Gastro888

Because we're Toisanese and we don't like to waste food! (Only teasing!)

I'm not sure where Hog Island gets their bread but it would make sense if they sourced it from ACME plus the epi bread looks very similar to what I had and the quality of it was top notch. I only wish I had honey butter to spead over that great bread! Regional difference are a wonderful part of our country. As are accurate menu descriptions! Thick or thin a chowder should contain at *least* more than ONE piece of potato. One of the things I like about chowder is how the potatoes absorb the delicious salty-oceany-bacony-creamy goodness of the chowder. C'mon, you have to agree that one potato piece does NOT a chowder make. I must add that the clams were nice and fresh and I had over 2 dozen. After walking around the Ferry Building, I headed towards North Beach & Chinatown for some sightseeing. I was forunate enough to stumble upon (literally) Golden Gate Bakery in Chinatown. I love Chinese bakeries and the wonderful baked/steamed/fried goodies they sell. GGB is a nice mom and pop operation and if I lived in SF, I'd frequent this bakery for its delicious looking products. From what I know, Golden Gate's famous for their egg tarts (dan tats) and they usually sell out fast. Surprisingly, I got one fresh from the oven that night: (Sorry for the blurry picture.) You know, most dan tats are great fresh from the oven. It's like any baked good - fresher is better. This dan tat was $1.00 (!) and it was only a smidge bigger than standard dan tats. The crust was exceptional, very flaky with a rich mouthfeel. The "innards" were tasty but not as good at the dan tats at Egg Custard King in NYC. But a hot dan tat is a beautiful thing. And yes, I did make it to IAO! More on that later.

Ahhh, I should've gotten a plate of oysters instead at Hog Island. And it was listed on the menu as "Clam Chowder" so when I received my milky clams (clammy milk? ), you can see from the picture why I was disappointed. But I must admit, the view and the bread service was quite nice. Check out the bread and the breadsticks, which I might add were the tastiest breadsticks I've ever had and I've been to Italy! And the view from my table that made up for the eh food: Another shot of the yummy breadsticks: Is that wee shopping bag cute? It's from this great chocolate shop down the way from Miette and Hog Island called Recchiuti Confections. Wow, what a great chocolate shop. They make their chocolates by hand and they are very high quality, I must say. I'm not a chocolate person and I loved their dark chocolate truffle. It was smooth, creamy, well tempered with a clean finish. Nothing cloying, overly sweet or artifical about it at all. I purchased some chocolates and fruit jellies to take home, so that's why the bag's in the shot. Well, that and I had nowhere else to put it. While I was shopping for the chocolates I tried their hazelnut piedmont chocolate. Delish! I love the detail on it: I'll post more later. I had a fish taco for the first time plus this great sausage on a stick from Golden Gate Meat company. One day I had two for breakfast. Forget the bread, egg and cheese - get to the good stuff for breakfast!

(Right now I'm suffering from jet lag, so apologies for being brief!) Yeah, I thought I was going to be safe there but I wasn't. I was going to get raw oysters but the clam chowder was calling me (damn siren!) & I answered b/c I have a weakness for goooood chowder. Plus, I was a bit zonkered from the flight and wanted something hot to revive me. I tell you, you San Fran folks are so lucky to have the Ferry Building. What a great place to hang out and eat! It's just so nice to go there, have a wonderful Peet's ice coffee and watch the water lap against the boats. Did I mention I love Peet's iced coffee? Wow, what an iced coffee.... More to come in the morning!

First off, San Fran's Ferry Building rules. I love it as soon as I walked into the building. Wow, it's just a great mecca of foodie delights! I didn't know where to start so after walking around. I decided to follow people's advice about Hog Island oyster so I went and salad and clam chowder. Big mistake. It was underwhelming. I felt like I was in on some kind of tourist joke. The food wasn't horrible or bad - it just wasn't as spectacular as I thought it (could? should?) would be. The chowder was more like clams steamed in milk and a potato garnish. I was expecting a rich, thick, chunky chowder to dig into with the tasty bread. The first sip of the chowder smacked of black pepper. The broth was very thin and lacked that richness that I associate with chowders. The salad was simple and nice but nothing to write home about. Overall it was an eh meal. I would've been better off at Mijita for my first meal. The clams in mi..., uh, chowder: The salad: HOWEVER, the bakery across the way, Miette, is wonderful. They have great pistachio macarons. Why have I ignored the joy that is a perfect, simple macaron until now? Their macarons are light, fluffy, creamy and not too sweet with a great pistachio flavor. Miette is an organic pastisserie that is not only cute but delicious. See how nice the macarons are? I don't have a sweet tooth and I ate about 1/2 dozen of these while I was there. I'll post more later. I had a chance to eat at Mijita, Golden Gate Bakery, IAO burger, Peet's and Golden Gate Butcher shop.

Ha, very funny Ben Sook! I don't need the extra person, just the keuh please! You can also work on aznsailorboi as well. Guys usually go for more on the market, no?

Ah, phooey. I don't have the irons OR the help to make them. And I've never done them before. Oh man and love letters are extremely tasty, too! If you SEA folks could share a pictoral on how to make them, that would be most appreciated. You guys are so lucky to get the yummy food that you have over there.

Oh, peony your love letters look beautiful! How nice! Could you share the recipe, please? Can I make them without rolling them up?

Hello all! I had some wonderful meals in SF and I actually had more than one chance to eat on my own - oh yeah! I've got some pictures to upload and I can honestly tell you that I love the Ferry Building and it's a great place to just hang out. Oh yeah and that Peet's coffee rules. It beats Starbucks hands down! Will update more later! Thank you for all your help!

Sweet! Thanks, sheetz! I'll have to try them one day soon. Along with the wife cakes. Although this looks easier.

What is gui ling gao? Is it grass jelly? Could you post a picture or a link, please?

Per the story presented in this page (in Chinese): http://hk.knowledge.yahoo.com/question/?qid=7006031200009 Long story. In short, the name "gai tsai beng" (Little chicken cake) was chosen because the cakes do resemble the shape of young chics. ← Thanks, Ah Leung Goh! I see. OK, so sue me that I was thinking the cookies look like chicken poop. I did not see any that looked like little chickens on the link you sent me only odd shaped ones!

Oh dear God, NO! It's not supposed to be sweet! Ick ick ick!!!!!! OK, so maybe I'm biased because my mom makes them not sweet. And that I thought nobody else knew how to make them except for mom because no one around me knew what I was talking about when I said "Gai Loong". Then I realized I was speaking Toisanese to a bunch of Canto-folks. My mom will make them for me the next time I come home in the spring. I have pictures and her recipe somewhere back home (buried somewhere). (Dejah jeh, did I send it to you? Oh geez I'm loosing it). No dried mushrooms? Gai loong must have dried mushrooms - they add great flavor to the dumpling! You could go posh and add dried scallops but... It's the dough that's the tricky part and you have to make the filling extra dry so that they don't explode in the hot oil. PS: If you think Ping's in Manhattan is good, hop on the 7 train to Flushing and have the dim sum there. I swear, you won't want to eat dim sum in Manhattan after that.

Welcome! Lovely photos of yummy food you have there. It's only close enough if you eat chicken feet and tripe.

They would not take as long to make as you think. When making conventionally sized wife's cakes most of the time is consumed by forming the individual flaky pastry doughs. When making miniatures sized ones you can streamline the process by making one large flaky pastry dough similar to French puff pastry and then cutting rounds using a biscuit cutter. ← But wouldn't that smush the edges flat and not make them rise as much? Just wondering if that would happen. ← Er, huh? The edges are tucked underneath the pastry so it wouldn't make any difference. Oh well, when I do the pictorial you'll understand. ← Oh, I understand. I don't think I explained myself clearly, my bad. You know how sometimes if you cut pastry dough the cut edges will not rise as well as the middle part that's not cut? If that makes any sense. I think maybe it's more of a problem in traditional Western pastry making than Asian. And Dejah Jeh, I think I owe you a recipe for ham sui gok. Or did I post/send it yet? Holy crap, my memory's really bad. By the way, the ham sui gok they have in NYC is SWEET! Oh dear God, what a horror! I eat them regardless b/c it's tasty but it's not supposed to be sweet! Who told them to put sugar in the dough?!?!?!

Ooh, interesting! How much were they an ounce?

Olney Ale House? The one on 108? No, it's still there. Why, I don't know. That place does not have good food at all.

We're gonna get snow over here so whatever you guys have is far better than what I'm flying away from! Woo hoo, SF here I come! I can't shake the desire to try IAO, though...

Oh, neat! Thanks Ah Leung Goh! I don't think I've ever had them before. Why are they called little chicken cakes? Is it because it tastes like chicken or because the cookies look like chicken...well...

Mr T's! That's the name of the place! (Whoo hoo - I'm not that forgetful.) Speaking of Olney, the Olney House Inn was AWESOME in that old school way. I loved that place. It was a cute and charming little homestyle restaurant that had a very nice staff. Granted the food was not haute cuisine or like the other culinary gems in the DC area but dang it, it was solid, filling and tasty. Too bad it got replaced by Retucci's. Bleah.

If you or your friend can read Japanese, Men Kui Tei has a "special" menu that's in Japanese only at the midtown location that has a variety of goodies. I haven't ordered from it yet as I can't read Japanese and neither do my friends.

I'm sure the elders would be better able to answer this question but I know that ginseng is energizing and my mom uses the golai sum for "boh" tongs (rejuvenating? Is that the right translation?). Read "The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen for a primer on herbs. I have to get you the name of this great Chinese herb book I have at home. It's by a Chinese-Malay author so there is some regional difference but overall most things are the same. I got it at this small bookstore on Mott Street in Canal. Next to Egg Custard King!

They would not take as long to make as you think. When making conventionally sized wife's cakes most of the time is consumed by forming the individual flaky pastry doughs. When making miniatures sized ones you can streamline the process by making one large flaky pastry dough similar to French puff pastry and then cutting rounds using a biscuit cutter. ← But wouldn't that smush the edges flat and not make them rise as much? Just wondering if that would happen.

I have eaten some miniature cakes from Zen's Peninsula as complimentary desserts. I can't remember whether those were wife's cake or little chicken cake. (Gai Tsai Beng) They are a little bigger than the size of a US quarter. Must be time consuming to make. ← What's gai tsai being? Am I missing out?

Not yet, Ah Leung Goh. I am still on the East Coast and will be flying out tomorrow morning to the sunny warmth of the West. I will bring my digicam and take photos of what I will be eating at lunch. I can't wait to go into the Ferry Building and (hopefully) IAO burger. I think I might do a late night trek there if I have the chance. If only I can sneak away...