San Francisco: Kusakabe

9/24/2015

Dear Fork,

My food experience today was magnificent, yet it was a day without you. Thus, it was an incredible day that I would love to share with you. I went to KUSAKABE, a year old Japanese restaurant in San Francisco with its honor holding a one-star Michelin. The owner/chef, Mitsunori Kasukabe has years of experiences from Kyoto, Japan to Nobu New York and Miami, to Sushi Ran. With his professional creativity, he has received many awards from all over including US Sushi Technical Champion.

Nori-san doing what he does best, creating an excellent quality food for us.

A glass of champagne to start off my meal. 

I went in at 5pm for the first round of omakase (Chef's choice). Kusakabe offers sushi in a Kaiseki style menu, which is a multi-course menu $95, including the interesting Omakase selections of the following: 

• Welcoming Tea - Konbu cha, kelp tea which which give the salty taste, to clean your palate. Interesting!
• Sushi Prelude - Zuke Chutoro (lightly seared bluefin medium fatty tuna cured in soy sauce, the first delicious bite. Plus, two kinds of seasonal sushi of the day.

Zuke Chutoro, melt in your mouth. 

Hirame - Konbu cured Halibut.

Bonito

• Sashimi - Chef's sashimi nestled in shaved ice with fresh wasabi & yuzu onion sauce. It was Tasmanian ocean trout and Hotate (scallop) today. So fresh and cold, amazing!

Tasmanian Ocean Trout and Scallop served on ice. SO FRESH!

• Soup - Suppon umami soup with Domyo-ji Manjyu (rice cake). Suppon = Soft shell turtle. It was my first time having turtle..woah! I'm normally not a soup person, but this Suppon Soup was so tasty. Flavorful soup with rice cake topped with flakes and goji berry. 

Suppon Umami Soup with Domyo-ji Manjyu.

• Hassun - Chef's assorted Les petit plats, four small bites of goodness! This course includes Young Sardine, Egg omelette, Washington oyster with French Daurenki Caviar, Toro topped with seaweed and pine nuts, and Eggplant Spring roll. My favorites were the oyster and toro... YUMMY!

Oyster + Caviar, Toro and spring rolls. DELICIOUSNESS.

One after another, I just couldn't get enough of these heavenly delicious bites! NEXT:

• Warm Dish - Crispy Chi-Ayu with Italian summer truffle & bamboo charcoal miso. This plate was really interesting. The black colored bamboo charcoal miso was light yet perfectly flavored, along with sweetness and crispiness of the baby Ayu, which you can eat everything from head to tail. It served with Shishito pepper, watermelon, mini lime and the marvelous pieces of truffle.

Crispy Chi-Ayu with truffle and bamboo charcoal miso. #yum

How about some more sushi! I loved omakase so much because it's a never ending meal. I wouldn't mind doing this everyday. :p #sushilover

• Sushi Chic - Three kinds of seasonal sushi of the day. Chefs at Kusakabe are so talented, every sushi were created professionally, giving such an impeccable taste.

Shimaaji - Stripe jack

Ayu 

Copper River King Salmon

Here comes the most exciting part, the finale, where you get to choose! Oh, let me tell you it's harder than you think...

• Sushi Finale - Toro (blufin fatty tuna) or Grade A5 Miyazaki Wagyu beef... Hey, no pressure but... YOU MUST MUST MUST GET THEM BOTH! They were extremely worth getting and oh so incredible that it's hard to describe in words. It's $12 extra if you choose to get both. These two pieces were the best. The true melt-in-your-mouth feeling was brilliant.

Chef Shinsuke-san, blow-torching our A5 Wagyu.

Beautiful toro (bluefin fatty tuna), melt my heart. #meltinmymouth + #meltinmyheart

Look at this beauty! A5 Miyazaki Wagyu strip loin  beef, the best of the best.

Aside of the omakase, I had to get something a little extra AKA my favorite, to end our amazingly perfect sushi night. Bafun Uni - It is Hokkaido short spine sea urchin, soft, sweet and also melt-in-my-mouth! :D

Bafun uni (Hokkaido uni)

Fresh corn and white miso ice cream parfait.

Ended our night with an amazing dessert for my birthday with this cute Fresh corn and white miso ice cream parfait. Must try! It's Chef Shinsuke-san's recommendation. It was very refreshing. Lightly sweet corn/white miso ice cream topped with cornflakes and fruits. nom.

Thank you for a memorable night, Kusakabe. See you again very soon!

Fork, I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. Till next time...

Love, 
Spoon

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Tips:

• Reservation is needed at least 1-2 week in advance (in case you are very lucky!). Weekends reservation are booked up for weeks ahead.
• Dress Code: Business Casual
• Use your hand to eat sushi, trust me. :)
• It takes roughly about 1hr 30m - 2h 30m, so plan accordingly.
• Last seating is at 8.30pm
• You will love it. :D Just saying.

KUSAKABE: Opens MON-SAT 5pm-10pm | 584 Washington St. San Francisco, CA 94111

San Francisco: Craftsman & Wolves

9/16/2015

Dear Fork,

I had a great day today, though, I wish I got to see you more. I went to Craftsman & Wolves since I have not been in for ages. I still love everything about this place, the people, the ambience, and of course their delicious looking pastries.

Beautiful interior.

Speaking of pastries, as you've probably heard from me before, I'm so glad to be in this wonderful city, packed with tasty spots all over within a few minutes walk. Who doesn't like cafe hopping, right? (not to mention, bar hopping is fun too). LOVE IT. 

Chocolate croissant stack

The moment I walked in, approaching the counter, I didn't even look at anything else, but these beautiful goodies in front of me. How can I decide what to get?! Okay, let's do this... how about a couple of things at once! YEEEEEEAH 

Communal table at CAW.

#onthetable #beautiful!

I loved how CAW pays attention to detail on their pastries. It wasn't only that they tasted good, but they are visually attractive! (yes, I mean the pastries LOL.) I got myself a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallow. Litchi Roll features milk chocolate, coffee cream. It's a fancy eclair roll-like but with a twist of the crispy cracker underneath the roll. 

Hot chocolate with marshmallow, so good. I wish the cup was bigger! LOL

The Devil (not so deviled looking, it looks more like HEAVEN)

The Devil was so tasty. You know how much I love chocolate especially when it's rich! The Devil chocolate cake is filled with chocolate ganache and toffee. The three texture combined makes it the best!

The Rebel Within

Here comes the best of the best, a must-try at CAW, The Rebel Within. What is that? It's a breakfast muffin, filled with soft boiled egg. It's just perfect. It has asiago, sausage, green onion. SO GOOD! #bestoftheday

My morning was completely fulfilled with deliciousness.

Thank you for coming with me and help me experience my food life. 

Love,

Spoon

San Francisco: Mr. Holmes Bakehouse

9/13/2015

Dear Fork,

Do you know how early I have to wake up for this?! Gosh. The hype is real. After I failed my first attempt getting my cruffins from Mr. Holmes Bakehouse (1042 Larkin St. San Francisco, CA 94109), now I finally know the drill and got them! muahaha *devil laugh* I think it's good to share that with you. :)

So, they open at 7AM on weekdays and 8AM on weekends... *BUT* their lusciously unique cruffins only start to come out at 9AM onwards. You wouldn't get any if you go when they open, like what I did the first time. I even asked them shamelessly at 7AM, "Are you ran out of the cruffin?"... haha!! I sadly left thinking "I got there too early and did not want to wait". I've learned that 'no pain NO GAIN' is true. LOL

Anyway, let's talk about the cruffin. My computer doesn't even register the word cruffin and keeps autocorrecting it to 'curfew', but it's real and now the IT thing! CROISSANT + MUFFIN = CRUFFIN is the equation is to Mr. Holmes' famous pastry. They come out with different Cruffin and donut flavor everyday. Check @mrholmesbakehouse for their weekly flavor update. 

I got a box of heavenly looking, freshly baked pastries including the famous Cruffins - Chocolate & Cocoa nib flavor 9/13, amazing donuts filled with passionfruit cream and cinnamon, and a kouign amann. Love love love the cruffin and the cream, so fresh! 

Good Tips:

1. Get there early! They do run out of everything pretty fast and that when they close. People like to get there at around 8AM. Expect an hour wait. You may get lucky though, if you arrive at the moment they're open. The line moves quite fast.
2. While you're standing in line, they will hand out this sticker which guarantee you a purchase limited to 2 cruffins. Repeat. 2 cruffins per sticker per customer. If not, be patient. :) 
3. You are welcome to walk in to the shop (if you have someone hold your spot for you in line), to get a coffee or other baked goods, as you might need them while waiting. 
4. Wear warm clothes, it's starting to get cold! 
5. Keep in mind that they charge $1.50 for the beautiful white box for your pastry (unless you get a small bag). It's free with a purchase of 6 pieces+ of all baked goods.
6. GOOD LUCK!
7. PS. Sorry, Fork, I was handful and covered with sugar that I didn't get to see you. Till next time! 

Love,

Spoon.

San Francisco: Marlowe Burger

Dear Fork,

It was lovely to see you. Let me tell you how I met you. Today I went to Marlowe for the weekend brunch. It was my second time here, though it was at the new location (500 Brannan St. San Francisco CA). The brown and white theme always got me. The natural light that beamed in through the large glass window was just beautiful. The bathroom that has cows all over the place, that black and white napkin. #style

I have always wanted to try their dinner, especially their Bone Marrow, but oh dear, I keep forgetting that they don't serve certain thing for brunch/lunch! Bummer. 

So, according to many sources and sites, Marlowe's burger is one of the best burgers in San Francisco. Fork, why not!? 

Warm Deviled Eggs

Oh! Before I go to the burger, you must get their Warm Deviled Egg - topped with aged provolone, pickled jalapeño and crispy bacon for $2.5 a piece. This was heavenly, flavors burst in your mouth kinda egg that you shouldn't miss.

Okay, Fork, are you ready for the climax? Here comes the burger....

Marlowe Burger

Don't be surprised of the half-cut of the Marlowe Burger, you know I can never finish one whole burger, I had to share. LOL This burger is not only yummy looking, but it's filled with goodness. It features caramelized onions, cheddar, bacon and horseradish aioli. Served with crispy french fries, you know I hate them soggy. The horseradish aioli is such a great dip along with the basic, ketchup of course. The beef patty was so juicy. Get it medium rare and you will thank me. 

Burrata Tartine

Another great dish for brunch I got was the Burrata Tartine. An open-faced sandwich of grilled Levain bread topped with burrata, candied bacon, chicories and balsamic. The bacon is like Millionaire's bacon, thick-cut, sweet-glazed... NOM!

It was great to see you, Fork, though, I did not get to talk to you as much at this restaurant, but next maybe?

Love,

Spoon

San Francisco: Souvla

8/5/2015

Dear Fork,

How have you been? It was so hot in San Francisco at 81 degree! #hot I have to admit I love it. I went to Souvla today for the first time. It's a beautiful greek restaurant with beautiful natural lighting, you know how I'm in love with this little thing. I also like how fast it was, almost certainly like a fast food restaurant, but a very healthy one.

The menu is very simple. It shows different type of meat you want (Pork, Chicken, Lamb, Veg) and you get to choose if you want them as a Sandwich or Salad. Then, there were small sections of Sides, Beverages and Frozen GREEK Yogurt. YES!!

Greek Fries

I ordered at the register and grabbed the number to the table. Started off with a so-called appetizer, the Greek Fries. It's just like the regular fries but with some extra love of olive oil, lemon juice, parsley and Mizithra cheese. Oh and Yeah, crispy fries. #TeamNoSoggyFries

Chicken Salad

Here comes my favorite dish! I loved their Salad. I went with their Chicken Salad. The chicken was so good. It's free range chicken, so tender and smooth, grilled to perfection. It features "granch" dressing, fennel, navel orange, pickled red onion, pea shoots, and Mizithra cheese. Look how beautiful it is. Fork, I was so happy with how delicious it was.

Lamb Sandwich

How about we try their lamb too? Lamb Sandwich was also amazing. It came as a pita bread wrapped around lamb leg, flavored with harissa spiked yogurt, cucumber, radish, pickled red onion and feta cheese. Deliciousness. 

Fork, I had so much fun with you today exploring places. BUT, here comes my favorite part of the meal, though you weren't there. (sorry) It's dessert time!!! For such an amazing day like this, this Greek Frozen yogurt made my day. I went with the Olive oil with flaky sea salt as the topping. You must get this!!! They even have Baklava crumbles with syrup toppings! WOW...

Thanks for today.

Love,

Spoon.