Baoguette

My obsession with Banh Mi continues.
Mandy told me about Baoguette while back but I finally made it to Baoguette today.
It's right next to my school, so that gives Baoguette extra points!

Baoguette's sandwiches are not traditional Banh Mi's, but I have to say they are good.
I have already been to Baoguette more than a few times and have tried the below sandwiches:
Baoguette
BBQ Chicken
Sloppy Bao

You need to eat them right away, because 3-4 hours later (yes, I tried it that way) they are not that good.

I have also tried shrimp summer roll, which wasn't that good.

Stick with sandwiches!


Baoguette
61 Lexington Ave
(between 25th St & 26th St)
New York, NY 10010

Baoguette also has locations in East Village and West Village.

http://www.baoguettecafe.com/

San Francisco - only one of us...

Sorry... with school, I just haven't had time to blog for a while. But now finals are done and play time begins...

Even with busy schedules, we still have to eat right???
I will try to keep my blog up to date - backdating might be necessary...


Right after our Vancouver trip, Christoff was off to San Francisco by himself. I would have gone, but didn't have vacation days. He was off to see Throbbing Gristle and take care of his California license. Don't ask me why he still has a California license.


Pupusa!!!! That's right. Pupusa is an El Salvadorian delight, handmade pancake made out of corn, is served with salsa and some veges. We don't seem to find this in New York, so this was his first stop.


Safeway... grocery stores are different in San Francisco. Products that they carry are different, it's a lot more spacious, and people who work there are nicer. Chris packed up his suitcase with Las Palmas and chorizo.

Chris bought this at a Japanese market. Yes, it looks really disgusting, but it was soooo good.
First I refused to eat it, but I finished the whole bag by myself.


Panchita's Restaurant No 2
3091 16th Street
(between Caledonia St & Valencia St)
San Francisco, CA 94103
415-431-4232

Sha-Lin Noodle House (Our Last Meal in Vancouver)

We had our last meal in Vancouver at Sha-Lin Noodle House for some handmade noodle.
We just made it to the restaurant (closing for lunch at 3PM) and it was a good/last meal in Vancouver.





Sha-Lin Noodle House
548 Broadway West
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1E9, Canada
(604) 873-1816

Momo Sushi

Family from San Francisco and Korea left yesterday and now there are only 4 of us.
After day of just hanging out and shopping, we ended up at Momo Sushi (recommended by Darren's local friend).

We had never seen nigiri / rolls that big. We were just speechless when we got our combos.
It took us three bites to eat nigiri...

Momo Sushi
6-375 Water Street
Vancouver, BC V6B 5C6, Canada
(604) 683-7632

Medina

Another place we found accidentally...
We went in for waffles, but it also serves regular lunch menu.

Medina
556 Beatty Street
Vancouver, BC V6B 2L3
(604) 879-3114

http://www.medinacafe.com/

Dae Bak Bon Ga Korean Restaurant (대박본가)

We originally went to Dae Bak Bon Ga for 'all you can eat Korean BBQ' but we decided not to as it was complicated and was not a good deal.

We just ordered regular BBQ meat and other dishes.
We were pleasantly surprised. Service was great as well.

Canadians are super friendly, we knew that already. But Koreans are not known for friendly personality; however, even Koreans in Canada are nice. I think there is something in the air...

Galbi - no explanation needed

Hae Mul Pa Jun (seafood pancake) - pizza pan... who knew???

Dae Bak Bon Ga
201 - 1323 Robson Street (2nd floor)
Vancouver, BC V6E 2B1
(604) 683-9298


Since I don't have any picture from another Korean find, I will just add here.
Kimbob & Ramen had kimbob, ramen, and other Korean snacks. Kimbob was made to order and was very very good. If you are visiting Lookout Tower, it's right next to it.

Kimbob & Ramen (김밥이라면)
423 Seymour Street
Vancouver, BC V6B 3H5
(604) 685-2877

Coffee Break

Coffee time!!!

Boys were off to Whistler and the rest of us were hanging out in the city.
We happened to walk by Caffe Artigiano. I remembered the name from my guide book, so we had to go in.

Caffe Artigiano
740 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC V6C 1A3
phone: 604-915-7200

There are other locations as well.

West

For my sister's birthday (4/12), I was looking for a special restaurant. When I read about West, I knew that was it. Not because it won a few awards, but because it's about "True to our region, true to the seasons," I chose West to bring all my family to celebrate a special occasion.

Because my family lives all over the place, it's rare to celebrate someone's birthday together face to face... so this was a very special moment for us.

Enough about touching stories, here are some pictures of food...

even bread was good...

Roasted breast of maple hill chicken

Beef Wellington - this was daily special

Rib eye of Canada prime organic beef - this was almost everyone's choice after a night of seafood fest

Baked pave of queen charlotte halibut

special birthday dessert!

I love it when restaurants serve good dessert...

West
2881 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC V6H 3J4, Canada
(604) 738-8938

http://www.westrestaurant.com/

Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House

Vancouver is known for its fresh seafood. I guess it's not surprising considering it's surrounded by water. Our original plan was to buy fresh seafood and cook at home, but we chose a lazy option - going out.

I turned to my guide book again (Frommer's Vancouver & Victoria 2009) and Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House was highly recommended.

It looked like an old steak house, but they weren't playing around with seafood.

Joe's Seafood Tower Three Tier - This is tier #1

Tier #2

Tier #3

Someone had to order steak...

Joe Fortes was everyone's favorite.
Then some of us were off to Vancouver Aquarium the next day.


Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House
777 Thurlow Street
Vancouver, BC V6E 3V5, Canada
http://www.joefortes.ca/

Cupcakes

We found this place by accident. Robson Street in Vancouver is a shopping area. While we were shopping, we ran into Cupcakes with a long line, so we had to check it out.

There are a few cupcake shops in New York and I tried that famous one (don't even remember the name, just because I am not a big cupcake fan) and wasn't that impressed.

But this shop, Cupcakes, was good. They also have mini cupcakes, which was everyone's favorite.



Cupcakes by Heather & Lori
797 Thurlow Street at Robson

It has 4 other locations in BC area

http://www.cupcakesonline.com/

Kingyo - How Izakaya Should Be

When I was doing my restaurant research on Vancouver, Chris got his recommendation from his local friend about Kingyo, Izakaya.

Izakaya is a type of Japanese restaurant that serves alcohol with food. I have been to some low budget Izakayas in Tokyo, San Francisco, and New York, but Kingyo was different. I realized that Kingyo takes their food seriously.

Kingyo has to be my favorite spot in Vancouver.
Every dish we ordered was incredible. This has to be my first restaurant experience where every dish was amazing!!!

Kingyo means in Japanese goldfish

grilled pork cheek - melts in your mouth...

negitori sushi - tuna & green onion

grilled black cod

tokyo sukiyaki

sizzling kinoko tofu (we had to order 2nd one)

frozen grape - who knew!!!

Kingyo
871 Denman Street
Vancouver, BC V6G 2L9, Canada
(604) 608-1677
http://www.kingyo-izakaya.com/

NU - Vancouver

When we were planning a family reunion, Vancouver got the most votes. So my family from Korea, Singapore, and San Francisco and we (from NY) all ended up in Vancouver in April.

We had our first brunch together at NU.
We originally went there for lunch, but due to Easter weekend, we were served brunch, which was fine by us.

scone with hot coco

ceaser salad

Vancouver is known for its fresh seafood, so we had to order some oysters

flat iron steak and eggs

dungeness crab benedict

NU
1661 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 1N3, Canada
(604) 646-4668

http://www.whatisnu.com/

Jacques Brasserie

Our favorite local French brunch spot. Last few times we went, it was very crowded. Your best bets are steak, escargot, and mussels with fries. I ordered croquet madame (shown above), but wasn't that good.


Jacques Brasserie
204 E. 85th Street (at 2nd Avenue)
New York, NY 10028
(212) 327-2272

http://www.jacquesnyc.com/

Steak!!!

I don't know what Chris's trick is, but he makes the best steak. He uses broiler 2-3 minutes on each side. I try the same way, but it never comes out the same way.

Rice on the side is Japanese vegetable rice. We call it mushroom rice in our household. Maybe someone can let me know the proper name. You can get it from any Japanese market. The one that I normally go to is:

Sunrise Mart
29 3rd Avenue (between 10th St & 2nd Ave)
212 598 3040

Tokubei 86

Agedashi Tofu

Fried Pork

Fluke Sashimi

Yose Nabe

We have been living the same neighborhood for over 6 years and never walked into Tokubei 86 until today. The interior & outside of the restaurant never looked welcoming, but we decided to try after reading a local Japanese magazine called Chopsticks.

We were pleasantly surprised with fresh sashimi - first sign of quality of Japanese restaurant. Other things that we ordered were really good as well.
We are definitely coming back.

I just read that Tokubei 86 makes their own curry. I will try that next time!!!


Tokubei 86
314 E. 86th Street
New York, NY 10028
212 629 5334

New Directors/New Films 2009

There is a film festival going on called "New Directors/New Films 2009"

Started on 3/25/09 and will continue until 4/5/09.


http://www.filmlinc.com/ndnf/program.html

Singapore Day 2009

If you happen to be in London in April, check out Singapore Day 2009 on April 25.
You need to register, but I am sure you can find some good food.

Unfortunately I missed it when this we held in New York.

https://app.singaporeday.gov.sg/

iTunes U

As soon as I started school, I have given up on my true love - reading.
I still try to read, but I don't read as much. Plus it's hard carrying text books and my hardcover books.

Therefore, I discovered a lazy way to learn: iTunes U
This has changed my life. You can find lectures or panel discussion. And most importantly, it's FREE!!!

You can search by subject or by institutions.
So far my favorite institutions are:

LSE
CSIS
Stanford

Try it! You will love it!

Go to your iTunes then click on iTunes Store.
Click on iTunes U

My Breakfast

Ever since I couldn't fit into clothes that my sister bought for me, I had to think of different way of enjoying food. I am the last person to be on a diet, so I decided to try portion control. However, I needed to stop eating one thing - bagel for breakfast.

Instead, I started eating yogurt for breakfast. Yogurt in a small container is convenient, but I thought I might as well try a really healthy way.

So every morning, I pack yogurt and fresh fruit in a container. Chris gets the same thing, but he also has granola in his mix.

I normally put different kinds of berries, just because they are easy to pack in the morning, but banana and apple work well with yogurt as well.

Yogurt above is plain yogurt with honey. It has a great texture with little sweetness to it.
If you prefer plain yogurt, you can always add your own honey.
You can find this brand at Whole Foods.