Asian Pearl Peninsula in Millbrae was at one time, part of the same Culinary Wonderland group that owned the highly rated The Kitchen in Millbrae, hence the same menu. We’ve been to this location a couple times and have found it to offer very good Cantonese Chinese cuisine, in face some of the best in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Richmond Asian Pearl has also served up very good Chinese food. This place stays open till 1am. This review incorporates many dinner visits from 2009 through Late 2011. A separate review is for Asian Pearl Peninsula Dim Sum Lunch.

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One of the better Chinese restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area… Asian Pearl Peninsula in Millbrae was at one time, part of the same Culinary Wonderland group that owned the highly rated The Kitchen in Millbrae, hence the same menu. We’ve been to this location a couple times and have found it to offer very good Cantonese Chinese cuisine, in face some of the best in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Richmond Asian Pearl has also served up very good Chinese food. This place stays open till 1am. Our visit was for dim sum lunch. Asian Pearl Peninsula has a separate Asian Pearl Peninsula dinner review. Our last visit was at the beginning of 2011.

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Why did we dine here? – Leopold’s is a hot new Austrian – German restaurant located on Russian Hill that has been getting a lot of positive press. Bauer liked it and Yelp fans are all over it. As the place opens at 530pm and the waiting starts around 6 PM. No reservations. A loud party every night! As they put it – “Casual, urban-rustic neighborhood gathering spot and bierhaus”. Are you ready for the 5 Liter beer? Read the rest of this entry »

Why did we dine here? – Caprinos is a long-standing Italian restaurant in Belmont that in March, 2011 became home to chef Gator Thompson. (Gators Neo Soul, several unsuccessful short stints after that) We were passing by and decided to see how his influence was taking shape. We focused on ordering items that he had added to the menu or reformulated. He is focusing on using fresh seasonal ingredients and healthy cooking. Read the rest of this entry »

Scratch is a new restaurant from Rob Fischer who runs Palo Alto Creamery, Reposado, and Gravity. This restaurant opened at the end of 2010. Fine Dining meets American Comfort Cuisine is their motto. We happen to be in the area and decided to give this place a try. The restaurant is modern, with clean lines, lots of wood, and large windows to the Street. Our last visit was at the end of 2011.

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Taste In is a family owned Mediterranean deli and restaurant in Burlingame’s Broadway Street shopping district. They focus on Mediterranean cuisine including falafel’s, schawerma, kabobs and the like. This place opened in late 2009. Our last visit was in fall 2011. Read the rest of this entry »

The Ferry Building Marketplace is one of our most favorite destinations in San Francisco. Filled with restaurants, food stands, and gift shops, this place is on any foodies must visit list. Here are some of our favorite shops to visit and dine at. Read the rest of this entry »

The iPhone is an essential tool when traveling to Japan for Americans. Google maps, travel guides, language translation, and many other apps are extremely useful. Using our United States, USA AT&T iPhone in Japan is tricky. Verizon iPhones from the USA do not work internationally. Here are some tips on using your iPhone in Japan. We also have an article on using iPhones in Hong Kong – using iPhones in China – using iPhones in France – using iPhones in the UK

Be sure to read our restaurant reviews for Japan:

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Shanghai Winter Garden recently opened in Millbrae, continuing the trend of new Shanghai restaurant on the Peninsula. This restaurant is located in the spot that once housed the deli, so the interior is pretty nice.

Summary – Shanghai Winter Garden is a pretty mediocre restaurant except for a couple interesting dishes.
Insider Tip – Go for Snacks

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Mutsu is a long-standing family run Japanese restaurant about 2 blocks from the CalTrain station that has been here for a while and probably hasn’t changed much. We’ve been to most of the Japanese restaurants in this area, except for this one, so it was time to expand our horizons. San Mateo is home to a large Japanese community, so there are Japanese restaurants on practically every block.

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We visited the Granville Public Market in Vancouver, BC and found it to be a must visit for foodies to visit, but not as spectacular as San Francisco’s ferry building, Beijing’s Dong Hua Men market or London’s Borough market. The network of small vendors and gift shops almost overshadowed the food area for us.

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The Kitchen is part of a restaurant group that owns Chinese Cantonese restaurants in California including Asian Pearl Peninsula. We’ve been to most of them and find them pretty good. This review concentrates on dim sum served only during lunch. Another review covers The Kitchen dinner. We had to wait about 20 minutes to be seated, pretty typical on another occasion around 2pm, we walked right in. They appear to be under new ownership and not related to Asian Pearl anymore.  Our last visit for lunch was in March 2012. The Kitchen has recently remodeled the dining room, making it much more open, spacious, and modern. They were listed in the Michelin Guide (No stars) and recently added a  freshly made Dragon Beard Candy stand by the door.

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