A Side Trip to Danville

Whenever I am in the US, my time with my cousin and good friend S has always been short – only a few hours for either lunch or dinner depending on how our schedules connect.  On my recent trip to the Bay Area, we made it a point to spend a couple of days together starting with a mini family reunion at her parents’ home in San Ramon and ending with lunch I immensely enjoyed in downtown Danville.

Just 30 miles east of San Francisco, Danville, the heart of the San Ramon Valley was a pleasant surprise.  As with many towns, it features various interesting shops, art galleries and upscale eateries.  One such eatery is Sideboard, a neighborhood café at the old Danville Hotel.

It spells quaint the minute I walked in with its charming French country décor.  One gets a choice to dine on wooden tables and cozy chairs indoors or on the mosaic tiled patio tables outside – which we chose despite the chilly weather.

A perfect choice for summer but if like us, one still prefers to sit outdoors on a cold winter’s day, they offer heater stands and thick woolen blankets to keep one warm.  Having a meal at Sideboard is like having dinner at your good friend’s home as the owner Ford Andrews goes around talking to diners as if we are his long-lost friends.  The self-service style is evidence to the friendly casual atmosphere it has come to project.  And the food is comforting and personal.  Ford’s wife Erin uses regionally grown produce, which she personally hunts for at the Farmer’s market nearby or at the Ferry building in San Francisco.  What we had that day:

A must try!  Fried Brussel Sprouts.  One after the other, I just kept popping these gorgeously fried babies into my mouth.  The best dish I had here.

I went for the comforting Pulled pork sandwich while my brother chose this delectable bowl of Chili (a favorite of his).

The scones, he said, went so well with the chili, he asked for second servings (of the scones), which Ford gladly gave.

Also not to be missed is their famous burger made from Prather Ranch beef.

This homemade Banana bread and a mug of Blue Bottle coffee is the perfect cap to a wonderful lunch.

My visit to Sideboard had me wishing I lived in the area so I can make it my regular go-to café – a great place to kill time with a good cup of coffee and terrific homemade desserts. Thank you S for taking me there.   🙂

Useful Info

Sideboard Cafe
The Danville Hotel
411 Hartz Ave.,
Danville, CA
(925) 984-2713
Posted on by Jenn 0

Storm in my Kitchen

It’s about time I made public my move.  No, I’m not leaving this blog but I’ve made a bold move to seriously carry through the challenge I’ve set forth for myself.  Remember this?  I have since been building a repertoire of recipes in this new adventure of mine that I have decided that it deserves a blog of its own.

For almost a year now, I’ve been whipping up a storm in my kitchen hence the blog name.  Not always successful, mind you, but this new attempt is lotsa fun.  A different kind of fun.  The kind of fun that satisfies my hunger for food, literally and figuratively.

So if you’re up to it and into it, come join me in celebrating this newfound adventure, there will be a smattering of food related jaunts and featured favorites but mostly we will stay and whip up a storm in my kitchen.

Here’s a glimpse of my excursion, to read more of one of my favorite chef’s burger joint… click here.

Posted on by Jenn 0

Rustic Italian in Sausalito

My mom once told my dad while driving around Sausalito that it would be lovely to own a house there — overlooking the marina would even be lovelier.  Gulp!   😯   I want one too.   😛  Its neighborhood oozes with charm, the steep wooded hillside on one side and the water on the other faintly reminds me of the Mediterranean, although Positano it isn’t.

With the wide choice of restaurants from charming outdoor cafes and bistros to chic dining right on the waterfront, this endearing city of Marin County has captivated my heart since long ago.

Yes, the food and the quaintness played a big role in endearing me to this town.

We had a few days to spare before heading home to Manila and we decided that a beautiful lunch in a beautiful city is the best way to spend our last day with our chef-brother and Sausalito it was.

We got a table at Poggio, a classic Italian restaurant at the Casa Madrona Hotel and Spa overlooking the bridgeway and the Sausalito marina.  Chef Paul McNee’s menu featuring Northern Italian classics, changes daily.  Rustic and soulful, he uses local ingredients and prepares nearly everything in-house from cured salami and prosciutto to fresh pastas.

For our starter, we had this beautifully prepared Octopus with Pork Belly confit, frisée, french beans and poached egg.  What an array of texture and flavor.

I had this light potato gnocchi tossed with a rabbit ragout – comparable in taste to our Chicken Adobo and the rabbit taste so much like chicken too.

I wish I had ordered this.  Tagliatelle with crispy pig face.  A winner I tell you, I wanted to devour the whole plate, except that it wasn’t mine.  Imagine large chunks of crispy pork with the fat melting in your mouth.  And the olives and the chilies added more levels of goodness to this excellent dish.

Yes, my trip to San Francisco is indeed a trip full of feasting.  I’m happy to say though that hours of slaving away at the gym during lunch break have helped me shed most of the pounds gained on this trip by now.   😀

Useful Info:

Poggio
777 Bridgeway ,
Sausalito, CA
(415) 332-7771
www.poggiotrattoria.com
Posted on by Jenn 1

R&G Lounge

Credits:  Papers from Lana Koopman Digital Designs — squares paper, striped paper and turq diamonds;  Elements from Pink and me kit by Pouyou

When in San Francisco, a visit to Chinatown is a must even on limited time.  Tired from all the walking we did at the Fancy Food Show, my brothers and cousins decided that an early comforting dinner was called for.  R&G Lounge at the corner of Clay and Kearny came to mind.

Their famous salt and pepper crabs deep-fried to perfection – sweet, juicy and some parts crispy.

And then there’s the Peking Duck with its golden brown crispy skin and juicy meat.

The Beef Brisket and Turnip soup cooked in a clay pot, I particularly liked because the flavorful broth reminds me of a similar soup my grandma used to make.

Recognized as one of the best Chinese restaurant in San Francisco Bay Area, R&G is a go-to for reasonably priced traditional Cantonese meal.  From a restaurant that seats 50 people when it opened in 1985, it is today a 3-storey restaurant that can serve up to 250 people.

Despite the expansion, lines are still long which only says that people continue to flock there for one good reason – the mouth-watering dishes that come out of their kitchen.

Useful Info:

R&G Lounge
631 Kearny St.,
San Francisco, CA
Tel:  (415) 982-7877
http://www.rnglounge.com
Posted on by Jenn 5

Incanto and Offal Cuisine

Incanto is a rustic Italian style restaurant in Noe Valley, an upscale neighborhood and home to many urban professionals with young families.  It is not your ordinary Italian restaurant serving only Italian classics; there are always options on Incanto’s menu for the more adventurous gastronome.  Executive chef Chris Cosentino of “The Next Iron Chef” fame is known for his “Offal” cooking as seen on his blog.

And what is offal cooking, you may ask?  It is a word derived from the slaughterhouse phrase “off fall” or the pieces that “fall off” a carcass when being butchered – Not limited to entrails but also includes the heart, liver, brain and lungs.  In Filipino, laman loob and although not that uncommon in our cuisine, it has however only recently become recognized in the “foodie” community of America.

Known to often feature unusual ingredients such as lamb tripe and beef hearts in his menu, Cosentino is heard to still refuse balut!  That says a lot about our delicacy, doesn’t it?   😯

A restaurant find like this is not unthinkable especially if planned by my chef-foodie brother.

A lighted showcase of Boccalone goodies greets you as you enter the cozy, rustic restaurant, which instantly stole my attention and eventually my heart.  We were early for our reservations so I had time to study the menu and noted that they had more Italian classics than offal offerings, which is probably more sensible in the end as adventurous gastronome, albeit growing, is still just a small population and probably more so in the US.

We started with these beautiful breads, which are wonderful with the tapenade.  Anyway, for our starters, we ordered a Boccalone Salumi Platter in Boar.

Not really understanding what “boar” stood for until we saw this huge platter in front of us.  The options on the menu were Piglet, Sow and Boar; apparently it was describing the size of the platter.  Hearing so many good things about Boccalone Salumeria, I wasn’t worried about it.  The 4 of us devoured almost everything on the platter.

I loved it so much, on my last day of this trip, I went to their store at the Ferry Building and brought home some Nduja and Brown Sugar & fennel Salamis.  Needless to say, they’re awesomely good!

My brother had this Handkerchief Pasta and Rustic Pork Ragu, which I found delightful.  This is the classic dish while mine was more offal.

It’s Oxtail, Sweetbread with Rutabaga and Dandelion Salsa.  Oxtail is pretty common in my part of the world and as one would expect, I enjoyed this dish a lot.  It was tender, the salsa added crisp texture to the sweetbread, which is not a favorite if truth be told and I’ll take kidney or even brain over it.  Sweetbreads are the thymus and the pancreatic glands of young cows, lamb or pigs.

And then there was dessert!

Chocolate-Nduja ice cream and almonds – my choice as I am so into ice cream (or anything sweet for that matter) infused with some sort of savory flavor nowadays.  Nduja (en-doo-ya) is a spicy spreadable salami.  I have to say, the spicy, salty salami brought this chocolate dessert to another level.

Quince, Pecorino, Moliterno and Hazelnut butter.  

Myrtle Panna Cotta and huckleberries.  Two-thumbs up!

At one point through our course, a waiter knocked off a glass of wine – good thing our friend was wearing something dark – and this came on the house.  I’m liking this restaurant all the more.   🙂

If you find yourself in the neighborhood or somewhere near the neighborhood and if you want to add to your gastronomic adventures, include Incanto and/or Boccalone in your list of must-tries.

Useful Info:

Incanto
1550 Church Street,
Noe Valley, San Francisco, CA
(415) 641-4500
Website:  http://incanto.biz/
 
Boccalone Salumeria
1 Ferry Building #21
San Francisco, CA
(415) 433-6500
Posted on by Jenn 0

Reminiscing

Lombard Street overlooking Russian Hills

For a short while I called San Francisco home.  Straight from a pampered life, away from the watchful eyes of my parents, living (not exactly) alone in the Richmond District was uncharted territory (for us then).  Albeit a carefree time of my life, it was there that I learned independence and self-reliance.   It was one of the best times of my life.

I don’t return very often but I recently found myself back in San Francisco again and again.  Although our visit was mostly because of work, my brother and I managed to squeeze in some time for family, friends and some reminiscing.   I likewise seized the opportunity to spend precious time with my brothers – one arrived with me and was my roommate then, the other met us there from Louisiana where he now (temporarily) resides.

The bar escapes the need for reservations.

We met up with friends at the Slanted Door lounge bar no sooner than we landed.

Having Slanted Door’s signature drink:  Ginger Limeade with Hangar One Kaffir Lime Vodka.

The next day we decided to pay our old neighborhood a visit,

passed by our old apartment and had lunch at our favorite hangout.

Thai Cafe along Geary St. has good food at student-friendly prices thus a favorite hangout.

That weekend we spent a lot of time visiting old-time favorites.

Choco Fudge Sundae at The Ghirardelli Square

Breakfast at Mel’s Drive-in Diner.

Although many of those who stayed behind after school moved out of San Francisco, they remained within the Bay Area.  Some still lived in the same house we used to hangout in.  Once you’ve lived there, you can’t really shake San Francisco out of your system, can you?

Stockton St.  I used to walk this street a lot (in daytime, or course) to go to school.

It was an awesome weekend reminiscing about the juvenile things we’ve done and had gotten away with.  How we survived those reckless years was a miracle.  Ah to be young again… even for just a weekend.

Posted on by Jenn 1

Caramoan Adventure

Credits: Quickpage by Sarah H from JS bloghop 2010.

An adventure it was indeed.  Not in a thrilling kind of way but more precarious I’m afraid.

St. Michael the Archangel Parish

It started as a simple exploration of the town and while there, we were met with rains so we waited it out at River Inn,

the nearest hiding place when it poured.  We watched the river swell as the downpour continued and seemingly refusing to let up.

We decided to make a go for lunch the moment it waned.  Needless to say, we arrived Sea Porch soaking wet.

The food was good at least so there were some delightful moments that transpired during the day.  After lunch, we decided that it was best to go back when the rain started to pelt down once again.

We hired a tricycle but halfway through, we saw the resort’s van stranded with newly arrived guests.  The river overflowed (which is a common thing, they say).

Children without a care in the world.  So used to it, they saw it as their playground.

It was deep and the current was strong, we couldn’t go further… at least not the tric, so we paid our driver and let him go.  At this point, we were so wet and weary that the idea of a dry, cozy cabin seemed so inviting.  We were told that it would take a while for the flood to subside, my heart sank.   I thought it funny that the resort sent a kayak to get us to the other side.  What?!? The current was strong; I was iffy.  If the kayak topples (which was very likely), my thought balloon goes, “there goes my camera”.  Desperate for a hot shower, I decided to bid my “rebel” goodbye and went for it.  All the worry was unnecessary – as I said, this happens often and they have used the kayak to get them across countless times.  They expertly maneuvered the kayak without us having to paddle a single stroke.  Our only task was to sit upright and not move.  It worked.

I remind myself often to throw caution to the wind and not to underestimate the deftness of Filipinos (or anyone for that matter) especially when caught in a situation.

In no time, we were curled up in our cozy little cabin — dry, warm and clean.  The rain eventually stopped, the water calm once more and the sun dared to peek out at one point as we traveled back to Naga the following day without incident.

Posted on by Jenn 4

A Preview of the Caramoan Islands

December and a typhoon looming at that is definitely the wrong time to explore the islands of Caramoan.  This however did not stop us…  “no guarantees”, we were told.  Do you believe in the power of prayer?  The weather held up for the most part.  We were limited though to 3 nearby islands, the waves were strong thus preventing us from exploring more islands much less snorkel.  But for bad weather, this was answered prayer.  Presenting the three:

Matukad Island

Beautiful stretch of powdery white sand beach walled with limestone cliffs.

At one end of the beach is a cliff that many climb to view the lagoon hidden behind.

Thought it would be wise of me not to climb that cliff due to a back injury I was nursing at that time but it did not stop me from being envious of friend S who got to see the lagoon.  Perhaps to make me feel better, she said I’ve seen better…    🙂

Hunongan Cove

This private cove beside Gota Village was developed to house the booted-out contestants of the Survivor series – what a nice reward, me think.

They have 14 pretty cabana that were not operational at the time of our visit – repairs were being made perhaps also in preparation for the next “Survivor” ocular.  Lunch was served there hence the visit.

Like Matukad, it has a stretch of powdery white sand and it being a cove is blessed with a much tamer shore.

Also like Matukad, it is walled with limestone cliffs but unlike Matukad, this does not have a lagoon anywhere.

Philippine Eagle

It has a regular visitor though whom they feed when around.

The caretakers opened a cabana, which I assume would be typical, for us to take a look.

This will cost P6,000+ a night if they were operational.  No thanks!  Our charming cabin at Gota Village albeit more basic was P3,500 a night only.

Minalahos Island

We were supposed to head back already but were curious with this one particular island with beautiful jagged edge formations so we stopped to take a look.  Glad we did.

The cliff was easy enough to climb and we were rewarded by a stunning view of the other side.  The boatman said that during calm days, it’s a good snorkel and kayaking area.

With the little that we saw, I can deduce that Caramoan is indeed a remarkable paradise that reminds of Palawan and even to a certain extent, Halong Bay minus the junks.  No wonder it has become the choice of many Survivor franchise.  The place is quite enchanting.

Posted on by Jenn 6

The Upside of Being Wimpy!

Credits:  Papers and elements by LivE Designs’ You are Awesome kit — AwwwSome Blue, Color Me Happy and Floral clusters; Frame by Moninda Fall Meditation Frame 4 with shadow.

To finally be on our way to Caramoan was like a project coming to fruition.  This trip was supposed to have happened a decade ago, prevented however by various reasons – the remoteness and the logistic nightmares being some of the major ones.  There were so many other trips so I placed Caramoan in the back burner until Gota Village Resort came about.  Yeah, sometimes I can be a wimp!!  An attempt last summer still didn’t fall through because they were closed for a Survivor shoot.  “Ok, maybe Caramoan really isn’t for us”, I thought.  But late last year, without a plan yet for the Christmas break, I attempted to inquire for rooms and lo and behold, I got an affirmative – but not without a side trip, as you probably know by now.

From CWC, we hired a van and headed to Sabang Port.  At the port, we took this boat so cramped with passengers to Guijalo Port.  2-3 hours later we got into a van provided by the resort and another 30-45 minutes, we finally reached our destination.  Not exactly a breeze but imagine if you took public transport all the way… which would be the case if we had gone a decade ago.  And that, my friends, was the reason this trip only happened now.

Also known as the Caramoan Peninsula, it is a group of islands isolated from the rest of Camarines Sur and like many remote islands, these included, they remain unspoiled by regular tourists.

December however is not exactly the right season to be exploring the islands, the waves prevented us to explore even the island across the resort.

I have to say, this resort is charming!  No beach in sight but as you enter, the wooden cabins and the mountains in the background is an obvious prelude to the charm.

The deck at the reception area allows a peek of the ocean on one side

The cabins from the deck at night.

and the other a bird’s eye view of the cabins.

The dining hall from the beach.

Walk further to the dining hall and you will see the ocean emerge inch by inch and before you know it, right in front of you is a breathtaking view of the ocean and its nearby islands.

It’s like being in the mountains with the beach just around the corner.

As with CWC, the Provincial government of Camarines Sur operates Gota Village Resort, which makes transfers from CWC much easier than doing your own logistics.  In fact, for large groups, one can organize for a fast craft to shuttle you directly to the resort.  It will only take an hour.

It is also said that the resort earned for the Philippines the title of “Ecotourism Destination of the Year” in the 2009 edition of Nature – one of France’s biggest travel fairs.  It was also with France that Caramoan first got its big break.  The French franchise of the reality show “Survivor” chose to shoot one season here.  Many more franchises of the “Survivor” shows followed after that… Sweden, Israel, Bulgaria and Serbia.  And while we were there, they said that they would close again soon to make repairs in preparation for the next ”Survivor” ocular.

The different bridges connecting one tribal council to another.

It is on the adjacent beach called “Gota 2” that they built the different “tribal council” sets.  Not exactly my cup of tea ( I don’t follow this show) but the reality is that they pride themselves of being the favorite of the “Survivor” series… and why not?  Sadly though, they rave more about this when there is so much more to rave about — like their beautiful islands and breathtaking cliffs, perhaps?

Given the rainy season, the crowning point of this trip for me was spending most afternoons enjoying the mountain setting with some wine and cheese (that we brought with us) on our cozy little porch chatting away till dinner called.  Precious.

Useful Info:

Gota Village Resort
Address:  2F Bldg. 11 La Fuerza Plaza Compound,
2241 Don Chino Roces Ave., Makati City
Tel. No.:  +632 817-0831 or +632 710-9086
Mobile:  +63 928-308-3969
Email:  gotavillage@gmail.com or infocamsur@gmail.com
Posted on by Jenn 3

Sili’t Gata

Serve me a dish that combines coconut milk and chili pepper and you’ve won me over, tightly wrapped around your finger at that.  So imagine me in Bicol where sili (chili pepper) and gata (coconut milk) is present in almost every dish.  Absolute bliss, I tell ya! First thing we did after we put to right the mishap was ventured to the Food Court of SM-Naga looking for the food stall recommended by the CWC staff.

At Geewan:

We shared an order of:

Clockwise:  Laing, Pinagat and Bicol Express
Laing:  Probably the most famous Bicol dish.  It’s pork sautéed in garlic, ginger and onions combined with dried taro leaves cooked in coconut milk and spiced with… you guessed it – sili.

Pinagat:  Similar to Laing, Pinangat is bundled taro leaves filled with meat or shrimps, sili, ginger, garlic and onion and then slow cooked in gata.  Until I came to Bicol I thought this was a version of the Laing.

Bicol Express:  Pork meat simmered in gata with lots and lots of chili strips.  Some version use green chili to make the dish less spicy and some versions has shrimp paste to add to the flavor.

Kinunot:  Not something that I’d order but in the spirit of adventure, we ordered it just to taste.  It’s an unusual dish of stingray meat or what they call pagi and malunggay leaves.  Just like all the above, the meat and vegetable is simmered in gata and sili.  It was pretty good, I must say.  The thought however of eating something so beautiful does not leave me longing for it.

Laing Pizza

An out of the ordinary creation we got to try at the CWC clubhouse.  Interesting flavor and surprisingly delectable.

Bob Marlin

Our last dinner in Camsur, we decided to go to town for a more scrumptious experience of Bicol cuisine.  We likewise wanted to experience the taste of the town, particularly Magsaysay Ave., the restaurant street of Naga City.  Shuttles were available at the CWC to take guests to town.  We had ourselves dropped off at Bob Marlin’s Restaurant and Grill.  Crispy Pata, albeit their most popular dish, was not something we’d order as we remained faithful to Bicolano food whilst there.

Given the restaurant’s name however, we cannot not have a Marlin Slab in honor of its namesake.  We were not disappointed.

Because it is my favorite Bicolano dish, we ordered the Pinangat to celebrate Bicol cuisine.

Lastly, we ordered a dish we haven’t tried yet and the curious in me just had to give this dish a try.  Adobong Manok sa Gata — Chicken Adobo in Coconut Milk.  Sounds interesting?  Tastes interesting too.  The dish replaces soy sauce with gata, which made the stew creamy.  Because I absolutely love gata in anything, I utterly enjoyed this twist in adobo and have inspired me to attempt this dish at home someday.

Useful Info:

Geewan (Main branch)
P. Burgos St.
Naga, Camarines Sur, Philippines
Phone Number: (63 54) 472-3888 or (63 74) 811-7272
 
Bob Marlin Restaurant and Grill
Magsaysay Ave.
Naga City, Camarines Sur, Philippines
Phone Number: (63 54) 473-1339, (63 54) 478-4414
Posted on by Jenn 4