Amber India. San Francisco. California. 5.18.2018.

I have not given any love on this blog to Amber India, my favorite Indian restaurant in San Francisco. For no reason other than I typically go there at night with dark lighting and you cannot get decent enough pictures. I have actually done my birthday dinners there in the past a few times because I love it so much. In fact, Amber is always a surprise hit with people that have never been there. I have taken quite a few of my British Indian food snob friends, including Dirty Vegas, and they all agree that this may be one of the best Indian restaurants they have ever been to. I love how well they use the spices even when you get it 10 out of 10 spicy, and how all the flavors from different dishes goes together. And if you like spicy food, I would recommend you get it very spicy to try it. Fair warning that my brother and I were seeing stars when we did the lamb vindaloo level 10 spicy.

Amber India
25 Yerba Buena Ln
San Francisco, CA 94103
415.777.0500

Here are my favorite dishes from Amber below:

Samosa
Crisp Idaho Potato Pea Dumplings.

Cauliflower Bezule
Watsonville Cauliflower, Coconut, Mustard Seeds, Curry Leaves.

Duck Tinka Kebab
Maple farm Duck Breast, Tempered Yogurt, Nigella-Dill Caper Chutney.

Four-Chili Sea Bass
Amber’s Signature Chilean Sea Bass, Yogurt, Grandma’s Spice Mix.
Be sure to try it with the mint sauce.

Butter Chicken
Amber’s Signature-Shredded Tandoori Chicken, Tomato, Cream Sauce.
This is their signature dish and to die for.

Nalli Vindaloo
Braised Natural “Superior Farms” Lamb Shank, Goan Specialty Vindaloo Sauce.
This is what I have tried level 10 spicy. The lamb is extremely tender and you will be hallucinating afterwards.

Stonemill Matcha. San Francisco. California. 5.12.2018 + 5.19.2018.

I am a big matcha lover. I own premium ceremonial grade matcha and make it at home. Naturally I check out all things matcha related. I have gone to Stonewall Matcha twice now. It definitely caters to the Valenciaga crowd, but I tend to lean more toward authenticity. Last week I got the ginger matcha latte, which I found too sweet, along with the matcha cream pie. This week, I opted for the matcha mizudashi with the matcha cream puff. I prefer the straight up matcha as I am a purist, and I loved the matcha cream puff. The line is a bit ridiculous and the flow is not worked out at the moment. I will be returning then to try more items on their menu for another report.

Stonemill Matcha
561 Valencia St
San Francisco, CA 94110
415.796.3876

Muir Woods National Monument. Mill Valley. California. 5.7.2018.

I have not been to Muir Woods since I was in elementary or middle school for a field trip. So I decided to go for a long hike since I have a little time this week before crazy production town begins again next week. You now have to reserve a parking or shuttle spot for when you visit. I did a very long and steep hike for 8.2 miles. Well worth it if you have the chance. I crave nature more often than not nowadays, especially living in the tech bubble. It's really important for me to disconnect from tech and be present with friends and nature and friends you find in nature.

Muir Woods National Monument
1 Muir Woods Rd
Mill Valley, CA 94941
415.561.2850

Yesterday I walked 9.2 miles, 8.2 of which were in Muir Woods amongst these giants that grow to 258’. I saw woodpeckers, a snake and a salamander fighting for their lives, a banana slug and kinglets. You now have to make a reservation for parking at Muir Woods. Be sure to stay a while.

A post shared by Amy Yvonne Yu (@amyyvonneyu) on May 8, 2018 at 8:09am PDT

Golden Flower Restaurant. San Francisco. California. 5.7.2018.

Since the cost of living in San Francisco has gotten so out of hand, I find great joy in eating at all my hole in the walls for the past year. Because we should not have to pay $15 for a mediocre meal. And why should a decent dinner always be minimum of $40? One of my go tos in Chinatown is Golden Flower. I typically get a small pho and a beverage of some sort (Vietnamese iced coffee or red bean drink pending my cravings). They also have a very good rare beef salad as well.

Golden Flower Restaurant
667 Jackson St
San Francisco, CA 94133
415.433.6469

Waraku. San Francisco. California. 5.6.2018.

I have been to almost all; of the ramen restaurants here in San Francisco; Waraku is still one of my favorites. I have been getting the roasted black garlic tonkotsu ramen since they added it to the menu last year. I tend to fluctuated between that and the tonkotsu ramen. Then you can hop over to Matcha Cafe Maiko afterwards!

Waraku
1638 Post St
San Francisco, CA 94115
415.292.3388

My favorite ramen in town is the roasted black garlic tonkotsu ramen from Waraku. I cannot resist if there is no line there when I walk by, like today. Did you know that you can filter my food recommendations on my blog by the “Food” category? Link in profile.

A post shared by Amy Yvonne Yu (@amyyvonneyu) on May 6, 2018 at 7:17pm PDT

Mount Davidson. San Francisco. California. 4.27.2018.

Some days are for going up high for sunsets.

Matcha Cafe Maiko. San Francisco. California. 4.27.2018.

I knew that Matcha Cafe Maiko opened in San Francisco. And since I was catching up with Whittany who recently went to Japan for her first time and we met up in Japantown to recount our travel tales, we had to stop by to try it. Suffice to say, it's so good that I have been there 4 times in 2 weeks. I love how great the ingredients are while the items are not too sweet, which is the biggest complaint I have against most desserts in general. I also love the story of how it got to the Bay Area. I am in love with the hojicha float and I often get it. But I have tried different items on the menu and the Make special is their speciality. Check it out for yourselves.

Matcha Cafe Maiko
1581 Webster St #175
San Francisco, CA 94115
415.757.0919

This is now my favorite matcha treat in town. I had heard that @matchacafemaiko opened up a SF location. I was in Japantown catching up with a friend Friday and I tried it finally. I am blown away. Great quality and not too sweet. I am in love with their matcha hojicha float. Enjoy!

A post shared by Amy Yvonne Yu (@amyyvonneyu) on Apr 29, 2018 at 5:17pm PDT

RZA: Live from the 36th Chamber. Castro Theatre. San Francisco. California. 4.26.2018.

RZA live scored 36 Chamber at the Castro Theatre so I got  myself a ticket early on and went. One of my favorite part was the organist playing Cream in the beginning. I would thoroughly enjoy it if he played Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) in its entirety.

After the 36 Chambers. Your Wu-Tang Financial advisors are ready to get you mo’ money dollar dollar bill y’all.

A post shared by Amy Yvonne Yu (@amyyvonneyu) on Apr 27, 2018 at 10:16am PDT