Heung Bu Nae

1560 Fillmore Street

San Francisco, CA 94115

Occasion: Sunday night dinner for two!

Kalbi Soup

Second time having this dish in general.  I thought it was decent. My friend really likes the soup base at this restaurant because of the sweetness of the base.  It's true, at most places the soup base isn't as sweet.  It's not candy sweet, but its the sweetness of the meat in the broth.  She was definitely satisfied with this dish and for me, I thought it was pretty good!

Seafood Pancake

I love getting this, but I myself can never eat it all...or maybe I can. I loved their generous amount of seafood into the pancake especially the tentacles part of the squid.  It was fried to the perfect crisp and when you dip it in their sauce, it's absolutely divine! This place definitely executed, but then again, who am I to judge what's good and not good for Korean food.  All I know is that it satisfies my taste buds, so at this point I guess that's all that matters.

Kalbi

Definitely not the best I've had. The pieces of meat were very fatty.  It might not look like it but every piece I bit into consisted of at least 30% fat.  I know that's where all the flavor is, but I'm just not a big fan of fatty meat.  It was edible and I can see why people would really like it, but it was just ok for me.  I made lettuce wraps with the meat and it definitely takes out the greasiness of the meat, well it doesn't take it out, but it tastes more balanced and for me more enjoyable to eat, though I don't always like eating with my hands.

Osaka

1923 Fillmore Street

San Francisco, CA 94115

Occasion: After movie dinner for four.

We got a combination of sushi rolls, which were pretty decent. Don't remember the exact rolls that we got. Some were cooked because Ella doesn't like eating raw fish, while some were raw.  We ordered accordingly to four people's tastes and preferances. Overall, the rolls were not bad!  They kept our tummies filled.

Hamachi Kama

This is one generous portion! I was so excited to see such a big piece of yellowtail collar when it came out, but a bit dissappointed when I actually tasted it. It' was grilled and had a bbq'd smokey taste.  The flavor was not what I'd expected and the texture of the meat was just different.  It was edible, but not the best I've ever had.

Ella's Restaurant

500 Presidio Ave

San Francisco, CA 94115

Occasion: Brunch for five on 7.18.10. Good food, good company=]

Sticky bun

I'm glad we only got one serving it to share, otherwise I wouldn't have had enough room in my stomach to fit all the other deliciousness we had ordered. It was coated with a caramelized topping with fluffy pastry bun middle.  My friend Ella (funny how we brought Ella to Ella's) really wanted to try it, and so did I because I'd seen many good reviews and heard that it often gets sold out. Don't get me wrong, it's good, but I wouldn't want too much of it because it's quite rich in flavor as well.

 

Bacon scramble with ham, cheddar, fingerling potatoes and a biscuit

It was good, but not as memorable as the fluffy pancakes and the chicken hash.  I'd really have to say everything is good here.  I'm honestly not a big fan of bacon, so I didn't care for this too much.

Chicken Hash

Almost as good as the last time I had it. Chicken with potatoe together with scrambled eggs and wheat toast!  One of my friends really enjoyed it and liked the fact that it wasn't too greasy or heavy of a meal. I have to agree with my friend.  It's simple yet flavorful and absolutely amazing!

Folded Omelete

I don't remember what was in it besides diced tomatoes, but you can't go wrong with omelets or this savory breakfast entree. Like I had mentioned earlier, I think everything is pretty decent here! Of course there are some things I like more than others.  As for this particular entree, because I don't have much memory of it, I'd say it's not as favorited as the entrees that did leave a very unforgettable memory of their deliciousness.

Buttermilk Pancakes

I just had to get them again because the first time I'd had them, they were so good I inhaled half of it(because I was sharing, otherwise I would have inhaled the whole thing) in a matter of five minutes.  Again, they did not dissappoint! They were fluffy and delicious. YUMMAY!!!

Lappert's Ice Cream

689 Bridgeway Drive

Sausalito, CA 94965

Occasion: After lunch at Le Garage, we walk over here for dessert!!

Lychee and Guava Cheesecake

Freakin' bomb diggity! Love love loved it. No wonder there was a long line...well or more like a crowd of people waiting to get it. The guava cheesecake was my favorite flavor.  They have a great selection of flavors that I'm sure can satisfy everyone's taste buds.  Wish they had one closer to me.

Le Garage

85 Liberty Ship Way

Sausalito, CA 94965

Occasion: Saturday lunch after a walk across the Golden Gate Bridge!

Smoked salmon open face sandwich with salad

Delicious and perfect for lunch, not too heavy with a healthy side of salad.  I love salmon in all forms and ways it is prepared, so this was definitely a good choice.

Mussels made in a white wine sauce

We just had to order it. We're in sausalito, the seafood has to be good and it was! I loved dipping complimentary bread into the white wine sauce!

Baby Blues BBQ

3149 Mission Street

San Francisco, CA 94110

Occasion: Belated Bday Dinner with bAbiE Tiff/ catch up session=] I wanted to try everything, so we got the BLUE DEVIL PLATTER!! YUMMO!

In our platter the meats we ordered were: Texas style beef ribs, pulled pork, 1/4 chicken and baby back ribs. 

Since Tiff doesn't eat beef we only ordered one beef item.  Everything from texas is really bigger, hence the name "TEXAS STYLE" beef ribs.  The meat was full of flavor and very tender. It was delicious and addicting.  Too bad meat itself is really filling other wise I could have eaten more.  The pulled pork was a bit dissappointing, as it was on the blander side in taste and it wasn't as tender as I'd thought it to be.  I got to try the chicken and thought it was decent, but nothing special.  Baby back ribs were decent, but the corn bread was memorable. I love cornbread!

Corn

This ws one of the three of our sides.  I love corn so I had to order it.  Originally I thought they only give half a cob, but they give a whole cob. That's a generous portion!

Mashed Potatoes

Love my spuds, so I had to order that as well!  I thought it was good, but not the best I've ever had.  There were just so much food on the table...it's hard to really appreciate everything.

Mac and Cheese

Tiff wanted it and it was one of the highlights on yelp, so we just had to get it.  I tried it, but was quite dissappointed.  It wasn't cheesy enough, nor was it too tasty.  It was just mediocre.

All the different sauces in order from least spicy to the spiciest

I'm SASSY!!! LOL! That's the sauce that I used most of the night. I tried the BBQ too...a bit more spicy and less sweet with a smokier flavor.

Jardiniere Restaurant

300 Grove Street

San Francisco, CA 94102

Occasion: Trying to catch a quick bite before Final Fantasy performance at the symphony with the boyfriend Ella! The waiter was kind enough to rush our food out and split everything into two so that we can try everything!*Food pictured is not the correct portion size, just double the amount because they split it into twos for us besides the dessert*

Maine Diver Scallops, Matsutake Mushrooms, Leeks and Savoy Spinach, Herb

Tender, juicy and flavorful.  It was amazing!!  The outsides were seared to a perfect golden brown crisp.  Natural sweetness of the mushrooms complimented very well with the scallops. There were sweet kernels of corn, which definitely added to the flavor of the dish.  Absolutely amazing and left us wanting more.  Got us excited for the rest of the dishes to come.

Alaskan Halibut

This was served with beans and a variety of diced veggies.  I thought the veggies were delicious.  It had a mediterranean taste to it.  The flavors of the veggies and the fish complimented each other very well. 

Duck Breast

Excellent! The meat was tender and cooked perfectly.  It was full of flavor and very filling. I would definitely recommend this dish for all those meat lovers out there.

Cappucino with Black Forest Cake with Vanilla bean ice cream

After our meal we still had a little bit of time to spare before the performance so we stuck around a little longer.  After a long day at work we both needed some caffeine before the symphony so we each got a cup of cappucino and decided to compliment it with some dessert!  I love chocolate candy, but I've never been a big fan of chocolate cake per say.  I thought it was just too rich in flavor by itself, so thank goodness for the cappucino to balance out the sweetness of the dessert.  I would definitely try something different next time.

The Stinking Rose

325 Columbus Avenue

San Francisco, CA 94133

Occasion: Dinner date with Anne Kay Lee 07.12.10

Lasagna

with wild mushrooms, roasted egglplants, garlic, pepper, onions, swiss lard, mozzeralla and tomato cream sauce

Even without the meat it was still a bit heavy. I've never been a big fan of lasagna, but all the ingredients in it were all things I really enjoy eating. This dish definitely did not stand out for me.

Zuppa Di Pesce

with Mussels, crab, fresh fish, calamari and shrimp in a spicy tomato brodetto

This soup was addicting.  I really do have a thing for tomato soup especially those with seafood.  I have to admit that this was my favorite thing we ordered. If you like tomato based soup and seafood, I would definitely recommend this!

Arugula Salad with gorgonzola, red onions, pinenuts in a garlic vinaigrette

The health conscious part of me thought that it would be a good idea to order some greens.  Out of everything listed this sounded the most appealing.  Loved the smoky, yet buttery taste of the arugula that was sprinkled with gorgonzola, onions and pine-nuts.  Pine-nuts made a difference in the salad, as it added not only aroma but also great flavor to the salad.  All the ingredients in the salad are very flavorful ingredients, that when mixed together made a very tasty salad.

Baby back ribs

served with garlic yukon gold mashed potatoes

The meat was a bit on the dry side and it dissappointed as the meat did not fall off the bones, but the mashed potatoes made up for it. The potato person I am really liked the garlic flavor of it, honestly I could have done with more garlic, but I probably would have hated myself a bit more the next morning with my kicking ass breath=]

Little Star Pizza

846 Divisadero Street

San Franisco, CA 94117

Occasion: Pizza for 4 after the movies!

Little Star Deep Dish

Spinach blended with ricotta and feta, mushrooms, onions and garlic

We decided on ordering one deep dish and one thin crust. This was our choice of deep dish and I loved it.  I've heard about this place before and a couple of my friends actually did not think too highly of it because of their cornmeal crust, but I actually did not mind it at all.  The only other times I've had deep dish pizza was once when I went to Chicago about 3 years ago.  I don't remember having that good of an experience.  From what I can recall, it was just too rich for my liking. Not enough cheese, too much tomato sauce and it made my stomach feel a bit queezy.  I've also had it at Patxi's in the city, which I thought was pretty good. Some of the ones with meat, were very filling and rich.  This was the first time I've had cornmeal crust and I thought it was amazing.  In my opinion I thought it tasted better than Patxis because it doesn't leave you feeling too gross after you've had it, where as at Patxi's your stomach feels 10 pounds heavier.  I now realize that I like my deep dish pizzas with no meat! This is also #60. The Little Star at Little Star Pizza on the SF BIG EAT 2010.

Mixed Salad

with organic mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, red bells, red onions, gorgonzola cheese and chopped walnuts, tossed with a housemade vinaigrette dressing

Nice healthy refreshing appetizer before we dig in to some not so healthy pizzas! I loved this salad and all the ingredients it included, though I do wish there were more chunks of chopped walnuts! It was amazing!

White Pie

with garlic olive oil base, mozzarella, roasted zucchini, fresh tomatoes, feta

It was good and I really enjoyed the cornmeal crust as I enjoyed on the Little Star Deep Dish, but I thought the pizza was just a little bit on the salty side. It must have been the garlic olive base.  The combination of the ingredients on the pizza are definitely amazing and delightful for my tastebuds.  The pizza was so rich already, I'm glad there wasn't any meat to make it even heavier than it already was.

Tanuki

4419 California Street

San Francisco,CA 94118

Occasion: Dinner with Dave!

Tanuki Roll (Eel, avocado with shrimp tempura)

Crab Avocado Roll

Both rolls were recommended by Dr. Wong. Thanks for the recommendations they were super fresh and delicious.  Out of the two rolls, my favorite was the Tanuki Roll, but of course the other roll was very good as well.  This is actually one of the few Japanese restaurants in San Francisco that I have been to where they actually have Japanese chefs rolling up your sushi. That's how you know it's LEGIT! Though, I didn't have much of an appetite, the Tanuki roll stands out to me til this day.  Sad that I haven't been back since, but I shall make a visit soon!

Clam Miso Soup

I've always had plain miso soup with tofu, but I've never had it with clams.  The soup was perfect for the chilly weather. Again, very good.  It didn't have the tangy flavor that most miso soups had, in fact it was a bit sweet, probably due to the natural sweetness of the clams.

Spinach Gomae

I don't usually order anything that is not a roll, sashimi, bento box or hamachi kama, but this was recommeded and I wanted to give it a try.  AMAZING!! It's a refreshing little appetizer.  I'm not sure what type of paste is placed on top but it compliments the bland taste of what seemed to be blanched spinach very well.  I really enjoyed this little treat!

Hamachi Kama

I'd usually be all over this piece of scrumptious meat,but I had gone to dinner with my stomach half full so I wasn't able to fully enjoy much of everything.  From what I can recall, it was decent, but I've definitely had better where the meat was juicier and more tender.

Betelnut

2030 Union Street

San Francisco, CA 94123

Occasion: Dinner with Drew! 07.09.10

Glazed pork shortribs, garlic and thai basil

I really wanted to try it, so we ordered it. I guess the waitress either forgot to write it down or the servers forgot to bring it to our table, so after all our dishes came out and we asked about it. Because of their lack of service in getting this dish to us in a timely manner, they comped this dish. Thank goodness they did because it was too salty.  It was overly seasoned for my liking.  Not to sound racist or anything, but it's made for non oriental people who probably have never had authentic asian food.  It was decent, but definitely not the best! I'd rather order this similar dish at a hole in the wall restaurant in ghetto chinatown!

Cecelia's minced chicken, lup cheong, lettuce cups

I had to try it because it's on SF's BIG EATS 2010 #89.  In my opinion, it was comparable to those at an authentic chinese restaurant.  I thought it was pretty good. It might have been a tad bit too salty for my liking, but I still enjoyed it.  It wasn't the best I've had, but it wasn't the worst either.  Best eaten when it is still nice and warm.

String beans

Drew's request.  String beans were pretty good. It was a good balance between all the other dishes we had. Yay, at least one veggie dish! It made me feel healthier with at least one veggie dish!  It was pretty good and garlicy! Since I love garlic, I could have done with more garlic! Overall, a decent veggie dish. No complaints.

Oven smoked seabass with ginger cucumber namasu

It was delicious! My favorite dish of the night.  I absolutely love seabass, so I was tempted to order it and I did.  It had a sweet teriyaki like flavor to it. The meat was soft and tender and the meat was full of its natural sweetness.  I also really enjoyed the sliced cucumbers on the side. yummo.

Miyabi Sushi

393 Bay St

(between Powell St & Mason St)

San Francisco, CA 94133

Occasion: Dinner in my hood! Some time in July!



Tamago and Salmon

Tamago ordered by Ella and Salmon by me.Both of which we enjoyed. Ella doesn't eat raw, so she didn't eat it, but I did get to try the tamago, which was good! Semi sweet and soft, delicious!

Hamachi Kama

We were really disappointed the first time we came here because they were sold out of the hamachi kama. Fortunately, they had it for us to try this second time around. Definitely what we were craving for. Yummo!

One of their sushi rolls

Don't really remember which one nor do I remember what was in it. I just remember thinking that this sushi place was pretty decent,freshness of the fish wise as well as location wise. It's hard to find a decent sushi place in my area that is so reasonably priced.

Panta Rei

431 Columbus Ave

San Francisco, CA 94133

Occasion: Wednesday night dinner. 7/7/10.

FETTUCCINE CON ABBACCHIO

Fettuccine w/ Lamb Shank Meat in Tomato Sauce

I can eat lamb,  I don't love it, but I don't hate it either. In all honesty, the gaminess of the meat did get to me. I wouldn't recommend getting it unless you like your pasta with the classic tomato sauce and lamb.

MOZZARELLA CON BRUSCHETTA
Fresh Mozzarella served with tomato Bruschetta
I love the softness of the mozzarella, the freshness of the chopped tomatoes and the basil. Can't forget the tart goodness of the sun-dried tomatoes. Some of my favorite things altogether. Seriously a mouthful of deliciousness with each bite!

PAPPARDELLE VERDI ALL'ANATRA

Green Fettuccine w/Duck meat in Brandy Pink Sauce

Recommended and absolutely delicious!! Flavor of the pink sauce was absolutely divine. Duck meat was juicy and full of flavor.  The fettuccine was green colored and very wide, not what I am usually used to, but still very enjoyable. I would definitely recommend this dish to others!

Brothers Pizza

3627 Taraval St
San Francisco, CA 94116 

Occasion: While waiting for AAA to come fix Ella's flat tire, we got hungry so we wandered into this pizza place.



Combination

It was pretty decent. The portion was generous and there were a lot of toppings on it. Not only that, the staff were nice and let us use the bathroom too. yee!

Straits

845 Market St

San Francisco, CA 94103

Occasion: Friday night dinner with old and new friends 6.25.10  (I know I'm a few months behind on my posts, my apologies)

Samosas
Vegetarian Curried Savories with Chili-Garlic Dip
I love samosas as appetizers. Crispy golden brown skin filled with curried flavored potatoes and other goodies. Love the combination of spices, but not the best I've had.  It did its job in satisfying my taste buds and my growling stomach.

Vietnamese Beef Carpaccio

Pepper Seared Filet Mignon, Frisee, Sweet Chili Vinaigrette, Truffle Oil
Ella always has to order beef carpaccio, but too bad they only give you seriously 4 slices of beef. They kind of skimp you on the amount of beef you should get.  It looks like there's a lot, but it's really just a lot of the useless veggies that we all don't care too much for.

Lemongrass Beef

Garlic noodles with Chicken

Really nothing to rave about. It was just mediocre.

Lemongrass Chicken

“Ayam Kalasan”

Crispy Chicken Breast with Spicy Lemongrass Kaffir Lime Sauce

Straits Risotto

Abalone, Tiger Prawns, Clams, Mussels with a Laksa Spiced Coconut Curry

Whole Striped Bass

“Ikan Goreng”
Crisped Whole Striped Bass, Wok Fired Chinese Broccoli, Thai Basil Chili Sauce

I did not expect the fish to really come as a whole.  It would have been a lot more convenient to eat if it were prepared differently.  Besides that, I loved the thai basil chili sauce.  I usually have fish prepared differently.  It's good to have a change in taste and preparation style.