Hon's Wun Tun House @ SF

Won Ton Noodles are pretty much a staple when it comes to Chinese comfort food. There are tons of won ton noodle joints around the city, but only one withstands the test of time. That is Hon's Wun Tun House in Chinatown. I've been coming here since I was a kid, and after all the years the prices haven't increased that much and the taste remains the same. They're only open M-F during the day, and that's it. Expect to either wait in line or sit at a table with a stranger. This is by far the best I've had in the states, and the only place that is better is what I had in Hong Kong. To optimize my eating experience at Hon's, I order beef stew with rice noodles (ngau nam ho fun) and a side of just won tons in soup without the noodles. That is perfect. Now the portions aren't big here at all, and they've stayed the same over the years. Soup is delicious, and so are the won tons. It's all good here and you can't go wrong with what you order.

Beef Stew w. Flat/Wide Rice Noodles

nice and hearty. it's good for when it's cold and raining outside. it'll warm you up real fast. i also prefer the rice noodles over the thin egg noodles. why? not sure, just a preference i've had since i was a kid

Just Won Tons in Soup

yummy and delicious bite size morsels. i like the won tons from here because they don't stuff the wrapper with pork or shrimp. it's a good balance. 

Class 302 @ Rowland Heights

I'm sure you've all had shaved ice, where ice is shaved into granular of ice and then you pick your choice of syrup which is poured all over the ice. But have you ever had shaved snow? It is the best dessert out there, and a must order if you ever go to Class 302 in Rowland Heights in Southern California. How is shaved snow different from shaved ice? Well, shaved snow does not have the granular of ice, there are no pieces. Your teeth doesn't crunch when you eat shaved snow. Shaved snow is like ribbons of snow that are piled one ribbon after another, and it's soft - just like snow. Then there's various toppings you can put on the snow, as we as various flavors of snow. My fav is the original flavor, which is some mixture of milk and sugar (looks like snow), topped with condensed milk, strawberry and mangos. It's utterly heavenly. It all melts in your mouth instantly without even biting. Enough yapping, here's the snow! 

Santouka Ramen @ Los Angeles

SANTOUKA is the best ramen ever. Legit. Hands down. I've been to a few of the "best" ramen places and this is the one place I'm still dreaming about. When I went to Ippudo, I thought it was great. Then I went to Totto Ramen, which was better. I've had Tanpopo in SF, and that was just ok. I have yet to try Daikokuya in Little Tokyo, LA but I will.

Santouka is inside the Japanese supermarket, and at first I was confused. I was disappointed, I mean how great can a ramen joint be if it doesn't have its own store front. I was wrong. I walked in and while there were other food joints, Santouka was the only one that had so many people slurping their noodles. I knew that we went to the right place.

The ramen was delicious. Everything about it was perfect, from the broth, to the noodles, to the chasu, to even the other little toppings. I loved my broth, it was so flavorful and definitely stewed for hours if not days. They really use the finest and freshest ingredients. I loved the chasu too, especially mine - I got the special that uses pork cheek. Heaven! It was the perfect ratio of lean to fattyness. I may go back in a day or two because I'm having a major craving now. I can't even describe the delicious experience I had with my bowl of ramen.

 Salt Ramen

doesn't it just look like a perfect bowl of yummyness?

Small Bowl of Pork Belly and Rice

so if you order the combo set, you get a bowl of ramen, a small bowl of rice with your choice of topping and a soy-sauce egg.  

I got the special ramen - miso flavor broth. The noodles and broth were in one bowl, and the toppings were on a separate plate, which I then proceeded to just throw it all in. Of course I tasted the broth first, and wow. It was quite the experience. My taste buds exploded! 

 Chasu via pork cheek, wood ear mushroom, green onion and bamboo shoots

all slopped together! 

No Name

Ahhh....how I love my sushi. You may remember the post "The One We Shall Not Name..." well I waited in line for it again! I don't have much to say other than the sushi is better than I remembered, and just DAMN GOOD! But here are some pictures just to tickle your appetite :)

Tuna

 

Sashimi Combo

[tuna, yellow tail, tako, salmon, squid, scallops, seaweed salad, ginger]

Yellow Tail

Scallop

Kika's Treats @ San Francisco

This has to be the BEST smores I've ever had. EVER! It was so beautifully done, so decadent, so delicate, and such harmony between the graham cracker, marshmallow and chocolate. Kika's Treats has definitely perfected the camp fire snack - 'smores.

bottom-up [graham cracker, homemade marshmallow, toasted, and chocolate covered graham cracker]

the BEST dessert ever! so good!!! not too sweet at all, perfect.

Tito's Tacos @ Los Angeles

My favorite Mexican food is CRUNCHY TACOS, and the best place to get crunchy tacos is Tito's Taco's in LA. Best thing about it, is that the taco shell is freshly made, super crunchy, uses shredded beef and not ground beef, there's lettuce, tomato and freshly grated cheese. This place is authentic and CHEAP! $1.70 for a taco, and while it used to be cheaper, it's still really affordable. Each order comes with chips and salsa. I crave this all the time, it's just that good, and yes sometimes my jaw gets tired from all the crunch. But totally worth it!

Tacos

Enchillada

saucy and cheeeessyyy

Rosamunde Sausage Grill @ San Francisco

AMAZING sausages at Rosamunde Sausage Grill and probably the most affordable thing on the 7x7 list. Got the beer sausage with grilled onions and sauerkrat. Great! The sausage is cooked immediately for you, takes about 10 minutes. Then it's placed in a sesame roll. So much flavor, and spicy! It had a real nice kick to it. But had to keep eating because it was so good. Definitely a repeater.

Denver Biscuit Company @ Denver, CO

I do believe that this was the BEST MEAL EVER throughout the entire Road Trip. Chicago pizza was amazing as well and can't compare the two, so that's not included in my categorization. But everything else we ate on the trip after Denver Biscuit Company was compared to it. We really wish that the Biscuit Bus would come all the way to California, that would the best.

The service was amazing. I think they just opened for the day and the waitress was the sweetest girl ever. She explained to us who atomic cowboy was, the chef and all the goodies. We ordered the food, and I have to tell all of you, it was like heaven in my mouth. Panda and I both ordered The Franklin with Fried Egg, which is: buttermilk fried chicken, bacon, cheese, fried egg with sausage gravy. I don't think I've ever had a better breakfast sandwich in my life. I imagined that the sandwich would be something I could hold in my hand, boy was I wrong! My hands couldn't even fit around the thing! It was HUGE! We had to use a fork and knife. It would have been messy too because the sausage gravy was all over, but it was great.

Everything was perfect. The biscuit was moist itself and it didn't get soggy from either of the ingredients. The exterior stayed crusty while the interior was soft and buttery. The buttermilk fried chicken was the best, and it was chicken breast. It wasn't dry at all, it was juicy and flavorful. There was a nice piece of thick bacon and cheese. It didn't take over or anything, it was a nice compliment to the fried chicken, and as you bit into the whole thing all the flavors just meshed together. You know that fried egg adds to everything and it really did. I'm not even done yet, the sausage gravy! I could swim in it, I really could! Panda loved it, even though there was black pepper and he can't handle spicy. The sausage gravy was thick, it was flavorful, it was smooth, it was chunky, I don't know it was all those things. But everything added together, my taste buds danced! I'm so jealous of all the people in Denver that are right in the vicinity of this amazing restaurant. I wish one would open up in California, that would just be perfect. I guarantee that you'd make a lot of business too!

The chef was really sweet too, he gave us a fresh biscuit on the house. Fresh right out of the oven! It was warm, it was crusty on the outside and soft and buttery on the inside. I don't know how to explain it, but it was the best darn biscuit I've ever had. It was so good with their homemade jam too! My fav was the rasberry, it was a perfect amount of sweet and tartiness.

If you ever go to Denver this is a MUST!

Cleveland Chophouse & Brewery @ Cleveland

I remember the first time panda and I came here, about three years ago. It seemed like a normal restaurant, nothing fancy but we took one bite into the Rib Eye Delmonico and we were sold to Cleveland Chophouse. That was the end for us. No other steak house, from the west coast to the east and everything in the middle could do it for us. While there are other great steak houses out there, and are famous for other steaks and prime ribs, it's the price and the amount of food that they provide at Chophouse. It's a really good deal and the rib eye is HUGE! The plate comes and you're like, man how will I finish this? 10 minutes later, what's left is the bone. Delicious! Besides all the wonderful people in Cleveland, I will definitely miss this restaurant.

Calamari

[drizzled with ranch, ginger sesame sauce and topped with toasted black sesame]

not oily and actually very light. it's addicting and you want to keep popping it into your mouth

Caesar Salad

House Salad

Corn Bread - complimentary

omg this is like heavenly and there are pieces of corn it it too! so good, soft, salty, crusty, yummy!

Ribeye - Delmonico

literally the best cut of steak that exists in the world. something about the marbelization of the meat and the fat, where when you cut into it and place it into your mouth it literally melts like butter. all the taste buds in your mouth just SCREAM with give me more more more more. it's cooked to perfection: medium rare. adorned with a buttermilk onion ring, which is also tasty, but who would eat it when there's a giant slab of amazingness right underneath. exactly! this dish comes with your choice of side: baked potato, garlic mashed potatoes, rice pilaf, french fries or vegetables, and it comes with soup or salad. I believe all for less than $30. Oh yea...

Squeeze Inn @ Sacramento

Straight from Diners, Drive Inns and Dives! Squeeze Inn is truly something that Sacramento has to offer that I don't think any where else does. It's known for it's Squeeze Burger with cheese which comes with this "cheese skirt"  that basically spews out from the burger. The cheese is massive and it's crunchy and goey at the same time. I've seen how they make it, and when the burger is just about done, they put handfuls upon handfuls of shredded cheddar cheese on top of the patties, place a lid over it and wait for the steam to melt it all. The burger comes with: lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, mayo and mustard. It takes a big feat to finish it, and if you want fries I recommend sharing it with someone because you will not be able to eat it all.

I've been here twice in one month, which isn't recommended because I think the caloric intake is more than your weekly allotment - yes that crazy. So the first time I was here, the burger was AMAZING. It was cooked prefect. The patty was juicy, there was a good balance between mayo and mustard, and the bun was crispy. This is what lead me to want to come again and show my friends the amazingness. However, the second time, the burger was more dry and I felt that the bun was stale...it was just too dry. Maybe it was off, or maybe the first time I went was as off day. I'm not sure. Regardless of the two trips the consistency is the cheese skirt..amazing. How do you eat it? You tear the cheese off and start munching at it like chips or you can sandwich it between fries and make your own cheese fries. YES!

Be ware that if you come during lunch hour the wait is long, but if you come at 1pm on a Friday it's still long! On a good day it takes 30 minutes to order your food and for it to be ready. Time accordingly!

Small little kitchen

The Griddle; Underneath is the lid is the cheese melter

Assembly Line

Someone ordered cheesy fries

Line of burgers ready to be served!!

French Fries

My First Burger during first trip

look at the cheese skirt on that burger!

Second Burger - it really doesn't look as tasty as the first one! 

what do you think?