Dohatsuten Ramen

43691 Mission Blvd
Fremont, CA 94539
(510) 668-0959

On a hot and sunny afternoon, I suddenly had an odd craving for a bowl of hot ramen. I love ramen but I usually prefer one on a cold day. So on this late Sunday afternoon, I went to the quiet, secluded area in Fremont right next to Ohlone College. The place was small and illuminated by the natural sunlight. The joint looked perfect for a quick after class hunger fix. I ordered the Dohatsuten ramen with the soy broth. My order came almost immediately. The bowl of ramen was pretty small, but it smelled very delicious. The broth was pretty oily and rich in color and favor. The ramen was topped with shredded korean chili, green onions, bamboo shoots, a piece of seaweed, minced pork and chashu.

Dohatsuten Ramen with Shoyu Broth

The ramen looked pretty traditional and ordinary, and the only innovative touch was the added minced pork, which resembled those found in the Chinese's Tan Tan noodle or Ma Po Tofu dish. The minced meat addition was good though--it added extra texture to the bite of noodle and soup. The ramen noodle was chewy and held the broth flavor pretty well. Overall, it was pretty flavorful. The sliced chashu was even in the meat and fat portion. The items on the menu were also on the expensive side. As much as I enjoyed it, I wouldn't go out of my way for it. I would go back if I'm near the area though.

Chouchou

400 Dewey Blvd
San Francisco, 94116
(415) 242-0960

Chouchou, which means teacher's pet in French, has definitely became a pet for me. After two visits, I felt like I can always depend on it to serve me a great French meal. Like many restaurants in France, the place was very humble in size. The tables are very close to one another as my sister, cousin and I squeezed and walked sideway into our seats. This considers a very hard task when people were seated at the next table.

After seated, the waitress did not hesitate to bring out the bread basket filled with warm French baguettes, the menu and the wine list. As the meal progressed, she also consistently came back to fill our glasses and clear our table.

Chouchou participated in San Francisco Dine About Town, which took place every January and June of each year. The month-longed deal allowed diners to order a 3 courses meal for $35. Taking advantage of the deal, my sister, cousin and I ordered a variety to share. We started with the Crab Salad, the P.E.I Mussels and the Escargots a l'ail. The crab salad came out first. It was creamy with the natural sweetness from the crab meat and crunchy bites from the diced vegetables. Shortly after, I could smell the other appetizers few feet away. Both the mussels and escargots were very garlicky and buttery. The mussels were not slimey at all, only a bit fishy. The garlic and butter-filled escargot was perfect! It was not chewy nor grassy.

Escargots a l’ail - snails, butter, shallots, garlic, parsley

P.E.I Mussels Marinieres with shallots, garlic, parsley, cream, white wine

For entree, we ordered Seared Shrimps with Polenta and the Angus Hanger Steak with Pomme Frites. I love the creamy polenta, thus I could not stop digging my fork into it. The seared shrimps were a little bland. The asparagus that they sat on were green and crunchy and absorbed the garlic butter sauce well. The hanger steak was very juicy and tender. In contrast to the shrimps, the steak was salty. It was served with a balsamic shallot sauce but I did not taste the balsamic nor the shallot at all. The plate was also piled with fries. I could not stop myself from dipping the fries into the garlic aioli that came with it. At this point, I stopped caring about my calorie intake especially with the garlic and butter. The food and company were good, and that was all I cared about.

Seared Shrimps with sautéed asparagus, creamy polenta, Pastis flambée, garlic butter sauce

Angus 8oz Hanger Steak with pommes frites, balsamic shallot sauce, fermented garlic aioli

Despite our bloated stomach, my sister, cousin and I were excited about dessert! We ordered a Creme Brulee and Chouchou's popular Assorted Fruit Tart. I had creme brulee three days straight before this meal, so I instinctively went for the tart when it were placed onto the table. The crust was thin, light and flaky. The glaze on the shiny fruits made it very appetizing. One bite and I was in love! The thought of buying the whole tart went through my mind, but I forgot to ask before I leave. The Creme Brulee was not bad either but I had creamier.

Fresh Fruit Tart with apricot, pear, mandarin orange and blueberry

The atmosphere, the food and the service Chouchou offered were perfect. I highly recommend this place!

Nigashi Somen

Nigashi somen or flowing somen is a Japanese summer tradition that involves eating Japanese somen noodle by letting it run down a bamboo gutter with cold water. People would stand next to the gutter and catches the cold noodle as it runs down, and then dip it in somen sauce to eat.

My friend Philip bought a miniture plastic somen contraption from Japan, and brought it over to share. I am sure we can just rinse the somen and just dip it in the sauce without going through this whole contraption. But using nigashi somen was super fun, especially when trying to catches the noodle with chopsticks as it comes down, and watching friends trying to do that and failed.

Regular and green tea somen

The machine bumps water from the water reservoir at the bottom and propells water out at the top where the little house and wheel are at. Then the water goes down the gutter and back down to the reservoir and get to be reused again.
Along with somen, my friends and I prepared some sashimi and side vegetables. How's my knife skill look on the sashimi? I like to cut and align things out neatly, at least for presentation. I mean 1/3 of creating appetite is from visualization, so I like to present my food nicely.

Sashimi as side dish

It was a very nice and fun experience, a light and satisfying dinner!

Jerk Chicken

For Memorial Day weekend, my boyfriend and I wanted to grill something for lunch. So the night before, we decided to marinade one of our favorite grilled food of all time,  Jerk Chicken. I like my Jerk Chicken a bit spicy, and the recipe below calls for habanero peppers, which is perfect to add a little kick to the delicious spices-filled chicken.

Ingredients

• 3 scallions, chopped
• 4 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 to 4 fresh Scotch bonnet or habanero chile, stemmed and seeded
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
• 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 2 teaspoons ground allspice
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 1/2 to 3 pounds chicken thighs, drumsticks or wings

Instruction:

1. Blend all the ingredients except for the chicken together in a blender until it becomes a sauce.

2. Place the chicken in a large tray and pour marinade over it. Stir well. Cover tray with a saran wrap and pad the saran wrap so that it sticks to the chicken with the marinade.

3. Refridgerate overnight.
4. Let chicken and marinade cool to room temperature before grilling.
5. Oil your grill and place chicken over it.
6. Cook for about 15 to 20 mins and until internal chicken temperature reaches 165 degree F.

Happy Memorial Day!

Kowloon Cafe

15828 Hesperian Blvd (between Grant Ave & Post St)
San Lorenzo, CA 94580
(510) 276-6888

Once in awhile I would crave for Hong Kong style cafe food. I just like the simple sauces they have over a bed of rice or spaghetti. Kowloon Cafe was pretty new compared to other Chinese restaurant in the area, so I had to go try when I found out where it was.

It was pretty hidden considering where it was located. At first I thought it would look a little run down like most HK style cafe are, but it wasn't. The air inside the cafe smelled just like those I'd been to in Hong Kong except Kowloon Cafe was much fancier with their cotton padded booth.

I'd been to Kowloon Cafe three times now, and each time I tried something new. I had tried their Baked Spaghetti, Chicken Curry with rice, wonton noodle soup, Crab and Shrimp Spaghetti and their Adegashi tofu. I also tried their HK Style milk tea, which was perfectly sweeten. Everything tasted original. The presentation of the food was very inviting and appetizing. The little sprinkle of parsley on the Baked Spaghetti showed that they are very detailed oriented. The sauce was very tasty and aromatic. It also wasn't overly salty or overly brown. It also had the perfect amount of cheese and meat. The spaghetti wasn't al dente, but it wasn't overcooked either. The chicken curry came out shortly after and it was really bright yellow. It was very appetizing as well since they put red and green pepper into it. The sauce looks like it has a lot of corn starch though. It was flavorful but it left me really thirsty after.

Baked Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

The Wonton Noodle Soup was just okay though. It lacked white pepper flavors, which I love in wontons. The soup was pretty bland, a lot of hot sauce and some soy sauce was needed when eating it. The Adagashi tofu was Japanese inspired. It was good. Thin crispy skin tofu soaked in tempura sauce, and topped with bonito flakes. The Crab and Shrimp spaghetti though was a bit weird. It was just a bunch of white sauce filled with crab and shrimp on the side of a bed of spaghetti. The sauce was a little too thick and there was a piece of harden and unbroken flour in there.

Chicken Curry with Rice

Overall, Kowloon Cafe was pretty good. Their service was great too. After going back three times, of course, I would still continue to go back. But yes, I came to conclusion so far, their Baked Spaghetti was by far the best dish at this place so far. I need to try some other dishes next time though...or maybe when I feel adventuus.