The Ramen Bar

I had the chance to visit The Ramen Bar during one of my trips to San Francisco. Located in the heart of downtown San Francisco, this place is a collaboration between chef Ken Tominaga and chef Michael Mina. Blending the California cooking philosophy with Japanese techniques and ingredients, their menus definitely taste different than the traditional Japanese dishes. I ordered the Tonkatsu Ramen and Sesame Salmon Donburi. My ramen's broth was a little bit too salty for my taste. The donburi was really nice tho. I really liked the flavors and the texture of the whole dish, and the crispy salmon skin was cooked just right. They also have selections of pastries, desserts, and beverages that you can choose from if you need something sweet or refreshing to finish off your meal.

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The Ramen Bar
101 California Street
San Francisco, CA, 94108

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La Lune Violette

Perfectly. Cooked. Lamb. That's the thing I remembered the most about this place. La Lune Violette (라 룬 비올렛) is a French bistro located around Hongdae (홍대) station with great food menu and wine selections. Went there for dinner with a friend of mine to do some catching up. We ordered their Sous-vide Pork Belly with Bacon Wrapped Asparagus (수비드 꼬숑), Apple Chips Salad (사과칩 샐러드), and Sous-vide Lamb Shoulder Rack (수비드 램) to share. The Apple Chips Salad was a nice refreshing opener to the meal. The crispy apple chips were really delicious and gave a nice balance to the dish. On to the main courses, the pork belly was cooked perfectly, with crispy skin on top of each pieces. Although the overall dish tasted a little heavy, it was still good. My favorite dish was the lamb dish. Perfectly cooked, a little crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and seasoned just right. The only thing that was lacking is the portion :p (was still craving for more lamb at the end of our meal). Overall, I would recommend this place to anybody who want to try some good French food with a fairly affordable price. Although the menu portion is a little small, I guess that just means that you'll still have some room for desserts afterwards :)

Hope everybody have a good weekend ahead! :)

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Cafe The Yellow

If you wanna try a not-so-classic burger, Cafe The Yellow (더엘로우) located in Yeonnam-dong (연남동) is apparently a pretty popular joint amongst the locals. Why I called their burger 'not-so-classic burger' you might ask? It's because of the runny sauce that they pour on top of the beef patty that makes the burger tastes (and looks) so much different than the American classic burger that I'm used to eating. And since it's pretty popular amongst the locals, I'm guessing that that's how they like they burgers. The portion is pretty fulfilling and they have good fries. If you are up for trying something new, this place is worth going I guess. But for me, I still prefer the classic burger over this ;)

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Taverna de Portugal

The only Portuguese restaurant I've been to in Seoul, Taverna de Portugal (터버나드포르투갈), has became one of my favorite places to go to, especially when I'm craving Nando's Chicken (which I haven't eaten in ages btw). Granted, the taste is not is exactly the same (according to a friend of mine who knows for sure what it tastes like), but their Grilled Piri Piri Chicken (피리피리치킨) is super delicious and full of flavors and it's good enough to fulfill my cravings :p

Located in a small alley in Sangsu (상수), the restaurant is owned by a friendly husband and wife duo. The place is not too big and it gets pretty busy during dinner time, especially on weekends. I usually ordered the Piri Piri Chicken Combo Menu 1 (피리피리 치킨 콤보메뉴 1), which consists of one whole grilled chicken, rice, sausage, bacon, salad, potatoes and home-made chips. It's good for 2 people and if you think that you need more food, they also have other selections on the menu.

They are currently having a summer special menu: Piri Piri Grill Fish Combo—oven grilled whole fish with piri piri sauce (minimum 1 day pre-order is required). Check out their facebook page for more info. 

Tips: Come during lunch time if you want to avoid the crowd. 

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Masizzim

A quick short post on Masizzim (마시찜), a Korean restaurant famous for their Galbi Jjim (갈비찜). They have multiple locations, but the one I went to is the one at Garosu-gil (가로수길). The food was delicious and the meat was tender. There are different levels of spiciness for your galbi jjim that you can choose from, but I have to warn all of you who don't eat spicy food, just get the non spicy ones. My friends ordered the mild ones and they were super spicy according to them (and they eat spicy food pretty well).

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