Carol's Cupcake

This is a tribute to carol's o-so-delicious cupcakes, which she made for a birthday celebration we had.


chocolate mocha cake...


with orange, kiwi, and rasberry on top

Hard Knox Cafe

2448 Clement St. * San Francisco, CA

We went there one evening after work. it was a hot hot day. the restaurant was not very a/c-ed, but cool enough. we went while they were still in a soft-opening stage. they still had some work to do on the restaurant. Hard Knox is a southern soul food restaurant, very casual, very relaxing.

Below are a few images of the food we got.


Catfish Po'Boy
Fried strips of catfish with special sauce on bed of lettuce and tomato in a white roll. plus a side of corn

The catfish was cooked perfectly, juicy and tender. the sauce was really good! the corn was the perfect compliment. the sandwich doesn't look too big, but it filled me up to a good degree.


Fried Chicken
Three pieces of fried chicken. with a side of redbeans&rice and mashed potatoes

Fried chicken was good. nice and crispy. the pieces weren't huge. however with the sides, you get filled up.


Ribs
BBQ ribs with mac'nCheese and fries as sides
The ribs were pretty juicy and tender. the french fries weren't anything special. the mac and cheese was decent, could be a little thicker and stronger in flavor.



Us Chowing Down

Koi Garden

4288 Dublin Blvd * Dublin, CA

For Mother's Day we went to Koi in Dublin. We've frequented this place a few times now, but i have yet to get pictures until this time. Because it was Mother's Day, in order to get reservations we had to pre-order our menu from a selection of banquet meals. My mom picked (cheaper) one for the "kids" table and another (classy) one for the adults. I will be focusing on the kid's tabble as I did not see what the elders had.


Whole Steamed Shrimp
Whole steamed shrimp with a soy sauce dipper

My family orders this all the time. when the shrimp are fresh, this is the best way to enjoy this scrumptious dish. to taste the sweetness of the shrimp, forego the sauce. this is a dish that must be eaten hot or warm, not cold. eating this cold, you'll taste the fishy/seafoody-ness of the shrimp.


Cold Plate Appetizer
a mixture of 6 different appetizers: jellyfish, bbq pork, clam, seaweed, chicken, bean curd

This is another one of those dishes that most Chinese Seafood restaurants will serve up. Nothing out of the ordinary here.


Scallop & Water Chestnut Stir-Fry
Scallop, water chestnut, chinese broccoli, carrots

This dish is pretty unique to Koi. I've had a few variations of the scallop stir-fry. The portion size of this is pretty large, we had a lot leftover. A little bit on the oily side, but still a well executed dish.


Deep Fried Egglant & Shrimp
Eggplant stuff with shrimp paste, topped with sweet mayo and shredded dried pork

This was a first for me. The eggplant was cooked to a good tenderness, a good amount of batter, and the topping was perfect for balancing the flavors.


Steamed Lotus Bun
sweet lotus paste stuffed inside a steamed bun

This is another standard dessert item on a banquet menu. The bun is supposed to be in the shape of a chinese peach. this is almost always eaten during birthday celebrations, there is some significance in the chinese culture to eat this.

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Overall, this was a good meal. There was way more food than i photographed (sorry, recurring theme). I would recommend koi to someone who knows what they are ordering, as the menu may be a little bit hard to navigate, even with all the pictures. However, if you don't know the style and cooking techniques, you could be thrown for a loop. There are also many off-menu items.

Another Useful Website

Found this one as i was browsing through to find a parking lot.

Parkopedia

Useful for those who travel alot and need to find parking lots.

Ray's Sushi

888 A St. * Hayward, CA

I really enjoy the food from this place. it may not be SUPER authentic, but it is fresh, good quality, and yummy. I must apologize that i did not take as many photos as i had wished. we just had too much good food.

We went here as a group of 16. a family friend was treating everyone out to dinner. we frequent this place a lot, in small and large groups.

The owner, Ray, put together a set meal for the 11 adults. ($50/person). the kids ordered off the menu, as they don't eat much.


Sushi Boat.
A variety of raw fish and seafood: salmon.tuna.hamachi.uni.fish roe.lobster.squid.hirame.saba.and the list goes on...

There was so much sashimi on that boat, I didn't even know where to start. Everything was fresh. I am not a huge fan of the uni (sea urchin). the lobster i like. the hamachi is good. Ray's tends to cut their sashimi pieces a little thicker than elsewhere, which is a no-no in Japanese cooking. however, many like it bc they feel they are gettin more for their $$.


closer look at the contents of the boat.


Uni, Sea Urchin


Broiled Lobster

They are very resourceful with their food. this was the shell/head of the lobster that was served in the sashimi. they add some seasonings and mayo and placed it in the broiler. I didn't actually try this, but on previous ocassions it has been good.


Stone-cooked Filet Mignon

The stone was heated to a high temperature then brought out with the steak on a separate plate. the waiteress/waiter then proceeded to cook the meat at our table. this is the remanants.


Cut Sushi Rolls
a variety of rolls

Sorry, by the time i remembered to take photos, this was pretty much gobbled up. what is shown in the picture is about 1/4(?) of the sushi that was on the plate. we had a soft shell crab roll, two baked rolls, and the two "veggie" rolls. Their rolls are good, no skimping on the fillings.


These were all the photos that I remembered to take that night. we also had a broiled hamachi head, fish cake soup, scallops, and of course green tea&red bean ice cream.

If you are looking for a Japanese restaurant and are in the area, i would definately check out Rays. Come prepared for a line. You may think that Hayward would not offer good sushi, but don't judge a book by its covers.

Response Appreciated!

As i narrow down my categories, I would like to find get feedback as to what the readers want...so reply w/ a comment!

here are some ideas i've come up with
- Overall
- Food quality
- Price
- Value (quality to the cost)
- Ambience
- Good for: groups? date? kids?
- etc.....

thanks for your input!

EveryBlock.SF

I found this website today as I was perusing the internet. It provides all sorts of information about 3 cities (SF, NYC, Chicago) in one location. It draws upon many government databases and allows users to access the information "easily."

http://sf.everyblock.com/

I will try to pull restaurant inspection scores from the SF restaurants I review going forward. (hope it doesn't scare people away)

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Also, I've been given a suggestion to come up with a rating system for the restaurants/food I consume. I am going to work something out. It will probably be broken into categories


(www.cleanscores.com)

Ming's Coffee Shop

54 2nd St. * San Francisco, CA

"hey guys, what's for lunch today?" I ask. "MING'S!" (of course, they always want to go to Ming's). My co-workers have this infatuation with Ming's and I don't quite get it. Ming's is a fast food, steam tray, Chinese restaurant. Today was my 2nd time there and I thought I'd give it a review.


"two items" String Bean Tofu + Pepper Pork + 1/2 steamed rice 1/2 chow mein
This was my order. The tofu was alittle bland, I'm also not a huge fan of the starch-ed sauces (think it has to do w/ my upbringing). Not the tender-est string beans eitehr. The Pepper Pork was decent, what you would expect out of a steam tray. My one little gripe is that the chow mein is overly peppered. it was better this time.



"two items" String Bean Tofu + Orange Chicken + steamed rice
This was my co-worker's order. The string bean tofu was the same so i will not re-discuss it (see above). the orange chicken is alittle diff't than panda's orange chicken. the ming's OC has less batter and more meat, hence the smaller pieces. the sauce is also not as sweet. i think i like the ming's OC alil better, but i could go for either depending on my mood.
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Overall, Ming's is good for a quick bite, but don't expect cleaniness or great service. Be ready to order or the lil ladies behind the counter will shoot you dirty looks.

(apologies. photos taken off of bbphone. so not too clear.)