Santa Ramen

1944 S El Camino Real, San Mateo, CA (650) 344-5918

I reviewed the old Santa Ramen on Yelp before, and now I'm reviewing them again after they moved to their new location. I must say the experience at the new location was not the same as the old one. Even though the restaurant is so much bigger, brighter and cleaner, the service was not as good as the old one...maybe because it can fit more people now. Like the old one, there is a line for the wait, and as you get closer to the beginning of the line, the waitress begins to take your order.

Tonkatsu Ramen

Their menu is easier to navigate compared to the old place, and they added the "add on" section, and the add ons are pretty pricey. Like $2 for napa cabbage? And as always, they only make a certain amount of everything, so when they run out, they'll tell you when you order it. So far, it's been the case every time. They always run out of one or two of the broth. I have tried the shoyu, miso and pork (tonkatsu) flavor broth before. The soup was not as oily as before. I recommend the pork ramen because it is cloudy, which means a lot has gone into it. It is rich in pork flavor, which seems like it has been cooked for hours. The chashu that comes with the ramen is pretty tasty and tender. It is not overly salty or fatty at all. Even though a lot of the things are not the same as the old location, Santa Ramen's noodle still tastes home-made, and is still perfect in its thickness and chewiness. I also ordered the chicken karaage. I was not impressed by it because it just tasted like regular fried chicken with a l lot of batter. I don't recommend it.

Kahoo Ramen

So I'm still very into this Japanese ramen phrase ever since my trip to Los Angeles in January. They have some really good, fresh and authentic ramen there that leaves me wanting more. So my boyfriend and I were in the San Jose area and found Kahoo Ramen after a day of shopping. Immediately I wanted to try it.

My boyfriend and I got seated near the bar. From the bar I could see the chefs and the kitchen, and whatever they are doing. The store is small and quite tight. We ordred gyoza and fried chicken for our appetitizers. I ordered a shoyu ramen, and my boyfriend ordered a miso ramen.

Gyoza

[Photo Courtesy of William Yan]

The gyoza was pretty tasty. Judging from how brown they were, I am guessing they are reusing the same oil from whatever they were frying before. The potsticker sauce was pretty good. It tasted different from other potsticker sauce I had.

Fried Chicken

[Photo Courtesy of William Yan]

The fried chicken are basically 3 chicken wings. I didn't like it because it didn't taste seasoned and also, it was quite soggy considering they were fried...not crunchy or crispy at all.

Shoyu Ramen

[Photo Courtesy of William Yan]

First off, so before the ramen were served, I was watching the chefs working in the kitchen. I saw them lay out some raw meat on a cutting board and then move it elsewhere. After that, I saw them placing shell-less hard boiled eggs onto the same cutting board to cut them into halves. At this point, I wish those eggs are not the ones that are in my ramen. Very unsanitary!

My shoyu ramen came with chashu, bamboo shoots, fried seaweed and half a marinated hard boiled egg. The egg is boiled perfectly because the yolk is still golden yellow and runny. The chashu was very different from other places in that instead of sliced pork, it was chunk of pork. Nevertheless, still very flavorful, tender but very fatty. I felt like I was eating a block of fat. The soup is a little watery and bland. The noodle are thin and eggy, taste homemade. Overall it was okay. The ramen left me very, very, VERY thirsty though. I drank so much water while I was at Kahoo, and I left the place wanting more water.

I don't know if I want to come back to Kahoo not because of what I saw with the raw meat and egg. I am guessing a lot of restaurants are like that...it's just that we do not get to see it. What makes me considering about coming back is how thirsty I got after I was done with the ramen. MSG? No idea.

Sweet Things

Sweet Things
3585 California Street, San Francisco, CA
(415) 221-8583
sweetthings.com

Sweet Things American Style Desserts is located inside Cal-Mart in the Laurel Height district of San Francisco. Yes, I think I would have missed it if I didn't go into Cal-Mart.

The counter of Sweet Things is loaded with cakes, coffe cakes, cupcakes, cookies, bars, petite fours, etc etc. I am overwhelmed! I came here for cupcakes but now I'm confused! I want cupcakes, but man, everything looks good. After contemplating for awhile, I decided to stick with my plan...of getting cupcakes!

When it comes to going to cupcake shop I never been to before, I always start with a Red Velvet. Red Velvet is a red chocolate cupcake made with buttermilk and topped with cream cheese frosting. It sounds easy but very difficult to make. And as always, I will always get another cupcake of different flavor or of specialty with it.

Red Velvet - The cake was moist and VERY chocolatey. I think the amount of cream cheese frosting is just right, enough to cover every bite. The frosting was creamy yet light, and not overwhelmly sweet. What makes this cupcake even better is the way it looks...covered with chocolate sprinkles and a chocolate heart...this is a signature Red Velvet from Sweet Things.

There were so many choices, so in the end, I decided to get...

From top left clockwise: Mini Carrot Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Mini Black and White, Mini Vanilla and Mini Chocolate Cupcakes

Mini cupcakes are harder to make compared to regular sized ones. Since mini cupcake is smaller, baking time need to decrease in order for the cupcake to remain moist, and decorating it sure require some hand-eye coordination. Out of all these, the carrot one was the moistest.

The carrot flavor also tasted the best out of the rest. The chocolate one is delicioius too, very rich in chocolate flavors but too sweet for my taste. The vanilla one was okay, the flavor didn't really stand out comparatively.

About Bits-M-Pieces

I am not a food critic, but a major food addicts! Food is gorgeous, the way they look, taste and smell!

I have a big stomach, head and heart for food! When I'm not working and studying, I am eating, cooking or thinking about food.

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