Seb in Town

April 10, 2010

Seriously, it seems like all I've been doing lately is having great meals with friends (lots of visitors too!), but I guess that's all that's been blog-worthy (I figure that my long work days aren't that interesting or picture-friendly and I'm going to be going through cute niece/nephew withdrawal soon!).

This time, it was our friend, Seb, who was in town briefly for work. But before I get to that, check out the piece of action on Will's face:


Yes, that's a sleazy 'stache. He grew a beard while I was traveling in March and decided to test-drive a moustache.
It was also super-great to catch up with Ian and Emma who we haven't hung out with in years!:

Seder @ Mission Beach Cafe

April 6, 2010

I love it when my friends include me in religious-inspired meals. Hot on the heels of Easter Brunch was a Seder-inspired dinner at Mission Beach Cafe (sponsored by Heeb Magazine), featuring Traditional Jewish dishes made with fresh, seasonal, local and organic ingredients, touted as "both a Passover dinner and a fine dining experience".

To start, I had the matzo ball soup:

Followed by the tea-smoked black cod with potato kugel and chived creme fraiche:
And my entree was this insanely massive braised Prather Ranch lamb shank with butter beans, black trumpet mushrooms, baby carrots, red pearl onions and green garlic with parsley. Sorry, forgot to snap a pic!

For dessert, I had the passion fruit and mango sorbet with anise shortbread.

Hope you all had a joyous Passover!

Easter Brunch @ Chaya

April 4, 2010

Happy Easter!

To celebrate, I went for Easter brunch with Robert, Sue Hee and Key at Chaya on the Embarcadero. For $35, Chaya was offering a three-course prix fixe menu with lots of options and bottomless mimosas....hooray!



I had the Dungeness crab cake to start:
Followed by the wild sea bass with wild mushrooms:
Sue Hee had this ridiculous omelette with that delectable piece of foie gras on top:
Key had the scallops and prawns:
Robert had the smoked salmon eggs benedict:
Last course were the chocolate profiteroles:
Key had the incredible croissant bread pudding (amazing!):

It was a fantastic brunch, thanks to Key for snagging that reservation! Hope you all had a great Easter!

Wendy & Zach's Layover HH/Dinner

April 3, 2010

Wendy and Zach stopped briefly in SF during a layover from Boston en route to Australia (I'm so jealous!). Check out the catch-up happy hour and dinner pics from their layover...









Safe travels to Wendy and Zach!

Ame With My Big Sis

March 29, 2010

On Monday night, I skipped out on bowling for one last dinner with my sister in SF. We left the kids with Jack and his cousin's family and headed to Ame (which, shockingly, was a place I've always wanted to try). Ame is located in the St. Regis Hotel in SOMA and is the brainchild of Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani (of Terra in Napa fame).

My sister and I shared a bunch of dishes and we were not disappointed. "Taste of Ame Sashimi Bar", with Crudo, Poke, Staff meal, Uni Bruschetta and Kaisen Salad:

Napoleon of Foie Gras and BBQ Eel with Sansho Pepper Balsamico Sauce :


"Chawan Mushi" (Japanese savory custard with lobster, clams, eel, and mitsuba sauce):
Crispy suckling pig with yukon gold potato puree, forest mushrooms and wild nettle sauce:
For dessert, the chocolate hazelnut tart with caramel milk chocolate chip ice cream:


It was an awesome meal to celebrate my sister's last night in the bay area. I'll miss my big sis!

Only a Few More Days...

March 28, 2010

I went down to south bay to spend one last weekend (boo hoo!) with my sister's family before they shove off to Albany on Tuesday. We were all slumber-partying at my uncle's house in San Jose while the movers/packers cleared out their house (wahhh!).

I got there early enough to catch Charlotte still in slumber:
























I'll miss you! I love you guys!