7.2024-12.2024. Bakeries + Dubai chocolate. San Francisco. California.

I have checked out a few different bakeries that I have yet to try to give an updated report. I was hoping I would have time to also check out Le Dix-Sept before end of the year, but sadly, since they are not yet back in their Mission location and the one in Potrero Hill is difficult for me to get to without a car, that one will have to wait. Definitely a few gems. Also, congratulations to Melissa Chou at Grand Opening for getting listed in NY Times for top bakery in America. It's quite a treat. Her yuzu honey cake is inspired by the yuzu honey I brought back for her from Japan on my last trip. Since I have significantly cut down on carbs and sugars in general, I have not been checking out as many things as I used to. Choose health and moderation people.

Butter & Crumble is top of my list here and one of my favorites. The lines do get long on weekends, so I recommend going on a weekday instead. This bakery is very much worth the hype and high price point. I got the prosciutto, buratta, peach + 2x baked caramel cornbread croissant + cannoli cruffin + pistachio croissant.  They update their seasonal menu monthly, which proved much self control in not returning each month to try more. 





Finally made my way to Neighbor Bakehouse to catch up with a friend. There is also Paper Son Coffee up front where you can get your caffeine fill while you enjoy your baked goods. I loved the variety here for pastries savory and sweet in addition to all their loaf offerings.





I often walk by the line at Arsicault in Inner Richmond. I finally lined up to see what the fuss is. I now understand why this was crowned the best croissant in America. THIS is how a proper French croissant tastes like. The perfect balance of French butter is EXACTLY what makes a French croissant. I got their plain croissant and chocolate croissant with a coffee. I do think the milk chocolate used in the chocolate croissant makes it too sweet; the plain croissant reigns supreme out of all the croissants I have eaten in this city.



After finally trying the famous Ariscault croissants, I decided to give myself an assignment and also try the Juniper Cafe croissant since that won best croissant in SF by the people. While I find this croissant perfectly fine, I am definitely more of a proper French croissant lover. People often describe croissant as "flakey," but what the French considers flakey and Americans differ in that American flakey means dry in French and not enough use of French butter.









Remember how I gave myself assignments to find some great cheap eats in New York while I had to be there for work for 3 weeks earlier this year? Well, I have been giving myself these same assignments here since prices are so outrageous nowadays. I was also on the hunt for a Mei Lai Wah equivalent. It is Yummy Bakery at 607 Jackson St. You can get their BBQ pork pineapple bun for $2.75.



While not a bakery, I have been to Maruwu Seicha a few times. I love hojicha and they have the most hojicha offerings. They also sell Ho Ho Hojicha goods as well. I have also tried their pistachio matcha latte. If you love matcha, then this is a must for you. They also sell interesting flavored cheese tarts. 



While I am at it with all these carby sugary updates, let's talk Dubai chocolate. I got my hands on a bar at MK Streetwear in Chinatown. I love chocolate. I love pistachios. I love kataifi. Naturally, it was love at first bite. Then I went down a rabbit hole and ordered a variety from Aladdin to try. Out of the 4 I got, the Gifteay is my favorite, with the Bolçi being my back up more affordable go to. I also got the bar at Haraz Coffee House, but sadly that one was far too sweet. If you also love chocolate and pistachio, now you know. 

7.2024-11.2024. Restaurants. San Francisco. California.

Sorry I have been MIA for a bit. I have been trying a few places due to friends/VIPs in town and checking out new places that are high on my list. Took a bit for me to feel like I have hit up enough places to organize my thoughts and break them out into separate posts to share with you all. As they say: all good things come to those who wait.

Bakeries will be its own post as I still need to hit up at least one more and I hope to do that one by end of this year. You better start working out now!

If you have been following me for a while you will know that Hilda & Jesse is one of my go tos for a nicer brunch. Their pancakes without boundaries are the best pancakes in town hands down. Hilariously I run into Brandon Jew (Mister Jiu's) often at the farmer's market on Saturdays and we do a drive by catch up as we shop. Since Mrs. Jiu loves pancakes I sent them to Hilda & Jesse's. He confirmed that these pancakes are dope. And if you have been paying attention, I always recommend their chef's adventure as that is the best value tasting menu you can get in town for that price point. You can even ask them to finish your adventure with pancakes without boundaries (which they will know I sent you).











People ask me all the time if there are places I keep to myself: Yes. I used to have a lot more than now as since pandemic and businesses are struggling I tend to gatekeep less nowadays. This was top of my gatekeeping list: Shanghai House. It used to be cash only (you may want to check to see if it may still be). Many people claim that San Tung have the best chicken wings in town and I will have you know that they are all WRONG; it is actually Shanghai House. San Tung uses far too much sugar in their cooking in general. If you like American Chinese food then that may be ok, but it certainly is not for authentic Chinese food. My friend was craving chicken wings and suggested San Tung, so I brought him to Shanghai House instead. The wings blew his mind and he is a convert. In fact, I have taken many top chefs in SF to Shanghai House and they are all now obsessed. The XLBs (xiao long bao) are excellent and their sheng jian baos are even better. They also have a hand cut beef noodle soup flavored to perfection. Be sure to check them out.



A little over 10 years ago I sent The Selby to shoot Peko Peko (now Rintaro) for Edible Selby for The NY Times. Now 10+ years later and Rintaro is still in the top restaurants of San Francisco list, and definitely one of the top izakayas in America. A little fun fact for you, the bento that Sylvan made for The NY Times piece ended up being my lunch that week. If you haven't been to Rintaro and you love Japanese food, you need to go. This is on my top request list for all VIPs coming to town. While it is a little out of the way, I promise you that you will love this. Naturally, The Selby and I just happened to have had dinner here the week it make it in The NY Times top restaurant in San Francisco list. Talk about full circle.

























I have been a kitchen regular at Mister Jiu's since before they even opened. I was invited to their first walk through in the space before the renovation when Brandon took the building over and got the keys. I have also shot a music video for Dr. Octagon upstairs at Moongate Lounge before it was Moongate Lounge. When The Selby was doing his latest book launch for The Selby Comes Home, I knew that we would have to do it at Moongate Lounge.





Then we had a feast after the book launch in the dining room at Mister Jiu's and Brandon fed us well. Thank you always for feeding me and my guests! I have had this meal well over 20 times and it's consistently great. While it is a splurge, there is a reason why this is one of the best and most important Chinese restaurants in America. If you are not in the mood for their tasting menu, you can do a la carte walk in at their bar instead.





Last, but not least, the restaurant that I had to go to 4 times before I put this post up: Four Kings. Four Kings was already the toughest reservation in town BEFORE they made the top 50 restaurants in America in NY Times. I was lucky enough to have gone before that accolade and went 3 more times after to have most of the menu before I write about this. As one would expect from 2 chefs that were at Mister Jiu's up the street, this is super creative Canto pop cuisine. I am from Hong Kong so I completely understand the vibe they are going for there. While not traditional Chinese by any means, this is one of the most creative Cantonese cooking I have had the pleasure of eating. If you are looking for traditional Chinese cuisine, this is definitely not it. I have seen and read many reviews where the eater struggled with this meal as they are coming at it from a traditional Chinese food POV. If you are more adventurous and is into creative cuisine, you will be extremely pleased like I was. My must haves are the string beans, eggplants, fried squab, mapo spaghetti, and Hokkien fried rice. Best of luck getting a reservation. While reservations are near impossible, you can try to walk in and put your name down before/when they open and walk around North Beach & Chinatown to kill time.

6.8.2024 - 6.16.2024. Food. New York.

I was home for 2 weeks then I had to return to New York again for more post production. This time, I tried to check out mostly new places. There were definitely some interesting finds. Due to the fact that prices have gone up so much, I decided to see if I am able to find somewhat "cheap" eats for some of it. So Oli sent me on my merry way around Chinatown.

As mentioned before, I do get significantly better Asian cuisines in San Francisco. So I was hell bent on finding a few places that are comparable in NY Chinatown. I was able to find the best meal you can get for $2.50 at Mei Lai Wan with their famous pineapple pork buns. I went there 3 mornings for breakfast. I highly recommend checking this out for yourself. Eat it there while it's still warm.

My first meal after I landed was at Yiwanmen at 150 Mott. I got a bowl of their Lanzhou original noodle soup. The broth was amazing, and flavored to perfection. It was exactly what I wanted for dinner after a long flight and it was $11. They also had a variety of Chongqing red oil noodles. So if you re in the mood for affordable authentic Chinese noodles, this is definitely the place.



Since it was so warm out and I love walking around Soho/East Village/LES, I decided to walk to East Village for my favorite milk tea at Xing Fu Tang. That was until I realized that Cha-An was still open and a parfait or shave ice would be even better. Cha-An had been on my radar because it's an authentic matcha tea house with Japanese dessert offerings. And we all know how much I love authentic Japanese desserts. I was able to squeeze in for their last seating at the tea house for the hojicha shave ice. Honestly, I think I love hojicha more than matcha, because I went back a week later and I got the matcha shave ice to compare. Oli got the black sesame crème brûlée that he was in love with. Cha-An also have Cha-An Bonbon 2 doors down where they sell Japanese confections in addition to parfaits. I really wanted to try their parfait as it was a sakura one with hojicha soft serve. But alas, the shave ice won this time. At the tea house, they also have a Japanese afternoon tea you can make a reservation for. One of these days I will try it!







The next day, I started with brunch at Thai Diner. I had been wanting to check out Thai Diner as I have heard good things and I have only ever had mediocre Thai in NY. We still have better Asian food in SF, but Thai Diner was fun. I went back for dinner with a group just to have a variety of their menu. I liked dinner there even more. I recommend the lobster omelette chu chee, khao soi, Uncle Boon's khao pat puu, crispy snapper raad prik, and Uncle Boon's famous coconut sundae.















One of the highlight meals this time around was Atoboy, by the same people behind Atomix. Atoboy is the more accessible Korean small bite restaurant and the tasty menu starts at $75 each. I would recommend going with 3 or more as each course has 3 selections, that way, you can try one of everything. Definitely add their double fried chicken as well. I highly recommend you checking out Atoboy as soon as possible.

sea urchin: egg jjim, gim, quinoa
yellowtail: cucumber naengguk, dashima, jicama<
beef tartare: shishito, myeolchi, perilla
korean pear: calamansi, almond, pave vecchio
squash: gangjeong, pepper, fontina
octopus: eggplant, chunjang, buchu
sweet shrimp: white kimchi, beurre blanc, peas
cod: gochujang curry, bopuragi, cherry tomato
short rib: oxtail, asparagus, kimchi
pork belly: cauliflower, jeotgal, kale
fried chicken: spicy peanut sauce, yang yummy sauce









Then back to my daily frozen matcha at Matchaful



After breakfast one morning, I went to Dominique Ansel of cronut fame with my colleague to get some pastries.



I had to try the teas at Chicha San Chen as I am a tea aficionado and they just opened in Chinatown NY. They hand pick their tea leaves in Taiwan and brew each individually. The line there can be a bit long, so I would recommend you ordering ahead on Snackpass, unless you you are on a leisurely schedule. For those of you who are serious about tea, this is definitely a place to check out. They also offer tea tastings. In case you were hungry, Mei Lai Wah is a few doors down for some pineapple pork buns to go with your tea. I got the original milk tea and the passionfruit green tea. It's a unique tea experience as most people would have not seen tea brewed like this before. However, I still think Xing Fu Tang has the best authentic milk tea.





To end my trip, my last sit down meal was at Estela. Estela is usually the first reservation I make whenever I have a trip to NY. This was my first time having lunch there, which I preferred over my usual dinners there. It felt more leisurely and it's the same menu as dinner. I have taken many people to Estela, and many of them tell me that it's the best meal they had that year. I love going back there to see what new dishes they have that season as I find their sauces the most interesting.

oysters with yuzu kosho mignonette
scallops with brown butter and golden potatoes
endive with walnuts, anchovy, and ubriaco rosso
fried arroz negro, squid, and romesco
ricotta dumplings with mushrooms and pecorino sardo