The Last Brunch of San Francisco

Firstly, I would like to apologise to my readers for neglecting my blog during the past few weeks! I have now completed my Study Abroad Year in California and have returned to England. I spent my last 30 days in California travelling around the West Coast and barely found time to sleep, let alone blog! So, please forgive me.

San Francisco is famous for its brunches and after having eaten brunch in various locations around San Francisco, I can conclude that my favourite place to have brunch in San Francisco is - yes, you've guessed it - Butterfly!

Every waiter/waitress must hate me. My love of all types of food gives me terrible difficulty in deciding which dish to order. Butterfly is, possibly, the worst victim of mine due to the fact that I find everything on their menu incredibly delicious.

Poached Eggs with Kalua Pig

I finally settled for a brunch dish that included the English Muffin and poached eggs. I ordered the Poached Eggs with Kalua Pig instead of the Poached Eggs with Smoked Salmon that I have ordered numerous times in the past. In a hurry to decide, I asked the waiter what Kalua Pig actually was. I had thought that it may have been similar to Canadian Bacon, but when the waiter replied "No, Miss, it's actually a type of slow-cooked shredded pork" I said "I'll have that then, please!"

Half-way through eating the Poached Eggs with Kalua Pig

What a fantastic decision that turned out to be. It was an absolutely stunning Benedict, my favourite so far! The tender and salty pork was drenched in hollandaise and the poached eggs were, as always, cooked with a runny yolk that oozed over the pork and added yet more richness to the creamy hollandaise. I was dreaming throughout the entire time that I was devouring this dish. The chunky chips (sorry, fries, in America) were crisp on the outside and perfect for mopping up those delicious salty and meaty residues. I then enjoyed refreshing my mouth with the mixed fruit bowl.

Kumquat Margarita

I accompanied my meal with a kumquat margarita (I have been obsessed with tequila ever since I visited Mexico last March) which complemented the richness and slight stodginess of the Poached Eggs with Kalua Pig. If only I could repeat the experience of this absolute dream of a meal every weekend!

Afternoon Tea in San Francisco, Japanese Style!

My favourite photo of the Japanese Tea Garden

Among many food adventures with my father, we included a trip to the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. It was rumoured that they offered tea tasting, but to our disappointment, the menu only offered some tea sets, sweets and a small selection of entrées. We decided to stay for a spot of "afternoon tea" despite the limited menu and this is what we ate...

We ordered a Jasmine Tea Set each, one with mochi cakes and one with salty rice crackers.

Jasmine tea with mochi cakes and salty rice crackers

Mochi cakes split in half to share

The bottom of my Jasmine tea cup

We still felt peckish after these bites and it was almost lunchtime so we decided to order a couple of larger dishes to share. We were very intrigued by the sound of the Green tea soup (Nori Ochazuke) and we also ordered the Japanese noodle soup (Udon).

Nori Ochazuke, Green tea seaweed rice soup

Pouring the tea into the rice

The dish is ready to eat!

The Nori Ochazuke arrived in two pieces: the tea in a teapot and the rice, puffed rice kernals and seaweed in an accompanying bowl. We absolutely loved the variety of textures in this dish; crunchy rice kernals, chewy seaweed strips, bouncy boiled rice and a delicately flavoured watery broth.

Udon, Japanese wide noodles in a fish broth

The Udon was served with a fishcake and some sliced spring onions on top. We enjoyed the bouncy texture of the wide noodles but did not find it as exciting as the Nori Ochazuke.

The Tea House inside the Japanese Tea Garden

Iris in the Japanese Tea Garden

Although the menu is limited, the gardens are stunning. It was a great place to play with my camera! I highly recommend a visit here if ever one is in the area.

The Stinking Rose - San Francisco, CA

A candle inside The Stinking Rose

From the moment that I heard of the "We season our garlic with food" restaurant, The Stinking Rose, I knew it was somewhere that I had to go with my father.

My father is one of those people who could sit in baths of garlic and still not get enough of it. I commonly find myself pinching one of his crisps, only to find (to my horror) that it was covered with garlic granules!

Garlic and empty wine bottles hanging from the ceiling inside the restaurant

Due to my sensitive palate, I frequently suffer from garlic "hangovers". I believe them to be worse than those caused by alcohol. Sometimes, my mouth suffers for over twenty four hours, polluting everything that I eat in that time with garlic.

My father had flown over from England to visit me. Although I have this huge potential for garlic hangovers, I felt that I couldn't not visit The Stinking Rose during my Study Abroad Year (here in California), especially when my father (AKA Garlic Lover) was here.

The ceiling of empty wine bottles

The restaurant had rich red walls smothered with photos and candlesticks, a ceiling with hundreds upon hundreds of empty wine bottles and a warm and lively atmosphere.

Freshly baked fococcia

With family and close friends, it goes without saying that we share everything we order. We started with the "garlic soaking in a hot tub": garlic cloves, oven roasted with extra virgin olive oil and butter with a hint of anchovy, served on an iron skillet. This had a surprisingly low pungency, that I enjoyed. It was the perfect accompaniment for the freshly baked fococcia bread that arrived on our table within seconds of sitting down.

"Garlic in a hot tub"

For mains, my father ordered the Double Mussels and Crab Sizzling Iron Skillet and I ordered the The Silence of the Lamb Shank with Chianti Glaze, Fava Beans and Garlic Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes.

Double Mussels and Crab on a Sizzling Skillet

The seafood was covered in this suspicious-looking but rather delicious grey sauce. Even with the bulk of the dish being shells rather than edible food, we still didn't manage to finish it!

The lamb fell off of the bone and melted in the mouth. The Chianti glaze was divine with the succulent meat, and the garlic was not overpowering. I struggled to save enough of it to share with my father.

Silence of the Lamb Shank

We were very keen to try the garlic ice cream, however, to our dismay, there was no room left for a dessert (I'm sure that the two bottles of delectable Chianti contributed to making us both replete).

Our evening at The Stinking Rose was a fabulous experience and I would recommend that everyone go and enjoy it for themselves. I had feared a horrific garlic hangover (wouldn't even a non-sensitive palate predict a garlic hangover after dining at a restaurant where they "season their garlic with food"?!) I was, however, pleasantly surprised, the next morning, to experience only a very subtle garlic hangover.

Hoegaarden Profiteroles in San Francisco

"Cream Puffs" at the San Francisco Ferry Market

Yes, you read it correctly - Hoegaarden profiteroles. What a fabulous and unique find at the San Francisco Ferry Market!

A bunch of we "internationals" took another trip to San Francisco this weekend, despite the ridiculously heavy rainfall (why did I leave my wellies in England?!) and found ourselves, yet again, at the legendary San Francisco Ferry Market.

A very wet San Francisco

I think it sinful whenever I am in San Francisco on a Saturday morning and do not visit the Ferry Market. It's such a fantastic market with ubiquitous free samples and I always manage to discover something new.

During this visit, I was introduced to two new ideas in the food world. The first was a "tea soup", which contained the brew of some immune system-boosting herbal tea bags and the soup ingredients one wishes to add. In this case, we sampled a tomato and onion soup. This tickled my brain into the idea of creating an "immune-boosting" soup. I may investigate this sooner rather than later as my immune system seems to have been struggling a little recently...

Puddles and brollies and puddles...

The second find was this divine beer custard cream inside a profiterole. As we dashed from stall to stall in our squelchy shoes (I could swear that there was more water inside my boots than outside!), we came across these delightful little treats. I asked the gentlemen behind the stall what each profiterole contained. They told me that the custard cream inside the plain profiteroles was made using some Hoegaarden. "That's, like, my favourite beer!" (eek - my vocabulary seems to be acquiring an American tone, please forgive me!). It's probably not my favourite beer. It's actually one of the only beers I like, thus far. I have just entered the "beer world", you see, as I am taking a brewing class this quarter, which, as an initial beer-hater, I am, surprisingly, enjoying. Within the first two of weeks of classes, I suddenly developed a taste for beer. Now, I am very intrigued.

Pâte à Choux with Hoegaarden Custard Cream and Caramelised Apple

I was so excited that my friends had to ask me to "calm down!". There was a chocolate profiterole bun with a chestnut ganache topped with a caramelised slice of apple and a plain profiterole bun with a Hoegaarden custard cream topped with a slice of pear. Such a terribly tough decision for a food enthusiast such as myself, so what did I decide?

"Okay - I'll just have both, please!"

Three for the price of two!

The very generous gentlemen gave me three profiteroles for the price of two! One with the chestnut ganache and two with the Hoegaarden. This certainly brightened up the rather dismal day. I immediately consumed one of the Hoegaarden profiteroles and was completely blown away. I don't like my desserts too sweet, so the herby bitterness of the beer with the subtly sweet cream and a delicate soft choux bun was one of the most sublime culinary combinationss that my palate has ever experienced.

Chocolate Pâte à Choux with Chestnut Ganache and Pear

The chocolate and chestnut profiterole also entertained my palate, but had a lesser effect on the chemical stimulations occuring in my brain, compared with the Hoegaarden profiterole.

If the reading of this post has left you craving for one of these stunning bites of beer-heaven, plan a trip to the Ferry Market as soon as possible! Or failing that, just head off to your nearest pub...

A Beautiful Butterfly Brunch in San Francisco

I think that I have just experienced the most magical weekend of my entire life. January used to be the one time of the year that I really dreaded. It used to be filled with exams and bad weather. Everyone was depressed because they were poor, fat and/or ill.

In California, however, things seem to be quite the opposite. Winter is still here (many people from England forget that California has winters too) yet depression is far, far away!

Down The Embarcadero - The Bay Bridge in the background

The idyllic weekend started with a very chilled out dinner at my friend's place with lots of yummy food, wine and lovely friends. My Saturday involved a whole day's skiing in Lake Tahoe. This was the second time, only, that I had skied in my life and the last time was seven years ago. I was overjoyed that I managed to remember how to ski and the stunning kaleidoscopic sunset pushed my thoughts further into believing that this was all a dream. I was devastated that I didn't have my Canon with me to capture the sunset but I'm pretty sure that the camera would not have survived!

A sign outside the new Tcho chocolate shop and factory, down The Embarcadero

Sunday included a spontaneous trip to San Francisco with my fellow English friend Jennie and my photography buddy Matt. The aim of the trip was to get some great shots of San Francisco, which we did, and we also experienced an exquisite brunch in Butterfly down The Embarcadero.

Inside Butterfly Restaurant - Pier 33, The Embarcadero

I thought that I should avoid the bottomless mimosas but then thought that I would have just one. Because I can, now that I am 21!

Mimosa inside Butterfly Restaurant

I chose the Smoked Salmon Scramble with asparagus, tobiko caviar, crème fraiche and texas toast, but I asked for my eggs to be poached instead of scrambled (I just love 'em poached!).

Smoked Salmon Scramble - poached, not scrambled

The plate contained a dazzling plethora of colours. The eggs had a wonderfully soft yolk that provided a great sauce for the smoked salmon and al dente asparagus. Each forkful was a multi-textural adventure. The result was ultimate satisfaction!

Texas toast with butter and jam

Delicious salty residues

I had never had Texas toast before, but this gorgeous thick yellow fluffy bread was just perfect for mopping up all the delicious salty residues.

Not a trace left!

The meal was delicious and the picturesque dish was a shocking $12. The three of us almost keeled over with ecstasy after we had completed our meals. It is the experiencing of moments like these that remind me why I am studying abroad.

I thought that I would share a few of my favourite photos of the day. What's the point in taking photos if you don't share them?!

Fog at Lands End Trail

Rusty post on China Beach

The Golden Gate Bridge from China Beach

This photograph of the Golden Gate Bridge was taken from China Beach. When we arrived at China Beach we could not see any resemblance of the bridge. Within minutes, the fog slowly lifted to reveal what my friend calls "The Statue of Liberty of the West Coast". It was as if the Golden Gate Gods were there yesterday. It was a truly memorable experience.

Market Street, San Francisco

This photo of Market Street was taken from a friend's apartment on the top floor of the complex. I could have sat here and stared for hours.

This emotional weekend of bliss and enchantment will remain in my heart forever, California - you're the best!

San Francisco Ferry Market

Davis is quite a tiny place, so we couldn't help but feel a little claustrophobic after 3 weeks without leaving. It was definitely time to venture out. After much deliberation, we decided to pay the extortionate $50 return train fare to San Francisco and get a taste of the land of the hippies. We probably covered about 1% of San Francisco as all 3 of us were new to the city and we didn't have a very detailed plan... but we still had a great day!

The first place we went to was the San Francisco Ferry Market. The food ranged from multi-tonal tomatoes to smoked salmon sticks, lavender salt to pink pomegranate... goats cheese and molasses dip to watermelon radishes... oh the list goes on! It was the perfect place to play with my new toy (my brand new Canon, my baby!) and here is a preview of what we experienced...

Fresh dates - the first time I have ever seen them!

The sheer volume and variety of the fresh produce available was overwhelming. There were so many wonderful bright colours shouting out with freshness and deliciousness. We ate so many samples that we managed to keep our palates and appetite happy for the rest of the day (well, until we reached The Cheesecake Factory at 4pm...)!

The Peruvian guy selling the goats cheese dips

Goats cheese, molasses and brown sugar dip

After the market we strolled around Haight Street for a while then shopped 'til we dropped.

We were warned about the service at The Cheesecake Factory but decided that we had to check it out for ourselves. I went for the Carlton Salad - romaine lettuce, grilled chicken, feta cheese, avocado, dried cranberries, pears, fresh orange and pecans tossed with vinaigrette. It was good, but not amazing and the service was pretty horrific! We had a cheesecake too, of course. Again, it was average. But hey, we've tried it now!

Carlton Salad at The Cheesecake Factory