Suzu Noodle House

1825 Post St
San Francisco, CA 94115

Occasion: One of those cold nights perfect for soup and noodles.

Soba Noodles with a pork base soup

This was a dinner special that was combined with another side choice or a rice bowl. I'm not a big fan of soba noodles, but it tasted really healthy. Soup was good. Looked really filling.

Soba Noodles

Curry

The dinner special came with this curry. The curry sauce was really good, too bad they lacked in potatoes and other ingredients which would have made it more enjoyable. But it was very reasonably priced for the amount of food it came with.

Miso Ramen

I had trouble deciding which ramen to get. They had their signature Tokyo Ramen which I almost tried. I was actually torn between the miso ramen and the tokyo ramen so I asked our waitress. She said the tokyo ramen had a shoyu base which is a lot richer in flavor. Call me boring, but I like things more authentic and bland. I don't like extra added flavors and I don't like things too salty, so I decided with the Miso ramen. It came with half a boiled egg, bamboo shoots, a couple slices of pork and some veggies. Not bad. The noodles tasted really fresh and
you can tell it's hand made just by the texture. I would have to say that the texture is superb here, but the soup base is not as good as Katana-ya's. Although there are more ingredients that come with the ramen at Suzu, my taste buds still got Katana-ya as number one. Second best ramen place in the city!

Miso Ramen

The ramen were so neatly presented and folded. I was impressed with their untensils, bowls and the overall presentation of their dishes.

Kim Thanh

607 Geary St
(between Jones St & Leavenworth St)
San Francisco, CA 94102

Occasion: Tony's Bday Dinner!

Geoduck Sashimi

Yum! If you can get past the fishy taste and the cartilidge like texture of this creature from the sea, you'll definitely know how to enjoy it. It tasted really fresh. What's good about a lot of seafood is that it has it's own natural sweet flavor. We don't really have to season it much, maybe just squeeze some lemon juice over it and its ready to eat!

Geoduck Soup

With the leftover geoduck, they made it into a geoduck with veggie soup. Perfect for the cold weather and very refreshing.

Prawns

These suckers were huge. Love its natural sweetness. Dipped it in some soysauce with chopped green onions dip. Tasty and juicy. YUM

Sauteed Crab

This restaurant is known for their seafood. The first few dishes did not disappoint and this one didn't either. With about 10 people per table there just wasn't enough of this to go around. Good thing not everyone likes crab. It was DELICIOUS!

Roasted Chicken

Meat was nice and tender, not too dry just the way I like it. The skin was roasted to perfection, nice golden brown and krispy. I don't think I ended up eating the skin, since taking off skin has just become a habit of mine.

Fried Rice

Nothing all that special. I think it just served as a filler for our stomachs. From what I recall, they skimped out on the meat. O well.

Chinese Brocolli with Oyster sauce

My favorite vegetable. I love the crunchiness of the stems and the full leaves. Delicious.

Walnut Prawns

Did my taste buds some good. Very tasty. You just know when its good or bad. Trust me, it's good here! I also loved how the walnuts were not burnt or too sweet. Perfect!

Beef Cubes

So good and so full of flavor. I don't know what they used to marinate it, but it was delicious. I'm not even usually a meat person, but I caught myself going for seconds and thirds.

Snow Pea Shoots Stirfried with minced garlic

Always a favorite for the Chinese. It was alright. From what I can remember, the vegetable was a bit old, which made it hard to chew and swallow.

Sweet and Sour Pork

I really feel as though this dish caters to white people and ABC's (which I totally am). I think I like the more authentic Chinese dishes.

Fried Banana with Ice Cream

Delicious! I've had really bad fried banana before, but this one was good. I loved the balance of hot and cold. Complimented each other very well. Yummay!

Shanghai Dumpling King

3319 Balboa Street
San Francisco, CA 94121

Occasion: Late lunch!

Jar Jar Men

Shanghainese style. I've had it prepared Japanese style, Korean style and chinese style. This one was pretty good and simple. It just contained some chopped cucumbers, ground pork and the sauce. Cheap and good. I like noodles and these noodles were definitely not bad.

Crispy Eel (not exactly sure, but it was definitely fish of some sort)

This reminded me of those chinese preserved canned fish that is sweet with black beans. Maybe it's just not my style, but I'm glad I tried it. Been there done it, now I'm done with it. I didn't really enjoy it much. I guess I didn't like the fact that it had a smokey sweet taste to it.

Xiao Long Baos

Ever since I've had Joe's Shanghai in New York, I've been on a search for the bay area's best xiao long baos. I still haven't found one that hits the spot for me yet, but so far this is the best I could find. Yes, it's a bit small in size, but at least it has soup inside, where as at Shanghai Dumpling House in Millbrae there was no soup in the soup dumplings. I guess small is good because it fits right into my mouth. SF BIG EAT 2010: 100 things you must eat and drink before you die:#13. Soup dumplings at Shanghai Dumpling King

Xiao Long Bao up close

Majikku Ramen

240 Skyline Plaza
Daly City, CA 94015

Occasion: Dinner.

Butter Corn Ramen

This picture actually disgusts me because while I was eating, I absolutely failed to notice that there was a brick of butter in my soup. That is just plain disgusting. The egg looks like its been prepared for awhile (look at the coloration of it). I like fresh boiled eggs and this one definitely wasn't it. Yea, they didn't skimp on corn, but boy were their bamboo shoots hard to eat. It was very hard and stiff, the texture just was not doing it for me. The bowl of ramen appears to look nice and colorful, but it lacks in taste. Maybe I was having a bad day and I was just so consumed in what was going on that I forgot to try to enjoy it the right way. I had a better first experience, or maybe I was just in a bad mood this day. Who knows?

Shimo Restaurant 2

733 Taraval St
(between 17th Ave & 18th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94116


Occasion: Dinner date!

Sushi Roll with deep fried soft shell crab, avocado topped with tobiko

From what I can remember, it was good. I love avocados and the soft shell crab in the roll was delish! Totally good for those who are not fans of raw fish.

Hamachi Kama

If I'm with Ella, I can gaurantee you that this dish will be ordered. She doesn't like raw fish, so we order something cooked. This never fails to satisfy my taste buds. The meat of the yellowtail collar is nice and tender. I love the texture and get complete satisfaction almost everytime I eat this. Dip it in some Ponzu sauce and it's perfection. This place did not disappoint me at all. Great portion for a good price.

Vegetable Croquet

I didn't think I'd like it, but it wasn't too bad. In fact, I was kind of hooked on it. I always associate vegetarian food to be boring and bland, but this wasn't. It was full of flavor and I loved that there were peas in there.

These two sushi rolls were actually really similar. Bother topped with almost the same sauce. Filled with avocado and I don't remember what. It was good! But I can't recall how good. I just know it wasn't bad.

These rolls reminded me of korean kimbops. Very healthy rolls filled with eggs, cucumbers, some sort of meat and fishcake. We were being heifers and threw this into our order towards the end.

Khoong Chang's Thai Cuisine

1901 Divisadero St
San Francisco, CA 94115

Occasion: Lunch with the coworkers! Love their fast service. Definitely caters to those who are on a time crunch for lunch. Food comes out super fast!

Khaow Na Ped Boneless roasted duck

over rice served with special sauce.

AJ's dish.

When I saw this plate come out, I kind of wished that I had gotten this instead. The meat looks leaner and there is an actual serving of vegetables. Definitely seemed to be the healthier choice. Oh well, next time.

Ped Gra-Pow Sauteed roast duck

with chili and sweet basil over noodles

It was a good meal, but I really just don't think I'm a duck kind of person. I spent most of my time trying to pick the fat off of the duck meat. Some of them loved the fat on the meat, but I didn't really. I have really health conscious parents who never let me eat the skin of duck, chicken, fried chicken, pork and even fish. Maybe it's become a habit, whatever the case is, it was really difficult enjoying the meal due to the fact that I was busy trying to bite off all the duck skin and fat. Don't get me wrong though, it was full of flavor!!

Triple Crown

1760 Market St
San Francisco, CA 94102

Occasion: Taco Tuesday Happy Hour with the Coworkers=]

Pulled Pork Taco
Delicious! The meat was nice a tender and full of flavor. Pulled pork with guacamole and onions. drool =]

Carne Asada Taco

I have never tried this taco here. I was hesitant in trying it because I heard it was pretty spicy. I have very low tolerance to spicy food, so automatically I thought it was too spicy for me to handle. It was actually really good. Good thing I had a cup of water next to me.

Potato with Poblano Taco

I've had this before and I liked it, so I ordered it again this time I went. I love starchy foods and I love potatoes so I had to order this. Potato fingerlings with avocado, onions and some feta cheese. YUMMY!

Calzone's Pizza Cucina

430 Columbus Ave
(between Green St & Stockton St)
San Francisco, CA 94133

Occasion: Late night dining with Diana and Helder. This place is open til like midnight.

Bruschetta
garlic pesto toasted baguette, roma tomatoes with basil oil

Yes, I know. I have a thing for bruschetta. I did not like it at all. The bread tasted too soft and seemed to only have garlic oil drizzled on top instead of a more balsamic vinaigrette. The tomatoes did not seem fresh. I did not enjoy it all that very much.

I forgot what they were drinking. I think Diana had some type of red wine and Helder had..something sweet like a muscato.

SALMON
Tomatoes & asparagus
zucchini mashed potatoes
This was really good and I kept on picking at Diana's mashed potatoes, I like how it's chunky. Salmon was nice and crispy on the outside. Yummy asparagus. It was good.

CHICKEN & ASPARAGUS PASTA
fresh fettuccine
roasted tomatoes
pine nuts, garlic & basil topped with parmesan cheese

This dish was pretty good. It tasted very healthy. Not too oily, but the fetuccine pasta was so thick and long. I loved the taste of pine nuts in it because it definitely added to the taste of the dish. The rich taste of the nut complimented the chicken and the asparagus very well.

Villiage Pizzeria

1 Clement St
(between 2nd Ave & Arguello Blvd)
San Francisco, CA 94118

Occasion: Saturday afternoon, snack!

Caprese Salad

Made the way I like it. It's topped with Mozzerella, basil, sun dried tomatoes and onions. Dip it in either a balsamic vinaigrette sauce or drizzle it with olive oil and vinegar. YUM!! Very refreshing meal.

Kowloon Tong Dessert Cafe

393 7th Ave
San Francisco, CA 94118

Occasion: After dinner at Steps of Rome, we wanted something sweet so we made our way to the Richmond District to get Asian Desserts.

Glutonous Balls with Crushed Peanuts

I love these glutonous balls that remind me of mochi. I love how its chewy. When I was growing up I used to eat these glutonous balls in savory soup during the Winter Solstice of the Lunar Calendar. I've always loved them, still do. Sweet or savory. If you want, you can order these glutonous balls with things filled it in. But I like how it's plain and its just topped with nuts and sugar. YUM!!

Red Bean Sweet Soup

I've defintely had better! It tasted really watered down and the soup just wasn't thick enough. I rather have the ones they give out for free at Chinese Restaurants after you've had your dinner.

Chinese Tofu Flower Dessert

I usually really like this dessert. It's soft tofu drenched in a sweet sauce. It's best eaten when warm. Here, the dessert is just ok. They put brown sugar on it which made it even sweeter. I like mine half sweet and half bitter, which is usually how it's served. But it was just too sweet here. I rather order it at a chinese restaurant during dim sum.

Steps of Rome Trattoria

362 Columbus Ave
(between Grant Ave & Vallejo St)
San Francisco, CA 94133

Occasion: Friday night dinner date! I've been wanting to give this place a try. It's close and in the neighborhood, so we gave it a try.

STEPS CARPACCIO
Parmesan, cheese, & capers; thinly sliced raw beef
I always somehow get a little bit disappointed when I order beef carpaccio at an Italian Restaurant. Why? Because I always expect it to have a similar taste to the vietnamese kind, where its sweet, citrusy topped with lots of cilantro. The carpaccio here is not bad at all. I love how thinly the raw beef were sliced. The paramesan cheese sprinkled on top definitely made a difference. We asked for extra lemon juice to be squeezed on top. It was really good for Italian carpaccio.

BRUSCHETTA
Grilled bread with olive oil, garlic, tomato & basil
I love bruschetta and I heard the bruschetta here is really good. In my opinion, I just thought it was mediocre. I wish the bread had more of a balsamic vinaigrette sauce, which it did not. The tomato and basil tasted really fresh! It didn't meet my expectations. I've had better!

RIGATONI alla NORCINA
tube pasta with Italian sausage mushrooms in a light cream sauce
I am so glad I ordered this. Pictured here is only half the portion. They were nice enough to separate it in two different plates for us! This was SOOO good, it left me wanting more. I love the rigatoni pasta and the sauce was amazing. I'm glad it wasn't too creamy! I love mushrooms and there were a good amount of sausages. YUM!! I totally recommend getting this pasta dish.

Sushi Bistro

431 Balboa St
(between 5th Ave & 6th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94118

Occasion: Jenny's 23rd Birthday Dinner!!

New Wave Mahi-Mahi
Steamed Mahi-Mahi, crabmeat, avocado topped with Mango Salsa
I like variety so I shared 3 sushi rolls and a another dish with one other. The mango salsa did not sound too appetizing to me, but my friend wanted to order it. It was the best roll I had all night. The mango salsa did not over power the taste of the sushi, instead it enhanced it. So glad that we got this roll.

C-2 Roll

Baby Lobster, avocado and cucumber topped with shrimp tempura and drizzled with eel sauce

This was one of Jenny's favorite's roll. It was good, but I still thought the New Wave Mahi-Mahi roll was better.

Hamachi Kama
Ella doesn't eat raw fish, so she always orders something cooked. Actually, she always orders the hamachi kama, which is cooked yellowtail collar. Really good especially when dipped into the ponzu sauce. The price is reasonable here and they give a big portion. YUM!


Sexy Scallop Roll
Spicy white tuna, salmon, avocado topped with spicy chopped scallop, tobiko and scallions.
We had originally ordered this, but I think the waiter left it out, so I got to try a piece from Anita. After trying this roll I'm glad that I didn't order it because it wasn't as good as I thought it would be. I really like scallops and I thought having scallops in a roll would taste really good, but it didn't thrill my tastebuds too much.


The New Legend Roll
Shrimp tempura, spicy aioli, avocado topped with seared albacore, spicy garlic sauce and scallions
A roll that I suggested we order. I love seared albacore so I wanted this. The roll was pretty good, too bad it was just a tad bit spicy. You know me and spicy food. Not too fond. But overall this roll had a good variety of things, which I like.


I forgot the name of this roll
I only ate one at most two because this was my least favorite roll. It didn't taste all that great. I think Ella ordered it because it was more cooked.

Shabu House

5158 Geary Blvd
(between 15th Ave & 16th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94118

Occasion: Random dinner night. Walter and Sherwood wanted ShabuShabu and I've been wanting to try this place out. So we came here!

Large Kobe Beef Platter

I asked the waitress what size I should get and she suggested the large. Didn't quite finish, but I was close. The meat was really good and it went well with the sauce. I loved how it was thinly sliced and that the meat wasn't too chewy or fatty. I don't usually eat beef, but it was sure good to me. Perfect night for shabu since it was a cold night.

came with a plate of veggies

filled with lettuce, spinach, mushrooms, enoki mushrooms...etc

I ate all my veggies and then some. I loved the enoki mushrooms. I ate all mine, Walter's and Sherwood's. =]

Dinner for 3

I loved the sauce!

Added a whole lot of garlic and onions. yum

Green Tea Ice cream and Taro Ice Cream

You could choose from the above two flavors. I chose the Green Tea. Not the best, but you can't complain.