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Bay Area Trip '16

Last January my husband and I went on a weekend trip to the Bay area.  When we got off the plane we were starving (as usual)!  Our friends had made a list of recommended restaurants that we should try.  So when I was looking down the list, I wanted to eat somewhere where I know we'd get full for sure.  Korean BBQ at Gogi Time was the first place I chose to satisfy our bellies.

We came to this restaurant late at night on a weekday and it was busy- a good sign that this place was legit!  If you're not familiar with eating Korean BBQ, you get banchan (side dishes) first to eat and share with your fellow diners.  These small dishes are usually replenished throughout your whole meal:

The side dishes surrounding the grill and some vegetables that we ordered as part of our main course

Some of the main dishes we ordered for us to grill:

Marinated beef and chicken

We didn't take much photos because we were that hungry!  Overall, we were satisfied with the tender meats and their marinades.  Some items I recommend eating are Kimchi pancakes, Beef Brisket, Danmuji (pickled radishes), and BBQ Chicken.  

The price for All-You-Can-Eat Korean BBQ wasn't bad at all - starts at $25.  Also, if you're not in the mood for AYCE KBBQ, Gogi Time also has an a la carte menu and AYCE Chinese Hot Pot - there's something for everyone!

Gogi Time
2600 Telegraph Avenue
Oakland, CA 94609
(510) 834-5757


The next morning we stopped by Donut Savant for a sweet breakfast:

Donut Savant

we got the baker's choice

Three unbelievable salted maple donuts - the sweetness and a saltiness create a perfect balance in your mouth, trust me!

cronette and cron't

dark chocolate frosted cron't

I felt cozy eating a cron't next to a fire place :)

They gave us a couple more treats - straight from the oven!

maple pecan

Eating all those donuts at once was one of the highest sugar intake we had in awhile.  We definitely felt a sugar rush/high, it was well worth it though!  What I liked about Donut Savant was that their donuts and cron'ts were not greasy and yet they retained all that sweetness and soft texture.  I recommend getting a baker's choice to find out which donut and/or cron't you like the best!

Donut Savant
1934 Broadway
Oakland, CA
(510) 972-8268


After we did some sightseeing in downtown SF, we decided to eat grilled cheese sandwiches at The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen.  There were so many kinds of items to choose from - breakfast sandwiches, grilled cheese ones, salads and soups!

Our awesome grilled cheese sandwiches each came with a pickle and apple:

Reuben Adams- Jarlsberg, New York pastrami, Sir Kensington's stone ground mustard, brussels "kraut", bread n' butter pickles, and garlic butter on rye served with housemade Russian dressing 

Club Turkey- cheddar, creamy havarti, Willie Bird smoked turkey, seasoned tomatoes, stone ground mustard, and arugula on sourdough

I don't think I've ever had gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches like those ever, I was impressed!  Even though there were a lot of ingredients in each sandwich, they all complimented their cheeses quite well.

The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen
1 S Park St
Apt 103A
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 243-0107


One morning my husband was craving for chicken & waffles so my friend recommended that we all check out Brown Sugar Kitchen in Oakland.  It was a busy cafe, but worth the wait!

We started off with Beignets - they're like a 'French fritter'

We all had the same breakfast entree!  It was my first time eating fried chicken with these type of waffles - they were made out of cornmeal.  I can still remember the slight gritty texture to the waffles:

Buttermilk Fried Chicken & Cornmeal Waffle- comes with brown sugar butter & apple cider syrup

just had to do a close-up

My friend ordered this second breakfast entree, wish I had the stomach to eat that much:

Smoked Pork Hash with two Poached Eggs

Brown Sugar Kitchen
2534 Mandela Pkwy
Oakland, CA 94607
(510) 839-7685


This was our first visit to an oyster bar with a numerous kinds of oysters.  It made me wish to be an oyster connoisseur!  On this platter there's six different kinds of oysters.  There were all slightly different in taste depending on which ocean they came from: 

Hog Island Sweetwater from CA, Chelsea Gems from WA, Kodomo from WA, Blue Pool from WA, Pleasant Bay from MA, and 38 Degrees North from MD

We also indulged ourselves with some scallops, all the toppings made this dish light and refreshing:

Diver Scallop Crudo- Grapefruit & Lime Vinaigrette, Crispy Shallots, Cilantro, and Manzano Chili

Hog Island is located at the Ferry Building Marketplace.  There's a lot of cool local and artisan foods to check out here as well.

Hog Island Oyster Co.
1 Ferry Bldg
Shop 11
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 391-7117


On our last day we had our last meal at Burma Superstar.  I don't know if it was my first time trying Burmese food, I was completely blown away with their food!  The deliciousness level exceeded higher than my expectations!  If you haven't had Burmese food before, but have had Chinese, Indian, and Thai food, just think of all of those cuisines having a baby - that's Burmese food for ya:

Salt and Pepper Calamari

Tea Leaf Salad- Even if you're not really into eating salad, I implore you to try this salad!  This salad may change your life ;)

Burmese Samusas with veggies

Take a look at that filling!

Burmese Style Catfish Curry

a side of Coconut Rice- it was more like an entree!  I recommend eating this rice with your meal

This was an amazing foodie trip!  Thanks Mikey, Jason, and Koree for your suggestions :)

P.S.
Click here to see our post from our SF trip in 2012

Comments

  1. If you love a solid selection of quality craft beers then this place is a terrific choice to start off your night. They have happy hours Saturday night so you can’t go wrong. Definitely the kind of event space San Francisco to start off your night.

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