Category: restaurant

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#foodie Japan restaurant

Gasuto/Gust Restaurant

Cheap prices for high quality food; that’s how things are like at Gasuto/Gust. I went to this restaurant beside my friend’s apartment and tried it out for the first time tonight.

I was pleasantly surprised at the prices for meals such as Hamburg sets, curry rice (what I ordered), etc. Most of these dishes were around 500 yen, which is unheard of in most other family-style restaurants. There was also a drink bar (have to pay extra for that), and the service was quick.

I felt happy with my meal here; the desserts also looked tempting, but they were a bit pricey for my tastes (I hate how I’m always thinking about money/the cost of things).

Categories
#foodie Japan restaurant

Denny’s in Japan.

I had a friend tell me before that the Denny’s in Japan is much more different from the Denny’s in the US. Granted, I kind of assumed that most things exported to Japan were different from the US versions, but my curiosity was piqued.

Well, indeed, the Denny’s in Japan was quite different. For starters, they had morning/lunch/evening menus, as opposed to having an all-day menu. The breakfasts are a mix of Western and Japanese breakfasts; I decided to try the traditional-style Japanese breakfasts since after all, I am in Japan.

This breakfast was the bacon/egg breakfast set. Bacon and eggs are more American, but they were made the Japanese way (eggs a little runny, the bacon with some fat intact). I enjoyed eating them with the rice and the nattou (fermented soybeans). I know I certainly left Denny’s with a full and happy stomach.

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#amreading #foodie American Culture Chinese Culture dining out restaurant

The Fortune Cookie Chronicles

Currently reading The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8. Lee and so far I find it a fascinating read. There are many things I already knew about Chinese food in the US (that most of it isn’t authentic); after all, my parents explained this to me awhile ago since they still operate their restaurant in Virginia.

In the end though, what foods stay “authentic” to their native origins when they enter a foreign country? After all, I’m sure most of the stuff I eat/crave at Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Indian, et. al. restaurants are not 100% authentic; we can say that most of the foods are adapted for the American palate.

It’s the same thing with truly American food crossing over into other countries such as Japan. The burgers in Japanese McDonald’s are definitely different from the burgers here in the U.S. There are different combinations and such; there’s a shrimp burger in Japan! You wouldn’t find such a thing here in the US.

Anyway, back to more reading. Just wanted to pause a moment and reflect on this aspect.

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Chinese Culture My San Francisco Chronicles restaurant

Fortune from the cookie:

Had dim sum today at Yank Sing in SOMA. The dim sum was pretty good–seemed less greasy and somewhat cleaner than what I would find in Chinatown. However, the place is rather pricey and caters more towards the affluent folk. I would probably not go to this dim sum if I were with my friends since I know we all prefer bargains at this point in our lives (meaning: we want/need to save money for rent/other expenses).

Anyway, I received this fortune from my fortune cookie today:

“You will soon be traveling to a distant land.”

It amused me since it is pretty accurate. I am planning on traveling overseas in a few months. How did the cookie know?

Categories
drink restaurant

Thai Tea Pearl.

I have been on a quest for a good yet cheap Thai Tea w/Tapioca Pearl (aka Thai Tea Boba). I first discovered this tasty boba flavor about a couple of months ago at a Vietnamese cafe in the Financial District. The tea was just the right sweetness and the pearls were plentiful. Unfortunately, the price made me gasp a little–$4.15 for the large. A little pricey…

So last week I decided I would go the cheap route and try Quickly’s Thai Tea to see if the cheap price of the drink was still worth it. I tried it–it tasted like it was just Milk tea, not actual Thai iced tea. Plus, the lid was hard to puncture through and it spilled on my jacket/jeans. Sigh. I guess it was good for $2.15, but I was disappointed with the flavor.

Yesterday I was in L.A. and ate Thai food for lunch. That restaurant was the first Thai restaurant that offered Thai Tea w/Boba, so I was excited. I ordered it and tried it–the drink was good, no doubt, but the tapioca was hard to get to because of the crushed ice (instead of cubed) that they used. Sigh. I was a little disappointed with that aspect since the pearls didn’t really go through the straw when I was still sipping the drink. The pearls ended up staying at the bottom of the cup, unable to escape the layer of crushed ice. I had to manually catch each tapioca pearl after I was finished with the Thai iced tea. Disappointment once again.

Oh well; I guess the Vietnamese cafe prices their pearl drinks that way because their drinks are a little more high quality. I guess I will just stick with that for now.