So, if you've catched the new iPhone commercials (man, I drool at the thought of having one), it shows the "magic hands" going into iTunes on the phone, then watching a clip of Pirates of the Carribean, and then finally going onto Google Maps to search for the nearest seafood restaurant in of course, the best city ever, SF. The first place that comes up is Pacific Catch. Pretty nifty, eh?
Well, even before the infamous iPhone commercial, I've had my stomach set on trying out this place. The previous attempt was a bust cus I spent too much time trying on the same 2 pairs of shoes at Nordstrom's at SF Center. However, this time around, on me and Johanna's spontaneous trip to SF last Friday night, I made it a point to be able to make it. The drive was pretty crazy from Downtown to the Marina District and parking was...well, something that start's with "b" and ends with "itch." Then I nearly wanted to throw a tantrum when we got to the door and the server said they were closing in ten minutes. Bummerrrrrr. We decided on taking it to-go but luckily these two other hungry patrons asked for a table so she had no choice but to offer us one. The servers didn't look too happy about that, but oh well...we wanted our food!
I had been browsing the menu online prior to our trip and was torn between their taco special plate or one of their wasabi bowls. I've read great reviews on both. That night, I decided on a wasabi bowl with their ahi poke (Hawaiian-style sashimi). Johanna got a shrimp teriyaki bowl. If you imagine, a sushi roll exploding, very neatly into a bowl, that's pretty much how my bowl's appearance was like. There was seasoned sushi rice on the bottom, a huge helping of raw ahi tuna, sliced avocado, sliced cucumber, sprouts, pickled ginger, and even shredded nori. It was delish! I like Jo's bowl too with the pineapple fried rice. I wanted to try their ginger tea (I looove ginger tea) but they were out of it so I opted for a Thai iced tea but it wasn't as sweet as I like it. We also ordered a side-order of their sweet potato fries accompanied with a wasabi/horse radish dipping sauce and sweet & sour dipping sauce. They were tasty! My bowl was great but, sadly, I couldn't finish it. I ended up doggy-bagging the rest of it but left it in my car overnight til mid-morning the next day and it didn't smell so great after that...I had too much crap to carry out of the car into my house that I blindly left it =(. The fish nearly cooked in the 90deg heat of the car/outside. What a waste! Anyway, I'm definitely taking Alvin there next time cus it was great. Our bill ended up for the both of us being $35. Not bad at all!
Pacific Catch
pacificcatch.com
2027 Chestnut St
San Francisco, CA
(415) 440-1950
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
sam wo, la med, peet's, the stinking rose, fuddruckers, zao
So, this is on more of a personal note, but work has been sooo hectic. Before recently, I've had to my avail time to dick around because the work that I've been assigned is menial or just takes me very little time to do. The week before last I had this budgets project given to me that I just finished yesterday. I've also been covering for analysts and office tech in the meanwhile. Yesterday, I was also assigned some HR (human resources) work that involved going through applications, etc. Crazy! How did I go from Student Assistant to budgets analysts to HR in just a week?! Anyway, I'm glad because the experience will definitely boost my resume post-graduation.
Onto the topic of fooooood...
Alvin and I spent the weekend eating, literally. We traveled to SF for my niece's hula recital in Pacifica. She's so awesome! I've never seen a seven-year old with a six pack and muscular biceps as she has. Afterward, my sister and hubby took us all out to Washington Street for Sam Wo. The restaurant's been up for over a hundred years and was recently advertised on Conan O'Brien when he recorded his show in the city last month. My sister was quite excited about that fact because she's been eating here since she was a teenager--so long now that she knows the owner/server as "mama" (whom her kids also know her as). Well, we started with their wonton soup, which I have to say is quite flavorful compared to other restaurants' soups. There's a choice between roasted pork, beef, prawns or chicken to add with the wontons and we had chicken. We also ordered their house special chow mein and fried rice. Their chow mein is different because they use ramen noodles so it comes out really thin and even a little bit on the crunchy side. The fried rice is awesome with huge helpings of shrimp, chicken, beef and pork mixed in. Something is definitely special about their soy sauce also because when added to the food, it just makes it that much more delicious. We enjoyed our late-night meal (it was about 11pm by the time we left my niece's recital), while entertaining "mama's" inquiries about the kids and if I'm married or not. She's sweet. Of course, as usual, the kids left with their pockets full of White Rabbit candy while us "bigger kids" left with satisfied palates and full stomachs. Yes, it is cheap eats but authentic eats at that. $40 fed three adults, a seven-year old, six-year old and my naughty year-old niece. That was great.
(Sam Wo is criticized for having "rude" or even "abrupt" service, but that's what also makes it unique. It's not that they're trying to rush you or turn you away, it's just that's how it is. Besides, some places, you don't come for the service but for the food--and this really is one of those places. Who knows, after a while of coming back for the food, eventually you may have the opportunity to call Mrs. Wo "mama," too.")
Due to my sister's kindness and graciousness, we had a wonderful breakfast at their home. She cooked eggs, both sunnyside up and scrambled and delightfully fried some bacon that was crisp to perfection (and not oily either). We also enjoyed pan de sal from The Bread Basket--which by the way, is THE best bread EVER. Spread some butter on that baby and you got yourself heaven on earth. Mmmmmm.
For a late lunch, Alvin and I headed over to La Mediterranee on Fillmore. I had my usual fillo dough lunch special, served with a side of hummus and avgolemono (lemon chicken rice porridge type soup). My three fillo doughs were the grecian spinach and feta cheese, chicken cilicia, and cheese karni. Soooo good. I always crave for this plate!
We walked around a bit on Fillmore and stopped over at Peet's Coffee & Tea. I've never actually had Peet's before this time and I think I like it a little bit more than Starbucks...*shock*. I had a chocolate caramel freddo and it was aweeeeesome. It was a blend of coffee, chocolate, and caramel, topped with fresh whipped cream, more caramel and actual chocolate shavings. Mmm...I think I want one RIGHT NOW.
My goal for the afternoon was to shoppp til I dropped, and I literally dropped but didn't shop =(. I drooled as we walked around Tiffany's and I was sooooo tempted to buy something! Self-control definitely happened right then and there. Anyway, after around five hours of NOT shopping I finally gave up--wait, scratch that, cus I did actually buy shoes because my feet were hurting so bad from walking around looking for clothes to buy. Ironic!
Anyway, we were pretty hungry after that. I had originally planned to go to Pacific Catch (see previous posts), but we were running behind on time and so we just decided to go to The Stinking Rose. Alvin had been bugging me since we started dating to go there so we did. Let me just tell you, parking in Little Italy is a bitch. After the whole parking fiasco, we got to the restaurant, were quickly seated, once-overed the menu, debated over a few dishes and finally decided on what to order. We started with the bagna caldo which is roasted garlic swimming in olive oil and sitting upon a bed of anchovies. It was good but after a while, the garlic definitely started to hit me. The experience was like an alcholic drink almost. I ordered the large cut of the garlic-roasted prime rib, with the side of yukon gold mashed potatoes and creamed Swiss chard. It was pretty good, but honestly not the best prime rib that I've had in my life. Alvin ordered a skillet with a combination of mussels, crab, and shrimp--of course, roasted with garlic. Again, the experience with that was okay. Our food overall, was okay--I think this restaurant is a bit overrated. Our server was pretty cool, though. Kudos to him for helping a girl out in search for a band-aid for her poorly blistered feet.
The next day we headed to Mass in San Bruno. After church, we had lunch at Fuddruckers. Let me just say this now, I will probably never eat there again in my life. I don't think I look at burgers the same ever since I was introduced to Squeeze Inn. I had a 1/3lb "works" burger (mushroom, American cheese, and bacon)--I didn't even eat half. There was something off about the mushrooms. I also ordered a side of chili-cheese fries, and honestly, the chili-cheese fries I had at the John Mayer concert at the HP Pavillion in San Jose were ten times better than these. The fries were over salted and everything about it just sucked. It was not pleasing to my taste buds at all. However, the bright side of lunch was the order of buffalo chicken wings. Now those were good. I normally don't like buffalo wings because they're too hot and I can't handle too much spicyness. I don't find buffalo wings good, usually. This time I did and I was happy about that. The chocolate milkshake (made from Dreyer's) was another highlight of the meal. Alvin had ordered a ONE POUND burger--for God knows what reason. He didn't even eat it all, and I saw that coming the instant I bit into mine. I think what I disliked most about the meal was the aftermath. We ended up tired, lethargic and comatosed for the rest of the afternoon while the fat and grease continued to invade our bodies and swim through our veins and arteries. We were out from around 3pm to 7pm. GROSS. I will never let that happent to me again!
We were going to go to dim sum for dinner (yeah, I guess there are places in SF that serve at night) but since we had overslept for so long we just left to go back home. We ended up stopping in Emeryville because, surprisingly after Fudd's, we managed to gain our hunger back. The place we went to had a limited foodcourt so we just ended up at this place called Zao's Noodle Bar, where we had an overly enthusiastic waitress as our server. The food offered is mostly Asian-fusion. I had a chicken, thai soup dish--obviously not memorable. I did like the ginger-orange cooler that I got. I honestly think there was MSG in their soup because I ended up feeling nauseated and developed a headache after. It was not a fun drive home. I don't think I'll ever go back to that place AGAIN.
The weekend started off lovely but midway through deteriorated with bad eating experiences come Sunday. I think we'll stick to Yelp reccomendations rather than winging it. I will make sure to plan our food outings because after all, we are paying for our meals. All in all, we did come across some interesting food adventures. Oh well...you win some you lose some. Now I really want some dim sum.
Sam Woh Restaurant
813 Washington St
San Francisco, CA
(415) 982-0596
La Mediterranee
2210 Fillmore St
San Francisco, CA
(415) 921-2956
Peet's Coffee & Tea
2197 Fillmore St
San Francisco, CA
(415) 563-9930
Stinking Rose
325 Columbus Ave
San Francisco, CA
(415) 781-7673
Fuddruckers
2001 Junipero Serra Blvd
Daly City, CA
(650) 758-2800
Zao Noodle Bar
5614 Bay St # 234
Emeryville, CA
(510) 595-2888
Onto the topic of fooooood...
Alvin and I spent the weekend eating, literally. We traveled to SF for my niece's hula recital in Pacifica. She's so awesome! I've never seen a seven-year old with a six pack and muscular biceps as she has. Afterward, my sister and hubby took us all out to Washington Street for Sam Wo. The restaurant's been up for over a hundred years and was recently advertised on Conan O'Brien when he recorded his show in the city last month. My sister was quite excited about that fact because she's been eating here since she was a teenager--so long now that she knows the owner/server as "mama" (whom her kids also know her as). Well, we started with their wonton soup, which I have to say is quite flavorful compared to other restaurants' soups. There's a choice between roasted pork, beef, prawns or chicken to add with the wontons and we had chicken. We also ordered their house special chow mein and fried rice. Their chow mein is different because they use ramen noodles so it comes out really thin and even a little bit on the crunchy side. The fried rice is awesome with huge helpings of shrimp, chicken, beef and pork mixed in. Something is definitely special about their soy sauce also because when added to the food, it just makes it that much more delicious. We enjoyed our late-night meal (it was about 11pm by the time we left my niece's recital), while entertaining "mama's" inquiries about the kids and if I'm married or not. She's sweet. Of course, as usual, the kids left with their pockets full of White Rabbit candy while us "bigger kids" left with satisfied palates and full stomachs. Yes, it is cheap eats but authentic eats at that. $40 fed three adults, a seven-year old, six-year old and my naughty year-old niece. That was great.
(Sam Wo is criticized for having "rude" or even "abrupt" service, but that's what also makes it unique. It's not that they're trying to rush you or turn you away, it's just that's how it is. Besides, some places, you don't come for the service but for the food--and this really is one of those places. Who knows, after a while of coming back for the food, eventually you may have the opportunity to call Mrs. Wo "mama," too.")
Due to my sister's kindness and graciousness, we had a wonderful breakfast at their home. She cooked eggs, both sunnyside up and scrambled and delightfully fried some bacon that was crisp to perfection (and not oily either). We also enjoyed pan de sal from The Bread Basket--which by the way, is THE best bread EVER. Spread some butter on that baby and you got yourself heaven on earth. Mmmmmm.
For a late lunch, Alvin and I headed over to La Mediterranee on Fillmore. I had my usual fillo dough lunch special, served with a side of hummus and avgolemono (lemon chicken rice porridge type soup). My three fillo doughs were the grecian spinach and feta cheese, chicken cilicia, and cheese karni. Soooo good. I always crave for this plate!
We walked around a bit on Fillmore and stopped over at Peet's Coffee & Tea. I've never actually had Peet's before this time and I think I like it a little bit more than Starbucks...*shock*. I had a chocolate caramel freddo and it was aweeeeesome. It was a blend of coffee, chocolate, and caramel, topped with fresh whipped cream, more caramel and actual chocolate shavings. Mmm...I think I want one RIGHT NOW.
My goal for the afternoon was to shoppp til I dropped, and I literally dropped but didn't shop =(. I drooled as we walked around Tiffany's and I was sooooo tempted to buy something! Self-control definitely happened right then and there. Anyway, after around five hours of NOT shopping I finally gave up--wait, scratch that, cus I did actually buy shoes because my feet were hurting so bad from walking around looking for clothes to buy. Ironic!
Anyway, we were pretty hungry after that. I had originally planned to go to Pacific Catch (see previous posts), but we were running behind on time and so we just decided to go to The Stinking Rose. Alvin had been bugging me since we started dating to go there so we did. Let me just tell you, parking in Little Italy is a bitch. After the whole parking fiasco, we got to the restaurant, were quickly seated, once-overed the menu, debated over a few dishes and finally decided on what to order. We started with the bagna caldo which is roasted garlic swimming in olive oil and sitting upon a bed of anchovies. It was good but after a while, the garlic definitely started to hit me. The experience was like an alcholic drink almost. I ordered the large cut of the garlic-roasted prime rib, with the side of yukon gold mashed potatoes and creamed Swiss chard. It was pretty good, but honestly not the best prime rib that I've had in my life. Alvin ordered a skillet with a combination of mussels, crab, and shrimp--of course, roasted with garlic. Again, the experience with that was okay. Our food overall, was okay--I think this restaurant is a bit overrated. Our server was pretty cool, though. Kudos to him for helping a girl out in search for a band-aid for her poorly blistered feet.
The next day we headed to Mass in San Bruno. After church, we had lunch at Fuddruckers. Let me just say this now, I will probably never eat there again in my life. I don't think I look at burgers the same ever since I was introduced to Squeeze Inn. I had a 1/3lb "works" burger (mushroom, American cheese, and bacon)--I didn't even eat half. There was something off about the mushrooms. I also ordered a side of chili-cheese fries, and honestly, the chili-cheese fries I had at the John Mayer concert at the HP Pavillion in San Jose were ten times better than these. The fries were over salted and everything about it just sucked. It was not pleasing to my taste buds at all. However, the bright side of lunch was the order of buffalo chicken wings. Now those were good. I normally don't like buffalo wings because they're too hot and I can't handle too much spicyness. I don't find buffalo wings good, usually. This time I did and I was happy about that. The chocolate milkshake (made from Dreyer's) was another highlight of the meal. Alvin had ordered a ONE POUND burger--for God knows what reason. He didn't even eat it all, and I saw that coming the instant I bit into mine. I think what I disliked most about the meal was the aftermath. We ended up tired, lethargic and comatosed for the rest of the afternoon while the fat and grease continued to invade our bodies and swim through our veins and arteries. We were out from around 3pm to 7pm. GROSS. I will never let that happent to me again!
We were going to go to dim sum for dinner (yeah, I guess there are places in SF that serve at night) but since we had overslept for so long we just left to go back home. We ended up stopping in Emeryville because, surprisingly after Fudd's, we managed to gain our hunger back. The place we went to had a limited foodcourt so we just ended up at this place called Zao's Noodle Bar, where we had an overly enthusiastic waitress as our server. The food offered is mostly Asian-fusion. I had a chicken, thai soup dish--obviously not memorable. I did like the ginger-orange cooler that I got. I honestly think there was MSG in their soup because I ended up feeling nauseated and developed a headache after. It was not a fun drive home. I don't think I'll ever go back to that place AGAIN.
The weekend started off lovely but midway through deteriorated with bad eating experiences come Sunday. I think we'll stick to Yelp reccomendations rather than winging it. I will make sure to plan our food outings because after all, we are paying for our meals. All in all, we did come across some interesting food adventures. Oh well...you win some you lose some. Now I really want some dim sum.
Sam Woh Restaurant
813 Washington St
San Francisco, CA
(415) 982-0596
La Mediterranee
2210 Fillmore St
San Francisco, CA
(415) 921-2956
Peet's Coffee & Tea
2197 Fillmore St
San Francisco, CA
(415) 563-9930
Stinking Rose
325 Columbus Ave
San Francisco, CA
(415) 781-7673
Fuddruckers
2001 Junipero Serra Blvd
Daly City, CA
(650) 758-2800
Zao Noodle Bar
5614 Bay St # 234
Emeryville, CA
(510) 595-2888
weekend of food!
I have a bunch of restaurant "reviews" to write, but no time cus of school and midterms (already?!).
I'll get to them sooooon.
I'll get to them sooooon.
Friday, June 8, 2007
yum yum teriyaki!
I finally had teriyaki! I've been craving it for a week, ever since I walked by the I <3 Teriyaki at Market Square in Arden.
I went over to Samurai Sam's off a co-worker's reccomendation. It's two blocks away from my building. Their menu has the basics: steak, chicken, shrimp teriyaki over rice with vegetables. They also offer salads, teriyaki wraps, and other sides. But what took me back was they offer the choice of all-white chicken and brown rice. Definitely a healthier choice for all us healthnuts promoters. The prices are inexpensive too. I didn't feel like I was eating "fast food" but the service was quick. My teriyaki chicken bowl was cooked fresh and even the eggroll, which I find at most other places to lack flavor, was yummy. I enjoyed my lunch there and I will be making my way back again one day.
Samurai Sam's Teriyaki Grill
1401 O St # B
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 928-0567
I went over to Samurai Sam's off a co-worker's reccomendation. It's two blocks away from my building. Their menu has the basics: steak, chicken, shrimp teriyaki over rice with vegetables. They also offer salads, teriyaki wraps, and other sides. But what took me back was they offer the choice of all-white chicken and brown rice. Definitely a healthier choice for all us health
Samurai Sam's Teriyaki Grill
1401 O St # B
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 928-0567
Thursday, June 7, 2007
i think i've decided
It's going to either be Pacific Cafe (on Geary) or Pacific Catch (on Chestnut).
Hmm, I hope I made a good decision!
Hmm, I hope I made a good decision!
it's the weekenddd
OK, not really. But I'd like to think it is.
The reason I say that is because it's my Friday (well, I still have work tomorrow but work's never too hard so I'm not that worried). I've survived my first week of classes (summer classes at that). It's been sooo stressful being pressed on time and energy. I've resorted to snacking on protein bars during class, and turning Java City sandwiches and microwaved quesadillas into lunches. Sucks. I've literally been hungry everyday this week...*sigh*. My glucose level has been having a hard time stabilizing.
Anyway, we're going to SF for the weekend (just Fri & Sat). For post-anniversary celebrations, we're going to go shopping and eaaat--my treat this time, since he took me to Taro's last weekend. But I find myself stumped as to where to go! Never happened before! I am craving La Med but I've gone there so many times already (I just love it so much). I was thinking of possibly having sushi, but we have sushi so much here in Sac. Naked Fish sounds interesting though...hmm.
I'm roaming around Bay Area food blogs to see what we could check it. Nothing too pricey either cus I'm on a budget, boooo =(.
P.S. Reading all these food blogs is making my mouth salivate. I'm hungry!
The reason I say that is because it's my Friday (well, I still have work tomorrow but work's never too hard so I'm not that worried). I've survived my first week of classes (summer classes at that). It's been sooo stressful being pressed on time and energy. I've resorted to snacking on protein bars during class, and turning Java City sandwiches and microwaved quesadillas into lunches. Sucks. I've literally been hungry everyday this week...*sigh*. My glucose level has been having a hard time stabilizing.
Anyway, we're going to SF for the weekend (just Fri & Sat). For post-anniversary celebrations, we're going to go shopping and eaaat--my treat this time, since he took me to Taro's last weekend. But I find myself stumped as to where to go! Never happened before! I am craving La Med but I've gone there so many times already (I just love it so much). I was thinking of possibly having sushi, but we have sushi so much here in Sac. Naked Fish sounds interesting though...hmm.
I'm roaming around Bay Area food blogs to see what we could check it. Nothing too pricey either cus I'm on a budget, boooo =(.
P.S. Reading all these food blogs is making my mouth salivate. I'm hungry!
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