12.2.2025 - 2.26.2025. 7 Adams + Aji Kiji + Sanraku + Four Kings + Sweet Glory + Pineapple King. San Francisco. California.

I wanted to put this up before my upcoming Japan trip (which is jam packed with lots of amazing things for you upon my return). I have been giving myself random assignments and researching random food things. Here we go!

I had been meaning to check out 7 Adams as everyone kept telling me that it's a great value for what you get at $87/person for a 5 course tasting menu. When it was time to do a girl's night out, I suggested it to my girls and off we went.  Yes, that is absolutely true! It's not too stuffy for fine dining, which I enjoy. And the price was right. It was dark in there so you get a picture of us celebrating Kelly Tunstall's birthday with their desserts.

torched hiramasa: yuzu, chive, ninja radish
braised lamb ravioli: paprika, pine nut, horseradish
seared black cod: coconut milk yuzu gel, confit sunchokes
chocolate pear: crème fraîche cake, almond shortbread, pear sorbet
market fruit sundae: lemon yogurt cake, brown butter, cranberry jam



One day, I was going on my walk and while passing by Aji Kiji, I noticed that there were actually boxes still at that time. I did a double take and returned to get myself one. Aji Kiji is take out only sushi for high quality sushi. They do sell out each day, so it's best that you order ahead for pick up. I got the omakase for my research and I was making up all sorts of fish songs while walking home to enjoy my sushi from my excitement. While I have my go tos for high end omakase here in SF, I find that we are lacking in mid range affordable great sushi overall, hence my excitement of perhaps finding one. Curiously, I was told by the chef when I bought my omakase ($54 for 10 pieces nigiri + 6 pieces maki) that I am to wait an hour for the fish to get to room temperature. This I found tricky, as great sushi is to be eaten fresh at room temperature. So I was even more curious about the quality of this omakase. By the time I walked home, it was my hour. It was very good, especially for that price point. However, as a regular true Japanese omakase diner, I then wondered how this compares to a similarly priced fresh sushi dining options.



To test my theory, I decided to go to Sanraku and see what that difference would be like. The first time, I got the chirashi ($60) because I love uni.



The second time I got the sushi tokujo ($55) which includes 7 pieces of nigiri with a blue fin tuna roll.



I do think you get your money's worth at Aji Kiji in this city lacking in great mid range priced sushi. However, getting it fresh at the correct temperature when your order arrives is my preference.

Then I had friends visiting in town; naturally I took them to Four Kings. I do try different things there each time I go, but I can say that these are my go tos and my high recommends:

green beans
eggplants
mapo spaghetti
hokkien fried rice







I was on another one of my epic walks another day and ended up at Sweet Glory in the Inner Sunset. Their crepe cakes were great. I loved the pandan coconut and I got the matcha to go. They used too much ceremonial grade matcha on that and it's too bitter. That is also why you typically do not bake with it. The couple next to my table were kind enough to let me taste their black sesame Basque cheesecake, which tasted like a regular cheesecake. He also happened to be a chef at Bar Crenn and we struck up a great conversation about food. A super sweet spot for a treat if you are in the mood. 

As you may remember from my NY trip last year that I really got into BBQ pork pineapple buns (which led me to find the SF equivalent). Then I was wondering why there isn't amazing pineapple bun bakeries here like they do in Hong Kong, something I miss from my childhood. Then I realized I have not gone to Pineapple King. On another sunny day, I went on another epic walk and got myself a variety from Pineapple King to try. A traditional pineapple bun does not have the pad of butter, so I am not entirely sure when this new version with the pad of butter came to be. I got their original, one with butter, another with the pandan butter, a matcha red bean tart, and a taro coconut egg tart. This is still nowhere near the amazing pineapple buns you get in Hong Kong, especially warm out of the oven. I found the ones with butter quite interesting and the one with pandan my favorite. I thought the tarts to be too sweet for my palette. Peep it. And if you ever go to Hong Kong, go to one of the bakeries that make amazing pineapple buns and you will understand my lament.







Since I am such a matcha freak, I had to check out the Shoji soft opening. Shoji will be a cafe in the day and turns into a bar and restaurant at night. I cannot say no to a good Einspanner and Shoji definitely have the fanciest (and most expensive) one in town with all that kink powder on top. I will definitely go back when they are more settled in to see what else I can get my hands on.

Hope you get to check out some of these and give yourself assignments like I did! Wish me luck in Japan and I will definitely be doing a lot of walking off all those calories there and upon my return!

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.