Maybe Again
Everett and Jones is a Barbecue restaurant with locations in Berkeley, Hayward, Sacramento, and Oakland’s Jack London Square. We ate at their Berkeley location, which is much more informal than their flagship Oakland one, which has live music. Our last visit was to the Berkeley location in 2013.
Hong Kong East Ocean Seafood Restaurant is located in Emeryville, right by the Bay. It has excellent views of San Francisco. The restaurant is popular for dim sum and for large banquets, especially on the weekends. Our last visit was in the middle of 2011.
We recently finished up our latest culinary tour of China in the Spring of 2011. Sanya, a beautiful city on China’s Hainan Island, has become essentially China’s Hawaii with beautiful sandy beaches, palm trees, and warm weather. Many Chinese tourist flock here during Chinese New Year and other holidays, packing the beaches until there is no room left!
Here are some quick mini reviews of places we ate at. We feel this will be useful as more people visit this up-and-coming area. We found few reviews on Trip Advisor and Dianping.
Din Tai Fung is a popular Hong Kong dumpling restaurant with locations in Bellevue, Los Angeles, Taipei, Japan, China, Singapore, and several other countries. We had previously dined at Din Tai Fung in Shanghai’s touristy Xintiandi. The Los Angeles location is in Arcadia with Yelp reviews unfortunately indicating it is a step down from the ones abroad.
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.
Jang Su Jang is a popular Korean restaurant in Santa Clara, located on El Camino Real, home to many Korean businesses. We decided to give it a try having seen many reviews on the restaurant, in addition to personal recommendations.
Sweet Basil Thai Cuisine is a restaurant in Foster City, a couple doors down from popular 5 Joy Chinese restaurant. They also run a vegetarian Thai restaurant next door. We were going to 5 Joy decided to mix it up a little bit after having a very good meal at Osha Thai in San Francisco.
Decor, Vibe – Sweet Basil Thai Cuisine has very nice interior decor with Buddha fountain by the door, modern art lamps, wooden banquettes, and bamboo tables. The place was pretty full for a weekend evening.
Menu
South Beauty is a very beautiful restaurant located in the Super Brand Mall in Shanghai’s Pudong district. The view of the Bund was awesome from this location making us worry about the quality of the food. You have to spend at least ¥200 per person to sit by the window. Dining on the outdoor deck is unparalleled. South Beauty, founded in 2000 by Zhang Lan, has over 40 high end restaurants throughout China including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Chengdu, Suzhou, QingDao, Shenyang. They also run Steam, LAN Club, and SUBU. We had eaten at this location about two years ago and had mixed results. South Beauty Was picked this time because the other restaurants in the Super Brand Mall had already closed. They serve a combination of Sichuan and Cantonese Chinese food in stylish environments.
Din Tai Fung is a popular Shanghai dumpling restaurant with locations in Los Angeles, Taipei, Japan, China, Singapore, and several other countries. We dined at the location in Shanghai’s touristy Xintiandi. The Los Angeles location is in Arcadia with Yelp reviews unfortunately indicating it is a step down from the ones abroad.
This restaurant started in Taipei City and has expanded over the years based on the popularity of their Shanghai steamed dumplings. We decided not to visit the USA, Beijing, Tokyo or Hong Kong branch and eat at one in the heart of Xiao Long Bao dumpling territory, Shanghai, China. We were hoping that this would be the star location for dumplings.
Gourmet Village is a Chinese restaurant that opened in April 2010 on Millbrae’s Broadway Street. The chef used to work at the well-respected The Kitchen restaurant. We came once for lunch and once for dinner.
Decor, Vibe – Gourmet Village has bare-bones Chinese restaurant decor with just a couple artifacts on the walls and some seafood tanks in the back. Mostly locals were having lunch when we were dining. Dinner was another story, with the place jam packed. Asians seem to like trying new places.
Menu
5A5 Steak Lounge is a contemporary take on a Steakhouse, and is located in San Francisco’s Jackson Square area. They serve , 100% natural beef with no antibiotics or hormones. Executive Chef Allen Chen formerly cooked at Cupertino’s top rated Alexanders Steakhouse, so you see a lot of similarities here.
Sun Sui Wah Seafood Restaurant is a popular Chinese restaurant in Vancouver. This restaurant is mentioned and most tour books and best of articles. It is located about 2 miles south of Vancouver’s Chinatown and it opened in the 1980s.
In-N-Out Burger opened way back in 1948 in Baldwin Park, California focusing as a drive through hamburger stand. Their motto is “Give customers the freshest, highest quality foods you can buy and provide them with friendly service in a sparkling clean environment.” They have locations in California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah.
Commis is a hot restaurant in Oakland run by James Syhabout. He has cooked at several superstar restaurant; Manresa, The Fat Duck, el Bulli, Mugaritz, and Alkimia. Commis focuses on Contemporary California cuisine with a focus on local, sustainable, and eco friendly practices. The restaurant is located in the Piedmont Avenue area of Oakland, home to hot spots like Bay Wolf, Dopo, and Fentons. Commis received one Michelin star in 2010.
Amigos Grill is a Mexican restaurant in Portola Valley’s Ladera shopping center, about 1/4 mile west of Highway 280 on Alpine Road.
Pho Miss Saigon is an inexpensive Vietnamese noodle place in downtown San Mateo. You can order a bowl of noodles and have them in 5 minutes, making this a good alternative to fast food.
L’Ardoise is a charming French Bistro located on a quiet street in the 1st Arrondissement, a block from the Jardin des Tuileries, and not far from the Louvre. They have a very affordable 34€ three course meal as well as an a la carte menu. We ordered two of these meals, plus and extra entree. If you need an early dinner, this is one of the few that start dinner at 6:30pm. L’Ardoise is mentioned in many tour books.
Since 1935, La Poule au Pot has specialized in chicken hot pot. They have an extremely good value 35€ three course fixed price menu. We ordered two of then plus an extra entree. This restaurant is located in the Les Halles area (Lots of shops and restaurants), and stays open very late.
Le Comptoir du Relais Saint Germain is a quaint Left Bank brasserie in the 6th that serves up classic French fare. It is connected to a 4 star hotel, The Relais Saint Germain and a couple blocks from the Jardin du Luxembourg. The owner, Yves Camdeborde, used to work at the famous Crillon restaurant. Lunch is bistro menu based, while dinner follows a more formal daily changing multi course prix fix menu. We had to wait about 20 minutes for a table during lunch. Dinner reservations must be made well in advance. This place is in many tourist guides like the Fodor’s and was on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations.
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Chinese name: 锦江苑餐厅
Jinjiang Palace Chinese Restaurant is located in Taiyuan’s 5 star World Trade Hotel, about 400km from Beijing. They focus on traditional Shanghai cuisine.
Restaurant Made in China is a Chinese restaurant located in the five star Grand Hyatt hotel in Beijing, China. They focus on Northern Chinese cuisine including Peking Duck and Beggar’s Chicken. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We were worried that this restaurant was a typical tourist trap with mediocre food at high prices but decided to visit for dinner because we were staying in the hotel. No free tea here. You have to pay for it as you do in other places. 15% service charge. We tried to stay with the menu marked specialties.
Izzy’s Steaks and Chops is a popular steakhouse in the Marina district of San Francisco. It was opened in 1987. They also have locations in San Carlos and San Ramon. We visited the San Francisco location. Izzy’s is named after Izzy Gomez, a legendary San Francisco saloonkeeper. Steaks at Izzy’s include 2 of their sides. They have several seafood options for non meat eaters. Vegetarians should stay away.
Big Mouth Burgers Restaurant is located in the Mission and uses Mountain Natural Foods Natural Beef without hormones, antibiotics, insecticides or chemical residues. They include fries with their burgers.
Taqueria Cancun is a friend’s Mexican restaurant favorite. They’re located in the heart of the Mission district and take cash only. They have 2 other locations in San Francisco.
This place is popular with the late night crowd as it is open very late.
Frascati is a Mediterranean style bistro neighborhood restaurant on Russian Hill in San Francisco. Since 1987 this place has been serving it up. It has some of the highest ratings on Yelp.
Sushi Main Street is a Japanese Restaurant in Half Moon Bay, just off the Main street shopping area on Mill street. They have been around for several years and used to be located on Main street. Their menu is quite extensive for a small coastal town.
Mingalaba Restaurant is a Burmese and Mandarin Chinese restaurant in downtown Burlingame in the Burlingame avenue shopping district. It has been open since late June 2008. They serve many Burmese dishes along with some standard Americanized Chinese fare. They have some good lunch combo deals at $6.95 – $9.95.
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Pasta Moon is one of a handful of restaurants on Main street in Half Moon Bay.
It was time to try it, as we’ve been to Cetrella and Sushi Main too many times.