i like to eat.

Before I moved to San Francisco, I only ate Thai food a few times.

And after? Every block in my neighborhood has a Thai restaurant.

My first San Franciscan Thai experience was at Osha on Geary x Leavenworth. It was really late and I was craving for some food. Osha was conveniently next door to the bar I was at, Rye, and the only place still open. At peak weekend nights, the wait time can range from 10 to 30 minutes, but luckily, I remember I didn't have to wait too long for a table.

The food satisfied my craving and was also wallet friendly. Score.

Ever since that first experience, Osha has been my go-to-spot for late night dining.

But, this time, it wasn't after a long night at the bar, it was just a normal weekday dinner night with Kate.

It was slightly chilly and Kate was sick, so we ordered Tom Ka Tofu, a coconut based soup with vegetables. I've had better Tom Kas at other places, but this one quickly warmed us up. We split Chinese broccoli with roasted pork that came in a garlic and oyster sauce. We also ordered one of my favorite dishes, spicy eggplant with chicken. This dish is stir fried with garlic, basil, chili and bell pepper. Spicy is in its name, but I usually order it mild. Trust me, don't ever order hot at Thai restaurants. It's extremely hot!

The price is reasonable (it used to be much cheaper!), portions are generous (we didn't finish everything) and they're quick. I often feel like they load up on the MSG, but it's ok once in awhile...

Osha has expanded to many other locations with fancier ambiances and higher prices, but I still prefer the original and "ghetto" location on Geary for its authenticity and proximity. It's funny that only a few years ago, Thai food was "exotic" to me, but with its saturation in SF, it's an every day cuisine now.

     

Click here to download:

The_Go-To-Place_Osha_tag_thai_.zip (681 KB)

It was such a beautiful day last Friday in San Francisco. And it still is! Can you believe today was 81 degrees?!

To take advantage of the beautiful weather, I had lunch on the Embarcadero with a papaya salad and Thai iced tea. I don't remember the name of the Thai restaurant but it's in the Rincon Center on Spear x Howard that has a food court with various cuisines.

I love papaya salad. The one I got didn't have as much papaya as I wanted (there was a lot of cabbage as filler), but the flavors were sweet, refreshing and light. It was perfect for a sunny, hot day.

To cool me off even more, I ordered a Thai ice tea. I also love Thai ice tea. I need to make my own batch one day.... Thai ice tea is just the right amount of sweetness with a slight creamy flavor.

An enjoyable lunch, needless to say. And I'm so glad I got to get out of the office!

   

Click here to download:

Papaya_Salad_tag_lunch_food_th.zip (410 KB)

Before heading to see Crown City Rockers at The Mezzanine, my friends and I had dinner at the Westfield Mall since it was within walking distance and...a whole lot of indecisiveness.

Now, let me tell you about Westfield's "food court." When it first opened (in September 2006?), I was amazed of how they changed my perception of food courts. Your typical mall food court includes the likes of McDonald's, Steak Escape, Hot Dog on a Stick (I do love that place!), Wetzel's Pretzels, Panda Express and Sbarro.

Westfield's "food pavilion" on the other hand, includes Slanted Door's (fancy pants Vietnamese restaurant) Out the Door (their take out version), Bistro Burger, Sorabol (Korean), Beard Papa's (hands down, the BEST cream puffs), Melt Gelato & Crepe Cafe and mr hana (organic Japanese). Oh yeah, there's "extraordinary food store" Bristol Farms too.

The dining room is consisted of sleek modern design with stone and steel tables and beech colored chairs. AND, here's the kicker, every restaurant serves their food on REAL plates with real silverware and glasses. Can you believe that? I was so used to paper plates, plastic forks and knives, styrofoam cups and containers.... Plus, there's staff to take your plate and tray when you're done. This was an actual dining experience, minus the tip.

It certainly comes with a price though. Average meal with drink costs $12+. I mean, that's still not bad, but for the type of food, maybe not. Which is a great segue to my actual meal...

I was craving for some rice so I headed to Coriander Gourmet Thai. Ahem, not so gourmet. :P I got a plate of chicken basil with rice. The dish was so bland. Unflavored and not exciting at all. The sauce didn't even taste that great. And what basil? I didn't taste it at all. I would have gone to Osha (one of my favorite Thai restaurants) any day.

Out of all the places at Westfield's food court, I'd go to Bistro Burger, mr hana's pretty good, Buckhorn's good for some nice steak sandwich, Sorabol's short ribs are delicious, Out the Door is decent, but I rarely go there (I know I know, shoot me - everyone I know loves it) and of course, you have to go to Beard Papa's for dessert.

I wouldn't say the food at Westfield is the best. You're there for the new and modern food court dining experience.

   

Click here to download:

Mall_Dinner_tags_dinner_food_s.zip (325 KB)

Inspired by the flavors of Thai, Gap's cafe created a special salad this week. It was an abundance of mixed greens in a peanut based sauce, marinated tofu, carrots, apples, toasted almonds and topped with fried shallots. The flavor was perfect for my lunch on the Embarcadero. The apples gave the salad an extra freshness while the fried shallots gave it a crunchy and salty texture.

It was such a beautiful and perfect day in SF. I laid on the grass eating my lunch while people watching. Perfect. I love SF.

               

Click here to download:

Fancy_Thai_Salad.zip (1764 KB)