Best Nabeyaki Udon!

If you like Nabeyaki Udon, then you must try Ganko Sushi in San Carlos on 1131 Cherry St. It’s a "hole in the wall" type of place, "mom and pop shop" (literally!! I believe the husband is the chef and the wife is the wait staff).

Nabeyaki Udon is a type of hot udon noodle soup traditionally served in individual donabe (earthernware pot) or iron pots. Besides udon noodles, the soup includes chicken, salmon, crab, napa, carrots.  In addition, an egg (cooked perfectly), 2 large shrimps and tempura shaving are served on top. The broth is super flavorful.

We usually order our own bowl, it’s too good to share!

We’ve had a lot of Nabeyaki Udon and this one is truly the BEST!

Supporting Napa, after earthquake

What happened in Napa was personally devastating because it’s a town that we adore so much! We’ve decided to visit Napa after earthquake to support local vendors and merchants.

The trip brought mixed feelings…many buildings were block off due to the damages,  however, many others also opens up and welcomed visitors. People of Napa are strong and the community pulled together beautifully!

We brought our bike with us so we can cover more distance of Napa without worrying about parking.

We visited the General Napa Store, http://www.napageneralstore.com/

What a great discovery! They offer unique gifts from local Napa artists, personalized wine tasting from local small wineries and exquisite breakfast by the riverfront!

We grabbed a quick lunch at The Pear Southern Bistro http://rodneyworth.com/the-pear-southern-bistro/ and enjoyed “southern comfort food”.

More biking around the river front

For dinner, we spoiled ourselves at Chef Morimoto’s place http://morimotonapa.com/ it was a true dining experience pleasure without any adjectives that can describe the pleasure!

Of course, there were several other places that we supported such as:

·       Oxbow Public Market http://oxbowpublicmarket.com/ (where the locals gather for great food and wine)

      V. Sattui on Highway 29 just before St. Helena https://www.vsattui.com/ (Incredible deli. Try some cheeses before buying, choose a chutney or spread to go with it, grab a baguette and chocolates, and you have a great picnic. Gourmet sandwiches are also great choice).

   

      Overall, it was an amazing experience. We got to talk to the locals about their experience with the earthquake. People of Napa are strong and it's truly a tight community!

Millbrae Art and Wine Festival

Millbrae is known as "The Last Stop on BART" to most people, however, it is also a great place to live and visit especially this long weekend!

This weekend is the 44th Millbrae Art & Wine Festival (August 30-31, 2014, 10 am to 5 pm), which is the The Bay Area's Biggest Labor Day Weekend Bash!

The "Big Easy" is coming to Millbrae for this huge Labor Day weekend event and the theme is going to be Mardi Gras-style feast.

In addition, there will be handcrafted wares, festive food and drink, premium wines, microbrews and margaritas, artisan specialty food and much more!!

https://www.facebook.com/MillbraeArtWineFestival/info

Hope to see you there!

West Park Bistro, San Carlos

Laurel Street in San Carlos is a great place to visit, the street is filled with a variety of shops and restaurants. The newest addition to Laurel Street is West Park Bistro. We were so glad about our new discovery!

It has beautiful clean décor with spacious wine room and extensive wine selections.

For starter, we ordered Lobster Cake, it was nice and crispy with a kick of sweet and spicy to each bite.

For dinner, we tried Chilean Sea Bass and lamb chop. Sea bass was tender, flavorful with a hint of truffle oil and lamp chop was juicy, savory and non-gamey at all!!!

For dessert we enjoyed bread pudding, It was moist and satisfying!!

We are looking forward to return and try other items on the menu!

Bento Lovers!

Ahhhhh, the word bento brings happiness to our taste buds! If you live in the San Mateo Area, you are in luck! There are several grocery stores that offer convenient bento at a great price!

Suruki Supermarket in Downtown San Mateo, 71 E 4th Ave have a great selection of bento, including sush, sashimi. They also have donburi as well!

Sozai Corner is right next to Suruki Supermarket. Not only they have great bento, they also cater as well!!!

And there is Nijiya Market located on 1956 S El Camino Real. They have lots of selection as well.

An abundance of choices!!

Outside Land Festival in San Francisco

Three days packed with music, food, art are set to begin in the far reaches of Golden Gate Park Friday, 8/8 afternoon.

The three-day music festival kicks off Friday with performances at stages at the Polo Fields and surrounding area. The event continues through the weekend.

http://www.sfoutsidelands.com/home/

There are some amazing  attractions at this festival including wineland, beerland, chocoland and our favorite-Gastromagic…………………sounds super magical and it’s a must “check out”!!!

BBQ Party

Entertaining our friends and clients is one of the things we love to do!

Here in the Bay Area with this beautiful weather, we took advantage of entertaining outdoor!

Getting ready!

Here is a  look of our menu and it’s so simple, anyone can do this in the comfort of their backyard!

Horderves

·        Crispy endive w/ spinach dip

·        Hot crab dip w/ crackers (This was a HIT!!)

·        Cherry Tomato with Mozzarella and sprinkled with basil, olive oil and vinaigrette

Main dish

·        Cilantro marinated chicken thigh 

·        Garlic roasted filet mignon

·        Whole grilled fish with rosemary and lemon stuffing

Side Dish

·        A variety of grilled vegetables (including corn, eggplant, asparagus, zucchini, bell pepper, red onion, and squash). The key is to marinate with Ponzu sauce, garlic powder, rosemary, thyme, pepper flacks and onion flakes

·        Potato salad with cucumbers

Dessert

·        Petite cakes and macaroons

We also had a variety of wines, beer. Our guests always appreciated infused water with mint, strawberries, lemon and cucumber!

All About Ramen

We used to get our ramen out of a “Cup O Noodle” and now there are gourmet ramen shops all over the Bay Area!! Some of our favorite Ramen Ya made it to “THE 21 BEST RAMEN SHOPS IN THE COUNTRY” list. http://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/best-ramen-shops-ramen-noodles

However, some of our favorite that didn’t make to the list are Ramen Dojo-805 S B St in San Mateo and Santa Ramen-1944 S El Camino Real in San Mateo.

If you truly love Ramen, you are in luck! This Saturday July 19th and Sunday July 20th, there is Ramen Festival in San Francisco!!!!!! This event will feature six ramen purveyors from LA, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and Japan. It’s going to be Epic!!! http://www.thebolditalic.com/articles/5254-epic-ramen-festival-coming-to-sf

Edible Garden

The beauty about living in the Bay Area is that we can grow all kinds of fruits and vegetables in the back yard (or front yard!) thanks to the great weather! 

We’ve begun taking this fun endeavors to the next level. We are experimenting with a variety of edibles and cannot wait to see how things turn out.

Here are the newest addition to the family: self watering planters!

In these beautiful containers we have sage, mint, broccoli, zucchini, bok choy, bell pepper, asparagus, brussel sprouts....and much much more!

And we have RED tomatoes that's ready to be eaten!

Here is a baby orange tree

And a variety of herbs here such as thyme, cilantro, rosemary plus eggplant and more tomatoes!

Ahi Tuna

We have a thing for ahi tuna…..we love anything that incorporates ahi tuna and we found ahi tuna heaven at Pacific Catch!

http://pacificcatch.com/location/san-mateo/

There is the original poke (sushi-grade ahi tuna in a sesame-soy marinade, spicy seasonings), Ahi Macadamia Nut (sweet onions, fresno chilies and macadamia nuts), Ahi Salad with avocado, cucumber, daikon sprouts, ginger & sesame seeds with soy-wasabi vinaigrette and finally, Wasabi Ahi Sandwich with ginger, avocado, daikon sprouts & ginger-wasabi aioli!!! (Ultimate favorite!!!)

This place has a fun and chill vibe and the menu is truly unique. Gotta check out the “Poke” Bar as well!!

SF Pride Celebration

San Francisco has it all! The sights, the scenery, the one-of-a-kind events, the world-class food, the welcoming people, the diversity, the rich history and the Pride Parade!

SF Pride Parade has been said to be "one of the last remaining pride events that can truly be called a rite of passage." according to http://www.sfpride.org/

The SF Pride Celebration will be held over the weekend of June 28 and 29, 2014, in downtown San Francisco. There will be exhibitors, parade contingents, stages, venues and it’s truly going to be a BLAST!!

Here is the link to 2013 parade, courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/alucinante/sets/72157634622405421