Luce

Inside the St. Regis Hotel

888 Howard St San Francisco, CA 94103

Occasion: Celebrating Fanny's Birthday. December 2011

Tartare of tuna with slow cooked jidori egg in dashi broth with sea urchin and buckwheat 

It was served in a bowl filled with the egg and the broth.  It almost reminded me of an appetizer soup.  The sea urchin was not overpowering and complimented everything really well.  A great choice of appetizer that opened up my appetite and palate.

Sauteed foie gras with chestnut crepe, quince syrup and peppercorn game sauce

I did not order this as an appetizer, but I heard it was just mediocre and nothing to rave about.

Tempura Poke

with Ogo seaweed, Hawaiian sea salt and green onions

This was Vickie's appetizer and it was so freaking amazing!  The tempura seaweed not only adds a nice flavor, but also a little crisp.  The seaweed is wrapped around the poke and it complements each other very well.  Combination of soft and crispy is pretty good.

Grilled Half maine lobster and Hokkaido scallops on potato gnocchi on lobster sauce with forest mushrooms and carmelized cipollini mushrooms

Everything about this dish appealed to me. Lobster, scallops, gnocchi, mushrooms. YUM!  The sauce was just a tad bit too salty for me and I wish there would have been more scallops.  Over all a decent dish filled with color and texture.  It was enjoyable, but not mind blowing.

Broiled Sake American Black Cod and Shrimp Dumplings in Shiso Broth

Shiso broth has never been a favorite of mine, so that was a negative.  However, the fish was super soft and flavorful and melted in my mouth.  Since it was sitting on a bed of the shrimp dumplings, the fish wasn't soaking in the shiso broth (thank goodness).  Shrimp dumplings were not memorable and I probably could have gotten something better at a hole in the wall restaurant in Chinatown.

Trio of tea beignets: earl gray, chai and green tea

All of which was delicious.  It was light and not too rich and it was the perfect way to end our meal.  I am definitely a fan of all these tea flavors as they're not overly sweet. My favorite would have to be the Chai then the earl gray followed by the green tea. 

Patxi's Chicago Pizza

511 Hayes St
San Francisco, CA 94102

Occasion: We ordered some deep dish pizza to celebrate some gift exchanging with the GCBA fam=] December 2011

Patxi's Favorite  

Pepperoni, mushrooms, and black olives

Veggie  

Mushrooms, onions, green peppers and black olives

Greek  

Artichoke hearts, feta, green olives and red bell peppers

I discovered that I'm more fond of vegetarian pizza's than I am of a meatlover's pizza.  I love my pizzas loaded with tons of veggies, especially mushrooms, bellpepper and artichoke.  Therefore, my favorites of the bunch were the vegetarian and the greek.  As if these pizza's aren't already rich and filling enough, adding more meat on it makes it even worse for my stomach to handle.  If you are a meatlover, by all means go for any of their meat lover's choice.  Their deep dish pizzas are not only delicious, they're so filling.

Street Food Revisted

Shanghai, China

Occasion: On our way to the Bazaar we had bought a little snack from the street food carts, on our way back to the hotel, we decided to make another stop.  The crepe things were so good! December 2011

Nan Xiang- 3rd Level

Shanghai, China

Occasion: One of our last meals before we leave Shanghai. Since we've tried the first two levels, we wanted to give the third one a try. Yes, it's a significantly pricier than the lower two levels, but the quality and the service is so much better. I guess it was good to experience all three levels.  This was definitely my favorite.  December 2011

They've definitely got some authentic Xiao Long Baos here.  The meat seems more dense than the meat I've had at most other places.  It reminded me of a beef shui mai from dim sum.

Shanghai Street Food

Shanghai, China

Occasion: Breakfast on our last day in Shanghai! December 2011 

Shanghainese crepe

Probably not the most sanitary place to order food from a street cart, but it was $0.40 and convenient, how could I complain.  I just overlooked the fact that they collect money and prepare these crepes in the same hand without washing them.  Filled with fried eggs, scallions, cilantro, lettuce and spread with some kind of sweet and spicy sauce.

Delicious, filling and cheap!

Flair at the Ritz Carlton

Shanghai (Pudong), China
Located at the top of the Ritz Carlton Hotel on the Pudong side of Shanghai

Occasion: Drinks after exploring the Pudong side and enjoying the view of the Shanghai Oriental TV Tower. December 2011

Din Tai Fung 鼎泰丰(环球金融中心店)

浦东新区世纪大道100号环球金融中心3楼
Shanghai, China

Occasion: Dinner after the World Financial Center tour. We were hungry and it was conveniently downstairs. Din Tai Fung location number 4! December 2011 

Coconut Milk for him

 

Warm soy milk for me

A very popular choice of drink for the northern Chinese

Snow pea shoots (dou miao)

One our favorite veggies.  It was sauteed with garlic and absolutely flavorful with a good crunch to it.

Fried rice

Actually quite delicious and filling. Rice was soft, moist and a little sticky just the way I like it.  It wasn't too greasy and flavorful.  Henry needed some carbs to fill up.

Xiao Long Bao

They do a good job here.  Thin skin filled with yummy goodness.

Egg rolls filled with seafood and mushroom

It was okay, nothing special to me.  I think we have better things in the states, or maybe I'm just not big on egg rolls. 

Almond pudding

Free with a coupon from the WFC.  It was decent, but it was free.

McDonald's

Shanghai, China

Occasion: Sometime between shopping and food! Henry said it's a must! December 2011 

Taro Pie

Here in the states, we have your normal apple pie.  I heard during thanksgiving, some locations sell pumpkin pie and in Hawaii, they have pineapple pies.  I love that they do something different in each part of the world and seasonal for some places.  If you love the apple pie in the states, wait til you try the taro! Of course it's best eaten when it's fresh and hot. Flaky pie crust filled with delicious chunks of taro.  I am a fan!

Yang's Fried Dumplings

Shanghai, China

Occasion: We seriously went on a journey trying to find this place. With my mediocre Mandarin and horrible sense of direction in a completely foreign country, we finally found this place! So worth the journey. It's a popular place for locals and tourists, so make sure you get there before or after lunch hour, otherwise, you'll be fighting for a seat.  It's not a big place, so you might have to wait around for a seat until someone leaves.  Turnover rate is quick, as most people just eat and leave, unlike how we do it in the states, where we sit and chit chat for hours.  December 2011 

Fish ball soup

There were about 10 things on the menu, I was cold and it happened to one of the items that I could completely read off of their menu, so I ordered it.  I knew I wanted a soup of some sort to warm me up, so that's what I got.  I couldn't ask for recommendations, since it was a long line and everyone seemed to know what to order.  I was too afraid to hold up the line since it seemed that everyone was there for their lunch break.  It was a simple soup with delicious fish balls in a cilantro soup broth.

Fried dumplings

Two orders

So worth the journey to come here and try these fried dumplings.  It was a fried bun that was topped with green onions and sesame filled with porky goodness.  The bun was fried with a crispy skin.  We dipped it into a vinegar soysauce that we each prepared.  Everyone had at least one order of this.  The guy next to me had two to himself.  They're cheap and absolutely delicious.  It's nothing fancy, but cheap and tasty.

Din Tai Fung- 鼎泰丰(新天地店)

黄浦区方浜中路168号豫城时尚内(近三牌楼路) Shanghai, China

Occasion: After walking around at the Bazaar where we had two meals at Nan Xiang, we stumbled upon Din Tai Fung at the Mall across the street. We just had to go and have another meal. We've already hit up Din Tai Fung in 2 other cities, so why not try it at a third. Since we've already eaten, we weren't that hungry. We tried to order something light. December 2011

Peanut Sauce Noodles

Delicious. I love the chewy bouncy texture of the noodles.  Toss it around the peanut sauce and it's perfect. Portion size is perfect, absolutely tasty with the delicious noodles. I love noodles!

Steamed pork with shark's fin and hairy crab meat Xiao Long Bao

Shanghai is known for their hairy crab meat and Henry loves shark fin, so of course that was a must for us to get.  I honestly didn't enjoy it as much as I did their usual pork meat XLBs.  The meat was more grounded and the texture of the shark fin was just not that enjoyable.  Not to say that it wasn't good, just not the way I like it.  Authentic XLB> frou-frou XLB.

Sesame filled rice ball in a ginger sauce

This is one of my favorite Chinese desserts! I love the soft chewy consistency of the rice ball.  The sesame filling is perfect as it's not too sweet and it's neither too watery or too thick.  Best I've ever had! I'm still dreaming about them. Best eaten during the cold weather, but I'll take it hot or cold.

Nan Xiang- 1st level (take out)

Shanghai, China

Occasion: After we had a meal at the second floor, we just wanted to experience the life of a local by standing in the to go line at the first level. Aside from the take out, there is also a sit down restaurant on the first level. We wanted to know why people would wait 15- 20 minutes in the cold, when they could just sit down and eat. And so we found out why. It was because it was so darn cheap.  The workers just slaved away continuously cooking baskets filled with XLBs and tossing together orders without a care in the world of it's presentation.  December 2011

 

Oh man look at all those trays of Xiao Long Baos. Workers slaving away!

 

Xiao Long Baos

I think we got 16 for 12 RNBs. What a presentation, but what a great steal!

The skin was thick and dry and it was barely filled with any soup.  It is quite obvious, that less care and love went into cooking these.  It's so cheap and so easy to fill your stomach up with an order.  You definitely get your bang for your buck here!  I guess if you're eating on a budget, it's definitely a great idea to hit this to go spot up for a mediocre taste of Shanghai!


Sometimes, it's worth it to pay for the services and to be able to eat indoors, especially during the cold weather.

Nan Xiang-2nd Level

Shanghai, China

Occasion: Our first food stop in Shanghai. We had done some research prior to our trip to Shanghai and knew that Anthony Bourdain had visited this authentic Shanghainese food spot. Known for their Tang baos and XLBs this establishment has 3 floors for you to wine and dine. As you go up each floor, not only does quality of food and environment get better, but so does it's price. We went straight to the second floor because we did not want to wait in the crazy long line at the to-go line on the first floor. Menu was limited and we ordered 3/5 things on the menu. I guess it's for those who are hungry and do not want to wait in line. Decemeber 2011

Fried Tofu

We were pretty hungry and I ordered anything I recognized on the menu.  How can you go wrong with fried tofu? You can't.  I think this cost us about $1.  If only I'd know that the portion was so small, I would have ordered another one.  Nothing really stood out about it, but we weren't complaining about them either.

Xiao Long Bao

I guess you can call this authentic shanghai xiao long baos (which supposedly originated in Shanghai).  It wasn't the best I've had, but it was decent.  Not as much soup as I'd expected, but their meat stuffing was dense and filling.  I liked that.

Tang Bao

This is a main reason as to why we came here. Henry really wanted to try these things, as did I.  Their big buns filled with soup.  It's cooked with meat, but due to the long steaming process, the meat cooks and turns into a soup.  It was nice and warm, but not enough soup!  Make sure you don't eat the bun, as it is not meant to be eaten.  Eat it and they'll know you're a tourist!