PJ's Trip Report
Returning home from SF yesterday, I've now visited the city of SF 4 times, with my most recent prior visit 1 year ago which was one of the best times of my life. While this trip had more of a business component and I did not spend as much time in solitude and self discovery, it was, in all respects, damn good to be there again.
I brought a friend along on this trip who had not seen SF as much. I decided to begin by exploring the West side of town. We had
Burmese food for lunch in
The Richmond neighborhood, which is famous for Asian eateries. We then went to
Lincoln Park, home of the SF Legion of Honor, amd quickly found ourselves attached to the bayfront trail which has excellent views of the bay, the mountains, and the bridge. We walked past the golf course and down El Camino Del Mar and took many photos along the way. Next, we visited the
Japanese tea garden @
Golden Gate Park. Tea was served in front of the pond. The waitresses were fully dressed in kimono but their attitude was less than friendly. I also found the de Young museum next door was having a Yves saint Lauren exhibit (see my avatar), but it was too late and we were hungry.
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Burmese Rainbow Salad, comprised of 22 different ingredients!
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A home near Lincoln Park with nice view of the bridge and mountain across the bay
Dinner was served at
Spices II, again in The Richmond. It's mostly Sichuan cuisine but the staff seemed to be Taiwanese. The food was good--the
Husband and Wife Lung Slices were especially numbing--but they charged extra for each bowl of rice, a practice frowned upon in the Midwest; and since it's numbingly spicy Sichuan style, of course you need plenty of rice.
For some reason, the weather this time was about 10 degrees lower than last year's visit. With a jacket on, I was nevertheless shivering while waiting outside for the bus.
The next day began with lunch at the
Slanted Door, one of my treasured restaurants with a modern Vietnamese menu. Having previously sampled--and loved--their signature
Cellophane Noodles with Dungeness Crab Meat, we tried the
Tiger Prawns and
Vietnamese Shaking Beef which, while good, did not live up to the bar set by the cellophane noodles. We took a
ferry to Sausalito (the bayfront town across Golden Gate Bridge) and, making use of our God-given strengths, walked back to SF on foot. This particular ferry ride is rated #2 in the world after Hong Kong, and it was indeed quite good. We checked out the
Bay Model built by the US Army Corps of Engineers: it was actually used in production by scientists to simulate real-life tide and currents until 2000 and it's quite impressive, although I thought it'd be nice to see it actually being used, but that would be too much to ask.
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A night in Sausalito
Walking back to SF was a several mile stretch, but I think bikers have it far worse as they have to paddle through long & steep hills. Again, some great picturesque views along the way. When I flagged down someone for directions, they generously offered us a ride to the
Golden Gate Bridge, which turned out to be a good idea since it would have taken us more than one hour to climb up the steep & windy road and it only took the car 5 minutes! Watching the sunset from the bridge was a nice treat. Since it was my 3rd time walking on the bridge, I felt no need to slow down especially given the furious wind.
The next day began with--what else--more incredible food. Lunch was served @
House of Nanking, another favorite dining venues of mine from previous experience. Unlikely last time however, while the food was impeccable, I was tempted to refuse tip due to the "don't give a damn" service; but alas, they redeemed themselves a little in the end by going out of their way to fix a problem. Back to the food: home-style wonton fish noodle and fried calamari are among the delicacies we enjoyed, and I've not had better anywhere else. The
tea there is also something to write home about.
After some business, we hung out at the
Haight district, home of the hippies. We didn't stay long under the rainy condition, although I did briefly checkout that section of Golden Gate Park, home by what seemed to be groups of otherwise homeless (but happy) folks.
We had French for dinner and to my surprise,
raw meat was served (and not ordered by me)! I knew something was up when it took the waiter several minutes to prepare this dish in presentable form after it came out of the kitchen. It only took me a second to decide whether to try the legendary
Steak Tartare, and the answer was "why the hell not."
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Steak Tartare... ... yeah ...
Afterward we took a stroll in the
Castro district, the famous gay capital of America. Contrary to my expectation, it was bustling on a Sunday night! Do gay people ever sleep?! While Castro St was filled with crowds, I enjoyed walking in the serene and peaceful residential hills a few blocks away.
I had vowed to try In-and-Out Burger and Jack in the Box on this trip... but alas, that didn't happen
What did happen is dinner at
Ana Mandara, an incredibly lavish Vietnamese diner in
North Beach. The decor is absolutely out of this world, I felt like I was transported to a King's palace. Their entire line of culinary offering was inspired by a love story, each item on the menu evoking a specific mood of love with poetic dish names such as
Voyage Into Sunshine and
Drifting Clouds in Autumn Sky. I found it enjoyable to pick from this poetic and evocative menu. And the food? Lives up to the high expectations! I had roasted quail (named
Fragrances of the Forest), which I had doubts about since my last experience with that was negative, but the way they made it was several million times better than I expected. Bon Appétit!
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the charming Ana Mandara
I followed this incredible dining experience with a walk in
Ghirardelli Square, home of the chocolate maker, and along the waterfront one block down, until I wandered into
Pier 39 @ Fisherman's Wharf. This tourist trap is no stranger to me but it's always nice to see the cute sea lions:
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Sea lions resting on Pier 39.
The next day was mostly business but I did manage to head back to The Richmond for lunch @
Mai's Vietnamese. Since I normally eat at authentic Vietnamese restaurants at least once a week, I wanted to see if they offered anything catchy. The waitress was not helpful in this regard (unlike the staff at the Burmese restaurant across the street); while she was very friendly, she basically pointed me to a page on the menu and said "pick one." After digging deeper, I ended up taking on her recommendation for a Chinese-style dish which I haven't had at a Viet restaurant before, which I regretted after tasting. In short, I probably would have had better luck the usually reliable
pho.
On my way to catch the bus to The Richmond, I had wandered into
The Tenderloin district, considered by some to be the seediest part of the city. It is pretty much what I had heard about; still, to walk through it is not for the faint-of-heart.
Near dinner time, it occurred to me that I haven't explored the famous local seafood! A little research revealed
Scoma's on pier 47. It doesn't take reservation but the wait was only minutes (for 1 person). The attractive locale was good for watching the sun set over the bay and Golden Gate Bridge from a distance, and the staff was nice and polite. What I ordered did not "wow" me but I think there are better items on the menu, and I would like to return to this bayfront diner next time I'm in SF.
My last stop in SF was
The Cannery, an European-style marketplace square by the waterfront with a courtyard and balconies. Glowing at night, it looked all the more charming.
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The Cannery