was comforted when the food arrived (incredibly quickly). Pam and I ordered two combo sets ($8.50 each) and a tray of pork potstickers. Needless to say, we were incredibly hungry.

The flavorful vermicelli fried tofu noodle soup was accompanied by super oily green onion pancakes. The soup base for the noodles was a little too salty upon initial taste, but after three bites, the flavor grew on us. We downed the bowl. As for the super-oily green onion pancakes, they were so-so-so delicious. Rich. Crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. I wouldn't be surprised if the restaurant's green onion recipe calls for lard, for each triangle of green onion pancake I consumed tasted like "buttah." A compliment in my book :)

Our bowl of "ru ro fan," braised pork over rice entree (I don't recall the exact name of this dish, but the words "house" and "rice" were the entree title), came accompanied by a bowl of hot & sour soup. This is a must-have. Pam and I could not stop shoveling the delicious rice into our fat faces even long-after we'd finished all the meat! Criticism? The entree could have been improved by the inclusion of more vegetables.

Finally, the potstickers. The King only offers two kinds--pork and veggie. A small variety, as limited options allow the establishment to focus on perfecting the options offered. Since "real girls eat meat," we ordered the pork ones. Oink. I really enjoyed them (odd because I usually don't enjoy dumplings), and I think I did because of the thinner dumpling skins used.

Large portions, strong flavors, reasonable prices. The only reason not to dine at Potsticker King is if you're trying to lose weight and are avoiding carbs. I left a happy camper with a Potsticker Prince forming in my belly.

Potsticker King
19634 Stevens Creek Blvd
Cupertino, CA 95014
(408) 255-1600




I gave birth to a Potsticker Prince!

Ladies Who Lunch

Lunch with Em's and Dai at the Ferry Building. Ems and Dai arrived first and bought me fish & chips. The "chips" were yummier than the fish.

Taylor's Refresher
Ferry Building
San Francisco

I wish I was... so very special

Welcome blog stalkers!

Part 2
Better Bento
550 Lakeside Dr
Sunnyvale, CA 94085

A pretty good lunch with a good variety of flavors and textures. For $8.50, it's not a bad lunch option that also includes miso soup. I took mine to go and carefully analyzed and enjoyed my meal at my desk.

At this price point, it's a decent deal and had good flavors. The mix of beef and Chinese brocoli (with hints of garlic) was tasty and had good texture. The beef was a little fatty (which added some flavor), but wasn't the healthiest choice. The tamago was a bit bland and had gotten warm from the neighboring compartments of sides. The grilled salmon was a bit dried, but tasted healthy. Overall, the lunch was pleasant and nice change from my usual choices of the combo.
What's in the photo?
The bento consisted beef with Chinese brocoli atop thin noodles, tamago (Japanese egg omelet), grilled salmon, karage (think Japanese popcorn chicken with less batter), and small sides of Japanese pickles, Japanese potato salad (with corn), and soy beans and julienne seaweed (and, of course, a large helping of white rice).

Hold the Cilantro

I'm not a fan of cilantro, and neither is Josh. But we're both fans of Vietnamese food (which often contains cilantro). Hmm. Go figure. Anyhow, I recently tried a pork banh mi Vietnamese sandwich at a little take out joint near my apartment. For $3.50, I received fast and friendly service (friendly service is a rarity in the Richmond) along with my generously-sized french baguette loaded with pork (slices and pate), pickled carrots and daikon, fresh cucumber, and grr... cilantro! Although the bread was a little on the dry side, I (with the help of Beans!) wolfed down the hearty sandwich. Good, but not great. I'd definitely return though. Only next time, I'm going to try the pho.

Little Vietnam Cafe
309 6th Avenue
(between Clement St & Geary Blvd)
San Francisco, CA 94118

Oink-Oink

The Wen Household in Newark

Ericson and Jenny cook up a mean pot roast.

Truly Special

Welcome to my first post. Here is part 1 of my first post.

Part 1
Imagine going to a small, lunch-time restaurant to grab a decent meal to go and it advertises a sign, "Special." At first, you don't really notice what's special about it, but eventually you notice it's something different every day and that it comes in a neat, black, compartmentalized container fitting for a bento box. Of course, you also realize that by the time you decide to order the "special" you understand one more reason it's special -- it's sold out. Of course, at this bento joint, instead of having obvious signs saying "Sold out," you see a small sticker affixed to the sign saying "Sorry."

The first time I tried to order the Special – it looked very interesting, with many different small tastes of fish, chicken, Chinese broccoli, among others – I was greeted with a verbal “Sorry” and then noticed the “Sorry” sign. Thereafter, I would head to lunch and see the “Sorry” sign affixed to the Special area. Each day, it’s a bit of a letdown that the highly coveted Special was already sold out.

Today, things were different. I left for lunch, looking to get a Tonkatsu and California Roll combo, and when I arrived, I saw the “Sorry” sign as usual. But this time, I noticed the “Sorry” was placed on another item. As I approached the ordering counter, I was in disbelief. I ordered the Special and awaited the usual “Sorry” but instead was given my order number and I awaited today’s special.

look for Part 2 later today

The Beastmaster's Lair

Koo aka Blogger-Stalker/Beastmaster is heading off to Northwestern in a week and tonight was her send-off. *sniffles* A bunch of her friends (that would include me) gathered at Dino's, a charming pizza joint in Pacifics Heights, for a last hurrah. Due to our party size, we were granted access to Dino's second floor. Meatballs and sausages doused in chunky marina sauce paved the way for breadsticks with mozzarella, garlic bread, huge salads, and medium-crusted (does that make any sense?) pizza pies. Yummy!

Dino's Pizza
2101 Fillmore Street
San Francisco CA

P.S. The lovely fingernails pictured? They're the Beastmaster's :) They match the tomato sauce...

Duck, Duck...

No goose.

Less than six blocks away from my summer sublet is a restaurant called "Thai Cafe." With a generic name like that, it was not a surprise that the joint was vacant. But boy, is that place underrated. Will, Ems, and I met up for lunch this past Friday and ordered off the a la carte menu the duck fried rice, pork pad see eew, stir-fried green beans and tofu, and shrimp rolls. Everything was delicious, but the duck fried rice was particularly good. The fried rice simultaneously sweet and savory. Mmm. I'm usually not into skins of any sort (I'm grossed out by the goosebumps on poultry skin), but I gobbled up all of the duck skin mixed into this fried rice dish. The waiter even brought over a small dish of "juice" for the fried rice -- in case we needed extra flavoring. (Not necessary, but it's always nice to have more options!) Ems noted that the tea that the polite waiter served was not the average black/green assortment. It was some sort of yummy Thai tea...

This place is totally underrated. A real gem. Stop on by. Have some duck!

Thai Cafe
3407 Geary Blvd
(between Beaumont Ave & Commonwealth Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94118

Superstar

Will used to cook up steaks and porkchops and whip up smoothies which he'd reference as "superstar" creations during the good ol' days when we used to share a house together back in the ghettos of San Jose. And so, this past Friday, in celebration of Will's return from his two-month work project in Beijing, I suggested that we meet at the restaurant Burma Superstar for lunch.

We ordered Spicy Calamari with Fresh Basil (a non-fried calamari dish prepared with lemongrass, garlic, ginger, and peppers, their popular Tea Leaf Salad (a surprisingly flavorful salad prepared with imported Burmese tea leaves, tomatoes, lettuce, dried shrimp, fried garlic, sesame seeds, peanuts, and split yellow peas), Pork Curry with Potatoes (a Burma SuperStar favorite), and Nan Gyi Dok (a mild Coconut Chicken Rice Noodle Curry featuring Burmese rice noodles with a mild chicken coconut curry sauce, eggs, split yellow pea, and fried onion). The meal was delicious. Pity the restaurant doesn't offer dessert!

Burma Superstar
309 Clement St
(between 4th Ave & 5th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94118

Layered Goodness

A friend of mine from Anderson, "R.Ho", is best known for his homemade layered creations. A year ago, the boy brought layered Jello for my birthday. Tonight he upped the ante and made lasagna--Ho-style--for me, cougar cub, Lawrence, and Faye. The mixture of chicken, spinach, onions, mushrooms, and mozzarella was amaaaazing. The chicken was tender, the mushrooms were fragrant, the cheese neatly melted, and the pasta texture... what perfection. One of the best meals I've had in the Bay Area. And I truly mean it! The cougar cub and I could not stop eating. Josh alone, probably had four helpings.

The meal was topped off with a dessert of Skinny Cows (140 well-spent calories) and cookies and cream Drumsticks. Mmmmmm... so much for the diet.

Passion

Josh is deeply in love with Korean BBQ. Lucky for him, Los Angeles offers some of the very best Korean BBQ dining options in the USofA. Unfortunately, we're back in the Bay for the summer, and that means having to compromise a bit. After a day in Napa, Ems took us to a place in Emeryville/Oakland (?!?) for a taste of Bay Area Korean BBQ. I forgot the name of the restaurant she took us to, but our meal certainly hit the spot. The meat quality was great (which made Josh happy), the assortment of little dishes was vast (which made me happy), and the price was just right (which made EVERYONE happy). I will find out the name of the restaurant from Emily. In the meantime, enjoy the pics.

Building a Foundation

Josh and I drove to Napa this past weekend with Ems, Dai, Will, and Beans! Our first stop was lunch--of course. We needed a base or foundation that would soak up all the yummy wine that we would soon be "tasting". Emily suggested we eat at a deli on Main Street, "Giugni W F & Son Grocery Co.". Unlike most delis I've been to, this one did not offer a menu featuring special sandwiches unique to the deli. You create your own based on a long list of uber-fresh ingredients and it's up to YOU the diner, to make the magic happen. Josh's masterpiece was roast pork and havarti on rosemary bread. When posed with too many choices, I tend to choke. And so, he created a second masterpiece of prosciutto and mozzarella on dutch roll. The slices of cheese and meats were, is it strange to say, BEAUTIFUL. Thinly-sliced and perfectly layered an sandwiched between fresh rolls, mayo, lettuce, tomato, alfalfa sprouts, and "Giugni juice" (a special mixture of oil, vinegar, salt and pepper). My meal was tasty, but Josh's was particularly good. Luckily, he cared to share.

Giugni W F & Son Grocery Co.
1227 Main St
St Helena, CA 94574
(707) 963-3421

Trends

Pinkberry imitations are running wild in the Bay Area. It is, apparently, too difficult and expensive to franchise a Pinkberry or Red Mango, so folks have been starting their own chains. Met my lovely web-designer (web-builder, really, as she isn't doing the designing) at Yogurtouille in San Mateo last week. Twas pretty interesting. You pay for what you get. Everything is weighed (yogurt and toppings) and the end outcome is about half the price of Pinkberry. While the shop does offer a large selection of yogurts (Original, mocha, green tea, passion fruit, and more!) and toppings, the quality control there is lacking. The fruit toppings (with the exception of the mango) weren't very fresh. But for the amount I spent, I left feeling pretty satisfied :)

Yogurtouille
407 South B St
San Mateo, CA 94401