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Tinkuy is the lunch buffet that even non hotel guests can reserve for lunch. It costs about US$44 per person and has a wide variety of items. I presume the same kitchen prepares this food as next door. It is open 11am-330pm. Online reservations are through their Facebook page.
Tampu Breakfast Buffet walk thru in the Sanctuary Lodge at Machu Picchu, Peru.
Why did we eat here? – Tampu is the main restaurant in the Sanctuary Lodge at Machu Picchu. Breakfast and lunch are open to hotel guests & non-hotel guests (based on availability – reserve ahead). Breakfast buffet costs US$35. Dinner is open to hotel guests only. The other restaurant next door is a lunch buffet for the general public USD$44, that the hotel also runs.
Why did we eat here? – Quipas is a restaurante de cocina peruana contemporánea ubicado in Lima, Peru. Not a big spot, about 12 tables and a bar counter. They serve lunch and dinner. This was our first dinner in Peru and a highly anticipated one that is rated at 4.9 on Google. (They do ask you to leave a review after you pay) A fellow foodie suggested we try this spot. We were trying to get the best of Peru, but without tasting menus.
Some American Express cards including their Platinum Card have $400 Resy Credit each year, $100 a quarter. There’s a lot of marginal spots on the list. What are the restaurants worth eating at in San Francisco?
We have been coming here for years to Boulevard San Francisco Restaurant near the Ferry Building in the Embarcadero waterfront area. It is one of our favorite places as it is pretty consistent.. Always a candidate for the short list of best restaurants. It earned One Michelin Stars last in 2015 and lost it after.
Why did we dine here? – Rich Table is the work of Husband and wife Chefs Evan and Sarah Rich. (Bouley, Coi, Michael Mina) Pretty casual but full of middle aged well dressed foodies, this loud restaurant has a rustic, barn like setting. Our last visit was in Summer 2026 when we found them on the Chase Sapphire list! They also run RT Bistro next door.
Why did we eat here? – We were staying at the Ritz Carlton Bangkok and had Free breakfast thanks to Chase Sapphire Reserved The Edit or Amex Platinum! It normally costs 1118 THB = USD$34, which is Very reasonable. This is not just a beautiful and great hotel, it is centrally located next to the One shopping mall. This mall has some great food options on floor B1 and 3rd floor.
Buffet Walk Through
One day in Hong Kong and we luckily picked a great dim sum restaurant!
This restaurant returned its original name: Lai Ching Heen – Signifying a homecoming, Yan Toh Heen got remodeled in 2022 and returns to its treasured original name, Lai Ching Heen after that. It started with that name back in 1984. Our latest visit was in summer 2026.
Why did we dine here? – Maria Isabel is the latest restaurant from the Laura and Sayat Ozyilmaz of Dalida Fame. Chef Laura’s family roots in Guerrero and Sinaloa allow her to purse this cuisine. We loved their other spot, so we had to give this new place a try. We gave the place about 2 months to dial in. This restaurant lives up to all the hype.
Acquerello Restaurant (which means “watercolor” in Italian) is an upscale Italian restaurant in the Polk Gulch Area of San Francisco, just off Van Ness. For over 20 years, they have been serving traditional dishes from all regions of Italy in a lighter, more contemporary style. Frankly, a lot of the dishes are more American or New American.
Won Kok Millbrae opened in November 2025 where Asian Pearl was last. Won Kok has had a location on Monterey Blvd in San Francisco for many years. This spot has updated decor from the previous restaurant along with a temporary wall to sub divide the room.
The menu is pretty straightforward old school traditional Cantonese dim sum. Not a lot of modern or cutesy dishes.
Did you know the California state bird is a quail?
Why did we dine here? – State Bird Provisions has generated lots of positive buzz from reviewers to fellow food bloggers, with its excellent food and unique dim sum cart like serving system. 4.5 stars on Yelp, One Michelin star starting in 2014, James Beard award winning, you get it. Their sister restaurant next door is also fabulous, The Progress, which is more cutting edge and vegetable forward.
Best Vegan Bakery Ratings for Top Rated Cakes, Cupcakes, Pastries Etc in San Francisco Area
Blue Sky Cafe is a casual Hong Kong style Chinese eatery in the middle of an industrial park in Belmont. Weird location but very solid Cantonese Chinese food and a popular destination. If you appreciate this type of food, run here as there is nothing like it on the Peninsula. Everyone knows now, because the place is really busy on the weekend. Takeout on a Saturday night had a 2 hour delay, so order early for dinner, like at noon! Last visited in late 2026.
Joy, aka Joy’s Taiwan or 5 Joy Restaurant is a small restaurant in the Beach Park plaza strip mall bordering the San Francisco Bay in Foster City, just south of the Highway 92 San Mateo Bridge. A hidden gem in the middle of no where. The Thai restaurant in the same complex is also solid.
Top Notch Modern Hi-End Dim sum
Our goto Chinese Restaurant in San Francisco Area..
Why did we dine here? – HL Peninsula opened near Costco Business center of South San Francisco. This is a large and opulent restaurant that is typical of ones in China. High ceilings, huge TV screens, and many private rooms. (Reminds us of J Zhou in Tustin) There is no other place like this nearby. They are part of a restaurant group that has locations in Vancouver and China. Yes, China money is flowing in and we are benefiting from better restaurants.
Why did we dine here? – Harborview Restaurant is located in 4 Embarcadero Center, San Francisco. It takes the place of Crystal Jade, which spend $14 remodeling the space. This restaurant is run the founder of by the well established R & G Lounge Kinson Wong. Embarcadero underground garage parking validation available -> $2 parking on weekends.
Great choice for reasonably priced, solid dim sum in San Francisco.
Hong Kong Lounge is a popular Chinese Restaurant located in San Francisco’s Outer Richmond district that opened in late 2008. They serve dim sum at lunch time and are quite busy. Last meal was Summer 2026.
Why did we dine here? – Pho Ha Noi is a Vietnamese restaurant located in an outdoor mall Vietnam Town Plaza in San Jose. The area is full of high quality Asian restaurants and shops. Their pho is some of the top in the SF Bay Area. This restaurant also has a location in Cupertino and added Palo Alto in 2023.
Why did we dine here? – Four Kings is a Cantonese Chinese restaurant in San Francisco Chinatown. It is started by alumni Franky and Mike from nearby Michelin starred Mister Jius. Considering that this is one of our native cuisines, we just had to give it a try. The spot has also garnered extremely high reviews on Yelp. Last visit was in Early 2026.
Great Eastern Restaurant in San Francisco has been serving Cantonese Chinese food in this location for many years. They serve dim sum during lunch, dinner and traditional Chinese items during dinner. Great Eastern dim sum lunch was reviewed separately. President Obama dined here in February 2012, so did Tim Cook.
Dalida is a Modern Mediterranean Restaurant in San Francisco’s Presidio. Dalida gets its name from a few places. In Polish-Yiddish it means dahlia, the official flower of San Francisco, but its also chef’s mother’s name. The food is a little Turkish, a little Greek, Armenian, Jewish, Arabic and Persian. The couple also runs the Mexican Restaurant Maria Isabel. The chef Sayat Oyzilmaz worked at Blue Hill at Stone Barns and joined the Le Bernardin. He’s probably best known around SF in working at Noosh and leaving. (Yes we ate there when they were cooking) The food is geared towards eating family style.
Bourbon Steak has recently reappeared in the Westin Saint Francis. Deja Vu. We were last here about 15 years ago. Since then, prices have risen significantly. Steaks start at $70. it is Expensive, so let’s get that out of the way. The space is dark, clubby and loud with modern music.
First time in Texas and we had to get BBQ. Pinkerton’s BBQ has locations in Houston and San Antonio. It is one of the top spots on Yelp when we searched, plus it was not far from IAH airport.
Why did we dine here? – Arquet is a new restaurant from the team at one Michelin Star Sorrel. We were fans of Sorrel and chef Alex Hong, and had to give this newspot a try. It is located in the former Slanted Door location at the Ferry Building, right next to their bakery – Parachute. Arquet opened only 3 weeks before our first visit, so there were kinks definitely being worked out.
Must goto for SF vegans/vegetarians! Plant based cuisine satisfying even Carnivores.
Why did we dine here? – Shizen Vegan Sushi Bar & Izakaya has remarkable 4.5 stars on Yelp. With the plant based revolution booming, we just had to try this spot. We’ve returned a couple times.. Must go for vegans and vegetarians. They started offering takeout during the pandemic.
Why did we dine here? – Din Tai Fung is a popular Xiao Long Bao (It means small bamboo steamer bun in Chinese) – Shanghai Steamed Soup dumpling restaurant with locations in Bellevue, Seattle, Southern California, Taiwan, Japan, China, Indonesia, Macau, Singapore, and several other countries. Few Chinese dishes generate so much obsession. Think of it like a quest to find the best burger or pizza. We have been to this location several times. Din Tai Fung grosses more per location than any other restaurant, even Nobu.
Since 1999, they have been California/Mediterranean-inspired menu in a stylish setting in the middle of the Mission district of San Francisco. They focus on local and organic ingredients.
Where does a San Francisco Foodie eat in Morocco? Follow our journey and learn from our experiences. Here are Restaurant Reviews and Notes from our Summer 2025 trip to Morocco.
4505 Burgers and BBQ is run by chef and artisan butcher Ryan Farr. Ryan formerly was executive chef at Fifth Floor. They used to have a stand at the Ferry building but have since setup permanently on Divisadero in SF’s Nopa neighborhood. 4505 also has a thriving business in meat snacks and fried pork rinds. We gotten take out several times, last was in 2026.
A better BBQ place is Breakwater BBQ in El Granda. San Francisco’s BBQ pales in comparison with the real deal. Check out the best BBQ we’ve had – Pinkerton’s Houston.
Why did we dine here? – Valley Goat is a new restaurant from Chicago’s Girl and the Goat Chef Stephanie Izard and Boka Restaurant Group. Top Chef Winner, Iron Chef Gauntlet Winner, and James Beard Award Winning! She also runs Girl & The Goat Los Angeles. We loved our meal out there and couldn’t wait to give this nearby outpost a try, but Sunnyvale? This is located at the Treehouse Hotel Silicon Valley – Next door to the Google Cloud Building.
Why did we dine here? – Happy Crane is a brand new modern Chinese restaurant in San Francisco that has been eagerly awaited after a successful popup. In Chinese culture, the crane symbolizes longevity, wisdom, and nobility, while the name itself also pays subtle homage to the charming, storybook-style names found in traditional English pubs. Chef James used to work at Benu among other prestigious kitchens. We’ve eaten at Bo Innovation in Hong Kong, where he had worked. Definitely see the influence. This restaurant continues the movement toward modern Cantonese food in San Francisco. It builds upon the momentum of Four Kings and Mister. Jiu. We have eaten here twice.
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Where does a San Francisco Foodie eat in Seattle? Follow our journey and learn from our experiences.
Why did we dine here? – Twelvemonth is a new plant-based vegan restaurant in downtown Burlingame. It has been hotly anticipated as there are no such restaurants in this area. We had to previously drive to SF or Palo Alto to get quality vegetarian food. We have dined here multiple times with the last at the end of 2025.
Why did we dine here? – The Progress is the long awaited follow on to immensely popular State Bird Provisions. Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski have a hard act to expand on, but all foodies are salivating at the thought of this new restaurant. First visit was way back in 2014, latest visit was summer 2025. They have one Michelin Star.
We are lovers of high end lavish buffets and nowhere are they more present than in Hong Kong. Not trying to get our money’s worth, we like trying all sorts of different food, items we would never order!
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Zhangjiajie is an amazing place in the Hunan Province of China. The scenic beauty of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is unmatched with its sandstone pillars. The movie Avatar was inspired there. Zhangjiajie’s Avatar Mountains are located in Yuanjiajie, Wulingyuan Scenic Area of Hunan Province, China. The area is accessible via Zhangjiajie City. Be sure to pay extra for VIP tickets to cut in line!
Lai Lai is known for top rated Xiao long bao aka XLB or soup dumplings. We’ve been to Yu garden, Jia jia, Din Tai Fung and several other places on past trips, so it was time for a new place.
Top xiao long bao in Shanghai?
Jia Jia Tang Bao (佳家汤包) is a small but popular Shanghai steamed dumpling or Xiaolongbao shop in Shanghai established in 1986. Our first visit was in 2010, then 2014. Our most recent visit was in Summer 2025 when they had moved down the block to nicer location.
Dumplings worth flying across the Pacific Ocean for…
Yang’s Dumpling – Chinese name: 小杨生煎馆 or xiao yang sheng jian guan 生煎包 – is a popular fried dumpling shop serving pan fried pork bun or Sheng jian bao, a Shanghainese Chinese dish. It was formed in Shanghai in 1994 by Mrs. Yang, who still keeps her recipe secret. They have many locations in Shanghai and are opening more all the time even in Austrailia. We dined at the Shanghai Huanghe location nearest to our hotel by People’s Square.
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We recently finished a culinary tour of China in the Summer of 2025. Shanghai is a world class city full of great food. Most of the Chinese food was superior to that in the San Francisco Bay Area and even Vancouver, BC Canada.
Why did we dine here? – Eylan is the latest restaurant from Chef Srijith Gopinathan and restaurateur Ayesha Thapar, the creators of Ettan, Copra. We liked those two spots, so we had to give this a try. Judging from the reservation site, we knew this place is already a hot ticket. Loud and crowded, they already are busy.
Redefining top notch dim sum and Chinese food near San Francisco.
Why did we dine here? – Grand Harbor is a Chinese restaurant in Burlingame, California, located right by the San Francisco Bay. (Next door to Benihana) The building and parking lot look sketch. It has a grand view of the Bay and the San Francisco Airport to the north. Leisurely watch planes landing all meal long. Our Last visit (#6) was in Winter 2025.
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