Ritz Half Moon Bay Sunday Brunch

35 minutes (up to one hour with traffic) from our home, we arrive at the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay for Sunday Brunch. This was our first time in HMB and reminded me of a coastal community I would imagine on the east coast. Would have loved to play golf here especially with the view at the 18th hole... next time! Today our mission was brunch and brunch it surely was. I probably consumed enough calories to hold me for two days... great thing to do right before I leave for Hawaii.
The food and service were excellent! Seafood, cheese, sushi, dim sum, cured meats, hot roasted beef and lamb, breakfast items, and huge dessert selection. I don't think I tried everything but I tried my best. View entire set of photos

Trader Joe's pizza

During my weekly trip to TJ's, I decided to try out the mushroom and garlic pizza from the refrigerated section. It's all pre-made and all I had to do was bake it in the oven as directed. The little pizza fed the three of us. I added a salad and made some croutons from leftover french bread we had. Freshly made croutons are so easy and makes the salad taste super yummy. All I did was cut the bread into cubes, drizzled w/ olive oil and sprinkled w/ salt and pepper. Made some room next to the pizza on my baking sheet and they both took the same time to cook.

The next morning, I could still taste the garlic from the pizza. ick... they put a lot of garlic on that pizza but it was still delicious.

There's another pizza item at TJ's that we love. I wouldn't actually call it pizza b/c it doesn't have tomato sauce or cheese. I'm actually surprised that M likes it b/c he's all about sauce and this has none. It's their Spicy Spinach Pizza. It's basically thin pizza dough and spicy bits of spinach baked on top. It's all pre-cooked. All I do is bake it in the toaster oven. It's actually really good and low in calories... 140 calories for one whole pizza.

Heirloom Tomatoes

It was such a beautiful day on Tuesday that I decided to take a walk to the ferry building w/ my co-worker and check out the farmers' market. You could seriously come here for a taste of all the samples they pass out and be satisfied.

I was determined to find some heirloom tomatoes to accompany my fresh mozzarella. Found such a variety, but didn't know what to choose so I just chose two of the prettiest ones. Two giant tomatoes for $4! That's kinda expensive for me, but I don't go here that often let alone leave the office during lunch so I thought what the heck.

I used one of the tomatoes to make us a salad for dinner. Just sliced the tomato and fresh mozzarella and picked some fresh basil from my little herb garden. Yes I finally have an herb garden now! It's dinky but its something! I drizzled the salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil then sprinkled on some sea salt.

Really refreshing and the $4 was worth it. The tomatoes I get from the supermarket or Chinatown stores just aren't the same. I ate the second tomato the next day. Just cut it up into wedges and sprinkled some sea salt on it. So sweet and delicious!

Pocari Sweat

Your eyes aren't fooling you! This is a drink called Pocari Sweat! While I was waiting for my crepe w/ vanilla ice cream and strawberries at Genki Crepes on Clement, we saw this interesting drink. Doesn't the name sound gross? The color was like murky water and its probably what sweat would look like if you had collected it all and put it into a bottle.

From Wikipedia:
Pocari Sweat is a popular Japanese soft drink and sports drink, manufactured by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. It was first sold in 1980.

Pocari Sweat is a mild-tasting, relatively light sweet drink and advertises itself as an "Ion supply drink." Ingredients[1] listed are water, sugar, flavourings, acids, sodium chloride, potassium chloride, calcium lactate and magnesium carbonate. It is sold in liquid form, in aluminium cans and plastic bottles, and also in powder form.

The drink is also produced and distributed in other regional countries, such as China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. In addition the drink can be obtained in the ethnic Asian areas of many cities around the world. The "Arctic Shatter" variety of Powerade-brand sports drink very closely resembles it, in both color and flavor.

Pineapple Fried Rice

My sister had brought home some pineapple fried rice for me when I wasn't feeling well and after that day I was craving more. I decided that I would make my own since I've never made it before and there aren't many places around home that have great pineapple fried rice. I didn't really have a recipe but looked at ones online and took some ideas from them.

First I cooked the rice and added a little less water than usual so that the rice wouldn't be soggy. It's probably better if you cook the rice ahead of time or if you have leftover rice that would be even better.

Saute onions and garlic in oil. Add chicken and shrimp to onions or whatever meat you'd like to put in. Season with salt, pepper, and soy sauce. When cooked remove and put into bowl. Toast the cashews a bit and put into bowl. Add the rice to the pan and season with salt, pepper, soy sauce, fish sauce and curry powder. Add the chicken, shrimp, onions, cashews and pineapple to the rice. Toss to combine and add green onions and cilantro.

Sorry if I don't provide exact measurements. I usually just add a little of this and a little of that. The key is to taste along the way.

Japanese Curry

I didn't feel like cooking, had some defrosted chicken, onions, potatoes and carrots... mixed it all up with a box of Japanese curry and tah dah!! We have dinner! I bought the kind of curry that comes in blocks... just cooked the meat and veggies, added water to cook the potatoes and carrots then I added the blocks of curry when the veggies were soft and thickens up the sauce right away. Easiest dinner ever! I made a whole pot of it and leftovers were lunch the next day. This is comfort food for me. =D

Curry (カレー, karē?) is one of the most popular dishes in Japan. It is commonly served in three main forms: curry rice, karē udon (thick noodles) and karē-pan (bread). It is usually thicker, sweeter and milder than its Indian equivalent.

Curry was introduced to Japan during the Meiji era (1869-1913), at a time when India was under the administration of the British. The dish became popular and available for purchase in supermarkets and restaurants in the late nineteen sixties.

Tonkatsu

It's been awhile since I've made tonkatsu and since I had some pork loin chops in the freezer that needed to be eaten... it become tonkatsu night! Super easy to make but prob not so healthy therefore I added some broccoli. does that make it healthier? I sure think so!

I cut two pork loin chops in half so that I would have four pieces and each piece wouldn't be so thick. Season meat w/ salt and pepper. Setup three plates... 1. flour 2. beaten egg 3. panko That's the order you coat them in. Fry it in some oil until done. Put them on a paper towel to drain the oil.

The broccoli I cooked w/ yellow onion, red pepper flakes and garlic.

Michael Phelps' menu

Supposedly, Michael Phelps consumes 8,000-10,000 calories each day. That is crazy! I would hate food if I had to start eating like this. I would hate myself too b/c I wouldn't be burning the calories like MP.

MP's breakfast consists of three sandwiches of fried eggs, cheese, lettuce, tomato, fried onions and mayonnaise, add one omelet, a bowl of grits, and three slices of french toast with powdered sugar, then wash down with three chocolate chip pancakes.

At lunch, Phelps gobbles up a pound of enriched pasta and two large ham and cheese sandwiches slathered with mayo on white bread - capping off the meal by chugging about 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks.

For dinner, Phelps really loads up on the carbs - what he needs to give him plenty of energy for his five-hours-a-day, six-days-a-week regimen - with a pound of pasta and an entire pizza.

GO USA!!

Isa

3324 Steiner St
San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 567-9588

www.isarestaurant.com

Decided to try a new restaurant with my friend, Haw. Found this place on yelp and got a reservation on opentable two days before. Cute atmosphere - we sat in the back patio which was covered, slight draft which made it chilly on my side but it was ok. They're about small plates and recommended that we get two dishes per person. In my opinion, this place is a little over priced for what you get but what can you expect for Marina. Overall I would give it 3.5 starts out of 5. Thanks Haw for the photos.

Ceviche - fish was fresh and I like the addition of mango.

Baked Laura Chenel Goat Cheese - great with the warm & toasty bread they provide

Halibut - this was ok. fish was slightly too cooked for my liking.

Seafood Paella - the rice was a bit al dente... is paella supposed to be al dente? beside that it was one of my faves.

Creme Brulee - too much sugar on top which made the top crust not so easy to break. We ate around the top crust.

donna hay

Today I picked up my first donna hay cookbook. Thanks Borders for the 40% off coupon! In case you're not familiar with who donna hay is... She's an Australian-based food stylist, author and magazine editor. I believe she has 13 cookbooks. She also has her own magazine, donna hay, which I've been wanting to subscribe to but is ridiculously expensive... so not worth the $100+ subscription fee for only six issues a year.

I'm very excited about my purchase and disappointed that I didn't buy any of her books sooner. It was published in 2004, but these recipes are timeless, simple, modern and I love the food styling and photography in this book. Super simple recipes which equal great weekday dinners. I love the quality of this book - hardback with a kitchen friendly plastic dust jacket. I'm anxious to try out some recipes that I've already marked! Will be posting my attempts soon!


In addition to the instant cook, I bought Modern Classics Book 1 on Amazon for an amazing discount! the wonders of the internet! Lately we've been eating out more... should be cooking at home. This has me excited about trying new recipes. Now the hard part is choosing which ones to test out first.

Kiss Seafood

1700 Laguna St
(between Bush St & Sutter St)
San Francisco, CA 94115

We've been meaning to try this place after discovering it on yelp. I believe its a husband and wife operation. Seats only about 13 people... so you can imagine this place is tiny. We almost walked right by this place. Minimal and clean decor. We decided to both get the Special Omakase since this was our first time here. All the dishes were perfectly timed. Being Americans we're used to gigantic portions. Don't expect that here. For me it was the perfect amount of food, but I'm sure Matt would have been a little hungry if he hadn't had a big lunch that day. Everything was flavorful, fresh and presented nicely.

yam noodles w/ root vegetables
Info about yam noodles: Made from yam flour. They can be white or black. We had the white ones which are semi-transparent. In Japanese, they are called "shirataki", meaning "white waterfall." Solid white ones have tofu added to them, and are called "Tofu Shirataki." Black ones are used in sukiyaki. Thick ones are sold as "Ito konnyaku"

All versions of the noodle have almost no flavour. Instead, they absorb the flavours of what they are cooked in, and so are usually used in a saucy dish, such as a soup, or a stir fry that has some sauce in it. The noodles also add a chewy, rubbery, gelatinous texture to a dish.

from left to right - mackerel, octopus, some sort of salad (perhaps w/ tofu?)

sashimi - amberjack, toro...

more sashimi - forgot what this was but it was good!

chawanmushi - literally "tea cup steam" or "steamed in a tea bowl"
egg custard w/ halibut and snow peas (usually flavored w/ soy sauce, dashi and mirin)
i definitely want to try to make this at home - need to find cute cups like this.

clams, daikon and in the center a delicious layer of cabbage, egg and meat. the flavors remind me of my grandma's cooking.

nigiri - red snapper?, salmon, ?, marinated tuna, uni (the sweetest uni I've had!!) Matt doesn't like uni and I don't like salmon so I got double uni! lucky me! I wish I remembered what the white fish nigiri were. I guess I was too excited about my uni.

soup w/a variety of mushrooms. earthy flavors and quite delicious.

honeydew