Local kine grindz!

Since I was only in Hawaii for only 4 days this time, I had to jam-pack some of my favorite eateries during the trip!

Helena's - squid luau, pipikaula short ribs, poi, lomi salmon, kalua pig, & haupia <3

Izakaya Gazen - homemade "zaru" tofu - soooo good, really soft & creamy!

Nico's furikake ahi - highly recommended!

Nico's loco moco

Mandalay dim sum's chicken feet 

Mandalay's garlic ong choy - my favorite chinese vegetable!

Zippy's garlic butter roll - so simple but a must-have!!

Snow Factory's "it's not shave ice, it's not ice cream." pineapple & peanut butter flavors with free dry toppings!



$3.50 blueberry & rasberry martinis from BambuTwo Cafe & Martini Lounge in downtown Honolulu



EAT the Street in Hawaii!

I was so happy to hear that Eat the Street was during the same weekend I was in Hawaii! It's the last Friday of every month, so far for the past 5 months. Compared to San Francisco's Off the Grid, this festival's space was a lot larger & the lines A LOT shorter!

filipino cheesesteak sandwich with sisig meat & filipino cheese on a sweetbread roll

Local Boy Sushi - poke bowl with ahi, kalua pig, hamachi, & spicy ahi. Please lookout for their upcoming restaurant opening in Kaneohe!

tofu crab cake with garlic chips - soooo ono!

OnoPop's pineapple/lihing popsicle

SF Underground Food Market

San Francisco recently started an underground food market showcasing chefs that do not have enough funds to open up their own restaurants. They come together to share their food at this mini festival held once a month at San Francisco's Public Works bulding. There were many vendors in the two-story building and I was able to try 4 of them.

We waited about half an hour in the freezing wind, but it was worth the experience!

First thing I tried: duck confit tacos

in preparation...

final product

HUGE crowd consistently from 6pm-midnight!

2nd thing I tried: raw daddy's "italian" cone. I wanted to try the mushroom & polenta one but they were sold out!

it's a flaxseed cone stuffed with ricotta cheese, sundried tomato spread, & pesto

3rd thing: meatballs! underneath the scrumptious sauce is a mushroom & parmesan ball AND a regular meatball

And last but not least, Thai yellow curry!

NOPA - favorite restaurant in SF!

NOPA located in the Northern Panhandle of San Francisco, is one of my favorite restaurants in the city. I have taken my parents, out of town guests, birthday peeps here & not one person has disliked it. Family-style is the way to go so you can try lots of different dishes. The menu changes daily, however staple items such as the grassfed burger and porkchops remain the same. There is always a delicious flatbread but the ingredients on it will be different everyday.  I am always impressed. A table is hard to come by so make reservations atleast 3 weeks or so in advance!

broccoli & cheddar soup with amazing croutons

white beans with feta cheese & maranara sauce

flatbread pizza with kumkwat & bacon

delicious tender porkchops with arugula, potatoes, & artichokes

roasted sardines with chickpeas

russian kale with white beans

grassfed gruyere cheesebuger with  bacon, aioli sauce

cows milk cheese, buttery crostinis, honey glazed almonds

from Sonoma to Humboldt County

This past weekend I took a roadtrip from Marin County to Humboldt County's Avenue of the Giants. The area is world-wide known for their beautiful redwood trees, lakes, & scenery. It is made up of multiple, small towns with basically one restaurant & one market in each town. The entire roadtrip consisted of stops in three county's: Humboldt, Mendocino, & Sonoma. Here are some scrumptious eteries I encountered at each county:

El Rio's Mexican at Riverwood Inn, Phillipsville, Humboldt County - taco supreme: beef, cheese, lettuce, guacamole, sour cream, tomato

The Groves Restaurant, Myers Flat, Humboldt County - LOVED this restaurant - baked oysters

white bean soup

duck cooked 2 ways, rissoto, kum kwat glaze - highly recommended!

Bluebird Cafe, Hopland, Mendocino County - Robins 1/2 lb burger on french roll with bacon, cheese, grilled onions, tomatoes, lettuce

oreo milkshake

Cricklewood, Santa Rosa, Sonoma County - french onion soup; I heard about this place from The Food Network's TV show called The Best Thing I Ever Ate - Guy Fieri's recommendation

happy EGGster day!

Easter is one of my favorite holidays because I love dyeing eggs, then making egg salad sandwiches after. This year 10 of us combined forces to color 2 dozen eggs- there were glitter, tie-dye, SF, Hello Kitty, & even a Paul Wall egg! And most importantly, now I have some good home lunch for the rest of the week :)

Cherry Blossom festival FOOD!

I look forward to the Cherry Blossom festival in San Francisco every year! It is 2 weekends in a row, both Saturday & Sunday. There are amazing vendors that sell tshirts, jewelry, sushi-makers, & more. It's usually sunny since it's always during April, spring time. Entertainment is on-going with singers, dancers, & even taiko drummers. There is even a beer & sake tent. And on the 2nd weekend, there's a big parade showcasing the cherry blossom court. But, the BEST part about this festival is the FOOD!!

Last weekend I ate SO much! From grilled pork vietnamese sandwich, nachos, fried mochi, takoyaki, saimin salad, pork riblets, lumpia, butter mochi, kalua pig plate, to uni/ikura handroll, natto roll, & an izakaya dinner (from restaurants near by). And there is still so much more I'd like to try, like the teri burger!

pork riblets

takoyaki

takoyaki makers