Travel Diary // San Francisco

I absolutely LOVE San Francisco, CA. The place calls to me like no where else I've been. I'm afraid I'll be little bit excessive with the photos this time just to give you the full tour of what I've seen in 2014. We went to the typical places you'd expect like Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39, but we also explored the local recommended areas like Hayes Valley and Japantown. 

Places I'd recommend for food:



The Plant



The Ferry Building Market Place



Bi-Rite Creamery



R & G Lounge



Loving Cup



La Boulange



XOX Truffles



Tout Pâtisserie



Chipotle



Off the Grid



Tartine Bakery

 

 

Taste of Abu Dhabi 2014

I finally did it. Finally, I've posted my first YouTube video. Which by the way was something I've wanted to do since 2006! Huzzah!



Ok I'm being over dramatic with the battle cry. But seriously, this has been a long time coming. I've wanted to post video content for the longest time and I'm just so thrilled to finally get over a crutch that I've basically put for myself. Here's to a new era of video! Photos are sooooo 1826. Sorry Nicéphore Niépce.



I'll add some photos of the event for nostalgic purposes.



P.S. I highly recommend going to one of these taste events. Definitely the highlight of my culinary calendar.

How to Make One of the World's Most Decadent Desserts: An Animated Mille...

La Petit Maison - Dubai

       Burrata. Check. Lentil Salad. Check. Creme Brûlée. Check. At La Petit Maison you must come prepared. Their menu should have an asterisk right by the "must order" items. But everyone who walks through LPM's doors, whether it be in Nice, London, or Dubai; already know what they're there for. But if for some reason you don't...well then I've got you covered. 

      For the adventurous eater in your party, may I suggest the escargots. They’re buttery, they’re garlicky, and I can assure you that they went no where near my mouth. That’s right. I, curiously enough, am not the adventurous one in our group. So instead, I scarfed down a creamy burrata with no regrets. The lentil salad is so so so refreshing. And one that is featured on our home menu as well. As in, we have it every Wednesday at home. It’s that good. I’ll post a recipe below. 

       Mains were as you’d expect. Delicious. But I’d like to fast forward now to dessert. I finally finally got to try the infamous french toast and creme brûlée. Hot damn. Those were some mean sugary, crunchy, sweet, blissful morsels of delight. But permit me to suggest the cheesecake, the next time you dine at LPM. That cheesecake definitely stole the limelight. Incredibly creamy, incredibly unctuous, incredibly adipose and incredibly delicious. Leave feeling satisfied, with the strong desire to return that very evening for the dinner service. One trip to LPM is never enough. 

Recipe adapted from: FOODIEBYNATURE

Lentil salad

Serves 4

150g black/green lentils
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 red onion, peeled
1/2 apple, granny smith, cut into 1-2mm cubes
2 celery stalks, cut into 1-2mm cubes
A few cherry tomatoes halved and slightly crushed

Dressing
3 tbsp Olive oil
1 lemon, juice
salt and pepper

1. Put the lentils in a saucepan and cover with 450ml water. Add the garlic clove and 1/2 of the onion.
2. Bring to boil and cover with a lid. Let simmer for 20-25 min until the lentils are cooked but still have a slight bite to them. You do not want to end up with a lentil mush.
3. Prepare the celery and apple now. Finely chop the other half of the onion too. Once you have chopped the apple, put it in a bowl with water and lemon juice, otherwise the apple will start turning brown.
4. Drain the lentils and cool down under cold, running water.

5. Put them in a bowl, add the apples, ,tomatoes,onion, celery and chopped mint. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice to taste. Season with salt and pepper.

My TOP 10 Places to Eat in NYC

#10: Schnippers

Watching the Food Network late at night does in fact, help. On an episode of that Bobby Flay show, where he challenges restaurants and cooks their famous dish, what was it called? Challenge? Anyway Schnippers was on that show. Schnippers does Sloppy Joes. I have always wanted to try sloppy joe's!!! Bobby Flay won that throw down...THROW DOWN! Thats the name of the show!! So when Bobby won, I thought... that can't be right. So I went to try it for myself. And it.was.gooooood. So much flavor. So much history behind this dish. Granted it's not duck a l'orange but it was what it was. Good. I'd go back for more.

I think that show was rigged.

#9: Papaya King

This was a tough one. Because New Yorkers are known for their hot dogs. There's Nathan's, Gray's Papaya, Papaya Dog, Katz's Deli, Crif Dogs...But for some reason I was drawn to Papaya King. Now I don't know what the deal is behind all these Papaya hot dog places. But what I do know is that this Papaya Juice has made me a convert. I used to H.A.T.E payaya anything. But this juice, and this hot dog, were the PERFECT combo for a cold day pick me up in NYC. Highly recommended. 

#8: Roberta's

I know. How could Roberta's be number 8?! Well, for one, Roberta's is allll the way out in Brooklyn. So for a Manhattan tourist that's like walking into the badlands. But its WORTH it. Roberta's is also at number 8 because there was an hour and a half wait minimum for a table. Only for Dumbo's finest pizza connoisseurs I guess. Never mind the out of town tourist. Pffft. So instead I took my pizza with me back on the L train. Funny story: my cell phone ran out of charge in Brooklyn. Had no metro card to go back to the city. And commited a minor felony by entering through the emergency exit down to the trains! Shhh....don't tell... #i #will #commit #crimes #for #pizza. It basically froze by the time I got back to my hotel room. But that's ok. I love cold pizza.  Also I had major Home Alone 2 vibes. Remember?

#7: The Halal Guys

                                        

You guys.....*SIGH* All I'll say is order whatever you're having with extra white sauce. EXTRA WHITE SAUCE. Got it? 

Tip: the new cart is in the East Village. They're also opening their first flagship restaurant there! Congrats Halal Guys!!

#6: Burger Joint

                                                  

              
                                         

So let me get this straight? There's a great burger place right in the corner of a lobby of a 5 star hotel? Now this I gotta check out. << my thought process after hearing about the Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridien. Be warned. The wait is as long as Rockin' Roller Coaster at Disney World. You'll see the line of people creeping out of an ominous red curtain. Just stand there. And wait. You shall be rewarded. I promise. It's a great burger. The bun is perfect. The meat is ugggnnh SO tender and juicy. I got why people waited. So I waited. And now I hope you will wait. If not for the burger at least for the story. 

#5: Balthazar

                                         

I heard Balthazar was over rated. I'm here to tell you that it's not. The staff were friendly. The atmosphere was as close to a Parisian bistro as one would get in SoHo. And the food...might be a bit more delicious than Paris...I know! Blasphemy! But what can I say. That steak was as close to perfection as it gets!! And I stopped ordering steak because everyone gets it wrong. Not at Balthazar. Oh and that béarnaise. Ugh! TDF!! Don't even get me started on those fries!!!!! 

PS. The mushroom and asparagus croissant at the bakery next door, is the answer to life's mysteries. THE ANSWER I TELL YOU!

#4: ABC Kitchen

      

      

As I was ordering the crab toast, my waiter was like, "Niiice."

The crab toast was a revelation. I can honestly say it was one of the best things I've eaten in 2014 thus far. If I may be so bold and say probably all year.

I just keep thinking back to Luke's Lobster. Comparing the two, this is just so much more complex. Luke's is for the purists. It's a classic. Like an expertly made laser cut dress from Alaïa. The ABC crab toast is like the finale dress from Dolce and Gabbana. The embellishments in this case being the lemon and the mayo (which is light and divine), the herbs, and the spices. And the way the oil shines around the sourdough bread, almost like an adipose halo. Truly a genius of a tartine.

Somewhere in that sundae is a peanut brittle to end all peanut brittles. The first bite was lackluster and I thought -"Oh what have I done! I over hyped the dessert!" but curiously enough every subsequent bite got more and more complex. The salt and the sugar started up a marvelous harmony that my taste buds couldn't ignore. Along with the faultless base line of the chocolate sauce, and the brassy crunch of the popcorn, this melody is one of the sweetest tunes ever to be tasted. And deserves an encore. The minute it starts turning into a marbleized beige soup, that's when it culminates to a flavorful extravaganza.

Leave feeling stuffed but ridiculously well fed.

 #3: Los Tacos No.1 at Chelsea Market

      

BEST.CARNE.ASADA.EVERRRR!! Order it on the corn tortilla. SO GOOD!!!

(i dream about this taco, almost every day...)

#2: Lukes Lobster at the Plaza Food Hall

      

      

What can I say about Luke's Lobster? Tender. Delicious. Buttery. Salty. Sweet. MMMMmmmm. I had this Lobster Roll two times during my trip! TWO TIMES! Yes I went back. In my hectic schedule of restaurant hopping I came back. Because it was that good. The lady at the beauty counter at Henri Bendel's told me to go to the Plaza Food Hall and have the Lobster Roll and the green tea crepe cake. I doubly obliged. Listen to the locals people!! My advice! Can't leave New York without trying these two things. You.just. CAN'T!!!!

      

     #1: Momofuku Ko

      

{image source: bionicbites.com}

The Best. Try to get a table. Then you'll know why. Best overall meal of my life. I wrote almost 20 pages in my notebook about the food that was presented to me. David Chang famously banned mobile phone photography in his little atelier of YUM. So sorry, no photos. But if any of you are curious enough, I might do a post about the meal. So, are you as curiously hungry as I am? ;)

**Honorable Mention: Katz Deli 

One can.not go to NYC and skip this iconic deli. Needless to say order the pastrami. And don't forget to tip  your carver!