Mission: Street Food

Dudes, I've been attending food fests like no one's biznet lately. First up: SF Street Food Festival in the Mission. Not going to lie, but I planned this to a tee. I printed out a map and literally circled every place that I wanted to swing by. A little crazy? Slightly. But, K.yo and Special K will agree with me, when I say that you really should plan food fests. It's quite easy to get distracted because let's face it, almost everything at the festival is going to be pretty noms. Just make sure that you know where a few of the to-die-for spots are, and head to them first! BECAUSE THEY WILL SELL OUT.

First Stop: Nombe

• K.yo and I have been wanting to go to this place forever, but like any other izakaya, it's expensive. It's also in the Mission, and we don't really hang around there too often at night. Nombe probably had one of the longest lines at the festival. However, it was admittedly worth it. Bathed in sweet-and-sour sauce with green onions, basil and/or cilantro, the fried chicken wings were extremely delicious. The flavourful sauce really made it. Nombe ftw.

Second Stop: Endless Summer Sweets

• The K's and I decided to split a Funnel Cake from Endless Summer Sweets after said wings. I believe that this place is associated with La Cocina, and according to their website, they're served at certain Farmers and Flea Markets. Perfectly fried and topped with cream, strawberries, and powdered sugar, the Funnel Cake was freaking amazing. Definitely a good dessert to split.
  

Third Stop: Ritual

• You have to admit that Ritual's little trailer is pretty damn cute. I go to their coffee shop pretty often, so I wasn't planning to purchase anything that day...until I heard about their Coffee Pops. It's exactly what it sounds like. COFFEE POPSICLES. They cooled me down and kept me well caffeinated. :)

Fourth Stop: Kung Fu Tacos

• Who doesn't love that name? Major points for that before even trying it. But yeah, it was pretty good. And spicy...but I may have gone a little crazy with the sriarcha. The line was also quite long, but they are definitely worth checking out. Pictured: Mu Shu Veggie. It was mushroomy-goodness.
  

--The panda has spoken.

Der Älterer

Finally, I got my hands on some Pliny the Elder. Extra points for it being freshly bottled two days prior. This baby was number two on Beer Advocate's list of Top Beers on Planet Earth. If you're into IPA's, then you'll definitely like this. If you're not, at least give it a try! :)

*I've been going a little post crazy, since RC has gone on vacation and hasn't been able to put up posts to balance mine. But, I'm probably going to be a lot more busy now, so there won't be as high of an influx. Radpanda=Sadpanda.

Places in Berk where said drink can be found:

Bobby G's Pizzeria (It's on tap.)
2072 University Avenue @ Shattuck

Beta Lounge (They gots bottles.)
2129 Durant Avenue Fulton

Word o' advice: Take it easy with the Pliny. Ease yourself in and don't be too ambitious.

--RP has spoken.

"Forget it, RP, it's Chinatown."

After reading a blog that claimed SF Chinatown's Hing Lung had the second best Duck Wonton Noodles in the city, I thought I'd give the place another try. I've been trying to avoid this place for the past few years because I've received really bad service on occasion. So, I know everyone's response (and my response) to this comment should be (à la the title of this post), "Forget it, RP, it's Chinatown. There ain't no service." I mean, this place admittedly has a bajillion customers, so they're not losing anything from me not going there. BUT, I'd still like a little service, please. Anyways, somehow I manage to find myself there a couple times a year, since my family's been going there for a million years. This time, the sis and I decided to start out with a brunch-y dish of Zhaliang, which is basically a chinese donut wrapped with a rice noodle roll. That explanation sounds kind of weird, but it's quite tasty! So far, so good with the food. Next, we had the Duck Wonton Noodle soup that the blog was talking about. Not too shabby. Broth, noodles, and wontons were pretty noms. (Although, I am the type who prefers my mom's home-made wontons.) The duck was well marinated and roasted, but a tiny bit fatty. To finish off our meal, we had Beef Chow Fun with Black Bean Sauce. I, myself prefer a less saucy chow fun, but this is my sis' fave dish. Sauce was good. Noodles were good. A little bit too much beef, and some of it was kind of chew-y. Overall analysis of Hing Lung: Not THAT bad. Service this time was actually alright, and we got a shit ton of food. So for now, I'll try not to hate too much on this place.

Hing Lung
674 Broadway (b/w Stockton and Grant)

Sh-low Day

So K.yo and I got a bit peckish on our way to Trader Joe's today and decided to stop by Slow, a new restaurant that opened in Berk a week ago. The Chef's mission is to provide gourmet, not-overly-priced food from local/seasonal ingredients. Sounds good to me! Lunch actually does look quite affordable...sandwiches range from $5-6. But, dinner's a tiny bit more pricey. Plates range $9-12. However, the Braised Short Rib with Mascarpone Polenta, Escabeche Carrot, and Roasted Cippolini Onion was quite tasty. The short rib was perfectly tender, and the polenta was creamy nom-ness. K.yo and I both ordered it and were quite satisfied. We also left with a Double Chocolate Chip Cookie that was probably one of the best double chocolate chip cookies we've ever had. :) Definitely check it out. But if you're strapped for cash, go for lunch. They have pulled pork! Oh, and also vegetarian options!

After said adventure, I decided to bake some matcha green tea cupcakes. I absolutely love cupcakes, but every now and then, I can't justify buying one for 3 bucks, when I could bake a dozen for the same price. Special K. (my roomie) and I have been eye-ing the "Orient Express" recipe in her Cupcake book...basically it's an almond, green tea cupcake with ying-yang frosting. As you can tell from the pictured I avoided said frosting. Oh, and I despise anything with the word "orient" in it, but I thought I'd give these cupcakes the benefit of the doubt. Honestly, the recipe was a bit weird. The consistency of the dough was kind of bread-y. Not quite sure why...maybe there were too many almonds? IDK. Frosting, which was from another recipe, turned out pretty well though. I had to bust out a new can of matcha green tea, which has a prettier tint of green than my last. So, if you're making green tea frosting, know that the color will vary depending on the matcha.

Life of RP

This is what my life is made up of now: Philz Coffee, Kafka, and Sweets of some sort. If someone wants to hold an intervention for me at some point, please do! Because at this rate, I'm going to become a giant, penniless panda quite soon!

So the delicious morsel in the box is actually a Blueberry Pie Roll from Cinnaholic, one of the new foodie places on Oxford that I mentioned in my last post. Things to know about this place:

1) It's vegan.
2) You get to build your own roll from assorted frostings and toppings.
3) There's De La Paz Coffee.

It was probably the most amazing cinnamon roll that I've ever had. Also, the coffee was equally as amazing. I might need to experiment with De La Paz more. So, gogogo! You might get a little overwhelmed at first because the list of frostings and toppings is quite extensive, but don't fret! They have some specialty and pie rolls that act as assembled examples! Also, don't forget to show your student ID...you'll get a discount.

The other pic is obviously from Philz. :P Mini-red-velvet-cupcake that they strategically put next to the cashier, knowing that I would buy it. Sneaky devils! Coffee was a nom-y concoction brewed by one of the baristas. If you are feeling adventurous or have had a lot of the blends already, ask for something different. There's always one dude who makes me some crazy concoctions, but I can't vouch that every barista there does...so just ask. :)

Sometimes You Just Need BBQ and Coffee

Pulled Pork + Coffee = Such a Perfect Day
(Well taken separately...not together)

Ironwood BBQ opened recently in downtown Berk, which is btw turning into quite a foodie heaven and haven. Recently, the Oxford/Center locale has seen a lot of action as Saturn Cafe, Ippuku, Cinnaholic, and of course Ironwood have popped up on the scene. But, it's about time there's a BBQ closer to campus. This place definitely satisfies my pulled pork cravings. Get the sandwich "Memphis Style" because it tastes oh-so-good with the coleslaw. Don't eat meat? Don't fret friend! There's also a veggie option with hickory smoked tofu!

So after a K-friend and I gobbled down these sandwiches, we headed to Philz for "dessert," i.e. coffee, cupcakes, and donuts. We be healthy. But to be fair, we did take a long walk/skate around Berk beforehand. Pictured is the lovely mug that I keep at Philz. If you see anyone else drinking out of it, please do inform them of their wrongdoing. I nearly cried the other day when I thought it was missing...but no worries, all is good and settled now!

Ironwood BBQ
At 2130 Oxford St., Berkeley
(At Oxford and Center)

Philz
1600 Shattuck Ave. at Cedar, Berkeley

RAMEN CRAZE

Is it just me or is there an intense ramen craze sweeping across San Francisco?! Hapa Ramen received hella hype earlier in the summer. Namu started serving ramen as a special on certain days at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market. And now Ken Ken Ramen is appearing in the Mission!!!! Holy mother of ramen. I love love love those springy Japanese noodles, but might we be doing too much of a good thing? Anyways, here's a couple rants on the ramen I've recently reviewed:

Hapa Ramen: The "Big Daddy Bowl" is pretty noms. Fried-Chicken + braised pork are amazing. Noodles were okay, but I'm admittedly quite picky.

• Picture #1
  @ the Ferry Building Farmer's Market on Thursdays
  (+ Coffee Bar on Saturday Nights: 1890 Bryant St, San Francisco)

Namu: Once again, braised pork shoulder and broth freaking amazing. Noodles were also pretty good...but again with the picky-snobbery.

• Picture #2
  @ the Ferry Building Farmer's Market
  (The bowl I bought was a Saturday Special, so I'm not sure how often they'll have it.)

Halu: My fave ramen place outside of Japan so far. Noodles were amazing, and the Kara Age was quite impressive. Only setback is that it's kind of in a random spot in the city. (Well at least for me.) But if you find yourself in the inner Richmond, GO THERE.

• Picture #3
  312 8th Ave, San Francisco

Ippuku: I freaking flipped out when this place opened. I LOVE IZAKAYAS, and this place reminds me a lot of Japan. The noodles and broth are delicious, but expect to get a tiny portion. Everything is served tapas-style and admittedly a bit expensive. You might not want to go there when you're super hungry.

• Picture #4
  2130 Center St, Berkeley