Let's Talk Food

Food is a large part of life, right? At least it's a large part of mine. I'm a self professed glutton (who can't eat much). So this post will be dedicated to some of the meals that I had in the first stretch of my San Francisco trip.

車仔麵 and I don't know what it's called in English

腸粉 rice flour rolls?

ABC Café in Chinatown. I think that's the name. Nothing spectacular, but a cheap meal that's definitely worth the small price. Came to less than $20 including tax and tips with a drink between the two of us.

Next up, the Pork Shop (in Haight-Ashbury). There seems to be a few around town, but we only tried this one. Cheap, hearty fare. Good breakfast foods, though admittedly more oily than what I generally eat.

Chipotle Sasuage? I can't remember anymore. Tasted like chili

Excuse the bad lighting. This one is the bird's nest

This meal stuffed me to the rim, and promptly messed up my eating schedule for the rest of the day. I wish I could've eaten more at other places... but it was a delicious meal. Also try their freshly squeezed OJ!

I leave you today with the delicious baked goods of Tartine Bakery!

Tartine Bakery would've been one of the star restaurants. But it kind of got demoted a little, just below my 3 star choices (do you see hockey influence here?). This cake, unlike the one in Portal, is not a lie. I am about to "get" the cake that GLaDOS promises in Portal...

I need to blog earlier. I'm not sure if this is called Dolce de Leche anymore... but definitely delicious and moist!

This lemon tart is just the right balance of sour and sweet. The cream isn't as light as the once that I tasted in Belgium, but I think that's partially attributable to cultural differences. The petal does add a tinge of fragrance into the cream. Not heavy, but I guess I do prefer slightly lighter creams.

Finally! Ti Couz Creperie to end the day. Since the first x-number of crepes I've ever had were Japanese crepes, French crepes are really foreign to me! It was good none the less, I don't know if it's something I would want often given the price. Maybe once in a while when a craving hits.

Ratatouille Crepe, whole wheat flour makes it look burnt, but it's not! Slightly crispy.

That marks the end of our day 0 and 1 menu. Took a week to write... I'll finish off all the food posts with one "stars list", just like NHL, where after every game there are 3 stars. BTW, saw lots of Sharks jerseys while in San Francisco. Sorry~ #nowayjose =D

By fishii with 1 comment

Tourist Trap SF

Who doesn't know about the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and the Fisherman's Wharf? These three tourist attractions could have been the epitome of San Francisco tourism at one point in time. Is the buzz worth it then?

Pier 39 puts the capital T on trap...

I didn't expect Pier 39 or any of the Fisherman's Wharf to live up to expectations, to be honest. Research showed that most people regard it as at least a "touristy place". I was greeted  with an area lined with overpriced restaurants and souvenir shops. No matter, I came only to see the sea lions (and waste some time before my Alcratraz boat departed).

The sea lions smelt funny, though. And they sound sort of funny.

The boat ride to Alcatraz is quite short, but the line up to buy the tickets... We lined up at 1230 and the first available ferry was 1420 (the actual queue was only about 10 minutes long). Word of advice, buy it online! Board at Pier 33 (the Alcatraz landing). The ride is $26 round trip during the day, $33 at night.

San Francisco Coastline.

While you look forward to your adventure on Alcatraz, don't forget to look back at the gorgeous San Francisco coastline. It's definitely a sight to behold.

Don't forget Alcatraz either though.

Alcatraz from the ferry. The large sign reads something like don't smuggle prisoners out or risk imprisonment.

I quite enjoyed Alcatraz. It's beautiful and full of history. The audio guide had lots of information to offer. Basically once you get off the ferry, a park ranger gives a message, which basically gave you 3 options:
1. Follow Mr. Park Ranger who will bring you on a 30 minute tour (which really is just along the way to the audio guide pick up point, he'll tell you some background stories),
2. Watch a video in the theatre, that's a 15 minute Discovery Channel video (we eavesdropped on Mr. Park Ranger, and it sounded like it was the same information), or
3. Go straight to the audio guide.

Super crowded interior of Alcatraz.

Sometimes it was hard to move around, but all in all worth it to explore all the nooks and crannies. The rec yard opened up to yet another amazing view of San Francisco coastline. There are numerous spots on the island that open up to the most gorgeous views of San Francisco, this is one tourist attraction that is worth the time (at least according to BumHead and me).

Anyway, still no Portal 2 reference. We'll see whether or not I'll manage it next time.

By fishii with 1 comment

What Sunshine Brings to SF

this layout lets me post larger photos.

Not wanting to lose any time, the first day became sort of action packed.

Only sort of, though, because both the BumHead and I had a sleep debt to cover.

The first day started off in Haight-Ashbury (according to WikiTravel, it's read "hate"). This area is known for its bohemian roots and attachment to its 60s movement. It's definitely different from anything I've seen before, but I might be able to use that word to describe a lot of San Francisco.

a lot of quirky, a lot of weird, a lot of charm.

Perhaps still overwhelmed by the novelty of a city I haven't revisited since I was 6, the recurring thoughts did not vary much from the words "cool", "weird", "strange", and "interesting". That made me sound so sophisticated.

the neighbourhood was very colourful indeed.

After lunch (I think a separate post will need to be dedicated to our food adventures), we got lost trying to commute to Twin Peaks. After 3 transfers and a side trip to UCSF, we made it to Twin Peaks. If anyone wants a map of how exactly to get there, feel free to ask.

The hills and steep roads in San Francisco disappear at this height, swallowed whole by the birds eye view. 

San Francisco from 120 feet above sea-level.

Photos never do these views justice, do they? The wind is extremely strong, so travellers beware! Bring a sweater, wind breaker, anything. The sun is deceiving! The tour buses arrive periodically to unload large numbers of visitors, but the peak that faces away from the city seems to be less populated in general (there are two mini hills). The best view of the Golden Gate Bridge should be from the parking lot, though. That's where the tour bus visitors congregate.

Bi-Rite the market.

After fighting the wind for balance, the BumHead and I took the bus into Castro. We fought on to Mission to locate food. At this point, we came across the Bi-Rite grocery store. This market is by far one of the most interesting grocery stores I have ever visited. They offer organic and fair trade products, everything had their own flare, and was extremely crowded! The staff were super friendly (they will stop and chat, crack jokes as they walk by, explain everything in detail despite how busy the store front is). What I would do to have a store like this at home (if you know of one please let me know).

there was a line outside. that's how busy it is.

And if you aren't convinced by Bi-Rite's popularity, look across the street at the Bi-Rite Creamery and you'll understand. They serve some of the most interesting ice cream flavours. That will be reserved for my food posts. In the meantime, observe.

Like the grocery store, the creamery had amazing staff.

Before we had dinner, we leisurely strolled through the Mission neighbourhood just to see what it has to offer. We chanced upon a large park filled with racing children, suntanning couples, residents of all types. For us, it was a new sight to behold. I blame it on the stunning weather that can't be resisted.

Bed time looms near, but the trip continues. The Portal 2 reference will be saved for next time. In the meantime, enjoy the sunshine these photos offer! (The usual applies, proofreading is minimal, photo editing is done after these are posted... I'll change these habits some time. Still working out some things with the new layout, bear with me)

By fishii with 1 comment