a friend and i went to South for lunch on friday, it was such a beautiful, warm and sunny day. i read about this place a while back but completely forgot about it until today... South specials are Autralian food and wines. so even though i had to go back to work after lunch, wine was a must since this place is known for that.
it was an impromtu outting for lunch, i didn't have my camera with me so no photos for this post :(
South is in the booming SOMA neighborhood, the place is small with clean modern decor and the staff is very casual and friendly.
i had the fish and chips with a glass of pinot gris. the wine was excellent, cheers to a beautiful day indeed! the fish is a bit soggy, the big cut fries (steak fries) was good. i need to try other dishes on the menu, they sound more interesting...
my friend has the veal sandwich and she said i was very good...
http://www.southfwb.com/
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Nopa
We gathered at Nopa on wednesday night to celebrate a friend's birthday. it's a big group of us and Nopa does not take reservation. we ended up standing around for almost an hour. the place is casual with a mixed crowd. it's packed on this wednesday night and still packed when we left. and i believe this is one of a few restaurants in San Francisco that open until 2 am., very rare in SF indeed! the staff were nice, trying to sit us but it was quite a challenge to sit a big group when it's busy...
one special thing about this restaurant is that they filter and cabornate their own water so no need to order sparkling bottled water unless desired. i'm not sure if they have bottled water on the menu???
for drink, i start with a Pirata cocktail which has tequila, black cherry, bitter and some other things that i don't know about... it was tasty and quite strong...
we all shared the flat bread
and the corn soup with pesto for snacks, both were delicious!
my friend and i shared the fried little fishes for starter, it was good but not as crispy as i imagined. and i had my second drink which was a viognier, excellent.
entree, we shared the porkchop with roasted peach, that was very good, the peach was sweet - perfect for the pork.
dessert, we shared the sorbet. i feel like i have sorbet everywhere i go but we were quite full so sorbet seemed to be the best choice... there was plum, peach and nectarine with port. it was good as sorbet should be.
http://www.nopasf.com/
one special thing about this restaurant is that they filter and cabornate their own water so no need to order sparkling bottled water unless desired. i'm not sure if they have bottled water on the menu???
for drink, i start with a Pirata cocktail which has tequila, black cherry, bitter and some other things that i don't know about... it was tasty and quite strong...
we all shared the flat bread
and the corn soup with pesto for snacks, both were delicious!
my friend and i shared the fried little fishes for starter, it was good but not as crispy as i imagined. and i had my second drink which was a viognier, excellent.
entree, we shared the porkchop with roasted peach, that was very good, the peach was sweet - perfect for the pork.
dessert, we shared the sorbet. i feel like i have sorbet everywhere i go but we were quite full so sorbet seemed to be the best choice... there was plum, peach and nectarine with port. it was good as sorbet should be.
http://www.nopasf.com/
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Raspberry Bavarois Cake
Inspired by the recipes in Les Desserts book, here's my baking for this week.
for the cake
4 egg whites
60 gr sugar
pinch of salt
pinch of cream of tartar
155 gr flour
170 gr sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
soft butter for greasing
4 yolks
85 gr oil (i used canola)
85 gr lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
preheat oven 350F
grease bottom and side of 8" round mold, line bottom with parchment.
sift and mix all dry ingredients, set aside
beat egg white on low with salt to frothy, add cream of tartar, beat until dissolved, add sugar in small stream, beat at medium until dissolved, increase to high and beat to stiff.
mix yolks, juice and oil until blend (10 seconds)
add dry ingredients, mix until blend (10 seconds)
add 1/3 of meringue, mix roughly to blend, fold in the rest of meringue 1/3 at a time until batter is homogenous.
fill mold 2/3 with batter, bake for about 50 minutes or until testing stick comes out clean. let cool on rack 15 minutes, invert and cool cake on rack completely. slice cake in 1/2 horizontally, wrap tight and refrigerate while making bavarois.
for the bavarois
290 gr milk
140 gr sugar
4 yolks
pinch of salt
10 gr gelatin
1 teaspoon vanilla
300 gr heavy cream
150 gr raspberry puree (about 250gr - 300gr fresh rapsberry)
100 gr raspberry jam
30gr water
1 gr gelatin
puree and strain rapsberries, should yield about 150 gr of puree
in a small sauce pan, bring milk and 70gr sugar to a boil, take off heat
whisk yolks and 70gr sugar until dissolved
add a few table spoons of hot milk to yolks while whisking to mix
add yolk mixture back to hot milk in sauce pan while whisking to mix
put back on medium heat, keep on stiring until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of spoon.
sprinkle gelatin over 3 table spoons of cold water, add the whole thing to custard cream on medium heat, continue to stir until all gelatin is completely dissolved.
strain custard into a bowl, place bowl over ice bath while continue to stir until custard is completely cool.
whipped heavy cream to stiff
add the whipped cream to custard, mix until homogenous.
beat in 100 gr of raspberry puree set aside
in a small sauce pan add 50 gr of raspberry puree, raspberry jam, water and bring to a boil, strain.
pour and spread a few table spoons of rapsberry mixture on top of the 2 halves of cake. save the rest of the mixture for glaze.
add the remaining glaze back to sauce pan, add gelatin, heat and stir until gelatin is completely dissolved, take off heat and let it cool down completely.
place 1st half of cake in center of 9" springform mold.
add 1/2 of the bavarois cream, spread evenly. place 2nd layer of cake center and on top of bavarois layer
add the rest of bavarois, spread evenly.
pour the cool glaze on top
chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hrs for the bavarois and top glaze to set.
for the cake
4 egg whites
60 gr sugar
pinch of salt
pinch of cream of tartar
155 gr flour
170 gr sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
soft butter for greasing
4 yolks
85 gr oil (i used canola)
85 gr lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
preheat oven 350F
grease bottom and side of 8" round mold, line bottom with parchment.
sift and mix all dry ingredients, set aside
beat egg white on low with salt to frothy, add cream of tartar, beat until dissolved, add sugar in small stream, beat at medium until dissolved, increase to high and beat to stiff.
mix yolks, juice and oil until blend (10 seconds)
add dry ingredients, mix until blend (10 seconds)
add 1/3 of meringue, mix roughly to blend, fold in the rest of meringue 1/3 at a time until batter is homogenous.
fill mold 2/3 with batter, bake for about 50 minutes or until testing stick comes out clean. let cool on rack 15 minutes, invert and cool cake on rack completely. slice cake in 1/2 horizontally, wrap tight and refrigerate while making bavarois.
for the bavarois
290 gr milk
140 gr sugar
4 yolks
pinch of salt
10 gr gelatin
1 teaspoon vanilla
300 gr heavy cream
150 gr raspberry puree (about 250gr - 300gr fresh rapsberry)
100 gr raspberry jam
30gr water
1 gr gelatin
puree and strain rapsberries, should yield about 150 gr of puree
in a small sauce pan, bring milk and 70gr sugar to a boil, take off heat
whisk yolks and 70gr sugar until dissolved
add a few table spoons of hot milk to yolks while whisking to mix
add yolk mixture back to hot milk in sauce pan while whisking to mix
put back on medium heat, keep on stiring until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of spoon.
sprinkle gelatin over 3 table spoons of cold water, add the whole thing to custard cream on medium heat, continue to stir until all gelatin is completely dissolved.
strain custard into a bowl, place bowl over ice bath while continue to stir until custard is completely cool.
whipped heavy cream to stiff
add the whipped cream to custard, mix until homogenous.
beat in 100 gr of raspberry puree set aside
in a small sauce pan add 50 gr of raspberry puree, raspberry jam, water and bring to a boil, strain.
pour and spread a few table spoons of rapsberry mixture on top of the 2 halves of cake. save the rest of the mixture for glaze.
add the remaining glaze back to sauce pan, add gelatin, heat and stir until gelatin is completely dissolved, take off heat and let it cool down completely.
place 1st half of cake in center of 9" springform mold.
add 1/2 of the bavarois cream, spread evenly. place 2nd layer of cake center and on top of bavarois layer
add the rest of bavarois, spread evenly.
pour the cool glaze on top
chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hrs for the bavarois and top glaze to set.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Beretta
Thursday night, a few friends and i gathered at Beretta for drinks and snacks. it was impromtu, i didn't have my camera with me so no photos for this post :(...
Beretta is in the Mission - very nice and casual. the crowd is mixed here on this Thursday night. it was only around 6:30pm. and the place was packed and it was packed through out the night. the staff was nice and friendly, service was kind of slow because of the busy night. i had the paloma cocktail which has tequila, elder flower and grapefruit juice??? it was delish and strong. we all shared the sausage pizza, lamb ossobuco, bruschetta of fava bean and pecorino... they were all excellent. i was skeptical about the fava bean but it was delish to my surprise!
http://www.berettasf.com/
Beretta is in the Mission - very nice and casual. the crowd is mixed here on this Thursday night. it was only around 6:30pm. and the place was packed and it was packed through out the night. the staff was nice and friendly, service was kind of slow because of the busy night. i had the paloma cocktail which has tequila, elder flower and grapefruit juice??? it was delish and strong. we all shared the sausage pizza, lamb ossobuco, bruschetta of fava bean and pecorino... they were all excellent. i was skeptical about the fava bean but it was delish to my surprise!
http://www.berettasf.com/
Brunch at Crepevine
My friend called me up for brunch on Sunday, we were going to go to some place in the presidio but i was half sick so we went to Crepevine on Fillmore since it's near by... i've walked past this Crepevine a million times but never went in, what a pleasant surprise indeed. the place is nice a clean with high ceiling and giant opened windows which is really nice on a beautiful sunny day! the printed menus were on the counter but we were reading the menu on the giant chalk boards behind the counter. there're omelettes, sandwiches and crepes... we ordered at the counter, took a number and found a table near the giant opened windows, fantastic...
i had the Petaluma scrambles with a pot of chamomile tea. the scrambles has chicken apple sausage, spinach and cheese and it came with roasted potato and bread, i had a bagel instead... tasty!
my friend ordered a pot of earl grey and the provence scrambles which has salmon, spinach and goatcheese. it looked delish and she loves it.
http://www.crepevine.com/index.htm
i had the Petaluma scrambles with a pot of chamomile tea. the scrambles has chicken apple sausage, spinach and cheese and it came with roasted potato and bread, i had a bagel instead... tasty!
my friend ordered a pot of earl grey and the provence scrambles which has salmon, spinach and goatcheese. it looked delish and she loves it.
http://www.crepevine.com/index.htm
Monday, August 11, 2008
Chocolate hazel nut torte
Adapted from Nigella Lawson's Domestic Goddess book, here's my baking for this week.
70 gr sugar
6 egg whites
pinch of salt
6 egg yolks
115 gr dark chocolate (i used 70% cocoa, El Rey brand)
379 gr Nutella (1 jar)
70 gr hazel nut (toasted and skinned)
1 table spoon frangelico
115 gr butter @ room temp
for glaze and decoration
115 gr dark choc
70 gr hazel nut (toasted and skinned)
100 gr heavy cream
50 gr butter
plus more butter to grease baking mold.
preheat oven at 350F
grease 9" removable bottom pan, line bottom with parchement, set the whole thing on jelly roll pan.
chop all chocolate
chop all hazel nut in food processor
melt 115gr of chopped chocolate in double boiler
beat egg whites with salt until frothy, add sugar slowly, beat at medium until all sugar is dissolved, increase to high and beat to stiff peaks. set aside
beat butter and nutella until incorporated (5 seconds).
add yolks and beat until well mixed (5 seconds).
add melted chocolate (cool), 70gr hazel nut and frangelico, beat until well mixed (5 seconds).
add 1/3 meringue to batter, mix roughly to loosen up the batter. fold in the rest of the meringue in 1/3 portion at a time.
scrape all batter in to mold, smooth top with off set spatula. bake for 50 - 60 minutes or until testing stick comes out clean.
let cool on rack completely, remove from mold, invert onto a cookie sheet, remove parchment and invert back onto serving plate, the torte should be right side up.
bring heavy cream and frangelico to a simmer, pour over chocolate. stir to make sure chocolate melted evenly, add butter and stir until well incorporated.
pour ganache on top of torte.
use the back of the spoon spread ganache in circular motion until the whole torte (top and side) is covered with ganache evenly. sprinkle 70gr of chopped hazel nut evenly around the torte. use a small straight spatula to scoop up the nut and press against the side of the torte.
70 gr sugar
6 egg whites
pinch of salt
6 egg yolks
115 gr dark chocolate (i used 70% cocoa, El Rey brand)
379 gr Nutella (1 jar)
70 gr hazel nut (toasted and skinned)
1 table spoon frangelico
115 gr butter @ room temp
for glaze and decoration
115 gr dark choc
70 gr hazel nut (toasted and skinned)
100 gr heavy cream
50 gr butter
plus more butter to grease baking mold.
preheat oven at 350F
grease 9" removable bottom pan, line bottom with parchement, set the whole thing on jelly roll pan.
chop all chocolate
chop all hazel nut in food processor
melt 115gr of chopped chocolate in double boiler
beat egg whites with salt until frothy, add sugar slowly, beat at medium until all sugar is dissolved, increase to high and beat to stiff peaks. set aside
beat butter and nutella until incorporated (5 seconds).
add yolks and beat until well mixed (5 seconds).
add melted chocolate (cool), 70gr hazel nut and frangelico, beat until well mixed (5 seconds).
add 1/3 meringue to batter, mix roughly to loosen up the batter. fold in the rest of the meringue in 1/3 portion at a time.
scrape all batter in to mold, smooth top with off set spatula. bake for 50 - 60 minutes or until testing stick comes out clean.
let cool on rack completely, remove from mold, invert onto a cookie sheet, remove parchment and invert back onto serving plate, the torte should be right side up.
bring heavy cream and frangelico to a simmer, pour over chocolate. stir to make sure chocolate melted evenly, add butter and stir until well incorporated.
pour ganache on top of torte.
use the back of the spoon spread ganache in circular motion until the whole torte (top and side) is covered with ganache evenly. sprinkle 70gr of chopped hazel nut evenly around the torte. use a small straight spatula to scoop up the nut and press against the side of the torte.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
STK
our last dinner in L.A. was at STK, i love this place. the decor is super sleek - from the outdoor fire place to the leather covered booth seats... the staff was knowledgeable and friendly and super sexy - they all looked like super models... i love L.A.... the crowd - sexy and there were a couple celebrities dinning at the restaurant that night to add more glam to our dinner.
the bar... i had a Mona Moore which has like 5 different liquors in it... delish and super strong
the menu focus on steaks but there are other choices... we all got steaks (different kinds and portions) with different sauces and 4 sides to share. i had a glass of pinot noir with my steak - they were perfect - the steak and the wine. the side of corn were delish, i think they add caramel sauce to the corn??? i was distracted by the celebs and did not take any steak pics...
desserts, yes i took pics. i had the sorbets, there were guava, mango and lemon???? so good and light. i also got a glass of muscat, i couldn't resist...
my friend had the creme brulee, it's pretty but was very thin, not creamy enough. it probably had less calories (since it's L.A.) but i feel with this kind of dessert, it needs that richness...
my other 2 friends shared the banana bread pudding with coconut ice cream??? i can't remember but they told me that it was not rich enough neither... i guess sorbet was the dessert of the night!
i love STK, highly reccommended.
http://www.stkhouse.com/
the bar... i had a Mona Moore which has like 5 different liquors in it... delish and super strong
the menu focus on steaks but there are other choices... we all got steaks (different kinds and portions) with different sauces and 4 sides to share. i had a glass of pinot noir with my steak - they were perfect - the steak and the wine. the side of corn were delish, i think they add caramel sauce to the corn??? i was distracted by the celebs and did not take any steak pics...
desserts, yes i took pics. i had the sorbets, there were guava, mango and lemon???? so good and light. i also got a glass of muscat, i couldn't resist...
my friend had the creme brulee, it's pretty but was very thin, not creamy enough. it probably had less calories (since it's L.A.) but i feel with this kind of dessert, it needs that richness...
my other 2 friends shared the banana bread pudding with coconut ice cream??? i can't remember but they told me that it was not rich enough neither... i guess sorbet was the dessert of the night!
i love STK, highly reccommended.
http://www.stkhouse.com/
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