I had my second class at Fiore Market Cafe and this time round, we learnt how to make chicken stock! Wait, scratch that, we were supposed to learn how to make chicken stock, but Bill, the chef and owner of the cafe, had kindly taught us how to roast a chicken, braise beef shanks, make chicken, beef and vegetable stock AND two types of soup! Man, it was such an enriching class and I learnt so much, my pen was up in the air scribbling most of the time.
For those who are not familiar with Fiore Market Cafe, you can read the first class I had with them here, where I learnt how to make a few types of bread, as well as a short review on my favorite cafe in the world! :)
So yes, back to the class. I had a great time meeting new people, fellow foodies like myself who are interested in making wholesome food! I love how we get to witness the whole process, which allowed me to pick up small tips here and there on how to make broth, braise meet, etc. This was also the first time I interacted with Bill's wife, Anne, and she is just so friendly and humorous.
Below are some of the pictures I took at the class. Cooking classes are so fun... I can't wait to sign up for more! :D
Taking the meat off the bones of the beef shank.
The chef at work!
We learnt, we cooked and we ate heartily. What more can we ask for? :) I LOVE their roast chicken sandwich with pesto and cheese on focaccia bread (left).
Carrot soup, one of the two soups we made that day.
On another note, I went to the cafe yesterday and tried their roast chicken salad for the first time. I have been thinking about it ever since! It was just such a delicious plate of greens, topped with juicy roast chicken, maple-glazed bacon, blue cheese and oil-cured olives. I am a little apprehensive with blue cheese, cos some can be overpowering to me, but I loved the ones served on my plate. In fact, I ate my plate so clean, when Bill collected it, he said he has never seen a cleaner plate in his life. Haha!
I have visited it a number of times to confirm my decision, and yes, it is my favorite. Top of the list!
In fact, I love their food so much that I took one of their classes last Sunday and learnt how to make bread. Good old rustic loaf of bread. That's not all. I also got to learn how to make focaccia bread (loves!) and baguette!
Although I've baked bread (with reasonable success) before at home, I could never attain that kind of soft, fluffy, yet chewy texture Fiore Market offers in their sandwiches. I've tried three different recipes with varying success. So, when I saw that Fiore Market had bread making classes, I took a shot at it!
And boy was it fun! I got to meet some really great people at the class, ate some delicious granola, sandwiches, etc and brought home both the recipe (with notes and tips) plus a loaf of bread. The recipe is easy and Bill gives us really clear instructions on what to do, and answers all our questions patiently. Also, one of the things I really like about the class is that you just pay per lesson, so I can choose whichever lesson I want to take (bread, chicken, pizza and the like) without having to commit to a series, so it's really flexible! In fact, I just signed myself up for their lesson on cooking chicken and I can't wait! :D
So here are some snapshots of that day. Unfortunately, I didn't take many photos cos most of the time my hands were either making the dough or digging into the delicious refreshments but I managed to capture a few shots of Bill, the owner, teaching us the steps to attaining that yummy loaf.
Bill removing the foccacia bread from the pan.
The loaves of bread that we would bring home. What is missing is the focaccia, which we gobbled up with some grilled vegetables and cheese. Mmm...!
We were coming to the end of the class and were preparing to take our individual loaves of bread home.
There you have it! Sitting so pretty and nice in my kitchen. It even has a pretty card on it!
So yes, I love the cafe. There is just something really unpretentious and genuine about it. The owners, Bill and his wife Anna, are really friendly. Very often, Bill would step out of the kitchen to say hi to his customers. This gesture may seem small, but it goes a long way to make a customer feel welcomed! :) The cafe is tucked in a corner, with a very cosy interior and a refreshing alfresco dining area where most of the customers would be. The cafe is also surrounded with different types of vegetables in their garden, like arugula, cabbage, etc. Just another thing to amp up the cosy factor! ;)
One of my favorite items in their menu is the tempeh bacon sandwich (it's vegetarian and I never knew tempeh could taste this delicious!), and the other is their cream of chicken soup. They have the Soup of the Day, which changes regularly, so I've only managed to drink that once. But that one time was good enough for me to look forward to having it again each time I pop by. My friend who was with me when we had that said it was the best chicken soup he's ever tasted haha! Their vegetarian salad is also another winner - I love the dressing, and the sugared walnuts makes the salad really special.
Yup, so that ends my rather lengthy post. I do have more things I'd like to add, but I shall stop being so long-winded. Just go experience the delicious food for yourself! :)
Wow, it's been quite a while since I last wrote, mainly because I was away on a holiday with my hubby. We took a road trip to San Francisco and it was so lovely. We drove to Big Sur first (and admired the beautiful Pacific Ocean) and then headed to San Fran to gaze at the breathtaking Golden Gate Bridge. But of course what is a holiday without some good food? I had one of the best seafood ever! The Dungeness crab was in season and of course, we couldn't resist digging our fingers into one of them:
Their crab was not only fresh, it was really succulent and sweet. Their clam chowder was not bad (at the back) but the crab was really the star of the show! Tarantino's Restaurant has an indoor sitting, but my hubby and I just sat outside, alfresco style, after purchasing the food at their outdoor deli, where a guy would be boiling the crabs at the walkway. So really, it's pretty hard to miss it. In fact, I heard some people commenting that they couldn't stand the fishy smell the boiling crabs were emitting and ran away from the stand as fast as they could. But I thought it was ok heh! :)
Tarantino Restaurant (at the Fisherman's Wharf) 206 Jefferson St
(between Taylor St & Jones St)
San Francisco, CA94133
Neighborhood: Fisherman's Wharf
And if I had to name the best dish I ate in San Fran, though it was a tough fight, I'd say the winner goes to Sam's Chowder Mobile!!
Oh look at the lobster flesh. Need I say more? Their lobster roll was super delicious, atop a generously buttered roll. It was so tasty, I wondered how they cooked it without drying out the lobster. They won several foodie awards, including CBS Best of the Bay Area's Street Food. They are mobile so they move around San Fran and I found them at the Golden Gate Park. Their chowder is really good too. Better than Tarantino's one, in my opinion.
To find out where they are, you can visit their website at
http://www.samschowdermobile.com/find-us.html
Have I ever mentioned how much I love farmer's markets? I love the whole concept of a wide variety of fresh produce and food stands all under the same roof. And at times, u can happily sample your way through the stalls too! The hubby and I made our way to SoMa (South of Market) for lunch and from far, we could see a long line snaking this stall. That is enough to capture our curiosity and the hubby quickly parked himself at the end of the queue while I checked out their menu. Their porcetta (pork) sandwich seemed to be the bestseller that afternoon, so we ordered one and boy was it delicious! The pork had a good crunch to it, and was salted just right. I love how it had heaps of arugula sandwiched in it. yums! I gobbled the sandwich up too quickly for a shot, but I did find a video of it on youtube so enjoy! :)
I also got some chocolates from Alfieri Farms. They sell some really good almond brittle and I bought home the dark chocolate variety. It was really addictive. I finished my packet in a couple of days and am yearning for more! I got it at one of the stalls in SoMa. Their website seems to be under construction, but you can view more info from yelp here:
As mentioned, the seafood in San Fran is really fresh, and so I really wanted to try their sushi. This restaurant was recommended on Frommer's guide book so we decided to check it out. It was really crowded and we had to wait for about 15 minutes before we could get a table, but it was worth the wait. The fish (below is the sushi delux), do bear me for repeating, was fresh, and the tamago! oh the tamago was so sweet and juicy, I've never really had anything quite like it.
We saw many tables ordering their clams cooked in sake, so we tried that too and it was not bad! It bore a slight resemblance to vongole.
Sanraku
704 Sutter Street
San Francisco CA 94109
On the day we left San Fran, we decided to return to this korean restaurant because the first time we went there, the queue was way too long and we were way too hungry after our long drive and we had to leave. This time, we were the first customer the moment they opened for lunch so we definitely had a seat! Haha! As we ate, the place began filling up with the lunch crowd!
This restaurant is famed for their soft tofu and so I had the kimchi one while my hubby had the seafood one. I preferred my soup base, and let me tell you, their tofu was unbelievably soft! Love it! Love their side dishes too. This is the first time I had full head+tail on fish as a side dish, though the fish was a little too salty for me. Thumbs up for the korean supermarket (separate establishment) beside it too that sold a wide variety of korean produce. I bought their fried scallion pancake as takeaway and it was delicious!
My Tofu House
4627 Geary Boulevard
San Francisco, CA 94118
So yep, here's the top picks of the food I tried on my first trip to San Fran. It was really a culinary delight and I would head back again just for the food alone! In fact, on our way back I was badgering my hubby when we could visit San Fran again hehe. If you have foodie places to recommend, do let me know! Keeping notes for the next trip! :)
At the gatecrash of my wedding, one of the questions my hubby had to answer was, what is my favourite food. Without hesitation, he replied, "sashimi!". And he is right! Sake, Ikura, Ebi, Hamachi... I love them all! So imagine my trepidation when I came to America, wary that I may not be able to find good japanese food.
The truth is, I have been able to find good Japanese food, but not good sushi. I've been to several restaurants so far and many of their sushi rice lacked flavor. It is almost like just plain japanese rice, without a tinge of rice vinegar or mirin. The problem is not with the ingredients, but mostly the rice itself. I'm not sure if I am just too used to the way we Singaporeans have our sushi, but I was certainly disappointed. After several failed visits to different restaurants, I decided to make my own sushi rice at home (which is another story/recipe altogether).
However, my dismal feelings about the state of sushi in LA ended when I visited Kabuki. I first read about this restaurant in the newspapers, where it was voted by readers as the best japanese restaurants in Pasadena. When I saw that, I just had to give it a shot. I tried their special (picture above), which is a spicy roll topped with seasonal raw fish, and this is the first restaurant I've been to that actually sold decent sushi! Their roll was tasty, and it had a good crunch when I bit into it. The toppings were fresh, though I would have liked it even more if they came with uni and hotate.
Salmon and tempura lunch set.
One thing worth noting about Kabuki is their value for money set lunches.
For $10.95, I can have a set meal, choosing between chicken, beef or salmon teriyaki and tempura complete with rice (you can opt for brown
rice), salad and miso soup. Their miso is mediocre, but I love their salad dressing, which is sweet,
salty and tart all rolled into one. They have other items on their set lunch menu too, such sushi and chirashi set meals.
I ordered the beef to be cooked to medium, which is the way I like it, with a nice pink centre. The beef tasted not bad, though the texture was a little too sinewy for me. My friend thought her salmon was ok, but would have preferred a bigger slice. Other than those slight misses, Kabuki is a place I'd return to because it serves good food with affordable prices. They also served us a side of edamame beans before our meal, which is a nice bonus.I hope their other sushi, besides their special roll, is equally good because I'd be coming back to try them again!
When I see the word heirloom, images of vibrant red, juicy heirloom tomatoes pop to mind! I wonder if that is why they gave it that name?
I brought my Singaporean friend to Heirloom Bakery & Cafe
for brunch a few days ago. Even though it was a weekday morning, the place was packed! It was our first time there and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
What made an impression on me was not only the food, but the people.
The lady who took our orders was chirping away, and such cheerfulness is
certainly contagious. You
feel welcomed before even taking a bite!
I loved the casual feel of the place, which is nestled in a corner of a quiet neighbourhood. We started off with a scone, which was pretty decent. They didn't give
me a coffee menu when I asked for it, but they make your usual latte and
mocha, etc. I ordered their pressed sandwich, which consists of
provolone (yum), salami, egg, tomatoes and pesto dressing.
This was, to me, the highlight of the day. It was simply
delightful! The country bread was toasted just right, not burnt, the melted provolone cheese paired well with the grilled tomatoes and the pesto dressing gave it the tint of herb without overpowering the cheese. The portion was big enough, making it really value for money.
My only gripe was that they got my friend's order wrong. She wanted mushrooms on a side, but they ended up scrambling her mushrooms with her eggs, which didn't turn out very good. But the lady apologised for the error, and we were ok with that. It's not an error hideous enough to stop me from coming back.
They have a daily special menu on top of their usuals, as well as a range of sweet treats such as brownies and cupcakes. While this is not the best brunch I've eaten, I'd say with the friendly staff and cosy ambience, I'd definitely make a trip back to check out their other stuff.
Heirloom Bakery & Cafe 807 Meridian Ave South Pasadena, CA91031
Was hit with a sudden craving for a hot bowl of ramen with thick, milky pork broth since yesterday. As our favorite ramen place was not opened on Sundays, I had to wait until today to have it. But boy was it worth it!
I've been to a couple of ramen shops in LA so far but none was more satisfying than Kosuke. Even the one we had at the Little Tokyo didn't have the depth of flavor that this chef was able to summon from the pork bones. To me, a good bowl of ramen must first have good stock, then decent noodles, followed by whatever ingredients you like to go with it. The only downside for this is the egg, which is hard-boiled. I'm not sure if it is because of the danger of salmonellosis or the fear of a potential lawsuit, but they really cook their eggs through. Anyhow, aside for not getting my onsen, I am very happy with this place!
From left: Gyoza ($1 with any ramen) and Tonkotsu Ramen
I would usually go for the spicy ramen, which by the way, has spicy levels between 1 and 5. I usually take no.2. Today, however, I decided to try their Kuro Ramen, which is topped with their special blend of black oil (made of garlic, I believe). My initial hesitation was due to a rather bad experience of a similar type of ramen back in Singapore. The place where I tried was really popular, so I thought I was just not fond of the "special black oil". But after today, I'm a convert! This Kuro Ramen was fragrant with a hint of garlic flavour. The stock is similar to Tonkotsu ramen, but the added dash of oil really adds another layer of flavour to the noodles.
Kosuke is a cozy little place that can hold no more than 40 people. However, I've never had to wait long for a seat. Service is fast and the staff are friendly. So yep, this is definitely a keeper for us. And just for kicks, I like how I can choose among a variety of side dishes to complement my ramen for just a buck or two. I've only tried their gyoza so far and it is not bad. Although the skin is a little thick, its crsipiness more than makes up for it. FYI, they also sell other japanese dishes like tonkatsu curry, which I often see many people ordering) and unagi rice.
Kosuke 618 West Main St Alhambra, CA91801
Monday to Saturday: 11:30 am to 9:30 pm
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