food adventures are the best

Thai Idea Vegetarian

710 Polk St
San Francisco, CA 94109

I love Thai Food! It’s probably my favorite type of food :) I finally got a chance to try this place out. I’ve read about it in articles and blogs, plus Yelpers praise this place!

I went with my boyfriend, Earl and even though he is not vegetarian, he does not mind eating fake meat and is always willing to try it (but this guy is a meat lover and probably would not turn vegetarian).

This place is really cute. It has a modern Thai ambiance. I like the pillows laid out on some sitting areas, plus I like the color decor of browns and greens. I really loved the tree art they had near the register… very cute!

I opened the menu and I was just overwhelmed by all the dishes and options! I wanted to order everything. After debating over what we wanted, here is what we ended up ordering:

APPETIZER - CRAB CAKES (Vegan)

We opted for the vegan, because Earl freaked when he heard the word “egg” (the one piece of food he hates). These were delicious! I never really had a crab cake in my life, since I am allergic to shellfish so I really can’t compare them to regular crab cakes. These were crunchy, had a slight “crab/fish” taste, and had a very flavorful sauce that went on top of the cakes. It also came with a few pieces of potato wedges on the plate, which was a little treat. Earl also enjoyed them and we devoured these really fast!

PINEAPPLE BROWN FRIED RICE

I do not eat white rice, so when I asked to substitute the fried rice with brown… I was glad that she was willing to do so! I did not want to just order plain brown rice, because the description of the pineapple fried rice sounded too good to pass up. The menu said: pineapple, chicken, shrimp, and some other veggies… but when it came out it the dish had other ingredients in it. As I mentioned, Earl hates egg, so we usually order fried rice without egg. We assumed that since the menu didn’t list egg, but it had it when we got it. Earl was really disappointed but sucked it up and still ate it. I think this partly ruined his dinner, and I felt bad but he insisted that we not order a plain bowl of rice since there was so much food. To me, it was good but something tasted a little off to me. I can’t really describe the taste but I did not like it and the taste kept creeping into my nose. I was drowning it with the curry to not taste it.

PUMPKIN CURRY WITH BEEF

This was yummy! Earl always orders pumpkin curry, so of course he had to get it here. I really enjoyed the crispy strips of sweet potato on top, plus this curry was full of flavors! I liked the texture of the squash/pumpkin, which was soft and mushy. The fake beef was good, but was a little too chewy.

AVOCADO SHRIMP PANANG CURRY

This is the dish I ordered and I thought the avocado complimented the curry really well! I was a little hesitant to order at first because I would never think about having avocado in my curry, but I loved it a lot. The shrimp didn’t really taste like what I remember shrimp to taste like, but I still enjoyed this dish.

As much as I enjoyed the food, I came to the realization that I prefer fried tofu in my curries over the fake meat/shrimp. I think sometimes fake meat can get too chewy for my liking and I think tofu soaks up the curry taste more. I look forward in going to this restaurant again and trying their other dishes! Next time, I will make sure to leave room for dessert because I was way too full!

Crown and Crumpet 

Ghirardelli Square
900 N Point St, Ste E207
San Francisco, CA 94109

I have always wanted to go to a tea place and thanks to Gilt City, I was able to try Crown and Crumpet. I’ve heard many good things about this place, read the amazing reviews, stared at the place while visiting Ghirardelli Sqaure… so I think it was time for me to finally check it out. I decided to take my boyfriend, Earl with me since he loves teas (he was kind of hesitant because he thought the ambiance was too much for women, but the sweetie that he is.. he still came along). I made reservations, as the voucher instructed me too, and right off the bat… they already had good customer service! The voucher was only redeemable from Mondays-Thursdays with the last sitting at 5pm. I end work at 5pm, so I told her that and she made an exception to let us come in at 6pm on a Friday. How accommodating! That made me really happy :)

We sat down near the tea bar (I want one for my future home). The Gilt City deal was an “Afternoon Tea for Two” which I purchased for $45. It is usually $26 a person, so I saved a few dollars. You get two selections of tea, two glasses of champagne, eight sandwiches, four scones, two crumpets, and eight sweet treats.

We were given the menu and told to choose two teas. I got Swamp Water (Mango, Pineapple, Passion Fruit) and Earl got Fig De Blanc. Since I am vegetarian and Earl is a meat eater, I requested to get half veggie friendly sandwiches. The food items are brought out on a cute tiered plate set.

TEA:

I really enjoyed my Swamp Water tea… don’t let the name fool you! It’s really delicious and you can really taste the bursts of mango, pineapple, and passion fruit. The reason for the name is that the tea turns green after it is fully brewed. Earl really liked his Fig tea, and I couldn’t taste much of the fig but he swore he did. I believe him. He is more of a fig eater than I am. You get a lot of tea in your one teapot. It was hard for us to finish it all because we were so full, but the two teapots of tea is probably good for like 4-5 people.

SANDWICHES:

I got an egg salad sandwich and a cucumber sandwich… both scrumptious! Though, I wish that I requested for wheat bread. The taste of white bread threw me off a little bit, because I haven’t had it in so many years. Earl had something with Chicken Curry and a Salmon sandwich, which he also both enjoyed.

SCONES:

Oh my… I fell in love with their scones, which are house made in their shop. We each got two scones, one had nuts and the other was plain, but both truly delicious and made my taste buds smile! I loved the buttery, soft taste in my mouth. It was very comparable to the biscuits at Brenda’s (that’s what I kept saying). Haha. I wish I could have these everyday of my life. It’s truly one of my favorites!

CRUMPET:

While I was eating a crumpet I realized, they are English Muffins! I don’t eat English muffins that often, so there wasn’t much I could compare it to. It tasted like bread with some fluff in it. I really enjoyed it with their house made lemon curd! Ahh.. it tasted like I was eating a lemon bar, and I am a girl that loves lemon bars. Wow.. simply wow. I should have asked if they sold jars of it because I would totally buy it (if it’s not overly expensive). Aside from the lemon curd, there was strawberry jam (Earl enjoyed) and clotted cream, which tasted like butter.

DESSERTS:

We got an array of four different desserts, with one of each for us to try. I don’t exactly know what they were, but all were really good. I think for every visit, there are different treats on these plates, so it’s constantly changing.

CHAMPAGNE:

And no… we did not get to drink that Hello Kitty Champagne in the photos. So sad. It was $58! But our deal did come with a glass of champagne. It paired well with our treats, since it was really sweet but I loved it :)

I recommend going to a place like this once in your life. It’s a nice, calm, relaxing ambiance. I definitely see myself going back here with some of my friends. Especially because of their scones and lemon curd! YUM!!!!

Oven Baked Onion Rings

I stumbled across this recipe on Post Punk Kitchen. Since Earl and I were making the Edamame Mushroom Pea Veggie Patty, we had to also make our favorite side dish… onion rings!! We copied the recipe, except substituted the bread crumbs for panko.

Please click on the link to follow the instructions:

http://www.theppk.com/2010/10/omg-oven-baked-onion-rings/

Ours did not turn out as dark brown as the one in the recipe, since I think we went with the panko, but it was still delicious! I was addicted to them and couldn’t stop eating them even though I was so full!

Brenda’s French Soul Food

652 Polk St  San Francisco, CA 94102-3328

THIS HAS BECOME ONE OF MY FAVORITE RESTAURANTS IN SF!

1. Biscuits are HEAVEN! Truly delicious. I love the feeling in my mouth and taste on my tongue. It’s so fluffy, flakey, divine! Always order one togo (BOTTOM LEFT)

2. AMAZING BRUNCH PLACE! It gets a little busy, but the wait is worth it. I suggest going as early as you can so you won’t have to wait. Brunch is on weekends from 8am-3pm.

3. They have options of ordering half an entree like french toast and homemade granola pancakes. Less calories and save money!

NOW ON TO THE FOOD…

VEGGIE CREOLE OMELETTE $9.50 (TOP LEFT)

Corn maque choux, tomato, onion, bell pepper, spinach cheddar

I ordered this with egg whites because I don’t like yolk. I chose the potato hash over the grits and biscuits over toast (always at Brenda’s!). The potato hash has some really good spices on it with a nice little crunch. Very savory and goes well with the omelette. I ordered this dish thinking it would be different from your usual vegetarian omelette, but there was nothing that special about it and tasted like any other omelette. Don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t mean it wasn’t delicious because IT WAS… but I just wanted something that would distinguish it from others.

FRENCH TOAST (HALF-ORDER) $3.75 (TOP RIGHT, BOTTOM OF PHOTO)

You get three triangle slices, good enough for a meal if you are watching your calories. This french toast is battered with cinnamon, and I noticed they add some of their homemade granola (yum - esp. with the pancake).

HOUSEMADE GRANOLA PANCAKE WITH FRUITS (HALF ORDER) $4.95 (TOP RIGHT, TOP OF PHOTO)

You get one granola pancake with a variety of fruit on top, drizzled with vanilla bean cream. Honestly, I am not a pancake person, but when I had this… it all changed. This is the one place where I can actually enjoy and love a pancake. The granola gives it a nutty, crispy, crunch! The fruit goes well with the pancake, adding some sweetness to it with the vanilla bean cream. I highly suggest trying this or even getting it as a dessert!

CHOCOLATE BEIGNET $5.25 - FOR THREE (BOTTOM RIGHT)

This is such a good deal. You get three, HUGE, filled, powdered beignets! They are really thick, sweet, and donuty. I prefer them hot and fresh. The chocolate in the middle is slightly melted and oozes its way to your mouth with every bite. They are delicious but very heavy and I was only able to eat half in one sitting.

Now that I have gone to Brenda’s, twice for brunch… I think it’s time for me to try their lunch and dinner!