Plum

2214 BroadwayOakland, CA
(510) 444-7586

www.plumoakland.com/restaurant/

Came here for a party of 4 on a Friday night. It was dim, busy and noisy. The restaurant has a open kitchen, thus the night was filled with smell of grease.

My friends and I started with the charred carrot veloute, it was creamy and the taste was unique. The soup was very sweet though, totally not expecting it. We also had the plum charcuterie. It was assorted meat platter with really tasty meat and pickled carrots. I highly recommend the beet boudin noir. It was crispy and so, so flavorful!

Plum Charcuterie

For entree, I had the sturgeon in place of the halibut, and it was pretty good. It was cooked to a crispy outter and soft inner perfection, with a side of housemade buttermilk tartare-liked sauce. I had a bite of the pork belly, and it was pretty rough and salty, and was not tender at all.

Columbia River Sturgeon

For dessert, we had the fruit parfait and it was very unique and delicoius. Instead of it being like yogurt topped with fruits, it was presented like a sliced cake.

Parfait

The meal was pretty good overall. But service was a little terrible. Our waiter didn't really come and check on us, and didn't really fill our water. Another waitress had to fill it while he was busy chatting with other people. Also, it took forever to get our check and change.  I don't know if I'll go back.

Can't Stop Thinking About Sushi Ran

107 Caledonia St

Sausalito, CA 94965
(415) 332-3620
http://www.sushiran.com/

It was a pouring night, but it did not stop my friends and I from coming to Sushi Ran. We parked our car, ran through the rain; and luckily, once we entered for our reservation, we got seated right away at the sushi bar (my favorite place in a gourmet sushi restaurant). We also got lucky because the executive chef was the one making our sushi for the night!
I ordered the omakase, which by the way is very worth it--chef's choice of 7 pieces of quality and beautifully-prepared sushi made with Japanese fishes for $36...oh yes, and toro was one of it. The omakase was such a teaser; we got excited and ordered more and asked the chef to make us whatever he liked for us to try. I felt like we tried almost everything on the nigiri menu, and all tasted delicious! Everything was so tasty and entertaining because all the fish were specially prepared and pair with condiments to bring out their flavors.

I recommend:

**Katsuo--lightly cherrywood smoked bonito. It has this very unique smoked flavor that's to die for!

Katsuo--cherry smoked bonito

**Kaisui uni--deep sea urchin from Hokkaido. I usually don't eat sea urchin because it's so fishy, but this kaisui uni is soooooo sweet and creamy!

Kaisui Uni--deep sea sea urchin

**Kamasu--seared barracuda. This is my first time having barracuda, and I must say, I love it! The ginger adds a nice touch visually and tastefully.

Kamasu-seared barracuda

**Kanburi-wild winter yellowtail. I love yellowtail, and this yellowtail is no exception. It is so rich and flavorful. You get the normal yellowtail flavor but timse ten!

Kanburi--wild winter yellowtail

**Hon tarabagani-fresh steamed king crab with miso butter. The crab is so fresh and so creamy. The miso butter is so good!

Hon tarabagani--fresh steamed king crab

Remember to save room for dessert, I recommend the Mascapone ice cream with berries. The ice cream was so creamy and rich in flavor.

mascapone ice cream with fresh berries

Very satisfying dinner, and great service! I cannot stop thinking about it for a week now! I am so going back.

Yuzu Sushi & Grill

54 37th Ave
San Mateo, CA 94403
(650) 358-0298

Yuzu is located on the more quiet side of San Mateo. The street was dim, and so was the outside of this shop. Yuzu is a small sushi shop that only consists of about 6 tables and a small sushi bar. The place smells like grill and grease, which was a bit turn off for me.

My friends and I came right on time before happy hour ends. We ordered oysters and shrimp tempura that costs a dollar each. We also ordered a scallop salad, which was very delicious.

Scallop Salad

I ordered the sushi combo B with chef's choice of 10 pieces of sushi and shrimp head soup for $28. The restaurant is at the pricer side. I should have told the waitress what not to give me. I love raw fish, but I just cannot stand the texture of  raw shrimp and raw "fish" that has tenacles, which includes octopus, squid and cuttlefish. Sadly, my order came with raw shrimp (amaebi) and squid.

Chef's Choice B

The fish here is mediocore. The fishes are fresh but lack colors. Also the cuts of the fish are a little sloppy.

My friend ordered the stone pot fried rice, which sounded very good. But to our surprise, it was super fishy. We didn't really enjoy it.

I think I would definitely come back for the happy hour shrimp tempura and maybe some soju with it. I'm not sure about ordering the combo again though.

Momofuku Compost Cookie At Home

After I had a taste of Momofuku's compost cookies in New York City, I was in love with it! It's one of my favorite cookies along with Teacake's chocolate hazelnuts. So while shopping for christmas presents at William Sonoma, I came upon Momofuku's cookie mixes. I did not see the flavor I want, but a few weeks later, my boyfriend brought home my favorite one! Lo and behold...he bought the compost cookie one.

I highly recommend this box of goodie goodness. It's also available online at Momofuku Milkbar website. It's simple to do, and it tastes exactly like the store bought ones.

Everything is nicely separated into packets. The package has all the main component. I just had to add my own butter, an egg, pretzels and potato chips.

The mixture smells so good. The instruction said to separate the dough and roll it into 9 balls, but I rolled it into 10 instead.

The cookie turned out thin, soft and super chewy. The reason I really like this cookie is because it's sweet and salty, and it's chewy and crunchy. It's the perfect balance of flavor and mouth-feel.

231 Ellsworth

231 Ellsworth
San Mateo, CA
(650)347-7231
http://www.231ellsworth.com/

I came here twice and tried different items each time. The restaurant was dim and spacious. Tables were set far apart from each other, and the furniture was very rustic and old fashioned, which brought out the elegance of the place. The food is pretty good. I chose the 3 courses the first time, and 4 courses the second time...and both time I left with a super full but happy belly.

Diver Scallops

I recommend the scallop, braised beef short ribs and the foie gras. The scallop was very fresh and sweet. The roasted beet made the scallop even sweeter when eaten together.

Pan Seared Artisan Foie Gras

 I had the foie gras twice, once with peanuts and one without (due to friend's allergy). I actually prefer the one without the peanuts because the foie gras is heavy enough already.

Braised Beef Short Rib

The short rib was divine. It was so tender that it breaks apart with a scrape of a fork. The sauce is very rich and a bit salty. The white beech mushroom is so good with it. They were very generous with the Italian butter beans and yellow wax beans that lies underneath the beef. I couldn't finish all of it.

The service was very nice. I really like the amuse bouche they bring out in between some of the courses, and of course, the candy cart that the waiter rolled out toward the end of the night. I felt like a kid in a candy shop. The wine pairing was pretty worth it for the pre-fixe menu, you get to try a different half glass of wine for each course of the meal.

Ruth Chris Steakhouse

1601 Van Ness Ave
San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 673-0557
http://www.ruthschris.com/

Aside from the infamous House of Prime Rib in San Francisco, I kept hearing about Ruth Chris Steakhouse when the topic of steak comes up. I came here on a Saturday night for table of 6. Upon entering, the restaurant was lit dimly, was filled with rustic decors and smelled buttery and meaty.

I ordered the economy meal from their menu, which I get the choice of salad or soup, choice of an entree, and a chocolate cheesecake. I decided on a spinach gorgonzola salad and a filet mignon from corn fed Midwestern beef with vegetable.

The food at Ruth Chris was exactly like how I described the restaurant. The food lacked colors since everything was either grilled with loads of butter or covered in cream. Our waiter even warned us that the hot plate is covered with butter, and then more butter was poured over the steak when served...because everything taste better with BUTTER! I tried to be healthy and ordered vegetable side, but I failed because the veggie was covered in oil also.

The food was delicious since it was overly greased. My filet mignon was thick and super juicy and tender. But I was done after eating half of it since it was quite heavy.
After I was bloated, the chocolate cheesecake arrived! It was thick, richy and creamy. As

full as I was, I ended up eating half of that cheesecake because it was delicious! The fruit with the belvarian cream was a nice balance.

Overall, the experience was great. Our waiter was nice and helpful. The food was heavy but delicious, but I would think twice before I ever go back since it was too much food and grease for me.

Avec

615 W Randolph St
Chicago, IL 60606(312) 377-2002

The streets of W Randolph was super quiet on a week night. After the comedy club, my friends and I stopped by Avec for a late night dinner. The entrance of Avec is on the side, and once entered, I felt like I was in a well-lit wooden box. The walls and chairs were all wood, and green glass bottles were lined again the holes on the wall as decors.

We started with Chorizo-stuffed Medjool Date, which was phenomenal! It was nicely seared on the outside, and meaty and flavorful in the inside.

Chorizo-stuffed Dates

Then we had the hanger steak, which was very tender and juicy. The asparagus on the side was delicious!

We then moved onto a very heavy entree...Whole Roasted Foie Gras with apricot and citrus salad. The tartness of the fruit definitely help with the overly rich and creamy foie gras, but it was just too much. A couple bite and I was done with it.

Whole Seared Foie Gras

The most memorable dish of the night for me was the Chitarra made with pork neck ragu, charred fennel, radicchio, nicoise olives and parmesan. It's a homemade fresh pasta, and everything just makes it so creamy and filled with flavors. 

Chitarra Ragu

We ended the night with a panna cotta with fruits. It was pretty ordinary.

Avec was definitely nice and memorable. It's really fun to share the big plates as well as tapas with friends on a late quiet night.

Next

953 W Fulton Market
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 226-0858


Next is a Chicago restaurant opened early this year by Grant Achatz, an notible owner and chef of the famous Alinea Restaurant. Chef Achatz opened Next with the creative idea of changing the restaurant theme and menu every three months. Next also has an unique reservation system that operates much like Opentable.com or a theatre in which customers buy tickets with specific date and time online. These tickets get sold out very quickly and people tend to resell them at a much higher price.


I visited the restaurant for dinner earlier this month for the Taste of Thailand theme. As a Thai food lover who feeds on Thai food almost once a week, I was harsh when I was judging the Thai food that was served to me at Next. But then I remember that I must critique it with an opened mind and empty canvas, and remember that the chef took the theme as an inspiration and a sort of infusion--his takes on the cuisine.

The presentation of the first course--the Thai street food was very colorful and fun. I didn't know where to start if the server didn't advice my friends and I to start on the buns since it's hot. That was just okay. The bun wasn't as fluffy as I'd like it and the mushroom inside was super earthy. A little more bun would definitely tone out that earthy richness. The starter also consisted of roasted bananas, sweet shrimps, prawn cakes and fermented sasuages.

The Tom Yum soup was hearty. The Thai one is much lighter and sour compared to this one. The Tom Yum broth at Next contained pork shoulders and tasted so good. I wish they would serve noodles or ramen with it! The only downside was that it had a bit too much sodium because I downed a glass of water after it.

The sides that came with the steamed rice was creative and delicious. The rice was nicely scooped into these mini bamboo basket with lid. The duck eggs paste was divine! Do they even have that in Thailand? Because wow, it was good. I could definitely make a meal out of it.

 

The Catfish in Caramel Sauce was just okay. It was a bit too fishy for me. Also the fish seemed like it was sous-vided so it lost a bit of its flaky texture, quite slimey and smooth. I didn't really enjoy that. I couldn't taste the caramel either.

The next course was a mouth dropper for me--Beef Cheek in Panang Curry. The curry in the panang curry tasted more like a Thai green curry to me, it was flavorful but I didn't care much for it. The beef cheek that sat in it though, was mouth watering goodness.

It was so tender that the meat comes off with a scrap of the fork. It was very flavorful by itself. Love it!!! I couldn't stop looking at it and shoving more of it in my mouth even though I was full.

The Young Coconut dessert was my favorite. Even though I was full, my stomach immediately made room for it. It was so light and refreshing, and almost too pretty to eat. The coconut flavor was not too overwhelming so that I could also taste the tapioca and mango in it. Divine! I really wanted to ask for second.

Followed the coconut dessert was the dragon fruit with rose syrup. A rose was brought out for us to take a sniff of its floral scent. The dragon fruit was covered by a thin layer of rose syrup, but it retained its natural taste. The rose flavor was very subtle. I accidentally found that if I take a sniff at the rose before I eat a piece of the rose infused dragon fruit, the rose flavor gets a little bit stronger.

The meal ended with Thai Iced Tea in a bag, like how the street vendor in Thailand would serve it. The server said they used cane sugar. It was refreshing and perfectly sweetened to my taste.

Like many fine dining restaurant, the service was great! My water glass was never empty and my finished dishes were taken away pretty quickly. And unlike most fine dining restaurant, the servers at Next were also very funny and entertaining. It totally loosen up the diners, and making fine dining fun and enjoyable while still keeping the food admirable.

The only down side to the meal was the bill. It seemed a bit overpriced for the kind of food that was served. Of course Next serves organic produces and sustainable meat but I don't think each course should cost that much.

Despite the price, I do wish to go back and try whatever the restaurant serves NEXT.

I Scream You Scream, We All Scream for Loards Ice Cream!

699 Lewelling Blvd

San Leandro, CA 94579
(510) 357-7400

Rich, creamy and flavorful, Loards Ice Cream offered everything in a scoop that keeps my tummy happy. Their ice cream contains more fat than regular store-bought ice cream, so it was dense and fluffy. There are so many flavors to choose from, which makes choosing one flavor super hard. I am never a fan of waffle cone, but there's something in Loard's homemade cone irresistable.

My personal favorite is ube. It's rich in color and super rich in flavor. It also have bits of ube in it, so it adds texture to the creaminess.

My half eaten pretty ube ice cream

Nijo Castle

39888 Balentine Dr

Newark, CA 94560
(510) 657-6456

www.nijocastle.net

One of my bosses from Delaware came to visit my team and I today. So the team went to Nijo Castle for dinner together. My boss who had been to Nijo Castle several time ordered omakase for each of us. It was a colorful and delcious meal.

We started with assorted pickled vegetable. The dish was very pretty and vibrant. I always thought Korean cuisine has the most pickled vegetables, but never realize there are so many kind of Japanese pickled vegetables also.

The waitress then served each of us a bowl of sushi rice with tobiko, ikura and uni in it or so to speak, flying fish roes, salmon roes and sea urchin. The roes are very salty but they go very well with the sweet sushi rice and toasty flavor of the seaweed and sesame. I'm not a sea urchin fan, so after a bite, I gave my uni away. It's too fishy for me.

After that, we were served with one of my favorite Japanese dishes--Hirame Sashimi!!! I love it because the hirame is a very sweet fish. The sashimi was sliced thinly and was paired with a ponzu sauce. Delicious! It takes skills to cut the fish so thin and transparent.

After the delicious hirame, we were served namako or sea cucumber sashimi. It looked very slimey. I never had raw sea cucumber before, and being adventurous, I decided to try one. The first couple bite was chewy, kind of like raw squid, then as I chewed, the texture got mushy and globby. The more I chewed, the fishier it got. It was quite disgusting in texture. I forced myself to swallow it. I don't think I'll try that again. I didn't have the acquired taste for it.

We were then served with oysters and sashimi! The presentation was very grand--the colorful fishes were served on a bowl made of ice, keeping the sashimi fresh and cool. I love how they gave us two different cuts of hamachi because the textures are different among the two. The sashimi was very fresh, colorful and delicious. None of them tasted fishy at all.

 Next, we had nigiri or sushi. Again, the presentation was really pretty and everything was really fresh. It was amazing how the fish on the rice all looked very uniformly cut! The only thing I dislike about it was the rice. It was a little too mushy for sushi.

After the raw part of the omakase, we were served with cooked food. I was pretty full by now, but cooked food sounded really good especially after eating all the cold raw fishes.

Several sushi rolls were served along with the bacon wrapped scallops topped with house special sauce and tobiko. I usually don't like bacon, but that tasted really good. It was better than steakhouse made bacon wrapped scallops. Like the raw food, the cooked items were also very colorful and nice in presentation.

A lot of the cooked items were deep fried, like the deep fried mushroom, which was also served with the house special sauce and tobiko. It was also orangy in color, but really great in flavor! I was really full at this point, but I wanted more of the mushroom after eating one.

The last dish before dessert was grilled salmon collar. It was flaky but it was a little bland after eating all fried food covered in the house special sauce. My coworkers and I couldn't finish it because we were stuffed!

We ended our dinner with green tea ice cream and many thanks to our bosses for the delicious meal!

The service was great and the food was delicious! I would definitely want to come back again and again, especially when I want some good quality and fresh fish.

Foreign Cinema

2534 Mission St
(between 21st St & 22nd St)
San Francisco, CA 94110

I had heard so much about Foreign Cinema before I tried it myself. Movie screen, modern decor and delicious food that can perfect a night at a restaurant. Upon entering the restaurant, a tall man in Charlie Chaplin's style of suit directed me to the table. Then the waitress immediately arrived after that and made great suggestions in wine as well as food.

The night was still young with natural sun light and with the warmth from the heating lamp, I did not hestitate to order a glass of Chardonnay. Shortly after followed by appetitizers, entrees and desserts.

For appetitzer, I ordered the tuna tartare tostadas, garden cucumber, shell bean puree, wasabi tobiko. The tostadas balanced the mushiness of the fish; and the cucumber added a very fresh and refreshing taste to the fish. I really like it!

Tuna Tostada

For entree, my friend Victor ordered the sesame fried chicken. The sesame made the coating crunchier and toastier. It's by far one of the best fried chickens I had.

Sesame Coated Fried Chicken

I ordered the seafood cioppino. The sauce was very watery, and it tasted pretty fishy. I would not recommend it.

Seafood Cioppino

For dessert, we had the creme brulee. It was nothing special, very typical, rich and creamy.

Creme Brulee

I definitely would go back to this place for the atmosphere, movie and fried chicken!

Sotto Mare

552 Green St
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 398-3181
www.sottomaresf.com

Came here for lunch with my girlfriends on a weekend. There were four of us girls, and we didn't make any reservation. Two of us arrived first, and it was quite empty on a Saturday afternoon. We sat down and looked at the menu while waiting for the other. There were two waitresses, and one of them didn't look pleased that we were taking up a table and waiting even though the dinning room was quite empty. Nevertheless, she gave us our water, bread and butter, and came to check on us occasionally.

After my other two friends arrived, we ordered a bowl of clam chowder, the Famous Crab Ciopinno, Pesto Linguine, Linguine with Manila Clams, and the Risotto with Chef's Choice of Seafood.

The chowder was okay, it wasn't anything different. Creamy and clams and bacon-filled! Their pesto was unique, it was very pretty in the green color, and it was on the creamier side. It had a lot of basil but it didn't have much garlic.

The linguine with clam was very thick and creamy, a little overwhelming with the cream, and again, lacked garlic flavor. The risotto wasn't that good. The rice was very thick and not creamy at all, it was chunky. The flavor was just odd from all the seafood.

The ciopinno on the other hand, was huge! It came in a pot, which my friends and I did not expect, considering how much food we ordered for four girls! The ciopinno was about $30, and it could feed 2-3 people. I also did not expect that it came with penne pasta at the bottom since it wasn't described on the menu. It was a delightful eat since I had a great time digging through the pot-filled of seafood. Along with the penne, the aromatic ciopinno contained crab, mussels, clams, fish, and calamari. To me, the best thing in that pot of ciopinno was the sauce! My friend couldn't stop dipping bread into it, and I couldn't stop eating the penne that was in it since it was drenched with sauce!

Overall Sotto Mare's food was good. I think I would come back, and I would probably only order the ciopinno to share.