Dine Again?
Why did we dine here? – Pacific Catch is a small string of restaurants in the Northern California area. They were started by the founders of World Wrapps. The first location open in San Francisco on Chestnut Street in 2003, with the San Mateo branch opening in 2014, right next to the Century Theaters multiplex.
Japanese Izakaya is hot in the SF Bay Area right now.. Yakitori Kokko is a Japanese Izakaya or drinking oriented establishment (like Sumika in the South Bay, Ippuku in Berkeley or Izakaya Mai in San Mateo) that serves casual food focusing on skewers of meat and liquor. It is run by Japanese folks and feels pretty authentic. Yakitori means chicken grill, so the focus is on charcoal grilled meats. The place has gotten some good buzz, so we decided to give it a try. Our last visit was in the summer of 2015.
Chez Panisse Cafe is the lower cost, more casual, a la carte menu restaurant upstairs from famous Chez Panisse. We dined at the main restaurant Chez Panisse previously. Alice Waters started a food revolution here, way back in 1971. She strives to serve only the highest quality products, and only when they are in season. All produce, meat, poultry, and fish come from farms, ranches, and fisheries guided by principles of sustainability. This restaurant has produced many famous chefs that have gone on to start their own restaurants. Our last visit was in February 2014.
The Kitchen is part of a restaurant group that owns highly regarded 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 dinner. The food here is pretty authentic Chinese Cantonese food, so some may not like this type of more hardcore cuisine. Do not come here for General’s Chicken or Broccoli Beef. Another review covers The Kitchen dim sum lunch. Our last visit for dinner was in 2015, a meal where we found that their quality has improved. We’d consider this #2 behind Koi Palace. The Kitchen has recently remodeled the dining room, making it much more open, spacious, and modern.
Why did we dine here? – Roka Akor is a modern Japanese restaurant that opened in San Francisco in 2013. They have branches in Scottsdale, Arizona as well as Chicago and Old Orchard. This is an offshoot of the popular Roka in London.
Why did we dine here? – Seven Hills is a quaint neighborhood restaurant in San Francisco’s Russian Hill. We used to live nearby, had heard all the rave reviews, and finally had an excuse to dine there. They proudly list the various local suppliers they use on their website.
Michael Bauer gave it a 2.5 star, Very good rating in 2013. A high 4.5 stars on Yelp.
Fenton’s Creamery has been around since 1922 in Oakland. They produce their own ice cream and toppings batch by batch on site. They serve breakfast, sandwiches, burgers, salads, but the main draw is of course, ice cream. Their creations are simply huge. Even the kid’s ice creams are huge. Our last visit was to the Nut Tree Vacaville location in the spring of 2015.
Donato Enoteca is an Italian Restaurant in downtown Redwood City, located right next to City Hall. They serve modern Italian focusing on fresh, simple ingredients, and focusing on the chef’s Donata Scotti (formerly of La Strada) Northern Italian roots. Our last visit for dinner outside in 2020 during the Covid 19 Pandemic.
Post Pandemic, Whisk has buffets or semi-buffets on special holidays only.
Whisk is a restaurant in the posh hotel Mira, which is renowned for having Edward Snowden, the US whistleblower, stay. This hotel is conveniently located in the middle of the main Hong Kong tourist district. We were originally going to revisit our favorite Sunday Brunch buffet, Conrad, but after having an even better buffet in Singapore, we decided to try something new and less expensive. Whisk is a Contemporary European the rest of the week.
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Why did we dine here? – Cuisine Cuisine is a One Michelin star restaurant in the posh Hotel Mira (They had 2 Michelin stars in the past), which is renowned for having Edward Snowden, the US whistleblower, stay. Executive Chef Lee Yuk Lam has a ton of experience cooking fine Chinese fare. This hotel is conveniently located in the middle of the main Hong Kong Tsim Sha Tsui tourist district. Other parts of our party were dining upstairs at the Whisk Sunday Brunch Buffet. This restaurant has received many accolades and also has a branch in the swanky IFC shopping center on Hong Kong Island. The IFC branch looks exquisite and is full of financial types on an given day. Cuisine Cuisine is owned and operated by the Miramar Group, which runs many fine establishments. A Beijing location opened in 2011.
Why did we dine here? – Bo Innovation is a molecular gastronomy Chinese restaurant in Hong Kong’s Wanchai District hidden away down an alley and upstairs. They were featured on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations TV show way back in 2008. Bo received two Michelin Stars in the latest edition of the Hong Kong Michelin guide, previously had one star. Chef Alvin Leung Jr, is a bit of a renegade and has attracted a lot of attention world wide. He was not in the kitchen on our visit.
Why did we dine here? – Cavalier is a British style restaurant in downtown San Francisco from Anna Weinberg, James Nicholas and Chef Jennifer Puccio, owners of the restaurants Marlowe and Park Tavern. They’ve done a great job in the past, so it was time to give their latest venture a try. This restaurant is next door to the San Francisco Centre Shopping Complex, making it very convenient. Chef Puccio was present when we dined here for lunch. The interiors deep red color scheme with lots of conservative wood, sets the scene.
Why did we dine here? – Lot 10 Hutong has more than 30 of the country’s best eateries in the ground floor of a Kuala Lumpur shopping center, right in the heart of the city. Each needs to have been around for at least 40 years. This is the only heritage hawker center of its kind in Malaysia.
After having dined at a fancy restaurant, Bijan, which was very good but full of tourists and business folks, we felt it would be fun to a place like this to try lots of different foods. No need to taxi and walk all over town to sample all sorts of food.
Why did we dine here? – I Made Joni in Ubud, Bali is a touristy place, famous for their deep fried crispy duck. It is located near the center of the island in lush and beautiful Ubud, roughly 5 minutes from downtown Ubud. Our tour guide suggested we visit this restaurant for lunch. Apparently many tour guides come here. We had just came from a ‘mini’ lunch at famous Ibu Oka for roast pig, so we stopped in to try the duck. The pig at Ibu Oka was ok but far too small portion wise. The Trip Advisor ratings are very poor for this restaurant with a majority of terrible reviews. 2.5 out of 5 rating.
Boneka is a restaurant in the posh St. Regis Hotel on Bali. We were in paradise and told by a friend that we had to try it. High end Sunday Brunch Buffet? We are there! This hotel is awesome, there would be no way we could afford to stay here.
Yuzu Sushi and Grill is located in a sleepy shopping district in San Mateo across from the former location of Alhana foods. It is a sister restaurant to Burlingame’s well respected and Michelin Bib Gourmand Sakae Sushi. We decided to try it to see if it was a lower cost but similar quality version of Sakae Sushi. Sakae Sushi has lots of exotic seafood air freighted in from Japan. Our last visit was in April 2014.
Sushi Ran is a popular Japanese restaurant in Sausalito run by chef Taka Toshi. They describe their food as “vibrant fusion of traditional Japanese and Pacific cuisine”. Since 1986 they have been serving up top notch Japanese food in Marin. They have the standard Japanese fare you would expect, including Omakase (Trust the chef) plus lots of dinner specials and cooked items. They have an extensive wine and sake collection. You can eat in the main dining room or in the sake and wine bar next door that has an outdoor patio. Our last visit was in the summer of 2014.
Why did we dine here? – Samwon Garden is a long standing Korean BBQ restaurant in Seoul. It opened in 1976 and serves traditional Korean dishes with an emphasis on BBQ. We had to try a restaurant like this to see what authentic Korean BBQ is. We asked a leading Seoul food blogger which of the famous high end joints we should dine at and he recommended Samwon Garden.
Why did we dine here? – Song Jook Heon is a classic hanjeongsik, or traditional Korean restaurant.
This restaurant is located across the street from the secret garden of Changdeok Palace.
This meal is pre-designed by the chef and can include up to 30 dishes. The food served here originated in royal palaces of ancient Korea. With the popularity of Korean soap operas, more people are being introduced to this type of meal. We noticed another room had a bunch of businessmen and some female accompaniment.
Why did we dine here? – Seoul Noryangjin Fish Market is Seoul’s largest indoor seafood market. Being devout foodies, we seek out fish and other food markets wherever we go. We read that this is a fairly large wet market, not as big as Tokyo’s, but still worth visiting. This location is open 24 hours a day, year round, although you can come around 3am to see the daily auction. Perfect if you are really jetlagged. This place reminded us of our seafood adventures in Sai Kung, Hong Kong.
Why did we dine here? – Hong Kong Restaurant opened in 2012 in Palo Alto, where several restaurants including a Thai one had come and gone.
Over the last couple of months, it has established itself as the go to Chinese restaurant in this area. We have eaten there for dinner as well as for a for a fixed menu meal. Our last visit was in February 2014.
Why did we dine here? – Gorilla BBQ is a restaurant located inside a railroad car on the side of Highway One in Pacifica. We’ve read about this place (it was featured in the Wall Street Journal) and finally got a chance to try it, after driving through the beautiful new Tom Lantos Tunnel.
Why did we dine here? – Pho Ao Sen is renowned to be one of the best Vietnamese Noodle houses in the San Francisco Bay Area. We finally got a chance to visit them as we were passing through the East Bay. Last visit was in summer 2014.
Rudy’s Can’t Fail Cafe is a diner in Emeryville, near the Home Depot shopping center, serving American food till 1am. Big breakfasts, salads, burgers, and sandwiches. Breakfast is served all day. It is owned by Billie Joe from rock band Green Day.
Why did we dine here? – La Toque (it means Chef’s Hat in French) is a French restaurant in Napa’s Westin Verasa Hotel. It has One Michelin Star, so we have always been wanting to come here. We finally got a chance in the middle of 2013. There are just so many good restaurants in the Napa Valley. The chef is Ken Frank, who focuses on local, seasonal ingredients. The restaurant got its start in Los Angeles and moved up here several years ago.
Turtle Tower moved to a new nicer location on 220 California street.
Why did we dine here? – Turtle Tower is a popular Vietnamese restaurant in San Francisco with several locations. Hà Nội Style Vietnamese Cuisine is their focus. We dined at the original, located in the heart of the gritty Tenderloin District of San Francisco. It moved down the block and reopened in June 2013 and added banh mi sandwiches. Our last visit was in February 2014.
Why did we dine here? – Vung Tau is a Vietnamese restaurant in San Jose (near San Jose State) owned by the same family as Tamarine Restaurant in Palo Alto. Having heard good things about this place, we decided to give it a try the next time we were in the vicinity. On our last visit was in early 2014 for dinner. We had previously dined here for lunch. Vung Tau also has a location in Milpitas.
Why did we dine here? – Roosevelt Cookout is a fun activity in Yellowstone National Park. You can ride a horse or take a horse drawn carriage to a old west, all you an eat dinner cookout. The cooks work in an outdoor location and serve up real cowboy food. You also get real cowboy coffee that has been cooked over an open campfire. Entertainment includes live music complete with fun jokes.
Why did we dine here? – Kani Kosen was recommended by a friend. This is a old school, little known sleeper restaurant located in a strip mall off the main drag. No one would find this place unless they knew about it. They specialize in fresh fish and sushi.
Why did we dine here? – Apex is the restaurant located in the Montage Deer Valley Resort. We were on vacation here and wanted some Foie Gras and found that this restaurant served it. This is a very high end hotel that looks beautiful. We came into this restaurant not knowing much about it, but seeing that the Yelp reviews were generally favorable.
Why did we dine here? – Coqueta (Spanish for flirt or infatuation) is a new restaurant from Michael Chiarello of Bottega, Napastyle fame.
This time he focuses on Spain’s signature ‘small plates’ from Madrid, Catalonia, the Basque Country and beyond. We loved Bottega so giving this
place a try was a no brainer. They are located a couple piers down from the Ferry Building. Take a walk after dinner and burn off the calories.
Why did we dine here? – Paul Martin’s American Grill is a new restaurant chain from the P in PF Chang’s. This new dining establishment open in San Mateo’s Hillsdale Mall in July 2013. They have a location in Roseville as well as 3 in southern California. Normally hearing the above would cause us to run, but we were nearby, so we gave it a go.
Why did we dine here? – Dumpling Empire is a new Chinese dumpling shop in South San Francisco, right off Grand Ave. It reminds us of Town of Dumpling in San Mateo. Simple, small (10 tables), family run, reasonable prices, plain decor.
Why did we dine here? – Yemeni’s Restaurant happened to be located in an area of San Francisco that we were in. A quick Yelp search uncovered this restaurant. There was a TV playing Middle Eastern music videos blaring in the background, along with a mostly Middle Eastern crowd. Being adventurous, we decided to give it a go.
Shalizaar is a Persian Cuisine restaurant in Belmont. It moved here from a smaller location in San Mateo, which is now home to another decent restaurant: Tannourine. They specialize in Persian Kabobs and become immensely popular, leading to an expansion of the restaurant. Shalizaar has a large wood fired oven at one end of the dining room constantly making flat bread. Our last visit was in June 2016.
Fifth floor is a restaurant in the SF Downtown Hotel Palomar, and has been around for ages and seen many a top chef come and move on. (George Morrone, Melissa Perrello, etc) We haven’t been back in many years, so it was time to refresh our memory. Our last visit was in April 2013.
Why did we dine here? – Sundance is the steakhouse on the San Francisco Peninsula. This place has been here for ever and is liked by many. It’s interesting that the reviews on Yelp are all over the board. We hadn’t been here in probably 10 years, so it was time to give it a try.
Why did we dine here? – Fey Restaurant recently opened in Menlo Park. It has gotten positive buzz, so we decided to give it a try. The owner has owned many different Sichuan Chinese restaurants including Little Sichuan in San Mateo and Classic Sichuan in Millbrae. She has built up a fan base and hopefully has found a restaurant that has some staying power.
The restaurant features somewhat neo-classical lighting and decor, probably from China. They have a small parking lot in the back, so you might have to park on El Camino Real.
Best xiao long bao in San Francisco?
Shanghai Dumpling King is a Shanghainese Chinese restaurant in San Francisco’s outer Richmond district. It was recently featured on Check Please. They have a weekday lunch rice plate special menu. Our latest visit was in 2013, after 4 years. We were in search of the best Shanghai steamed dumplings in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Why did we dine here? – Outerlands has established the outer sunset into a foodie destination. No reservations, so there is a line out the door before the place opens. Lana Porcello and David Muller have created an oasis in this cold drab, often foggy part of town where the Muni Metro clanks through every couple minutes. We came for lunch and waited 20 minutes. On another occasion we had dinner.
Why did we dine here? – Lolinda is a new Argentinean steakhouse that combines latin american flavors with Californian sensibilities. This Mission district restaurant is by the Beretta & Starbelly team. They focus on a lots of meat dishes in the small tapas format for sharing.
Why did we dine here? – Capo’s is owned by Tony of Tony’s Pizza fame. We had to give his new place a try, being big pizza and Italian fans. This place transports you back to the old days with red leather booths, exposed brick, and old school antiques.
Cash Only.
Pizzetta 211 is a small but cozy 4 table, 4 seat counter restaurant in San Francisco’s Richmond district. We first dined there in 2008 and finally returned in April 2013.
Osha Thai is a popular Thai restaurant in San Francisco that has grown to seven locations and was started in 1996 by sisters Wassana Korkhieola and Lalita Souksamlane. Osha means delicious in Thai. We visited the third Street location near Moscone Center. They focus on fresh, seasonal, local ingredients while serving both traditional Thai cuisine and modern interpretations. Our last visit was in April 2013 where we saw quality had fallen off. Be sure to try Kin Khao.
Why did we dine here? – Elliott’s Oyster House is located on the waterfront, smack dab in the middle of different attractions we were visiting. They have their Oyster New Year event every year, leading to crowds of oyster fans from all over. You can also visit Taylor Shellfish Farms in Seattle to purchase a wide variety of local oysters.
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Pike Place Market is America’s oldest food market. This 9 acre market has been in its current location since 1907. Home of the legendary flying fish at Pikes Place Fish, this market is a wholesale fruit and vegetable market most of the time and a retail market with 200 small vendors. Right outside of the market are several streets full of food related shops, restaurants, bakeries, and more. This is where a lot of the interesting finds are located. We were suprised by the variety of seafood as well as produce in some of the markets. Clearly there were many items that we don’t have in the San Francisco area.
Why did we dine here? – Canlis was established in 1950 and still draws a crowd for its fine food, service, and location. This restaurant even requires a suit or a sport coat. We decided we should try this Seattle institution and see what all the hubbubb was about. Jason Franey from Eleven Madison Park in New York City became chef in 2008 and elevated the food to a new level.
Why did we dine here? – Din Tai Fung is a popular Xiao Long Bao (small bamboo steamer bun in Chinese) – Shanghai Steamed dumpling restaurant with locations in Bellevue, Los Angeles, Taipei, Japan, China, Singapore, and several other countries. We have dined at the location in Din Tai Fung’s Shanghai’s touristy Xintiandi and Din Tai Fung Hong Kong. The Los Angeles location is in Arcadia with Yelp reviews unfortunately indicating it is a step down from the ones abroad, although some say it is better than the original in Taiwan.
