Browse Category: yum

Pre-Thanksgiving Weekend

Last Wednesday (11/17), Brother, Joy, and Mommy came up to visit me.  The timing coincided with a bunch of things that I already had planned for the week and they somehow came together just fine.  I picked them up on Wednesday night and they spent Thursday exploring the city and also went to Alcatraz.  Meanwhile, I went to work and we also had our annual Craft/Bake Sale Fundraiser.

We always have a Happy Hour afterward so the family took BART over to the East Bay and got to meet the gang at work.

HH was at Marc 49 and we had a fun evening decompressing from the crazy month of planning and the actual fundraiser.

The interesting part of the evening was that I saw my mom drinking a beer for the first time!  For all my life, she didn’t drink but I guess retirement has changed things.

On Friday, I already had the day off to visit the de Young Museum with Stephanie.  So, that morning, I took the family to Mama’s for pancakes and waited a good 45 minutes to get in.  Luckily no one was in a hurry so we endured the wait and had a feast of pancakes, french toast, eggs, and corned beef hash.  Afterward, we met up with Stephanie at the mall and headed out to Golden Gate Park.

The family went to the California Academy of Science and the two of us went to the Van Gogh exhibit.  It was a rainy day but it didn’t matter.  We all still had a good time.

Later that evening, we met up with the rest of the girls at Embarcadero Center for Light-up Night.  HH was at Osha Thai where we enjoyed appetizers and Effen drinks.

By 6:30, we paid the tab and headed outside for the lighting and caught the fireworks in the rain.

Immediately after the fireworks, we walked over to the Hyatt for the tree lighting.  Unfortunately it was quite a production and we had some time to kill.  That was when things got a little fuzzy since people were at the bar and bringing me tasty drinks.

About 20 minutes later, they started the countdown and the snow fell while the lights turned on.

My mom eventually got tired and took Muni home.  Meanwhile, the girls took off for snacks at Palomino while Jes, Brother, Joy, and I headed over to One Market.  Sometime between the Hyatt and the restaurant I fell ‘cuz I woke up the next morning with a huge scuff on my knee.  Whoops.  As dinner started, Joy wasn’t feeling well so we went home early while the boys finished dinner.  As I was taking care of Joy, I got a text from Jes that said “Peanuts in your brother’s dessert.  Hooray.”  Here’s his side of the story:

Yep, he was struck by the peanut monster once again and ended up yacking at the restaurant and in the street on the way home. What a mess.

The next day we took it easy as everyone was recovering from a fun fun evening.  We had porridge and fried dough for breakfast, grilled cheese and tomato soup for a snack, and then Bakesale Betty’s for lunch.  Yum Yum…if that doesn’t take care of a hangover, nothing will.

Before taking the family to the airport, we stopped at Modern Mouse for Eleen’s anniversary party.  We got to hang out with friends and browse the merchandise as the rain poured down.  The drive to SFO was a little scary but we made it and the family got home safely after an hour-long flight delay.

Here are the rest of the photos from the weekend.

omakase

The Masayas told us about this Japanese restaurant in San Mateo that serves a very small number of tables per night and is completely omakase.  It’s called Wakuriya and we went a couple Tuesdays ago (11/16).  We lucked out on getting in and were seated at the bar.  We were the only ones at the bar and got a front row view of the chef preparing our meal.  There were only 4 other parties in the restaurant and no one else entered after our 7:30 reservation.  It was like going to someone’s house for dinner.  There was one chef, his wife as the floor manager, and a guy in the back washing all the dishes.

We were treated to a 9-course Japanese meal that included a cold dish, raw dish, steamed dish, hot dish, fried dish, rice dish, and some stuff in between.

One of my favorites was the trio of appetizers – especially the foie sushi (circular one next to the carrots).

Another was the pork and cabbage in the most delicious broth.  The chef carefully layered the two ingredients and it was steamed for 4 hours that afternoon.

I also enjoyed the rice dishes – especially the braised washu beef and egg over rice and swimming in a yummy broth.  Everything was beautiful and delicious.

I also had a flight of fruit sake and Jes had a flight of the regular sake.  From left to right, I had yuzu, rice, and plum.  They were served in handmade glasses that are super thin and are molded to fit your fingers perfectly.

The nice woman that waited on us was really sweet and she was very enthusiastic about the food and sake.  She also offered to take a photo of us.  She noticed that we had the same camera that she did and also said that most people who eat at the restaurant take photos of the food and not of themselves.  She was funny.

So, after 2 and a half hours, we rolled out of the restaurant happy and stuffed.  That was fun.  If you want to go, call to make a reservation and ask to be seated at the bar.  They only seat 5 parties per night so cross your fingers.

Here are more photos.

Monterey Weekend

We went to Monterey this past weekend and had a nice relaxing time.  We arrived pretty late on Friday night and were pleasantly surprised by the free upgrade to a full ocean view room.  The room was complete with binoculars for me to spy on the otters below.

On Saturday morning, I got up early and went for a run along the water.  The tide was really high and the waves were crashing on the shore.  Fun!

For the day, we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which was perfect for a gloomy, sprinkly day.  They had a new seahorse exhibit and a cool tank filled with little sea turtles!!  Oh joy!  This shrimp was staring right at me in one of the tanks as if he was waiting for me to take a photo of him.  I couldn’t resist.

By the end of the afternoon the sun came out and we actually got some blue sky.

We always seem to have fun in the gift shop even though we never buy anything.

Before dinner, I got a massage at the spa upstairs while Jes worked out in their gym.  For dinner, we went to a cute little French restaurant called Bistro Moulin.  We had the most amazing spinach gnocchi and my mussels with pommes frites were delicious.

The next day on our way home, we stopped at the outlets to shop for work clothes.  I made a killing that afternoon!

Here are the rest of the photos.

hot pot hunt

On Saturday, we went to Ranch 99 to do some grocery shopping.  While browsing the aisles, we were inspired to have hot pot for dinner.  So, I texted the Bangs to see if they wanted to join us and they accepted.  In the process of buying everything we needed, Jes texted Vyl and got some specific instructions from her.

  1. Find the hot pot starter kit in a red or green package with a fat sheep on the front.  We searched and searched and found both of them!!  By the way, the red one is extra spicy and oh so yummy.  We mixed both packages for the right amount of heat.

  2. Find the can of BBQ sauce with a bull on it.  It took some extra searching for this one but found that one too!

It’s pretty fun going on a scavenger hunt in Ranch 99.  Most of the time you can’t read the labels and only buy things based on the pictures on the front.  For example, I usually buy the katsu sauce that’s in a square-ish bottle with a bulldog on the front.  I also usually buy the sweet soy sauce with the girl in a boat on the label.  Fun times…

Cookie

I LOVE these cookies.  They’re crispy and sweet with a touch of cinnamon and great with my morning coffee.  The first time I had them was on a plane to Rome last year and asked for a couple extra to stash in my backpack for later.  I thought they only came in individual packs but then I was so delighted to find them at the grocery store next to our hotel in Paris!!!   I just HAD to buy a pack and I’m still enjoying them 2 months later.  Must.  Make.  Them.  Last.  *nomnomnom*

Hello, Kale!

For dinner tonight, Jes made me a chicken dinner with a side of new potatoes and sauteed kale and onions.  I’d had kale salad before and had kale in soups but we’ve never actually cooked them at home before.  The verdict?  I loved it but Jes was not as much a fan.  Wah wah waaaahh…

Tomorrow, I’m going to be roasting beets in the oven and plan to use them in salads this coming week.  I’ll probably be making a big red mess but it should be yummy!