E S S E N T I A L ♥ T E M P T A T I O N

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Food Adventures#5 -- Camelot

Yesterday I had a craving of epic proportions for fish and chips. So my mom and I went to the place that we always go to, Camelot Fish & Chips in Pacifica, CA. My moms rather picky about her fish and chips. She'll only eat beer-battered fish with fresh french fries, which is what they have been serving here since 1969. Anyways, this little hole-in-the-wall, hard to find, gem of a restaurant is an ideal place to dine if you're looking for the best fish and chips you'll ever have, as well as if you're feeling up for a day at the beach; its literally within walking distance. But, my mom being the picky, anti-social mother whom I love so much, wanted to eat it at home. I cannot stress this enough, if you're going to have take-out from here, call ahead. Although it is definitely worth the wait if you're dropping in, your feet will ache from the half-hour wait during prime dinner time (from 5:30pm to 7pm). The restaurant is tiny, with about six tables and a bar area to dine-in in, I highly recommend you take-out.

{ Fish + Chips }

{ Shrimp + Chips }

Labels: Food Adventures

the sweetest temptations
2:20 PM

Friday, June 4, 2010

Food Adventures#4 -- Last Days @ Gal (Graduation Dinner)

Yesterday was the commencement ceremony for my High School. As a celebration, my mom and I went out for dinner to an Indian restaurant called Clay Oven in West Portal. My mom praised this restuarant, so I agreed to go along. Apparently she went with her former boss back in the day, and they would come to here during lunch and enjoy the buffet style dining. To my disappointment, dinner wasn't served buffet style. Anyways, their food and service was absolutely over the top amazing. The waiters were extremely nice, and the Aloo Gobi (Cauliflower and potatoes cooked in herbs and spices/curry) was supremely delicious, I highly recommend this! And, I being a huge fan of Naan, I had to order some. We also got Papadum, Tandoori Chicken and Keema Naan.

{ Keema Nan -- Leavened bread stuffed with minced lamb }

{ Tandoori Chicken -- Chicken marinated in yogurt, ginger, garlic and roasted in a clay oven }

{ Keema Nan+Regular Nan+Aloo Gobi }

{Papadum -- clay oven roasted crispy spiced lentil wafers }

Labels: Food Adventures

the sweetest temptations
3:06 PM

Food Adventures#3 -- A Day With Christine (Brunch)

Last Saturday (May 29th, 2010), I went out to Dim Sum with my best friend, Christine. We both really wanted to go to Koi Palace, but we both were dead broke and neither of us can drive. So instead, we went to Hong Kong Lounge in the Outer Richmond district of San Francisco. We both arrived there around twenty minutes before the posted opening time (10:00 am, or so claimed the door). It was rather interesting, because when we looked inside the restaurant, we saw large families sitting around chatting. So we went in, assuming that the restaurant was open, and we were given a small table by the windows immediately! So a special note to anyone who wants to have Dim Sum at HK Lounge on the weekend, arrive at least twenty minutes earlier then the advertised opening time, you are guaranteed a seat.

Christine and I have never actually gone out to have Dim Sum without our parents, so although we're not totally new at it, we were rather nervous being there without our parents ordering all our favorite foods. It was way easier to have her there with me, because I'm illiterate in Chinese, so thank goodness she could read it for me! I was rather handicapped by this small factor, but all went well since we ordered everything we liked!

{ The menu we ordered off of }

I don't think we would have been able to get anything we wanted without the menu. And without Christine to help me find all the random stuff I named, we wouldn't have all the yummy foods we had. So, THANK YOU CHRISTINE! But on a side note, don't order ten dishes for just two people. It will be hell trying to get the food without ordering off the menu. And make sure to know what tea you want!

{ Tea+Siu Long Bao;; Cha Sew Cherng Fun+Jia Learng+Lo Bak Goh }

{ Loy Sa Tong Yuen+Pi Gwut+Siu Mai+Lo Bak Goh+Cha Sew Cherng Fun }

{ Lo Mai Gai }

Labels: Food Adventures

the sweetest temptations
2:05 PM

Monday, May 24, 2010

Food Adventures#2.1 -- Last Days @ Gal

As the school year ends, a bunch of my friends and I have been cooking a bunch of yummy foods for each other as goodbye gifts. One of us, the lovely Jenny, made sushi and mochi for our dear group of friends and her fifth period class.

{ Jenny's Sushi }

{ Jenny's Red Bean Mochi }

They were so yummy! Thanks Jenny!

Labels: Food Adventures

the sweetest temptations
4:51 PM

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Food Adventures#1.2 -- A Day With Priscilla: Evening

After a long day in Japantown, Priscilla and I traveled back to her house, where we made a delicious dinner for the two of us. She planned on trying a recipe for Honey Pineapple Chicken, so we had to go buy ingredients. Although the cooking time was much too long for two hungry girls, it was well worth it!

{ Honey Pineapple Chicken, right out of the oven! }

{ Served over rice, in huge cups! }

I highly recommend this recipe. Priscilla and I both decided that this would go much better with pasta + a white-wine sauce on the side, rather then rice.

Honey Pineapple Chicken

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts, boneless. (You may also use chicken thighs, which we did because I don't line chicken breasts.)

1 stick of butter or margarine

A pinch of Garlic Salt

1 - 15 oz. can of Pineapple Chunks

1 Cup of juice, from the canned Pineapples

1/4 Cup of Honey

1/3 Cup of Brown Sugar

2 Teaspoon of Flour (I actually used about three tablespoons of flour when I was covering the chicken, so roughly this amount.)

1 spoon full of cornstarch (Stirred in water for gravy)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*

2. Cover the chicken in flour

3. Melt the butter in a pan

4. Brown the chicken

5. Move the chicken to a baking dish.

6. Add honey, brown sugar, garlic salt and pineapple juice. Stir the cornstarch in water and add that as well.

7. Stir gently until thickened.

8. Add the pineapples to the baking dish where the chicken is. Pour the sauce on top.

9. Bake for 45 minutes.

[ This recipe was modified from the one Priscilla found. ]

Labels: Food Adventures, Recipes

the sweetest temptations
4:02 PM

Food Adventures#1.1 -- A Day With Priscilla: Afternoon

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon and evening with a dear friend of mine, Priscilla. We went out to a local tourist spot, Japantown, to dine at the restaurant On The Bridge for lunch. I have always passed this restaurant, never actually thought about eating there for the lack of costumers whenever I see it, but with my friend's urging and her good opinions about it, I decided to try it out. Seeing as Priscilla had recommended eating here, I had to ask what she recommended to eat. She spoke highly of the pesto udon and curry dishes, but not being such a huge fan of pesto, I decided to go safely with curry. This restaurant has a huge variety of curry, and I mean HUGE. You can have practically anything in your curry from mushrooms to calamari. SO, I ordered the chicken curry while she went with the mushroom curry. We also ordered an appetizer, a 6 piece gyoza dish, and a drink we shared, Creamy Melon Soda.

{ Vegetarian Gyoza }

{ Priscilla's Curry Mushroom }

{ My Curry Chicken }

{ Creamy Melon Soda! }

The gyoza was absolutely, hands down, amazing. To my pleasent surprise, it was a vegetarian gyoza. I cannot stress how amazingly well it went. Although it was drenched in soy sauce, which would have normally put me out. I also thought it was extremely cute that they used green dough to wrap the gyoza in!

Sadly, the curry did not live up to its high expectations. I ordered it mild, and it tasted plain. The rice was hard, and the curry did not go well with the chicken. How can curry not go well with chicken? How can anyone ruin a simple curry chicken dish? By using beef broth while boiling it with the chicken.

Labels: Food Adventures

the sweetest temptations
3:11 PM