*1211 - don't mess with me

Poka looks like a gangsta with menacingly furled lip and slitty pupils.

This was right before she developed kitty pimples on her chin from the undue stress of moving to a new home.  Yes, kitties get acne from stress!!!  It was so sad but kind of funny.  I felt like a Mummy watching my child go through puberty.  She has since cleared up, thank goodness, and I'm pretty certain she likes our new place much better than the old.  As you can see, she's got herself a nice sunny spot for excellent sunbathing.

*1210 - chicken pie with whole wheat crust, ugly but yummy

i ♥ pie

ORLY?

(... ya, rly.)

*1209 - uni

Is it very odd that for someone who enjoys Japanese food, I only recently discovered the true joy of uni (sea urchin)?  This was the dish that blew me away.  It's not often that I eat something that renders me speechless because I'm a fussy prick but D can attest to the fact that I was sitting bug-eyed, nibbling carefully and quietly at my uni and making the joy last for for a full 10 minutes.

Uni on a spoon, with raw quail egg, ponzu, spring onions, tobiko.  SO AMAZING.  We went to their sister restaurant recently and to my great disappointment, this dish wasn't on the menu and we had to settle for uni nigiri.  MAYBE IT'S GONE FOREVER.  I don't want to contemplate that thought.

This was at Nihon Whiskey Lounge.  If you sit on the second floor, you get to peer down at the bar area and wonder what happens to all those bottles if one of those little Californian earthquakes strike.

Being a whiskey lounge, they serve a bible's worth of whiskeys.  I'm not man enough to drink straight whiskey so I prefer to go for the whiskey cocktails.

We like getting an omakase of oysters--a selection of various types.

We are by no means oyster experts and can only distinguish basic and obvious differences. "I think this one's creamier."  "Maybe brinier."  "Saltier?"  "Could be the sauce."  "Eh maybe."

Pork belly is always a treat.  When I was a child, I used to cut out all the fatty bits.  Now I realise they add so much flavour and I just relish and try not to think about how bad it is for me.

One of my sushi always needs to include unagi.

While one has to include sake.  Yes I know, cheap fish, but I happen to like the flavour very much.

This one had scallop and asparagus and lemon slices on the top.

*1208 - pho bo

I adore a good bowl of steaming pho, sprouts stuffed into the hot soup as quickly as possible (I don't like the rawness), and the thin slices of beef fished out immediately (I don't like the cooked-ness).  But this is admittedly an arduous task for an angmoh who recently learnt to use chopsticks and has little experience with ever putting soup in a spoon and piling stuff on top of it so you get a cohesive single slurp of yumminess.

Puzzling to me is why I've never made Vietnamese spring rolls.  This is probably one of few dishes in which I actually enjoy the taste of fresh mint (I'll pass on the mojitos, thanks).  I love the lightness and terrific contrast of textures: chewy and soft and crisp.

Grilled lemongrass pork over vermicelli.  Also very flavorful and I love the peanuts.

*1207 - eggplant boats

To anyone who's had the fortune of being in my apartment and leeching off my 'net (just kidding), this very simple but tasty dish comes from the cookbook my internet network is named after (i.e. Latin Flavors).

Baby eggplant boats, quickly scalded and scooped almost hollow, sauteed with a host of other yummy stuff like mushrooms and onions and peppers, and baked with chicken stock for flavor and moistness.

So simple but the tastes and textures really work.  And it is always fun to have boat-shaped goodies on your plate.  Including the twice-baked mini potatoes in the background.  This meal amused and delighted me greatly because of the common themes of scooping something out, transforming, and then replacing.

In case you were wondering: baked "fried" fish in the center.

* 1206 - clear liquid chocolate

The annual Ghiradelli chocolate festival--perhaps the only real reason to ever visit the prominent Ghiradelli square.  I've been there twice apart from this festival--one I have close to little recollection of, the other puzzling because we were in search of something to do but found nothing besides eat a free chocolate square sample.

Being savvy internet-users, we researched before we got there, of course.  This is the advice of many chocolate festival veterans and now ourselves: share a tasting booklet with a friend (15 samples for $20), bring a little box to store the goodies you are too gelat to eat (we failed to do this and stocked up on Ghiradelli chocolate squares instead), and use half of your samples on chocolate-flavored liquor.

All these "famous" San Francisco vendors set up little booths and you get in line, tell them what you want, and get a scrawl on your tasting booklet.  Make it to 15 and you're done.  You can get 15 of one thing if you so please.  Walking around, you might have the fortune of chancing upon freebies like more chocolate squares, vouchers, and the ever so San Franciscan eco-friendly reusable shopping bags.  Sure, I'll take one.  We also watched Mr Ghirardelli (well, no, he was the Ghirardelli head of chocolate-making) give a very subdued presentation on the history and making of chocolate.  

But of course the highlight was the sampling.  We had chocolate raspberry tarts ...

Chocolate milkshakes ...



Chocolate oreo caramel popcorn (pretty lau hong by then; disappointed) ...



Chocolate caramel almond brittle ...



Not pictured, chocolate coconut cupcake (hey I make better and healthier cupcakes), Ghirardelli chocolate fudge sundae, and a handful of Ghirardelli chocolates.

But this was the creme de la creme.  Behold.  Double chocolate vodka.



It looks like vodka, it tastes slightly of vodka, but the during- and aftertaste is like you just drank a shot of liquid chocolate.  We were bowled over, got several shots worth of these, and walked around sipping them with eyes round with amazement at each sip. In addition, we also tried chocolate strawberry wine (??) and chocolate creme liquor.  A few times over for each.

Now that's probably the best way to deal with the chocolate festival crowd and long lines.  Get a few tasty nibbles and make a beeline for the alcohol.  

*1205 - quick breakfast

I'm pretty sure I've posted a similar picture and similar write-up before but some things are worth reiterating.

Breakfast in a cup!  This time, it was cinnamon and nutmeg milk-soaked bread lining the bottom and sides, with a generous handful of pork floss (whee, smuggled) stuffed in, toasted for a little while so that the bread set, then a chunk of cream cheese in the crater for textural variety, an egg, salt pepper sprinkle of cheese.  Popped back into the oven, watched with my eagle eye, baked until egg whites were JUST set.

Breaking the yolk = the hardest part, but the returns are worth it.

The concept is so simple.  You have your toast, your protein (bacon, ham, PORK FLOSS), and your egg.  With whatever seasonings and additions tickle your fancy that day.  

*1204 - teeth

Ginormous horsey spotted by the bay!

 

I couldn't stop staring, because I found its teeth really frightening.  It was walking around grinning gummily with all its HUGE yellowed teeth showing!  And once in a while, it would flick its humongous flappy chunk of a tongue around.  

The last straw was when it stood stock still for a moment, and let out an enormous steamy poop (I'm running out of synonyms for "big") on the grass where we saw little kids doing cartwheels and people stretching out in the sun all day.  That was when I ran away.

I'm obviously no horsey expert.  They're pretty from afar and I've never disliked them besides their smell, but I've not had one grin at me up close before.

*1203 - ice cream man

We witnessed an icecream eating competition!

Little kids eating banana splits.

With hands behind back.

And surprisingly funny commentator.

I think the little boy on the end out-ate his twin sister on his right and emerged champion.

In theory, that was all cute and fun.

But I had zero interest in the icecream eating competition.

I stuck around for the whole thing while the crowd roared on for the young'uns, for this one sole purpose.

To catch a shot of Mr Icecream Man.

This is the important section of the photo above.

Behold:



Mission accomplished.

*1202 - irish coffee

Buena Vista Cafe, the birthplace of Irish coffee in the US.

It begins with sugar cubes tossed into in a hot glass.  Then, a splash of strong brewed coffee.



A good stir with a spoon and a long pour of Irish whiskey.



Heavy cream whisked to perfection, floated on top.



Voila.  The Irish coffee.



It made for an extremely stiff midday drink.  There were tourists left and right of us and that's when you know you're supposed to be having a monumental experience worth traveling for.  It really was quite the experience.  Coffee?  Cream?  Liquor?  What's not to love?

*1201 - chopsticks

Chopsticks are maybe my favorite utensil because you can use them with such specificity.  My latest joyful discovery: they are exceptionally useful for fishing potato chips out of a bag while you're busy working on a computer and don't want a greasy keyboard.

*1200 - le chat noir

Winner of the best cat video on the Internet award.

I didn't see any of the other contestants, but I think this is a worthy winner indeed.

*1199 - vertical garden

Just bought >$200 worth of soil and succulents!!  They're now sitting slightly feebly as part of a vertical garden outside of our window.  The people helping us assured us that these succulents were extremely hardy--pluck off an arm and stuff it back into the soil, and they grow into a whole new plant!  Presumably.  It would be dreadful, and embarrassing, if these died on us.

The actual yard is still in the midst of getting leveled but boy am I excited to have by own little herb garden :)