Submarine Center @ West Portal

I have been going to the Submarine Center in San Francisco since I've been 10 years old. The original Submarine Center was on 9th and Lincoln, and I guess rent got really high 5 years ago or so, so it closed down and since then had its permanent residence on West Portal. This place has the BEST hot pastrami sandwiches, and the only thing that has changed over the years is the price. While almost $7 for a hot pastrami sandwich is a tad pricey, I constantly crave it every few weeks or so. After all these years this place has definitely gotten more busy, and it seems that the newbies of the city have discovered it. It goes to show that no hidden gem or hole in the wall ever stays hidden.

the same bag designed after all these years

Hot Pastrami Submarine - Center Cut
[mayo hold the mustard, hot pastrami, a few strands of onions and provolone cheese - toasted in an oven for about 3 minutes...mayo on the otherside of the bread, add tomatoes, lettuce and SECRET sauce]
man this sandwich smelled so good on the drive home, which took less than 3 minutes. i could not wait but to rip it open and eat it immediately, especially since i hadn't eaten all morning yet and it was 12:30 and i ran 3 miles in the morning. i ate the WHOLE thing, even the crumbs...and while my stomach hurt due to the size of the sandwich, and my stomach shrank it was well worth it. when will i get some more?

Viet Cold Rolls (Spring Rolls) @ my home

This summer at home has definitely been an eating fest, as one can see from my blog. My mom has truly made it her mission to make me all her specialties, i.e. my favorites. Summer is nearing its end, and Viet Cold Rolls are definitely the last of the bunch. This is so easy to make, and doesn't cost nearly as much as restaurants charge. Oh yea, did I mention that it's healthy because not only is it not fried, but there's tons of veggies in it. Lastly, the peanut sauce tops it over. Delish.

Bean Sprouts
hand trimmed both ends and cleaned

Red Leaf Lettuce
softer than romain and iceberg so it's malleable in the rolls

Purple Leaf Asian Basil (mint leaves)
minty

Vermicelli Noodles
cooked via directions on package and rinsed with cold water

Shrimp & Pork Belly
boil both items separately. De-shell the shrimp, slice in half and clean the icky stuff. when pork belly is done, cut into pieces and trim off fat

Wrapper w/ Shrimp and Pork Belly
you take the wrapper (called tapioca wrapper) and you dip it in more than warm water to soften it. when you lay it flat, the wrapper will absorb more of the water and will soften more. lay two pieces of shrimp face down, and then place pork belly on top

Add the vermicelli noodles on top of the pork belly, then the bean sprouts, red leaf lettuce and finally the mint leaves

Fold the bottom of the wrapper facing you more than one half way of the filling. pull the sides over, like a burrito and ROLL!

3 rolls are enough for one person...trust me...and last but not least you need SAUCE!

Roasted Peanuts for the sauce
roast raw peanuts in a hot pan, no oils needed. peanuts only take about 5 minutes, and you'll know when it gets uber fragrant. peanuts need to have the outer membrane removed. once done crush peanuts into smaller pieces

Peanut Sauce
buy a jar of Chee Hou sauce from asian store. put sauce in a sauce pan, and add water to thicken it. when sauce cools it will continue to thicken, and add crushed peanuts to it when ready to be served, i.e. dipped

Mauna Loa: Sour Cream & Onion Macadamia Nuts

This is a MUST buy when in Hawaii. Go to the ABC store, it's much cheaper than purchasing it elsewhere. It seems that everyone else has realized how delicious these things are. You know how macadamia nuts taste...they're rich, creamy, buttery, nutty and with a nice crunch. Now if you like sour cream and onion chips...just imagine the COMBINATION! I bought 6 bags of these, my parents need separate bags they won't share. [again don't think about the caloric intake...just enjoy the party in your mouth!]

Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Croissant

Pop one in the oven for 15 minutes or so on low heat. Take it out, and it's flaky, buttery, savory, cheesy...and oh so yumm-a-licious. [don't think about the caloric intake, seriously]

Leilani's @ Hawaii

Leilani's is BUSY! More busy than any of the restaurants in Lahaina, probably because of the convenience where it's near all the hotels on Kaanapali Beach. Food was ok...and it was too dark for me to see my food, let alone anything else. Oh yea it's outside by the beach...so there were bugs at night, not a fan...not at all...

Buffalo Wings w/ Rum BBQ Sauce

Crab & Shrimp Melt w/ Fries
[crab, shrimp, tomatoes and provolone served open faced]

the first few bites were good...after that it was just way too much

Aloha Mixed Plate @ Hawaii

Local food. What do hawaiians eat? What is considered local food? Aloha Mixed Plate considers itself an establishment that serves what the "locals eat." After one week in Maui, and this being my fourth trip, my opinion of "local food" is a mix of Chinese, Japanese and American. It's made fast, fresh, and it's a combination of meat, veggies, sauce and rice. It's enough food to provide these hawaiians energy for their 8-hour surf day.

Garlic French Fries
[with furikake seasoning]
tasty and quite interesting with the furikake seasoning which is japanese seasoning that contains a mixture of seaweed, toasted seasme seeds and sometimes bonito flakes

Cocnut Shrimp
completely packed with lots of coconut shreds and coconut flavor. i'm not a big fan of coconut, so it was too much for me, but this place is known for its coconut shrimp..so meh?


Loco Moco - mini plate
[rice, hamburger patty, fried egg and topped with gravy]
i've seen this item on so many menus, and i just had to try it once to see what the big deal is. i still don't know what the big deal is. it was ok...i do see the instant filling and energy though - rice and protein. i do love fried eggs on things though...so this dish has that going for it. this is a mini plate, and the regular plate has two hamburger patties and two fried eggs - TONS OF FOOD. btw, my mini plate was less than $5

Macaroni Salad
love love LOVE macaraoni salad from hawaii...it is the BEST.

Mama's Fish House @ Hawaii (Paia)

*sorry it has taken be so long to update. got back from maui a few days ago, and completely tired from all the traveling.

My uncle has been wanting to go to Mama's Fish House for the past 10 years, and he's been coming to Maui every year for at least the past 6 years consecutively. This time around, I persuaded the familia to finally go.

They always said that the drive there is on the way to the Road to Hana, and the drive would take FOREVER, and would be quite windy. I've never done the Road to Hana, though I really want to, but the drive takes about 7 hours and at the end there are supposedly these amazing pools of water...via nature. Anyways, the trip to Mama's House didn't take as long, or as difficult as we predicted, and it was about 40 minutes (10 minutes after the airport.)

It was raining...though not hard rain, but lots. Mama's Fish House is nestled in this alcove on the other side of the island, and has an amazing view. The restaurant itself is like a little house, and is just gorgeous, but yes this is a foodblog, and well the food....it is a MUST if you go to Maui. The menu is expensive, about $45-55 a person, but so fresh and DELICIOUS! There's Ahi, Mahi Mahi, Ono and Uka. The menu specifies EXACTLY who caught the fish...quite interesting. The best part of the meal was the DESSERT! it was simply orgasmic, and to die for. I could eat it forever! I think I would go back just for the dessert....the creme bruele and kaua pie....YUMMMMY!!! Oh, by the way, I don't have pictures of what everyone else ate but unc had Deep-water Ahi caught by Robert Malaiakini near his homeport of Hana Bay Seared in ginger and panko crust with kalua pig rice pilaf, aunt had Mahimahi caught by Shawn Boneza along the north shore of Maui Stuffed with lobster, crab, Maui onion and baked in a macadamia nut crust and lil cuz had Bouillabaisse – Mahimahi, shrimp, clams, calamari and angel-hair pasta simmered in a tomato-saffron broth, with garlic rouille.

forgot what it was called, but it was really good...very refreshing
[passion fruit, cranberry juice...other stuff]

Freshly baked poppyseed bread in loaves

Compliments of the Chef: creamy ginger type soup
this was quite delicious!

Lobster Guacamole with Taro Chips
sounds fancy enough right? didn't have much flavor to it. there wasn't a wow factor in adding lobster pieces to guacamole. however, the taro chips were quite scrumptious and complimented it well, whereas i think tortilla chips would have been a bad combo

Taro Chips w/ Lobster Guac

Ahi, Ono and Mahimahi sautéed in Panang Curry and coconut milk with Jasmine Rice
[ahi, ono, mahimahi, snap peas, hearts of palm, carrots and rice]
wow. the curry was amazing, where the heat from the curry slowly progressed as i ate more and more of it. the fish was so fresh and cooked perfectly. i was not a fan of the hearts of palm though. overall...dish is a must have at mama's

With Mama’s mango chutney, heart of palm, and macadamia nuts
condiments to add to the curry...i added the macadamia nuts, it added a nice CRUNCH to the meal :D

Creme Brulee with fresh Liliko’i
[liliko'i = passion fruit]
MOST AMAZING creme crulee ever! sugar on top is nice and caramalized, the custard is creamy, sweet and tangy because of the liliko'i. i would go back to mama's just for this!

Mama’s Chocolate Kuau Pie
[Baked in a caramel cookie crust]
cookie crust was so delicious, and definitely fought the fam for every last crumb of it. the filling inside was gooey and chocolately...like a mouse

Coconut Squares - compliments of the chef

banana trees with bananas growing RIGHT outside the restaurant

the view from mama's fish house - gorgeous

Live Penguins @ Hyatt Regency (Maui)

This penguin has relatives at the Hyatt Regency at Maui! Took a walk down the beach, and low and behold there are LIVE penguins...just chilling, in the heat! These penguins are from Africa, and I guess they fair well in the heat, as opposed to its brethren from Antarctica. Sadly, when I went to go visit them, it wasn't feeding time. However, this one penguin was obsessed with scratching itself incessantly.

small eats at Westin @ Hawaii

In the morning went to the small cafe and got an egg, cheese and ham wrap, and a plate of pineapple to bring up to the room. The wrap was good, it wasn't horrible but it wasn't fresh in the sense that they didn't make it right there on the spot. It was previously made and was being kept warm through those buffet warmers.

ham, cheese and egg wrap

pineapple
i love love LOVE hawaiian pineapple, there is none better out there. i can eat TONS of it, unfortunately my stomach doesn't like the acid and neither does my tongue...meh small price to pay

Spent the rest of the day by the pool. Had poolside service, which consisted of lava flow, chicken nachos and chicken quesadillas.

Lava Flow
[coconut, pineapple with strawberry puree...oh yea some kind of rum]
best part of poolside service is the lava flow...it's uber delicious. best at westin, not so good at other places. i think the westin has just become pros at making this

Chicken Nachos
[corn and blue corn tortillas, cheese and shredded chicken. guac, salsa and sour cream]
scrumptious! it's not authentic mexican food...but it does the job, especially after lying in the sun for hours

Chicken Quesadilla

Okazuya & Deli Honokowai @ Maui

I've previously had a post on hawaiian drive inn, and how delicious and juicy the chicken katsu with rice and macaroni salad is. Well...one can never truly know how good hawaiian drive inn is, or just plate lunches that the locals eat, until you eat in hawaii. First meal after we checked in was plate lunch at this local dive named Okazuya. This place is a small mom and pop place, and basically has no seating area, except for one table along the wall and three tables outside. We've gone to this place each time we're in Maui. It's near the Kannapali side of Maui, and we're staying @ the Westin. I got the Chicken Katsu, and the portions were so huge I could not finish it. Chicken Katsu was fried perfectly - crunchy, juicy and seasoned very well. Love love love....love the macaroni salad, it's unlike american macaraoni salad, and I don't know how to describe it. hmmmm....yummy in my tummy! but...in a little bit, I think I will have to go jogging across the beach just to work it off. But I wonder what's for dinner?!?!

Hawaiian Plate: Scop of rice, chicken katsu, scoop of macaroni salad

Penguin in Hawaii

This Penguin is going to be in Hawaii, specifically Maui, for the next week. I will be blogging my eats from the beautiful island. Enjoy! Hopefully this penguin can survive the 90+ degree temperature, and won't be too burned. But a tanned penguin...how would that look?

Sheng Kee Bakery @ Sunset

There are a lot of delicious bakeries in San Francisco. A lot of mom and pop stores, and a few chains such as ABC and Sheng Kee. I'm not a fan of the ABC franchie - the food is mediocre and the service is lousy, but more on that in a future post if the family wants to go eat there for some weird unexplanable reason. Sheng Kee, on the other hand, is a really good bakery and the pastries or "bun" or "bao" are baked fresh. Your nostrils instantly perk up when you walk by the bakery on the streets, and even more so when you enter. There are tons of things to choose from salty to sweet, or even in a mix of the two. Their baos are on shelves for buyers to pick themselves, and they're indiviually packaged already, and can be easily sealed shut with the adhesive on the bags. The bao's are a little pricy...they range to $1 - $2.50, but honestly it's fresh, soft, and well....DELICIOUS! I chose one bao today, but will post different ones in the future :D

Hong Kong Style Pineapple Bun with....

Custard Filling!!!
It's called pineapple bun, but honestly in all my 24 years it has never tasted like pineapple, quite strange. the bread is a little salty, and a little sweet but the custard inside is sweet and creamy! this can be eaten for breakfast, as a snack, or a sweet ending to a nice lunch :)

Amtrak

While the common way of traveling these days are planes, cars or even buses...not too many years ago it was common for people to use trains. Trains are not obsolete, and from the looks of this past weekend, a lot of people still ride the train! This penguin took the train from San Francisco (ferry building, which had a bus to Emeryville) to Bakersfield. The food on the train is not great, and it is by no means any type of culinary experience, but I wanted to blog something. I had a peperoni pizza, diet pepsi and a pop chip. I could have done a better job at the peperoni pizza, because for one thing I would not have over cooked it in the microwave. But meh...food is food...is food?

More PPQ @ Sunset

I did an earlier post on this eating establishment, Pho Phu Quoc, but I went here again a few days ago to eat something else. Needless to say this is the one Pho restaurant my family and I like to go to. Why? Flavors are good, prices are decent (though they have risen in the past few years), and it's convenient to my home. Besides the Pho, this place has really good bun (cold vermicelli noodles with grilled meat over) yummmy!

# 15: Bun Thit Nuong Cha Gio
[mixed sald underneath, vermicelli on top, grilled pork, viet egg rolls, peanuts, and fish sauce to pour over]
very refreshing for a warm summer day

all mixed up! this is a very healthy option at a pho restaurant, of course sans the egg rolls :)