Move Over Kogi

At $1.75 a pop, El Tonayense's tacos are quite the bang for one's buck. Street food at its best! Be sure to down the jalapeno provided with your taco. Ridonkulously tasty. Wish this truck existed in Los Angeles...

El Tonayense
22nd St and Harrison St
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 559-6127

Aloha

This place serves up Hawaiian comfort food so freakin' delicious that people actually order (and not just talk about ordering) seconds. Our friend Larry treated Josh and I to brunch here, and we just fell in love with the simple, but spectacular flavors. While the ambience of the restaurant leaves much to be desired, the food... OH, the food. And the service. Eggggg-cellent!

I don't even know what it was that I ordered. The friendly staff - a supposedly 48=year-old Japanese surfer dude recommended some sort of egg-sausage concoction with a kick (hot sauce), and I just went with it. DELICIOUS!!! And yes, my scramble was served with sweet Hawaiian bread and brown rice.

For dessert, be sure to order a Hawaiian shaved ice. If you don't know what flavor you'd like, enjoy them all!!! I did :)

The Beach Hut
3713 Highland Ave # 5
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266-3272

The One That Started it All

Josh and I recently returned to the Laurel Heights neighborhood of San Francisco to buy a new mattress for his new place. While there, we couldn't resist stopping by our fav teeny-tiny neighborhood gem, SunStream Coffee. To think that it was their Brazilian acai bowl that inspired the creation of this food blog... ahhh.

SunStream Coffee
2884 Geary Blvd
(between Collins Street and Wood Street)
San Francisco, CA 94118

Heart Attack on a Plate

This little hut serves food that'll clog your arteries. And for that, I am grateful. Get a load of these chili cheese fries. Delicious. A perfect hang-out spot before a Giants game. And ooh, the owners are super dog-friendly. Beans got a piece of bacon :)
Oh, how I miss San Francisco.
As does Beans, I'm sure.

Java House Coffee Shop
40 Pier
San Francisco, CA 94107-2123

Fish Are Friends, Not Food

Yeah, right!

Uber-fresh seafood at uber-kind prices. For about US$15.00, we were able to enjoy the above-pictured hearty portion of fresh, raw fish. Incredible.

Sydney Fish Market
Sydney New South Wales
Australia

Bills

My all-time favorite breakfast destination in the whole-freaking-world.

I am in love with Bill Granger's ricotta hotcakes paired with honey butter.
And the corn-fritters... YUM!!!!!!!!

Josh and I should've stayed for seconds.

A Sydney must-eat.

bills
433 Liverpool St
Darlinghurst NSW 2010, Australia

Fit For a King, er Emperor

Sydney's Chinatown has got to be the cleanest Chinatown that either of us have ever stepped foot in. Seeing that we'd paid a visit to the Sydney Fish Market earlier that day, we knew that one couldn't possibly go wrong ordering seafood in this city. Josh and I indulged and ordered a fresh steamed fish. Parrot Fish. We'd never tried it before, and since it came highly-recommended, we decided to give it a go.

The staff at Emperor's was excellent. Once we placed our orders, our waiter disappeared and returned to show us the live fish that they were about to steam per our request. I was torn between wanting to feel joy, knowing that we were about to enjoy a really fresh meal, and guilt, knowing that Josh and I had just placed a death sentence on the lil' guy. Whatever. The little guy was delicious, and did not go to waste. We ate every last morsel on our fish plate. Yes, it was that good.

The salted pepper fried shrimp were also amazing - though different from the sort I'd had in the past. The shells on the shrimp had been removed, making for a more calamari-like dish that what Josh and I had expected. Yum, yummy, yum!

And then there were the veggies. Not the least bit oily. Perfectly seasoned.

I felt as if I were back in Hong Kong.
And that's a good thing.

Emperor's Garden Seafood
100 Hay St
Sydney, 2000

Hugo's

Let the photos speak for themselves. A beautiful meal with a beautiful view. Josh and I walked into Hugos by accident. Located IN the Ferry building, Hugos is a sun-drenched restaurant/bar with a handsome beach house vibe. Josh and I opted for a seat facing the harbor - gorgeous view and breeze- and enjoyed one of 'em "I can't believe we're here" and "How lucky are we?!?" moments as we scarfed down our perfectly-cooked and seasoned scallop appetizer along with one of Hugo's award-winning pizzas. You must eat here if you're in Sydney.

Hugos
Shop 1, Manly Wharf
East Esplanade
Manly NSW 2095
Manly Beach

Harry's Cafe de Wheels

"In 1974, chicken king, Colonel Sanders, stopped at Harry’s and enjoyed the food so much that he ate three ‘pies and peas’ while leaning on his walking stick in front of the caravan." - quote from Harry's site.

Dude, if it's good enough for the Colonel, it's good enough for me!

On our first day touring Sydney, Australia, Josh and I decided to by a pass for a Hop-on, Hop-off bus tour. During our second circle of Sydney, I noticed that we were near a "must-eat" cafe I'd read about in my guidebook... Harry's Cafe de Wheels. Always the participatory mate, Josh hopped off the bus with me to enjoy a lunch of Aussie meat pie. We ordered the "Tiger" pie which is, in someways similar to a chicken pot pie. Only better! Josh and I both enjoyed our small beef pie topped with peas, mashed potato and gravy...

Someone should open up a cart here in Los Angeles.

Harry's Cafe de Wheels
Corner Cowper Wharf Roadway & Brougham Road
Woolloomooloo, NSW 2011