Hing Lung @ Chinatown (SF)

Hing Lung has been here for AGES! For as long as I know, for about 25 years, because that's how old I am! This is the best place for jook (congee/porridge), rice noodle wrap and ja lerng. Yup! Those are the three things you need from here. The decor is what it is for 25+ years, they haven't changed the tables, chairs, walls, floors, dishes, pot, pans ... nada! But it adds character and definite flavor to the food. This place is also good for happy hour between mon-fri between 3pm-6pm where you can get dishes for $3 and rice pot for $5, which is a really good deal. So tourist, if you go to Chinatown don't go to some tourist trap, go to Hing Lung which is right off of Broadway and Stockton.

Mixed Seafood Jook

Beef Rice Noodle

Ja Lerng
best place to get this, bar none.

Hot Pot @ my home

As delicious as Shabu was, hot pot at home is always better, and you can buy whatever you want and take your sweet time eating! Everything purchased was about $50 to feed four people...yayyy!

Udon Noodles
not just any udon, but the best because it has the most amazing bite...chewy yet firm

Fresh Shitaki & Enoki Mushrooms

Live Shrimp
sooo good! so fresh!

Thiny Cut Rib Eye Steak

Mixture of Fish Balls, etc
no hot pot is complete with this!

the gross part is here....pig tongue

Soup
tres easy to make! just can of chicken broth and add some slice radishes...the flavors will come out of the food as you cook

Kome Buffet @ Daly CIty

Apparently this place Kome Buffet is the latest thing within the Asian Community in San Francisco. This place is busy every single day and if you don't get there before 6pm, you will be waiting forever for a table. It's an all you can eat asian buffet for $20 a person, which is a really good deal if you think about it. The best part is if it's your birthday you eat for free!! There's a HUGE station of sushi, and they have legit stuff. The sushi station is rolls upon rolls, upon rolls, upon rolls, upon rolls. They also have your variety of sashimi. There's a roast meat station, i.e. pork, chicken, duck etc. There's a dim sum station. There's a cooked food station with your typical chinese food - noodles, rice, stir fry stuff. They have cooked oysters, and raw oysters. There's a dessert station. And well there's just a lot of food. As for tastiness, the sushi is good, very fresh and not fish which is a plus. If there's enough people at the restaurant, and there usually is, the turn over is fast so everything is fresh and piping hot. I wonder how long this place will be here? I say that because this one location has changed a lot over the years...

my first plate
[hamachi, futomaki, spider roll, spicy tuna]

more sushi

hand roll

Uni
[sea urchin]
it's not displayed, and you have to ask the sushi chef for it. caveat, one per visit to the station.

Giant Clam w. Glass Noodles

Randomness
stay away from the dim sum...oh so NOT good

Shabu @ Sacramento

Japanese fondue!!!! So that sounds really fancy no? Well I suppose it's just a fancy was of saying Japanese Hot Pot or Shabu Shabu. Sacramento really needed something that's unique like Shabu. The decor is simple and the food was really good, and prices reasonable! Ducky and I ordered teh $27 meal for two, which basically consisted of: two big plates of veggies, two plates of kobe beef, two sets of dipping sauces, two bowls of rice, two soups, two bowls of rice and two green tea ice cream. A really good deal! We ate all the food, and I was full for hours. They also have an all you can eat option for $30, or an all you can eat and drink deal for $40! I don't know how much I could have possibly ate on top of what we already ordered, so I don't know if the all you can eat would be a good deal for me. Regardless, I like this way better than Korean BBQ, I know it sounds serious right? I think it's because I eat a good amount of vegetables, and it's not all oily so I don't feel guilty for eating greasy food. The soup was really good, and this place is just good on a cold day, which it has been in Sac. I definitely want to come back soon!

Spicy Miso
i loved this soup! look at the chilis! there was a right amount of kick, and the best thing is that whatever i cooked in here, the food tasted like it too! yummmmmmo!

Shoyu
also tasty! ducky had this one :)

Condiuments to go into the dipping sauces...
garlic, scallions and grated turnip

Ponzu & Seasame-Type-Sauce
the turnip goes into the ponzu sauce, and the garlic and scallions go into the seasame-type-sauce. i don't remember what it's called, but it's made with dashi, miso, seasame paste and something else. this sauce was definitely the favorite, it was full of flavor and complimented the meat and veggies very well!

Veggie Platter
[napa cabbage, spinach, carrot, tofu, shitaki mushroom, enoki mushrooms and udon]
look at all the vegetables! huge plate, and it's a good variety too. all very tasty in the spicy miso broth

Kobe Beef
doesn't look like a lot on this plate...but there are layers! the beef was really good...really tender, and i love the marbelization on it!

Bowl of Rice
rice is good when it soaks up all the flavors from everything

Sizzling Pot
nom nom nom nom

Udon w. Napa Cabbage, Kobe Beef and Spicy Miso Broth

Lobster & Scallops @ my home

Delicious meal at home! Lobster tail and scallops...need I say more? Oh yea garlic bread as well!

Garlic Ciabatta Bread
homemade...bought the ciabatta bread and i made the garlic spread with johnny's seasoning that you get a costco.

Lobster tails and scallops

doesn't look like a lot of food, but it's all meat and all protein so verry filling!

Pinkberry @ Los Angeles

Oh Pinkberry...how I love thee...and why have you not opened a single store in northern California? Why do you grow like there's no tomorrow in New York City and Los Angeles...but none in San Francisco? Honestly, Pinkberry is my most favorite yogurt place. I've tried the Red Mango, the Tutti Melon, the Yogurtagogo...Pinkberry is the best. I think it has to do with its recipe in the original flavor. It's the right amount of sweetness - not too sweet, and tartiness...I love it being more tart than sweet...and a slight hint of creamyness. That's all I need. I know I sound like Goldilocks from the Three Bears...but meh...what can you do? I know what I like!!

Original w. Mangos, Mochi, Macaroons and Cookies n' Cream

...nom nom nom nom....

Romano's Pizzeria @ Riverside

I don't think I post much on pizza on this blog do I? I think it's because I either don't eat much pizza (I do like it) or when I do it's nothing beyond your average Costco or Round Tables. Anyways, Panda and I headed over to Riverside a few weekends ago to have dinner with my cousin who goes to UCR. Never have been to Riverside, so wasn't sure what to expect. I did all my "food" research that I could, and I wasn't able to find much. A lot of chain restaurants, and I'm not a big fan of them. I always like to try something new and different. Anyways, pizza is always a safe choice so we stumbled upon Romano's Pizzeria which is known for it's Chicago style pizza, i.e. the stuffed pizza. I've never been to Chicago, and it's definitely on my list of places to visit so I can eat, but Panda said that the pizza at Romano was pretty close to what he had in Chicago. The pizza was good, and one slice was definitely enough for me...it's super dense and cheesy. I'm actually a little hungry now...haha maybe too much blogging!

Bruschetta
this was really good!! the bread was toasted perfectly, and there was a good amount of tomatoes, and onions on it. it was well dressed in a balsamic vinagrette. yumm!

Romano's Combo
[pepperoni, sausage, ham, green bell peppers, onions and mushrooms]
look how dense it is! you can't even see what's inside of it because of the sauce and cheese. regardless it was really good, and i was starved and one slice was enough to fill my tummy. next time i gotta go to chicago for the real deal!

this is one slice, and a medium has 6

Phoenix @ Rowland Heights

Good food!!!! Where? Phoenix. It's basically like Golden Island Cafe in San Francisco, but not. The concept is the same, HK style snacks and food, i.e. red bean desserts, sago, fried chicken wings, etc. However, Phoenix has a more extensive menu. But! Golden Island Cafe has the best Mango Sago EVER! Regardless, Phoenix is nice when Panda and I are down south with his fam, because this place opens late...2am? It's good for salty and it's good for sweet.

Dried Vegetable Soup
this was delicious! seriously! it doesn't sound so good...cause of the dried vegetables, but it gets all rehydrated in the soup and all the flavor comes out. and there's carrots and pork bones. it was perfect for a cold evening.

Chicken, Chinese Sausage and Shitaki Mushrooms over Rice
very hearty and good comfort food. it would have been better if they had more chinese sausage than the two tiny pieces.

Garlic Fried Chicken Wings
there's something about HK style chicken wings. i definitely prefer it to southern fried chicken wings, and it might have something to do with the fact that there's no batter. yup there's no added batter, so the crispyness from the wings is pure chicken...not too filling, and i def don't feel too guilty.

Fresh Mango & Soy Custard with Sago
totally amazing and to die for! the fresh mango...sweet and tart. the soy custard...oh so creamy...and then the sago...perfect bite size morsels. yumm...how do i replicate this? i don't know...but i could have it every night!

New Capital Seafood Restaurant @ Rolland Heights

Ready for another dim sum place? So if you're in so cal, and you're not near the typical Chinese area, i.e. Los Angeles Downtown or Monterey Park, there's really good dim sum in Rowland Heights (which is also asian infested - not in the bad way) at New Capital Seafood Restaurant. As you can see from this blog, I've eaten at many dim sum places, so I know my dim sum. The food at New Capital is pretty good, as for price I don't know because I never see the bill. New Capital has your typical dumpling variety and fried food variety. It is always PACKED here, so on weekends or holidays it is best to go either super early and get a table, or towards the end of the dim sum hours...or if you're willing to wait over an hour for a table, go at your own leisure :) Regardless the siu mai is really good and so are the rice noodle wraps. Panda's fav is always the sugar cane shrimp and the turnip cake where the Chinese lady pan fries it right there on a stove top that's on wheels. Enjoy!!

Chicken Feet
honestly you can't do dim sum without having some chicken feet, it completes the meal!

Siu Mai
very juicy, plump and succulent pork dumpling! it passed my taste test. it was the perfect balance between pork, shrimp and mushrooms.

Har Gow

Fried Salty Dumpling

Rice Noodles Wrapped Around Shrimp
delish! don't be scared of the soy sauce, it's not the salty type, but the type that they had to prepare to sweeten it. it totally makes the dish.

Sugar Cane Shrimp
ok this is REALLY amazing. it's deep fried shrimp that has been minced up, and wrapped around a sugar cane. you're to dip this into a honey-type-mayo. you can eat the sugar cane, i.e. bite and gnaw at it until all the juices are gone, but i usually prefer not to.

Pan Fried Turnip Cake
tres fresh considering the woman walking around the restaurant pan fries them right there on her cart!

Ja Lerng
panda's ultimate favorite, i.e. eleanor (there's a story why it's called eleanor, but more another time). it wasn't too good here. it wasn't that fresh, noodles were a lil soggy and the chinese donut wasn't cripsy enough. it also was missing chives on top which i like.

Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill @ Chino Hills

Surprisingly really good at Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill, especially the rib eye! Yes it is a chain restaurant, but you gotta remember Chino Hills is basically a suburb...so not much out there. But for a chain restaurant, the food was really good, wayyy better than Outback - ick. My complaint is that the lighting was bad...too dim for my taste. I honestly do like to see my food, unless I'm eating at a place where the experience is to eat in the dark, by the way, I still really want to do that.

Spinach Artichoke Dip
this was ok...way better at CPK...i prefer bread over chips when it comes to this dip

Garlic Roll
yes it doesn't look too appetizing but it's really good. it's so soft and warm inside. no need to add butter, because the garlic is infused..yay!

House Salad
surprisingly this salad was great! everything was really fresh, especially the corn. it's like they took a corn on the cob and just cut off one side of kernels for me.

Rib Eye Steak w. Loaded Potato
heaven? yes! it was cooked perfectly to my liking...medium rare! yes! nice and pink inside! the steak was well marinated on it's own too...delish. loaded potatoes? omg...in love! some cheese, some bacon, some sour cream, some chives...what else do you need? i think nada! i'd go back here just for this when i crave some meat and i'm in chino hills