Foodies Alert: Tennyuu Grand - Premium Japanese Restaurant

If you love Japanese food and have a soft spot for sashimi, Tenyuu Grand is definitely the place to go.  Their sashimi is the bomb! Very fresh.

The atmosphere outside is lovely.  They tried to mimic sakura (cherry blossom) trees and a Japanese garden.    Once inside on the 1st floor, the basic ambiance is just like any restaurant.  For private rooms, they are located on the 2nd floor which definitely gives more of an authentic Japanese feel.  Would have loved it they did this throughout the entire restaurant.   Each room was decorated differently with elaborate designs from Japanese wallpaper.

They also have the typical Japanese style dinning set-up available where you sit on tatami mats on the floor.

Their menu also has a diagram explaining all the different parts of tuna fish >> Meat of Maguro

On a side note, 1 piece of maguro here starts at 500THB (USD17)

Sashimi Set - Yummy but also very pricey! 

Sushi Rolls - There are lots of variety and again, very pricey.  The most expensive one is 1,200THB (USD40) for a roll.  Meanwhile the cheapest one is the eel roll below which is 390THB (USD13). 

If you don't want to pay the expensive prices of a la carte, they do have lunch sets.  Forgot to check whether it is also applicable during the weekends as I went during a weekday.

Here are just examples of what their lunch sets includes:

• Steamed Egg (there are pieces of meat inside as well)

•  Japanese Salad with Potato salad on the side

• For mains, there were several choices.  Three of them are below: 

Snow Fish grilled with soy sauce

(it looks like chicken from the picture doesn't it)

I don't know the names of this sashimi dishes but it is sashimi topped over rice.
One is assorted, while the other is only salmon sashimi.

There wasn't a lot of selection for dessert.  However, they did have complimentary Japanese melons for everyone.  If you never had Japanese melons before, they are the best.  Very sweet. :)

I actually ordered mochi ice cream and this daifuku.  Only managed to get a pic of the daifuku.
Daifuku is a Japanese sweet where there is mochi or glutinous rice cake with a sweet filling.  The most popular is red bean paste.  At Tenyuu Grand, their daifuku has both red bean paste and a whole strawberry inside.

Tenyuu Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/tenyuugrand
Location:  It in on North Sathorn Road near Evergreen Hotel (Soi Pipat)

Foodie Alert: In N' Out Burger

One word: Delicious!

This was the first time ever trying In N' Out.  What better place to try it than in LA.  It is quite easy to find.  My selection: Cheeseburger with onions and chocolate milkshake.

I love how their burgers are small. The perfect size for me.

No one does milkshakes better than Americans. I've been to some places in Bangkok and its totally watered down or has way too much milk. Love my milkshakes thick and creamy. Yummy! Just 1 glass will make you full :)  No picture because its just a pic of their normal soda cups.  Can't see inside.

It was a bit difficult to find In N' Out in SF.  There aren't loads of outlets in the area.  The one closest is at Fisherman's Wharf.  Needless to say, it managed to solve my burger craving.  Overflowing goodness.

Website: http://www.in-n-out.com/

In My Footsteps: Road trip on Route 1 from SF to LA

Lots of people (mainly my parents) have said it was a bad idea for 2 girls to drive down from SF to LA.  Probably because it is still about 5-6hours on Route 5 and merely because we were 2 girls. Did we listen?  Not really.

Tons of travel guides will always say that the drive up or down from SF to LA has one of the best scenic drives in the US.  One downside is that all of it happens on a cliff.

Here is just a simple glance.  Basically, you are driving across all of California.

from Wikipedia

We probably only made it half way on Route 1 when the sun started to set.  For safety reasons, we decided to head inland to Route 5 or 101 instead (don't remember which).  

Preparation Guide: 

- Enough food & water

- Entertainment (music!)

- Gas

- Make sure the car is in perfect condition

If I had to make a recommendation, it would be start early.  We made the mistake of leaving SF around noon.  Here are some of the breathe-taking views. 

Foodies Alert: Mama's on Washington Square @ San Francisco

While planning for my 2 week vacation in SF, I spent hours going through various lists for places to eat.  One of them was this place: Mama's on Washington Square.  When I arrived in SF, my friend also recommended it as a really good place for breakfast food.

If you ever plan to come to Mama's, be sure that you aren't in a rush.  There is always a line outside.  I think I waited about 30 minutes.

Once you are inside, you place your order at the counter and then they will seat you.  There aren't many tables inside, as you as see from the pic below.  The shape of the restaurant is rectangular.  My friend and I were seated at the back corner sofa so we were able to get a view of the entire restaurant.   

There were 2 items which we ordered.  

1. Cornbeef Eggs Benedict 

I think it is a special that they don't have everyday because the 2 girls ahead of us heard our order and decided to change theirs. Hmmm.. not sure.  It is not an outstanding from this dish. No "ouuu aaaa" moment where your eyes twinkle with delight.  (If you know what I mean).  The corn beef was good.  However, the overall flavour was bland for my taste.  I needed to add a bit of pepper and salt.  

The perfect food means no extra seasoning. 

2. Monte Cristo

Now this was the highlight where I had an "ouu aaa" moment and fell in love with the dish.  I've never tried it before but it surely made an impression.  The easiest way to describe the dish is a mix between french toast and grill ham cheese sandwich.  It was divine.  I have to say I was reluctant about the strawberry or raspberry sauce at first.  Once you top off that bite with a bit of sauce, it was the perfect match.  This is the dish that everyone needs to order when you come here.  

Conclusion: Definitely will be back here again. 

Website: mamas-sf.com

Foodies Alert: Frosted Cupcakery

A cake in a cup?

If you haven't noticed, there has been a cupcake craze.  Now, it has turned to macarons.  Anyway, I was in Los Angeles a month ago and managed to drop by Frosted Cupcakery.  It isn't as popular as Sprinkles but didn't have time to make it all the way to Beverly Hills.

First impression when I walked in.... I wanted to try every flavor they had.  Luckily, I was super full from breakfast that I opted for only 1.

The flavor I got was red velvet cheesecake.  Actually wanted to try something different but decided better to stick it to the safe choice.

Sadly, I didn't eat it right away which could have changed my option of them.  My friend and I were driving back to San Francisco so I wanted to keep it for the journey back.

Although the reviews all say that its one of the best cupcakes, I feel that the cake was not moist enough.  Unless, I'm just used to the fresh cream cupcakes.  Totally had high expectations and was disappointed.  It is an "alright" cupcake... not the OMG I need to try again. 

There was an abundance of cream cheese and I realized later that the cupcake would have been better if I ate it with a spoon, instead of biting it through. Reason: 1st, at least I wouldn't have to take a huge bite and 2nd, I would get the perfect amount of cream cheese and cake in every bite.  Needless to say, my first few bites were full of cream cheese and then at the end, I was left with a lot of cake.

Amateur at eating cupcake right?  I still prefer to eat it with a spoon. :)

My friend ordered this one  From the pic, the crushed caramel and chocolate pieces looks a bit dry.

Website: http://www.frostedcupcakery.com

Randomness: Cartoons?!?

Switching out my iPhone case again.

What do you think? Too much going on?

In My Footsteps: New Year Countdown

It is the end of the year again and time to contemplate what you have done. Was this year productive? What was the highlight of the year? Or was it just another boring year passing by?

I plan to write out my New Year resolutions within today and tomorrow. There are already a few things I know I "must" do on the list. One of them is... make sure to give myself a proper vacation (like 5-7days).

In the meantime, I'm spending the rest of 2012 up in the mountains to enjoy the cool weather.

Wishing everyone a happy new year :) and a great 2013 ahead