Stay Sweet + RT Bistro + Nudi Blue + True Laurel + Ernest x Chez Noir. San Francisco + Berkeley. California.

Something old. Something New. Something Blue... I was holding out to check out Nudi Blue 3 times to do a proper review before I post, but alas they have shifted to a regular cafe menu instead. Fortunately for me, I was able to enjoy their high tea twice before this shift. Maybe they will bring it back for special occasions. More on this below.

My friend Mark at Stay Sweet SF had new bars at his pop up, so I got them. His matcha "Oreo" became my new favorite, but unfortunately for me, it's not permanent in the line up. At least I got a few in while it lasted. I also tried his passion orange guava, yuzu marshmallow pie, Vietnamese coffee s'more, and blackberry jasmine . He will be shipping to more locations now that the weather will be cooling off for fall. Makes great gifts.



Gay husband #1 Derrick Carter was headlining for the Om Records 30 year anniversary party in town and we were able to squeeze in dinner before the gig, a rarity. Everyone was really interested in where we ended up eating, including us. There were many DJs involved. Suffice to say it was worse than wrangling cats. 3 of us eventually ended up at RT Bistro and we got some things. We loved the beef dumpling, baked rigatoni and the RT Bistro burger, its signature dish. We were also being our most ridiculous selves and had a grand ol' time before we took that ridiculousness to the gig.

Marinated Olives
Preserved Meyer Lemon, Celery

Aged Beef Dumpling
French onion vinaigrette

Beef Tartare au Poivre
pluot, nasturtium, cornichon, wild fennel levain

Cali “Croque”
sourdough, garlic butter, heirloom tomato, California cheddar, confit lemon

RT Bistro Salad
pickled purple haze carrots, sherry vinaigrette, herbs

Spring Pea "Caesar"
sugar snap pea shoots, fennel levain chips, aged parmesan

Baked Rigatoni
roasted sungold tomato, Grana Padano, basil

Braised Pork Cheek
yellow peach sofrito, pomme purée

Dry Aged Duck
plum sweet ‘n’ sour, honey, koshihikari rice

RT Bistro Burger
dill pickled onion, California cheddar, bistro sauce, triple cooked fries

















Sadly Nudi Blue no longer offers its high tea service, which was my favorite by a LONG shot in the Bay Area. I was really looking forward to my third time there with a few girl friends and sadly I got the text one morning saying that they are closing to refigure out a new format. That new format is a regular cafe. Maybe it will come back for special occasions in the future because it was extremely special. And looks like I was not the only one thinking this. I mean, look at this.















After doing storage on a weekend with my friend, we decided to have brunch at True Laurel. I had dinner there before which is my favorite meal of the day there, brunch was also exceptional. As a non drinker, the True Brew was so good that I ended up getting my own. And on a sunny day like ours, it's great to to sit outdoors. Friendly reminder that although seemingly casual, this is one of the top 50 bars in the world with exceptional food to match.

TRUE BREW
Grand Cold Brew, Caffè Amaro, PX Sherry, Cold Crème

BLUEBERRY FLAPJACK
Blueberry Maple Compote, Cream

SALAD
Amazing, trust me

MAITAKE PATTY MELT
Caramelized Onion Special Sauce, Pickles, on Pain de Mie









My girl Whittany moved back from NY and we had to celebrate. Naturally I took her to Ernest and they were having an Ernest X Chez Noir dinner. What a special treat, even the chefs I know were texting me that they would kill to be there that night. It's a collaboration dinner between Chefs Brandon Rice and Jonny Black. Glad we went! Are we returning soon so Whittany can have the kakigori? Also yes!

FIRST COURSE

Monterey Bay Abalone Skewers
Liver Butter

Crispy Panisse
Boquerones

Osetra Caviar
Banana Bread

Hog Island Oyster
Michelada

SECOND COURSE

Bluefin Niçoise
Carola Potato, Goldem Nugget, Tomato, Pole Beans

Beef Tartare
Sushi Rice, Ikura, Nori

THIRD COURSE

Corn Triangoli
'Nduja, Garlic Scapes, Scallion

Parker House Rolls
Cultured Butter

Melon
Swordfish Prosciutto, Ricotta

FOURTH COURSE

Stuff Quail
Dirty Rice, Porcini, Padrones, Jamón

BBQ Morel Mushrooms

Duck Tsukune, Taré, Egg Yolk

DESSERT

Chez Noir Petit Fours

Ernest Hazelnut Soft Serve Sundae

Son & Garden + Ernest + Four Kings + San Ho Won + Nudi Blue. San Francisco + Berkeley. California. 3-4.2026.

Now for my birthday month extravaganza. While I have done massive tables with groups of friends in the past, it's rather difficult to gather everyone on the same night nowadays. Instead, I got multiple tables throughout the month with groups of up to 6. I loved this so much that I will likely do this moving forward for future birthday celebrations. That way, you can actually talk to everyone at the table and people can join when they can and have varied price points.

First up I had high tea at my friend's Son & Garden at the Secret Bar. I have always wanted to try the high tea here and my friend Deb was the perfect choice for this outing. It was Alice in Wonderland themed in their whimsical space. It's a lot of food so we ended up taking some to go for later.

DRINK ME:
Butterfly Pea Lemon Elixir
Color-Changing Tea with Fresh Lemon Slice

SWEET TREATS:
Opera Cakes
Zesty Lemon Tarts with Fruit
Canelé with Mascarpone Cream
Macaron with Matcha Cream Cheese
Lychee Panna Cotta with Rose Lychee Sauce

SAVORY DELIGHTS:
Tuna with Dill Sandwiches
Egg Salad + Chives
Smoke Honey Turkey, Grain Mustard and Cheese
Artichoke Cheese Beignets
Homemade Samosas

BAKERY DELICACIES:
Fluffy Blueberry Scones
Accompanied by Freshly Whipped Lavender Butter

















Some videos from my Instagram.

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On my actual birthday, both James Curd and Derrick Carter were playing at Queen at Smartbar in Chicago and I was invited to join them. However, I opted to stay in San Francisco to celebrate with my friends at Ernest instead. Ernest is one of my favorites in SF and I was hoping that they will have a new kakigori flavor in time for my birthday. Luckily for me, it was updated to strawberry shortcake a few days before our meal and I was over the moon! In fact I matched my outfit to it.



If you have not yet been to Ernest, I would urge you to do so. It's a superb hyper seasonal menu. Please don't skip the kakigori as it's on par with what I had in Japan.

Sushi Rice

inure, raw beef, toasted nori

Octopus Tostada

chermoula, daikon

Bluefin Tuna Sashimi

smoked onion, yoga

Parker House Rolls

house cultured butter & its milk 

Country Pâté

cauliflower leaf kimchi, scallion pancakes

Brandade Croquettes

basil aioli

Koshihokari Fried Rice

mistake mushroom, yellow chives

Asparagus

red miso sabayon

Grilled Avocado

artichoke, almond & green garlic romesco

Burrata

sprouting broccoli, blood orange sweet & sour

Black Cod Collars

potato & celery velouté, smoked trout roe

Pork Tonkatsu

tonkatsu broth, rays

BBQ Shortrib

morita hoisin, salt & pepper onion rings

Hazelnut Soft Serve Sundae

Medium Rare Basque Cheesecake

Strawberry Shortcake Kakigori

















While I had James in town from Australia, naturally I had to take him to Four Kings since he has terrible food where he is in Australia. Thanks for my birthday mango sorbet and for feeding me always! It was my favorite dessert I have had at Four Kings.







San Ho Won was next on the list of difficult reservations again since I loved it so much last time and many of my friends had not been. Thankfully my cousin was also able to join as we tried before and was unable to get it and it slipped through the cracks.

First a stroll around the neighborhood as we got there early.


This is one of my favorite homes to walk by in the Mission.






Panda pan!


Ariel clearly impressed.




Naturally, we ordered almost the entire menu again. Apparently I am one of the very few that has ordered that way there multiple times. You guys are missing out if you don't.

We added the Chunjang-Glazed Pork Ribs | 춘장 등갈비구이  and Gungjung Tteokbokki | 궁중 떡볶이 (Soy Sauce Braised Rice Cake and Beef Short Rib) and we loved both of these dishes.



This was me ordering the entire menu and my cousin praying that she will get through the meal.






















I was very excited about the Ssuk Bingsu: Pistachio, Red Bean, Sour Cherry.

Then I went to Nudi Blue in Berkeley on its opening weekend with the girls for high tea, who is the new reigning champion of best high tea in the Bay Area. Brought to you by the team behind Kin Khao and Tanzie, Nudi Blue lives up to its reputation. You will need a reservation for high tea, or you can get à la carte items for walk in. I would highly recommend the high tea as that is the best way to experience Nudi Blue. You will not be disappointed with its food offerings in addition to their selection of organic hand harvested teas from Chiang Mai. While some of the teas like lychee and rose may be more on the bitter spectrum, they are wonderful paired with their house made orange blossom sugar. They will soon be opening for night time as a raw bar with seafood offerings with el fresco access in the back. Do not sleep on this gem. I knew upon my first bite that this is something extra special. 

FIRST COURSE

Pastries

Earl Grey NY Roll: Earl Grey Cream, Candied Earl Grey

Mini Guava Croisant

Smoked Sturgeon Half Moon: Smoked Local Sturgeon, Cream Cheese, Dill, Cucumber, Baerii Caviar

Tartlets

Seasonal Citrus: Citrus Compote, White Tea Cream, Candied Kumquat, Fresh Citrus

Pear & Lychee: Pear and Apple, Lychee Cream

SECOND COURSE

Seasonal Salad: Micro leeks, Micro Thai Basil, Sunburst Squash, Green Patty Squash, Purple Snow Peas, Peach Vinaigrette

Scones

Wagyu & Quinta

Blueberry Peach

Tea Sandwiches

Cucumber: Fresh Cucumber, Cucumber Gelée, Cream Cheese, Rauram, Shokupan

Duck: Smoked Duck Breast, Duck mousse, Blueberry Coulis, Camembert Cheese, Micro Shiso, Toasted Shokupan

Ham & Mustard: Brined Rosemary Ham, Quinta Cheese, Crispy Prosciutto, Puffed Pastry, Micro Leeks