Michelin San Francisco Critique

French Laundry

Best Buffets in the World


The Progress, San Francisco

The Progress San Francisco Exterior Decor outside

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.

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Minmon Feast Art Seafood Zizao Seafood Buffet Nanshan 銘門盛宴 藝術海鮮姿造 南山店

Minon feast Seafood buffet shanghai exterior

Minmon is an unique Chinese seafood buffet in Shanghai with a location in Shenzhen. It is located about 20 minutes from the Bund. We watch a video about this spot and wanted to give it a try. Decor is modern and nautical in theme. The selection of seafood items geared towards Chinese cooking are unparalleled! What a fun spot. No reservations.

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Zhangjiajie National Forest Park Restaurant Reviews 张家界

Zhangjiajie China (134)

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!

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Jia Jia Tang Bao 佳家汤包, Shanghai

Jia Jia Tang Bao 佳家汤包, ShanghaiTop 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.

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Yang’s Dumpling, Shanghai 小杨生煎馆

Dumplings worth flying across the Pacific Ocean for…

Yang’s Dumpling, Shanghai 小杨生煎馆

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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7 Adams, San Francisco

7 adams San Francisco exterior decor

Why did we dine here? – 7 Adams has 1 Michelin Star in 2024, making it a sought after reservation. 5 course menu was only $87, making it a good value.
7 Adams is named after the street address of the childhood home where Chef David Fisher grew up. He and Chef Serena Chow Fisher run the place, after leaving Marlena in Bernal Heights. 4.3 stars on Yelp.

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Eylan, Menlo Park

Eylan Menlo Park exterior decor

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.

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Grand Harbor, Burlingame

Redefining top notch dim sum and Chinese food near San Francisco.

Grand Harbor Burlingame Exterior Decor

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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Caesars Bacchanal Buffet, Las Vegas

Is this still the Best buffet in Vegas?

Caesars Bacchanal Buffet Vegas interior

The Caesars Bacchanal Buffet was the latest and greatest buffet to open in 2012. They spent $100 million to create the best buffet in Vegas. 25,000 square feet of gluttony. Some have called it the next great buffet after Wynn and Bellagio, so we had to give it a visit.  The only other top rated buffet we have not tried in Vegas is the Palms AYCE. We’ve been here several times. How would this buffet compare to the competition in 2025 after the Pandemic?

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Delfina Review, San Francisco

Delfina Review, San Francisco

Since 1998, Delfina, a bustling neighborhood Italian trattoria has been packing them in. The menu changes daily and they use organic produce and sustain-ably raised meats and fish whenever possible. It is a popular place that requires advanced booking for a reservation or showing up at 530pm for a table at the counter or bar.

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Yung Kee Restaurant Review, Hong Kong

Return to Yung Kee in 2026

We ate at Yung Kee’s Hong Kong Airport location, Level 6, Terminal 1 West Hall Airside.

Choice of any 2 roasted Meats (HK$380=$48) with Roasted Goose and Barbecued pork. They ran out of Premium Barbecued pork belly.  The goose was delicious but had to be eaten with the skin or else it was dense and dry. Barbecued pork comes warm was very good. This was an expensive dinner but when you have limited time in transit! 8.5/10

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Liholiho Yacht Club, San Francisco

Exciting food in an energetic atmosphere.

Liholiho Yacht Club San Francisco exterior decor

Why did we dine here? – Liholiho Yacht Club is a Hawaiian influenced restaurant from Ravi Kapur, formerly of Prospect and Boulevard. He returned to Hawaii and found inspiration in the cuisine he grew up with. It is a very popular restaurant with hard to get online reservations, so book on Resy weeks in advance.

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Sorrel, San Francisco

Sorrel San Francisco outside exterior decor

Why did we dine here? – Sorrel occupies the space that once housed Nico. Alexader Hong (Quince, Jean Georges) started doing popups in 2015 and moved to this spot in 2018. James Beard Rising Star Finalist. They received One Michelin Star in 2019. Our last visit was in the middle of 2025 for a meal at the bar.

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Best Shanghai Steamed Soup Dumplings or Xiao Long Bao in San Francisco

Last Update: June 2025

We love Xiao Long Bao (XLB) aka Shanghai Steamed Soup Dumplings and have eaten all over the world seeking the best. Are you a Xiao Long Bao addict too? Read on.

One tip: If you are looking for good XLB, do not order them from a Cantonese Chinese restaurant. You are almost always guaranteed disappointing results even at the Best Chinese Restaurant in San Francisco: Koi Palace.  Order these little balls of wonder from a Shanghainese Chinese restaurant.

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Perbacco, San Francisco

Perbacco, San Francisco

One of our favorite Italian restaurants in San Francisco. Perbacco is a popular Italian restaurant in San Francisco’s financial district that opened in 2006. They once had a sister restaurant next door Barbacco that has morphed into Turtle Tower. Founder Chef Staffan Terje left in 2022 but is still an owner. Last visit was in summer 2025.

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Little Shanghai, San Mateo

Little Shanghai Restaurant Exterior decor

Best Shanghainese Chinese restaurant in San Francisco? Little Shanghai Restaurant is a family run Shanghainese Chinese Restaurant in San Mateo near the San Mateo Fairgrounds. They have the usual Americanized Chinese dishes along with a fair amount of Traditional Shanghai dishes not served in most restaurants. Our last visit was at end of 2025 for takeout.

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San Tung Restaurant, San Francisco

San Tung San Francisco Exterior Decor

San Tung is a popular Chinese restaurant in the inner Sunset of San Francisco. They serve northern Chinese food that has some Korean influence, as the San Tung region of China is near Korea, hence the free Kim Chee. We have eaten here many, many times, back to when it was located west of here. Last visit was for take out in summer 2025.  They used to have San Tung #2 next door and So restaurant.

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Bouchon Bistro, Las Vegas

Bouchon Las Vegas entrance

Bouchon is a French bistro that is part of the Thomas Keller French Laundry empire. A more affordable way to taste his high quality food. This location is in Las Vegas Strip’s Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino, Venezia Tower 10th floor, so it is far from the casino, and a pain to find!

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Waterbar Review, San Francisco

Waterbar San Francisco Exterior

Waterbar is a seafood restaurant located strategically on the San Francisco waterfront. It has extra ordinary views and is next door to the steakhouse restaurant Epic Roasthouse. They are both part of the vast Kuleto Restaurant empire. Waterbar has several meat entrees for those forced to dine here. The use local and sustainable seafood.

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Lotus of Siam Restaurant Review, Las Vegas

Lotus of Siam Las Vegas Exterior Decor outside

Why did we dine here? – Lotus of Siam is a legendary Thai restaurant that most foodies in the US know of. James Beard Award winning restaurant. We have been putting off visiting this famous spot for many years. Having dined at most of the famous Las Vegas restaurants, we felt it was high time to finally visit Lotus of Siam. Anthony Bourdain recently featured this restaurant on his television show.

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Palette Tea House, San Francisco

Palette Tea House San Francisco Exterior decor

Solid Dim Sum in Fisherman’s Wharf of all places!- Why did we dine here? – Palette Tea House is from the team behind top rated Chinese restaurants: Koi Palace and Dragon Beaux. They took over Waxman’s location in Ghirardelli Square. We gave them a month and headed to tourist central to try this new dim sum palace. Our last visit was in Summer 2025.

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Best Buffet in the World

We have a soft spot for buffets. Large assortments of food from around the world lets us try items that we would never order.  High end buffets with everything from Prime Rib to Lobster to Foie Gras to Souffles are always on our hit list. Foodnut values quality in addition to quantity, so forget about Golden Corral.

Buffets originated in France, where French hosts would set up tables full of food so diners could help themselves during parties. This concept grew and was super sized in Las Vegas.

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Back A Yard Caribbean American Grill Restaurant Review, Menlo Park

Back A Yard Menlo Park Exterior

Back A Yard Caribbean American Grill is a legendary Caribbean American grill restaurant in eastern Menlo Park, right near Highway 101. Locations are also in Campbell, 3x San Jose, It is a hole in the wall located next to a lower class area of Menlo Park. The chef Robert Simpson also runs much more upscale Coconuts Caribbean Restaurant & Bar in Downtown Palo Alto. He learned his trade in Jamaica. Our last visit was for takeout in Spring 2025.

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Mamahuhu, San Francisco

Mamahuhu, San FranciscoMamahuhu is Mister Jiu’s casual restaurant in the Inner Richmond district of San Francisco. You order at the counter and they bring the food to you.

They’ve opened more locations including one in Mill Valley. Their motto: “We envision a future in which delicious, affordable, sustainably-sourced food is the norm and Chinese-American cuisine plays a central role.”

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Horn BBQ, Oakland

Horn BBQ, OaklandHorn BBQ Is a legendary barbecue restaurant in Oakland, California. It has 3.5 stars on yelp and had long lines at the old location whenever it’s open. A fire closed them down and made them re-open in April 2024 at 464 8th St. near Chinatown, Oakland at their former burger joint.  You now order using the computer tablet by the entrance, then sit down.

Horn BBQ Definitely serves up barbecue that was not as good as the old location. Top-notch barbecue the San Francisco Bay area. Breakwater BBQ in El Granada is really good. 4505 in San Francisco is also good for ribs.

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Chapeau!, San Francisco

Chapeau!, San Francisco

One of San Francisco’s charming restaurants.. Chapeau! is a French Bistro located in the San Francisco Richmond district in the middle of the Clement Street shopping district. Chapeau! SF opened in 1996 and it means hat or wow in French.

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Routier, San Francisco

Routier, San Francisco

Why did we dine here? – Routier is a Hot Frenchish restaurant from the folks at nearby B patisserie. A friend recommended this restaurant, and we’ve been back twice. Highly rated at 4.5 stars on yelp. Belinda Leong and Michel Suas joined forces with JP Carmona, formerly chef de cuisine at Manresa, to lead the kitchen of this elevated neighborhood joint in the former jazz club location. Last visit was in Fall 2024.

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Saint Jean, Amsterdam

Saint Jean, Amsterdam

SAINT-JEAN is a plant based bakery and deli in the Jordaan district of Amsterdam. They have a deli across the street. The baked items are stellar, unlike any we’ve had before. Their deli is across the street. Another nearby vegan baker spot that is closeby is Margo’s – Not as exceptional, but they serve nicer sandwiches.  No gluten free options here. Prices are great, items would be at least 2-3x in San Francisco.

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