i like to eat.

To celebrate my friend's new apartment, we had a little housewarming party in San Mateo. Instead of ordering the usual pizza, a few of us cooked.

Mari made crackers with fig and goat cheese. It was pretty good. I'm usually skeptical about goat cheese, but the flavor was mild and helped accentuate the sweet fig. She also made coconut infused quinoa with chicken. I've always wanted to try quinoa and enjoyed it very much. It's a healthy grain and I can see its potential in many dishes.

The host, Genki, made some amazing karaage (Japanese style fried chicken). The chicken was extremely moist with a crispy batter. So good! One of the best karaages I've had. I definitely have to steal his recipe.

Mike showed off his chops with tuna tartare and chicken liver and gizzards. I'm not a fan of offal (internal organs), but I still had to try it. Meh, still not a fan. Haha. I don't mind the chewy texture, it's just the grainy after taste I dislike.

Buddy Jon made crispy lumpia (Filipino rolls) filled with meat and vegetables. We even had a special banana sauce to accompany the rolls. The sauce was tart, sweet and gave the lumpia extra flavor.

Kate also brought Vietnamese sandwiches and some interesting appetizers wrapped in banana leaves. Wrapped inside the leaves were roasted barbecue pork encased in a jelly-like texture. I'm not sure what it's called and I've never had it before. It was interesting, but nothing I'd ever buy myself. The translucent jelly was mild in flavor, but the pork was a little bit sweet.

My contribution was a vegetable stir fry of mushrooms and sugar snap peas. I'm glad I brought some vegetables since our assortment was filled with heavy items.

Genki had this really cool non-working panel for his stove. Something about its vintage look and simplicity appealed to me. What ended up being more appealing is this Japanese powder(?) that solidifies oil! I've never used something like this before, but it's really simple. You drop a packet into cooled oil and the stuff inside the packet solidifies the oil within 15 minutes. Crazy! What an easy way to throw out a lot of oil.

The night was fun - filled with eclectic food, a proposal (haha) and many games of beer pong. Thank you Genki for inviting us!

EDIT: Mike pointed out that he made HEART and gizzards. Ack, they're all the same stuff that I do not touch! :X

                             

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Hello_Burlingame_tag_parties_f.zip (3365 KB)

I was craving for some temaki, Japanese for "hand rolls." I first experienced the make-your-own-sushi at Jason's parents house and have been hooked since.

You can have anything you want. I typically have an assortment of avocado, imitation crab meat, cucumber, pickled radish (takuan), sweet egg (tamagoyaki) and crab meat mixed with Kewpie. To complete this meal, I made sushi rice and cut the seaweed sheets into fours.

When I eat this, I don't use any fancy bamboo mats. We're making hand rolls, not sushi rolls, so we don't need to get too technical. All I do is have the seaweed sheet in my palm, put a little bit of rice, fill it with some ingredients, fold it like a burrito (true temaki is rolled into a cone, but I do a burrito for ease) and dip it into soy sauce and wasabi.

The meal takes some time to prepare with all the chopping, but it's an enjoyable and light meal. Plus, you can have fun with experimenting different ingredients to use.

I previously tried to get some Namu Korean tacos, but by the time I got to the front of the line, they were sold out. Sold out? Then they MUST be delicious. A week later, I was back at the Namu stand at The Ferry Building.

I met with my friend, Wendy, and we both waited patiently in the heat during the lunch rush. Our game plan was to order two Korean tacos (2 for $4) and we'd split the special of the day, sloppy chosun ($10).

This is definitely not your typical taco, not even similar to Kogi's (see post). Instead of a tortilla to hold the ingredients, Namu uses two sheets of toasted (Japanese and Korean - don't know the difference) seaweed. The mixture was filled with rice, kalbi short ribs, daikon and kimchee salsa and kimchee remoulade. It's small (four bites and you're done), but it was jam packed with flavor.

The sloppy chosun was Namu's version of the sloppy joe - ground beef cooked in tomato and kimchee puree on a grilled bun and served with shichimi potato chips. It was a little on the dry side considering the sloppy joes I eat are seriously sloppy with a ton of sauce. But, it had good flavor and the potato chips were extra crispy with a kick of heat.

Loved the Korean tacos and would definitely go back for more. Want to give them a try? Namu is only at The Ferry Building on Thursdays. Follow @NamuSF to see their specials and other happenings.

     

Click here to download:

Namu_Again_tag_korean_food_jap.zip (648 KB)

Oakland's highly anticipated Eat Real Festival was in full swing. I arrived with Kate around 2 and we were ready to roam and try some food trucks.

Except, it was ridiculously hot.

So hot that we felt lazy and became indecisive about what to eat.

But, one thing we did know for sure was to get into the building with AC. The building was filled with a ton of different vendors that sold fresh produce, garden kits, yogurt, flowers, baked goods and other foodie related stuff.

After we cooled down a bit, we were ready to eat. There was so much to choose from - bbq, tacos, Mexican, cupcakes, pizza, Korean, chowder, Southern, baked goods, desserts..the food trucks were endless!

Our first stop was Tapas To Go, a truck from Whole Foods. We ordered garlic chili shrimp that was hot, but not super spicy, garlicky and delicious. The shrimp were large and fresh. The best part? Only $5. All the food at the festival was $5 or less!

It was still really hot and I didn't feel like waiting forever in a line (I know, I know, the good trucks have the longest lines, but still, it was way too hot!) I saw Pizza Politana had a short line and I was intrigued that they had their own little brick oven - definitely fresh! I ordered a slice of Market that had cheese, greens, onion and bacon. My favorite part was how amazingly thin the crust was. It was sooooo good. I love thin pizza and this was one of the thinnest I've ever had. The crust was crispy and held the toppings well, no soggy crusts here! So good.

Kate ordered a hot link from Phat Matt's BBQ that came with some sort of cheese dip and saltine crackers - interesting combination. Not bad.

I saw some ladies making fresh pupusas at Los Angeles de Pueblas Frutas, so I had to give it a try. Yummy and filled with beans and cheese.

Seoul on Wheels had a long line, but I was determined to try their version of the Korean taco. They unfortunately were sold out of the rib eye taco, so we got chicken and spicy pork. LAME. Tacos were cold, meat was chewy and there was nothing special to it. No special sauce or toppings. I can make this at home! I don't get their hype.

As soon as the boys came, we had to leave, but we tried some of their food before we left - falafals from Liba (not bad and not dry) and also pork ramen from Poleng (decent, you can see the hair on the pork!).

The festival was a lot of fun and exciting to try all the different trucks. I wonder if this truck craze will last... Either way, I'm enjoying it and so happy that I was able to try so many in one place.

EDIT: The hot link was actually from Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q. Sorry for the mixup. Thanks to Charlotte for the catch! :)

                                                   

Click here to download:

082909_eatReal.zip (7004 KB)

Thursday's Farmers Market at The Ferry Building has gotten so much better. Instead of just having purveyors sell the freshest produce, the market has latched onto the street food craze and now offers an array of food booths.

As I was walking back and forth, trying to decide upon a booth, I saw Namu was quite popular, but not so popular that I would have to wait in a 20 person deep line (ala Roli Roti). Namu serves Japanese Korean food and I saw Korean Tacos on the menu. My thoughts instantly flashed back to LA, experiencing delicious Kogi (see post). I knew I had to try Namu's version.

By the time it was my turn to order, they ran out of Korean Tacos. Darn it, so disappointed!

I ended up ordering okonomiyaki, a Japanese style pancake filled with seafood and vegetables. The dish was smothered with Tonkatsu sauce, Kewpie and topped with bonito flakes. For an extra dollar, a sunny egg was placed on top of the pancake.

Namu's okonomiyaki had the prefect ratio of batter and filling. The batter was light and crisp, but also extra tasty when the yolk was popped.

It was satisfying and I'm determined to try the Korean Tacos. Can't wait until next week!

   

Click here to download:

Street_Food_tag_san_francisco_.zip (452 KB)

Yakiniku, Japanese barbecue, is a highly entertaining way to eat your meal. You cook bite sized marinated meat, vegetables and seafood over charcoal, which is encased in the middle of the table. After you cook the meat/vegetables, you can dip it in special sauces.

The very first time I had yakiniku was at Gyu-Kaku in Japan. It was nothing like I've ever had before and was so good. After my trip to Japan, I scoured the Bay Area looking for something similar, but surprisingly, even San Francisco didn't have too many options or it's very expensive. Going to LA, I knew there was a Gyu-Kaku branch, but my friend suggested a better place, Manpuku.

Jason did all the ordering for our table and I engulfed everything in front of me. We ordered a ton of meat, vegetables and seafood to cook over our little griddle. I can't even remember all the food we ordered, but we had prime beef rib eye, chicken breast, prime beef short rib, assorted vegetables, shrimp, scallop, salted beef short rib and salted beef tongue. Yes, there's offal involved for those that enjoy it.

The food has a robust smoky flavor and a great sear if you cook it right. You can't leave it on too long or you'll burn it! :P I think this is also the reason why I love campfire cooking, the flavors are more intense and an open flame seals in the smokiness.

Since we had a large group, we had to split into two tables and they ordered a cold noodle soup called morioka reimen (thanks Genki) that was amazing. At first, I didn't expect the chewy noodle soup to be cold, but the first bite got my taste buds dancing. It was so refreshing, light and delicious. There was even an apple in it! So many unexpected things in this little dish!

You HAVE to try Japanese barbecue. It can get a little pricey, but the food is delicious and it's a fun way to enjoy your meal.

   

Click here to download:

Things_to_Try_Yakiniku_tag_bbq.zip (484 KB)

After the touristy stuff, we headed up to Yamashiro which means "mountain palace" in Japanese. Yamashiro is a gorgeous, ornate mansion (now restaurant) with a lush Japanese garden and dramatic views of Los Angeles. Oh yeah, and there's a 600-year-old pagoda(!).

                       

Click here to download:

Hilltop_Mansion_tag_japanese_c.zip (2309 KB)

When I'm traveling, I always want to eat food that I can't find back at home.

This wasn't the case.

Jeff saw a Beard Papa after we meandered through the Walk of Fame and Mann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. I frequent the San Francisco location and my philosophy of eating unique things while traveling instantly ran through my head, so I said no. I finally caved in when he said, "let's go" and my thoughts transitioned into delicious cream puffs.

The cream puffs are fresh and filled to order. We ordered two - vanilla creme and cookie crumb. I took one bite and quickly fell in love with the puff again. The pastry shell is crispy, flaky, yet soft. And the creme? I can eat it as is! It's full of vanilla beans and has just the right consistency of creaminess. Delicious. The second one had the same filling, but a crunchier topping. It was good, but I still prefer the original.

Other fillings they have are strawberry, coffee, green tea, pumpkin and Earl Grey tea. I always get vanilla, but I need to try the others!

             

Click here to download:

beardPapa.zip (1758 KB)

Somehow, the boys and I ended up at Coach Sushi, a place known for their all you can drink sake for a measly $3.50.

The sake is served in a traditional cedar box and it'd always be filled to the top by the friendly Japanese server. He never lets your box go empty, even if you decline. One new thing I learned was to drink the sake with a small pinch of salt - like a margarita. I didn't know they did this with sake, but it was a nice flavor of saltiness and the alcohol melding together.

You can also "save" or "claim" your box by purchasing and decorating it to your liking. They'll save the box at the restaurant for you to use the next time you visit. They have walls and walls filled with people's boxes - pretty cool artwork.

After ordering, we each got a little dish of pickled vegetable. I have no idea what it was, but it was so good. The vegetable was some sort of root (lotus?) with sweet and crunchy textures. I asked the waitress what it was and she said tomato. Uhhh..no way was that a tomato!

For dinner, I ordered tempura udon. Not bad, but not the best udon noodles I've had. The shrimp tempura was the smallest size I've ever seen. It's OK though, I was already happy from the flowing sake.

I love tempura ice cream, so I was excited to see Coach Sushi serving it. I ordered one and it suspiciously came out too quickly (pre-made, I suppose). Oh well, it was a satisfying sweet finish of cold green tea ice cream wrapped in a warm tempura batter.

I think it'd be awhile before I go back to Coach Sushi. It's definitely not a mellow place. I felt like I had to continually drink the sake so I wouldn't "waste" it, but it was never ending (good and bad)! Food's only mediocre and the fish is not the freshest, but go there for a good time. :)

               

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All_You_Can_Drink...Sake_tag_c.zip (1806 KB)

I wasn't feeling too well. I forgot why [ this is what happens when you're too busy to blog! :P ], so I went to Tokyo Express for lunch.

It was a light and healthy lunch - futomaki (vegetarian sushi with egg, pickled radish, mushroom, bean curd and cucumbers) with inari (bean curd skin) and miso soup.

The lunch was satisfying and the miso soup did help me feel a little bit better. :)