Thanksgiving dinner

I just finished all my shopping for Thanksgiving dinner! Here's what's on the menu:

Starters

Pumpkin soup, finished with creme fraiche and toasted hazelnuts

Mache greens with sliced persimmons and pomelo segments,
dressed with a pomelo and rice wine vinaigrette

Entree
Herb Roasted free-range chicken with shiitake mushroom gravy
Sticky rice and Chinese sausage stuffing

Sides
Mashed potato and sunchoke puree
Roasted brussel sprouts with bacon lardons
Flaky buttermilk biscuits

Dessert
Pear Tart
Spiced Apple Cider

I had the potato and sunchoke puree and at a catering event I volunteered at a few weeks ago - it was amazing. Sunchokes are freakin' expensive though! At Whole Foods, they were $4.89 a pound. Man. Oh well, for the love of good food right?

I'm also very excited about the sticky rice and Chinese sausage stuffing. Gonna get my Grandma to help me on this once. YUM.

I hope you all have a lovely Thanksgiving, filled with love, family and friends and of course, food that knocks your socks off and puts you in a food coma :).

Oh Berkeley, how I love thee....

We have moved on to the regional cuisines of Europe in class and these past couple days have been focused on the foods of Italy. Italian food is my 2nd favorite cuisine because it's so carb-centric (pasta! pizza! foccacia! YUM!) so I'm pretty much in heaven right now. We made some really delish stuff yesterday - Pasta shells stuffed with spinach, ricotta and sausage, baked with tomato and bechamel sauce. Linguine with clams and lasagne too.

Anyways, I digress! Back to the best of Berkeley!

12) Gelateria Naia
This place ranks very high on my list for the best gelato in the Bay Area. My favorite flavors are Pistachio and Stracciatella (Hazelnut). One year, Merry brought me a whole pint as a birthday present (thank you Mer :)). That was the bestest present ever!

13) Yogurt Park
I lived at Unit 3 (go Ida Sproul!) during my freshmen (and soph) year and my RA introduced us to this place on the first or second day. It's right across the street. I've been hooked ever since. My college buddies and I lovingly nicknamed this place "Y.P." but I guess now it's known as "YoPo". What's good? Heath Bar crunch fro-yo and the Oreo yogurt shake! Awesome dairy goodness + toppings galore.

14) Cha-am
Thai food at it's best! Sometimes after eating Thai, I feel slightly queasy, greasy and my mouth has a strange aftertaste. Like when you've had bad Chinese food you know? Not so at Cha-am. The food is flavorful yet light and you really can't go wrong with anything you order here. Plus the restaurant is super cute - great place for a date!

15) Cafe Durant
In the last few times I've been here, the portions have become quite a bit smaller than what I remember back in college, but the food is still good nonetheless. Where else can you get yummy breakfast as well as awesome Mexican food? For cheap too! I love sitting out on the patio/balcony and drinking freshly squeezed orange juice and breathing in the scents of maple syrup and refried beans :). Great place for after pulling an all-nighter or after taking a final.

16) Barney's
Seriously, this place has the best burgers I have tried in the Bay Area. They make some awesome curly fries too. I guess it's sort of a "gourmet" burger joint. They use Niman Ranch beef so the burgers are juicy and taste natural :). Possibly even good for you, hee hee. I love the Bacon Cheeseburger, simple and delish.

17) Steve's Korean BBQ
Located in the infamous Asian Ghetto (aka Durant Square), this is one place that every starving Cal collegiate has turned to for ultimate sustenance. For about $8-$9, you get a heaping portion of Korean BBQ (the chicken is my favorite) on top of a mountain of rice, along with some pan chan (kimchi and beansprouts). Squirt some Korean chilli sauce on top and you're in for a but-gusting treat.

18) Jimmy Bean's
This is a little jewel located a ways off campus. They have the best breakfasts and a wonderful Roast Pork loin sandwich (Pear Slices, Caramelized Red Onion, Organic Mix Greens, Mustard & Romesco Sauce). The Jamaican jerk sandwich is pretty amazing as well. Great place to stop by if you're shopping at the nearby North Face outlet.

19) Crepes A Go Go
Of course, they opened a location closer to campus only after I graduated :). They make the crepes in the window facing the street and leave the front door wide open, so that as you walk by, the scents of Nutella and sweet crepe batter can lure you in. Sweet or savory, anything you pick is amazing.

20) Ryowa Ramen House
I frequent their Mountain View location (near Castro) quite often and love their house ramen which is a pork broth flavored with sesame and little bit of heat. They make an awesome kimchi too, which is not a traditional accompaniment to ramen, but who cares - it's so good! My love affair with ramen didn't start until long after college, otherwise I would have been at the Berkeley location all the time. Too bad!

I'm stopping at 20 places, but I really could go on and on and I'm sure there are places I haven't discovered yet. as Berkeley is just that type of city - hidden gems of goodness tucked away everywhere. On my list of places to go is Jupiter, La Note and Gregoire's. I hope I find as many excuses to go to Berkeley as possible. I never want this love affair to end :).

Berkeley Favs

Even though it's been over 10 years since I left college, Berkeley holds such a special place in my heart. I venture up there whenever I have a chance and just walk around campus picturing myself rushing off to class in Wheeler, trekking up to Haas (freakin' hill!) and skipping class so I could watch/listen to the Octets perform on lower Sproul. Those were some really great times :).

Now my adventures in Berkeley center more around food (no surprise there huh :))? If you've never been, please let me enlighten you on some of the "must-try" places :P. What is it with me and lists these days anyways (hee hee)? Oh btw, this will be a non-picture post because I'm feeling lazy today :D.

1) Berkeley Bowl
This is like a crazy farmer's market but indoors. They have SOoooooooo much stuff here - if you can dream it up, they have it. It's always super crowded but such a culinary experience. You need a couple hours just to slowly peruse all the aisles and really absorb all the tantalizing foodstuffs.

2) I.B. Hoagies
They make one of the best cheesesteaks on the face of this earth! This place definitely was the main culprit for my freshman 15. I went to Philly for a wedding a few years ago, and tried a Philly cheesesteak and was so disappointed. I.B. Hoagies was soooooo much better! I always get the mushroom cheesesteak and sometimes the home-cut fries drenched in nacho cheese if I'm feeling dangerous :).

3) Great China
When Merry graduated, we waited 2 hours in the freezing cold to eat here but OMG it was so worth it. They are famous for their Peking duck, and for a moment, the waitress said that they were down to their last duck for the night, and I had a panic attack that we weren't going to have the chance to try it. But providence was on our side! And yes, it was delish. They have a lot of non-typical Chinese dishes, such as Cucumber and Conch salad and Sauteed Crab Meat which is served with the little chinese buns that typically are paired with Peking duck. So good.....

4) La Med (or Mediterranee)
They have several locations (SF) but the one in Berkeley on College Ave is so cute and quaint. Get a table out on the patio if you can and just people watch as you enjoy their Pomengranate chicken and Chicken Cicilia (wrapped in fillo dough). The Chicken Lemon soup is awesome and so is their Armenian Potato salad.

5) Top Dog
Perfect after a late night! Their sausages are da bomb :). I love the Lemon Chicken sausage as well as Calabrese (spicy!). But really you can't go wrong with anything you choose here. The long-standing joke about this place between my friends and I is that the staff there will handle your money with the same hand they use to pat your sausage bun down on the grill - don't worry, I convince myself that the heat from the grill kills all potential germs :).

6) Ici Ice Cream
This is a fairly new place, so it was not part of my college eating repertoire, but super yummy nonetheless. They have an awesome Meyer lemon ice cream sandwich and some really creative ice cream flavors like Pink Peppercorn and Earl Gray. There's always a long line, so just be prepared to wait!

7) Fat Slice Pizza
If you are a fan of crust (thick and chewy) then you will love Fat Slice. They are always at loggerheads with Blondie's, but in my view, Fat Slice is better overall. Plus, it's dirt cheap. What could be better than cheap, yummy pizza?

8) Cafe Mattina (formerly Cafe Intermezzo)
I didn't even know this place changed it's name! What the heck? Regardless of what its called, the food is still awesome. This place is famous for its GINORMOUS salads and sandwiches. I used to buy a salad and eat it for three consecutive days. Yes, that big.
If you have an aversion to people with dreads and multiple body piercings preparing your food though, you might wanna stay away :). Their poppy seed dressing is so yummy (must be the opiates HA!).

9) Cheeseboard
This is an employee owned and operated mecca of cheese. It's a pretty cool experience walking into this place actually - you grab a poker card which is your "number" and when it's finally your turn, you get an unrushed cheese tasting after which you purchase your favorite cheeses. They also make awesome daily pizza specials and bake some fantastic breads.

10) Zachary's Pizza
Ok, yes another pizza place. But hey, Berkeley is a college town man, whaddya expect :)?
Zachary's is not your typical pizza joint though. They make the bestest Chicago style pizza on the West Coast (someone I met from Chicago who moved to California confirmed this for me). The pies are baked on the spot and take about 30-45 minutes before they are ready for consumption. So grab a table if you can get one, chug a couple beers and your pizza will make its way to your table, and your server will cut and serve you the first slice. The pies are topped with yummy tomatoes and the crust is flaky, buttery and just pure heaven! I always get the spinach and mushroom pie. If you don't wanna wait, you can also get half-baked pies that you can take home and finish baking yourself. Every bit as good as the dine-in experience.

11) Sconehenge
I adore English scones (not that rock hard stuff you find at low-end coffee shops (ahem, Starbucks)) and this place makes the best ones I have found outside of England. They actually carry them at Whole Foods too, but if you can get it straight from the source why not? They serve a mean breakfast too. If you are headed for Berkeley Bowl, they are right across the street, so after hours of looking at food, why not eat some :)?

I really could go on and on but I think I'll save some for my next post. Till then, bon apetit!

Oodles of Noodles

I'm supposed to be writing a paper for school on the regional cuisines of Asia, but I need a break and I haven't written a paper for a realllllly loooonnnnng time so I'll just procrastinate a little bit by posting :D.

I just got back from visiting my family in LA and during the oh-so-exciting drive down endless I-5, I started thinking about my favorite noodle dishes. So here goes, my top 5 (or however many I can come up with) fav noodle dishes of all time!

Numero Uno: RAMEN (drool.....)


Specifically, a big steaming bowl from my favorite Ramen joint, Halu Ramen.
This is what I'm talkin' about - just looking at this picture makes me wanna go there right now. I simply cannot do it justice with any of the adjectives available to me in the English language. You simply have to go there and taste for yourself. Although, there have been folks who have not been as impressed as me when they did go try for themselves. Whatever :). Maybe it's just a matter of personal taste then.

#2 Beef Noodle Soup (Taiwanese style)


I *heart* this dish so much. It makes me think of my Mom and brings back so many good memories of childhood. The broth has hints of star anise and a lovely rich, smoky flavor. The beef and tendon melt away in your mouth and if you like things spicy, this dish will not disappoint. Unfortunately, I haven't been satisfied by any of the places that serve this dish ever since this one hole-in-the-wall place I frequented closed down. Boo :(. So, I'm really missing this dish.

#3 Laksa


All you Singaporeans out there know exactly why this dish is on my list. Every time I think of Singapore, I think of this bowl of curry noodle awesome-ness! The curry gravy is flavored with candlenut, lemongrass and so many other good things. It's usually seafood based (mostly shrimp) and the gravy is ladled over a combo of yellow egg noodles and rice vermicelli, then topped with deep fried tofu, bean sprouts, shrimp and more chilli sauce. My Mom used to tell me to stop eating this stuff so much cuz it was causing all my pimple outbreaks :). The last time I went to S'pore on business a couple years ago, I think I had this like 5 times in the 5 short days that I was there :D.

#4 Hokkien Mee


Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum!!! Another Singaporean speciality. I wish there was a wormhole between the South Bay and Singapore which I could step through at any time and I would be directly deposited in front of my favorite Hokkien Mee hawker stall....sigh...maybe in another gazillion years. Till then I can only reminisce. I figured since all my other picks have been soup based noodle dishes, I should throw in a few dry noodle dishes too. This dish is sort of a braised noodle dish actually, because the preparation goes like this:

Step 1: Saute shrimp, squid and pork very briefly in large wok. Remove from pan and set aside.
Step 2: Add beaten eggs and cook briefly again.
Step 3: Add in noodles to the eggs and douse with broth. Cover and steam until noodles absorb the broth.
Step 4: Add the proteins back to the noodles and steam to reheat.
Step 5: Serve with flaming hot chilli paste, a lime wedge and enjoy!

#5 Hand Cut/Knife Cut Noodles (Dao Xiao Mian)


Ok, last one, cuz I really have to finish this paper. The way these noodles are made is very unique. The chef basically takes a hunking piece of dough and shaves off thin slices off the top using a knife. The noodles are then either boiled or sauteed with whatever ingredients you want. Usually, I order this with lamb because this dish is commonly found in Muslim-Chinese restaurants. The noodles have this extra bite to them and are really chewy and toothsome.

Well I hope you've enjoyed this little noodle tour - back to the grind!