Move out of the way ramen burger, rice patty burgers are in town. Koja Kitchen features a fusion of Korean and Japanese rice patty burgers. My favorites are the marinated kalbi (short rib), which is pictured above, or bulgolgi (brisket) sandwiches. The rice patties keep you full, and it keeps its shape throughout your enjoyment.
Normally sold in a food truck parked at the Truck Stop in the alley between Mission and First, they now have a brick and mortar shop in Berkeley. You can also pre order online for the Berkeley location. Below is a map of all their locations.
Swan Oyster Depot was established in its present location over 100 years ago in 1912 by four Danish brothers. They delivered fresh seafood throughout San Francisco using a horse drawn carriage. In 1946, they sold the business to the Sancimino and LaRocca family. Over time, the Sancimino children took over, and today they continue to run the business along with delivering fresh seafood throughout the city. Today the shop looks just like it did in the past. A long narrow seafood bar that seats only 18 with an antiquated register adding to its charm.
The oyster combo comes with oysters from around the world but I wasn’t able to catch the names. They were all very fresh and delicious, as acclaimed. My favorite were the small oysters due to their sweetness.
Got their clam chowder bowl and crab cocktail. I would pass on the clam chowder. It was full of clam flavor but lacked body. I tend to like my clam chowder to be thick and filled with clams. The crab cocktail was delightful. Com’on it’s a bowl of shelled crab meat!
You can taste the freshness in the sashimi plate. It comes with salmon, tuna, yellowtail, halibut and scallops. My favorite were the sweet scallops.
Tip: Go early for there’s an hour long wait for a seat. Bring cash and lots of it. For two people, this meal can run up to ~$100.
After the sad attempt at the Sonoma Hot Air Balloon Classic, I was in dire need of coffee having been up since 3:30 am. Taylor Maid Farms hit the spot with their lavender latte made from organic coffee. It had just the right amount of lavender to pair with your morning punch.
I loved the decor of this place and was enchanted by the light fixtures.
I do plan on going back to try their ginormous maple bacon donut.
Sonoma Hot Air Balloon is a small festival in Windsor, CA show casing a few hot air balloons. Sadly, on the day I attended, the weather wasn’t nice enough to fly the balloons, which sucked since I woke up at the crack of dawn and drove an hour to see them. Hopefully, it’ll be better next year. It surely did bring me back to my childhood memories.
Located in the Mission, Knead Patisserie is home to the Pomme D’Amour. It’s a custard filled puff pastry topped with sugar and then torched to the crunchiness of a creme brûlée. Yelp reviewers rave it as “better than sex.” I find it to be a heavenly snack that hits the sweet tooth.
Behind the Pomme D’Amour is an almond twist. It is light and flaky. Pairs perfectly with your morning cup of joe or tea.
If you’re looking for Knead Patisserie, it’s located inside Local Eatery. Keep in mind, it’s only open in the morning and afternoons. I like to grab a coffee from Philz next door and then head over to Knead Patisserie for a bite.
Mr. Holmes Bakehouse is home to the cruffin (croissant muffin). However, on this day they were sold out.
Above are (top to bottom): negroni doughnut x2, chocolate doughnut x2, salted caramel doughnut x2, amelie amann, and chocolate croissant.
The negroni doughnut is filled with Campari jelly and negroni custard. The pipette is filled with negroni syrup. Unaware of what negroni is, I took a big bite and was left with a bitter aftertaste. After some research, I learned negroni is gin, vermouth, and Campari. Not a big fan of this alcoholic doughnut.
The salted caramel doughnut was as delicious as it sounds. The doughnut texture is light and fluffy.
I loved the amelie amann. It reminded me of a flaky puff pastry with a creme brûlée top. It would pair perfectly with your morning coffee.
Studio Ghibli and My Neighbor Totoro fans can now fawn over Totoro cream puffs. Yes, a Totoro cream puff factory does indeed exist! It was opened in 2008 by Shirohige, also known as white bread in Japanese. Sources says this factory is also owned by the Miyazaki family. Hayao Miyazaki is the founder of Studio Ghibli and director of My Neighbor Totoro. Miyazaki also created a pig nosed animation of Shirohige, the baker.
This will also be the cutest place you visit. The inside is adorned with everything Totoro and Studio Ghibli. Even the bathroom has a Totoro smiling at you. Sadly, I forgot to take pictures.
You can buy your Totoro cream puffs downstairs if you choose to consume them later. If you choose to eat them there, there is a cafe upstairs. However, they do require each person to buy one drink minimum.
The flavors are seasonal and are indicated by the type of decoration Totoro adorns.
I got the strawberry cream (pink flower) and matcha green tea custard (yellow hat). My favorite was the strawberry cream because there were chunks of fresh strawberry in it.
Hello my neighbor Totoro! 🙂
The factory is located in Setagaya, about a 20 min train ride from Tokyo. When you get out the Setagaya station, make a right. Pass Lawson and make another right into the neighbor and follow the path until you reach Shirohige’s.
Izakaya is a popular informal Japanese cuisine for those looking to enjoy good food and drinks after work. Meat is cut into bite size pieces, placed on a skewer, and grilled. The type of meat can range from chicken to cow to parts like hearts, gizzards, and liver.
The food here is tasty but the menu is only in Japanese and the staff only speaks Japanese. So I trusted Google translate to decipher the menu. Boy, was I in for an cultural experience.
We ordered the kobe beef but didn’t realize it comes raw. We ate it anyways.
The bacon wrapped asparagus were delicious.
We ordered a combo skewer set of chicken wings, chicken liver, chicken skin, chicken thigh, and chicken heart.
I enjoy eating chicken heart so I wanted another skewer of hearts. On the menu, it says chicken hearts (5). When I placed my extra order with the waiter, he asked if I wanted 5 and I said yes. I thought that it mean 5 hearts on a skewer. When the chicken hearts came out, I soon realized it meant 5 skewers of heart, which the waiter was trying to that explain to me.
On second thought, these look to big to be chicken hearts despite what google translates says. Either way, I forced myself to eat three skewers out of respect for my mistake.
Despite having traveled to Paris before, I never heard of patisserie Sadaharu Aoki until now. Aoki was born in Tokyo but moved to Paris to learn the art of French baking. He opened his own shop in Paris before expanding in his homeland. I give him an A+++ for mastering French baking. Above is the matcha eclair incorporating the French pastry with his Japanese background. The eclair is filled with a matcha custard and topped with a matcha ganache. Aoki did a wonderful job in bringing out the true matcha flavor. It was so supremely divine that to this day, I still dream of having another bite.
Look out for it at the Shinjuku Isetan on level B1F.
If you’re a noodle lover like me, I highly recommend Mentsu-Dan. The fresh handmade noodles will elevate your udon standards. The noodles are chewy and have the perfect bite. I haven’t been able to appreciate udon anywhere else after this. Being the tourist I am and willingness to try new things, I ordered natto with a fresh egg. I soon learned natto was fermented soy beans. I don’t recommend this unless you are a fan of fermented soy beans. It was difficult for me to overcome the fermented flavor despite how great the noodles were. I recommend the beef udon with broth instead. The beef is yummy, and the broth is clear and easy on the taste buds.
After you get your udon, head over to the tempura area where you can select from the vast varieties of tempura. I got the squash, katsu and squid. Overall, the freshness of the noodles makes this a must go when in Tokyo.
YUMTRAVELS 