Monday, June 25, 2012

San Francisco Weekend Trip

Earlier this month I'd visited San Francisco to hang out with some friends, including May, Cat, D, and I also got to meet Lulu. I'd already been to SF a few times within the past year, so all I really wanted to do was just hang out, and of course, eat. I must warn you that this post is extremely picture heavy, especially with pictures of food! You might not want to read this if your stomach's empty, keke.

I stayed in downtown at the Marriott Marquis, which is a very convenient location. Just a quick walk away from Sephora, H&M, and Sephora! However, I didn't do any shopping this time. I got lucky and received a free upgrade to a corner room on the 30th floor. I love city views so I was very happy.

Here's the view from my window. SF was having a warm and sunny weekend while I was there.


The last time I was in SF, I'd stayed at the same hotel but on a different floor, I think the 21st. I didn't share pictures from that trip so I included some here.

Beautiful sunset which my camera didn't quite catch properly.


Evening view...


The hotel has a bar with a 360 degrees view on the 39th floor. I went for happy hour and had a horrible raspberry martini (it tasted like cough syrup), but the view was spectacular.



These are pictures of my hotel room from my previous trip. I had a corner room then (same corner! lol you can tell from the view) too but the set up was slightly different (I prefer the one I had this time more but didn't take any pictures).


The bedding and comforter were sooo comfy. You can see me in the mirror taking the the picture, lol.


The hotel provides Bath & Body Works Aromatherapy Ginger Orange shampoo, conditioner, and lotion. While it's not my favorite, I now have tons of these and also gave some to friends, hehe.


The hotel also has a concierge lounge that's open a few hours daily with free breakfast, hors d'oeuvres, and snacks like fruits, cheese and crackers, cookies, and brownies. They also have free water bottles, Tazo teas, and orange juice (at breakfast).

I had a healthy bowl of oatmeal with dried cranberries, dried bananas, and walnuts.


On my first night, I meet up with May and Lulu and we had dinner at Osha Thai Restaurant, at the Embarcadero location. It's a really nice location since it's near the water (somewhat). We ate family style so that we could share more dishes, hehe.

Crunchy Calamari
Deep-fried calamari served with green apple and Sriracha cream.


Pad See You
Rice noodles pan fried with Chinese broccoli, egg, black soy bean sauce and choice of chicken, beef or pork.


Pineapple Fried Rice
Fried rice with egg, tomato, onion, green onion, cashew, raisins, pineapple, chicken and prawns


Duck Curry
Sliced roasted duck with pineapple and tomatoes in red curry. This was delicious!


The next night, I hung out with Cat. We went to a few places during the day and went to Little Star Pizza for dinner. We shared a deep dish pizza was was half Mediterranean Chicken – Chicken breast, artichoke hearts, red bells, green olives, onions, feta and Little Star – Spinach blended with ricotta and feta, mushrooms, onions, garlic. The garlic bread there is also really good.


The next day, Cat, May and I had brunch at the Waterfront Restaurant. We ordered the Dine About Town set menu.

Clam Chowder. This was so good and they kept refilling our sourdough bread!


Cat and I both choose the halibut tacos. I wanted something light and healthy.


May got the local Sole with mashed potatoes which looked really mouthwatering!


It was a really beautiful and warm day. Somehow I always get lucky and visit SF when the weather's nice...or maybe I bring the sun and warmth from SoCal, keke (jk).

Our view from the restaurant.


When we paid, May and Cat both got postcards with their bills, but I didn't. The girls were nice enough to give them to me, hehe.



We headed to Japantown afterwards and had Japanese crepes. Mine is the one with strawberries, vanilla ice cream and nutella. Yum!!


For dinner, May and I met up with D at First Crush. (She already posted it on her blog). The restaurant was walking distance from my hotel, so convenient! It's a small and dimly lit restaurant but the food was really good. We choose from the Dine About Town set menu which was a really good deal (appetizer, main entree and dessert for a set price).

D's Organic Idaho Russet Potato Gnocchi
parsnips · guanciale · roasted tomato · chilies de padron · red kale · ricotta salata.


My Mixed Organic Heirloom Tomato Salad
watermelon · fresh burrata · garden mache · cracked black peppercorn vinaigrette.

It was really refreshing! Great summer salad.


We all choose the same second course, hehe.

Grilled Wild King Salmon
yukon gold mashed potatoes · abalone mushroomsharicot verts · lobster-caper beurre blanc




For dessert, we ordered one of each so we could sample it all.

Seasonal guava sorbet, orange creme brulee (fresh berries · short bread cookies), and bread pudding (vanilla bean gelato and caramel sauce)


D and May agreed that the bread pudding was the most magical of the desserts.


We all found the orange creme brulee to be nothing special (luckily the orange flavor was not strong).


I personally really liked the guava sorbet! It was very light and refreshing. I could really taste the guava and yet it was kind of funny because the sorbet had a pinkish-orange color which made me think I would taste cantaloupe instead, hehe. (Sadly, no solo shot of the guava sorbet.)

On my last day, I had lunch at Cheesecake Factory. Yes, we have it here in SoCal too but the one in downtown is so convenient, I always end up eating there.

Seared Tuna Tataki Salad
Fresh Ahi Lightly Seared and Served Rare with Avocado, Tomato and Mixed Greens Tossed with Wasabi Vinaigrette


Truthfully I was craving sushi hehe but I also wanted something light. The dressing was really good and didn't taste like spicy wasabi at all (to me, at least).

I saved room for dessert so that I could try the Mango Key Lime Cheesecake. So light and yummy, perfect for summer!


For some reason the slice looks much smaller in my picture than it actually was. I couldn't finish it all.


I didn't have much time left before my flight so I visited Pier 39 since it's much closer to downtown than Golden Gate Park.


The seals were totally being lazy and just lying around. Those bums! ;)



Since I am such a piggy, I will also share pictures of food from my last SF trip, hehe. Please don't judge my winter comfort food cravings which I'd satisfied.

Dinner at the House of Prime Rib. Omg the portions are monstrous. I mean, a third would suffice for me. Even if these two old ladies with completely white hair did eat all of their bloody rare steaks (I'm talking Flintstones style, hehe), I simply could not.

The English Cut (thinner cut for better flavor) with mashed potatos, creamed spinach with bits of bacon, and Yorkshire bread pudding. Don't be fooled, the portion is at least twice the average (American) size.


The server gave me both mashed potatos and a baked potato. This baked potato was enormous! I mean, bigger than both of my fists put together.


I found a Louisiana fried chicken place within walking distance of the hotel. Apparently this place also serves donuts (I didn't get any) and is Viet owned/runed (yay, my peoples). Chicken is pretty tasty.


 French Toast from Denny's. I was just really, really craving French Toast and it was the closest to the hotel.


More Cheesecake Factory. Again, the portion is much bigger than it looks in my picture.

Fettucini with Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
In a Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce with Garlic, Cream and Parmesan Cheese.


Kara's Cupcakes. I really like the Raspberry Dazzle (the other is the Java Chip one, it's alright). Yes, I ate all four, don't judge me!


And lastly, Bi-Rite Creamery ice cream! I don't remember if this was the Balsamic Strawberry but the bottom is the Salted Caramel. I had some again with Cat but didn't take a picture (Balsamic Strawberry, Creme Fraiche, and I think Mango Sorbet).


So...did I make you hungry or do you feel full now? =)

24 comments:

  1. all yummmyyyy food!!! sounds like you had a great time with all these lovely ladies! ^^ wowww can a potato be so big, must be some super fertiliser!

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  2. everything looks so delicious!! you always seem to get lovely upgrades ^^ lucky you! the view is spectacular :D

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  3. Hehehe all that yummy food...all this extra body weight as a result. XP It was nice to just relax and hang out the girls though! And omg, I know, that potato! What a monster, lol. When I saw it, I just thought no way...I can't eat that! It'd be a meal on its own! I think I let my friend take it home instead.

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  4. Hehe every now and then I get a little lucky. I really loved the view! =) Especially at night, but too bad it's hard to capture a photo of (I guess maybe I could get a better photo if I had a DSLR, hehe).

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  5. OMGGGGGG SO MUCH FOOOOOOOD!!!
    I'm also planning to go on a trip to SF at some point this year or the next, I'm definitely going to go annoy D until she takes me to all these great food places!!

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  6. LOL you totally should! She's fun and funny. She's the one who asked our server which dessert was the most magical, lol. Bi-Rite is really good but a tiny place. I hope you can go on a nice day so you won't have to eat ice cream outside while the wind is whipping your hair. XP

    I totally ate like a little piggy. Looking at all these food pics actually makes me feel very full, lol.

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  7. HAHAHA the dessert pic that was taken w the flash off of may's camera came out the nicest!! so artsy looking teeheeee


    u should've just stolen my pic of the guava sorbet XD


    dude that pizza looks so amazing!! i have been craving pizza for weeks. wtf need to go this week hahaha


    can't wait to see u soon!!! hopefully for BIG BANG!!!! YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

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  8. Sheila (Maddy Loves)June 25, 2012 at 10:25 PM

    So... this was basically a food trip? lol. My cousin is visiting in July and if she can get her US visa, I'm gonna get her to SFO. I love the food there!!

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  9. Oh mi gosh, all I see is food *drool*! I'm hungry now... hehe~ You're so skinny you don't have to worry about getting fat.


    Yes, I love my Inglot palette! Do you own other Inglot products and recommend any to me?

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  10. Lol it's so funny how her flash helped! I totally forgot you have a pic of the guava sorbet. Man...now I'm going to want guava sorbet and not be able to get any!

    The pizza was funny, all you see is tomatoes covering everything else, hehe. The garlic bread was good but totally not nutritious, lol, and the butter was all melty, mmm.

    Yes!! Any word about tickets yet? Hmm summer homework, learn the lyrics of my favorite songs, kekekeke. <3

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  11. LOL it's so funny that it looks that way, isn't it? I think we were so busy being relaxed, we didn't really take pictures together. Ohhh you're going to SF with your cousin? Yes, I definitely love the wide variety of food within a small space, hehe. Eat to your stomach's content!

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  12. Lol really? When I look at all these pictures, it makes me feel full, lol. I think because there are so many and of course, I was the one who ate it all. XP I did gain weight in the winter though, and it's been hard getting my weight back down (it's happening very, very slowly...and then goes up when I feast, lol). I was looking at some of my pics in Korea and realized no wonder sales people would say I couldn't fit a small, haha. (Your people are so tiny!)

    Aw I haven't been to Inglot in ages. Their gel eyeliner is really long-lasting and budge-proof though. =)

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  13. Auuugh I'm so hungry now!! Lol looks like you guys did a lot of eating during your trip! That's always my favorite parts of vacations. Pineapple fried rice is so delicious! I can't get enough of it! I've never been to San Francisco before (or Cali in general) but I'd love to go one day. Even though it's in the US, being on a different coast makes you feel like you're in a completely different world :P

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  14. Ah sorry! I hope you've had dinner! Yeah, it was really nice to just relax, chat and eat all weekend long, hehe. I agree with you! And you should definitely make it out to Cali someday, although I recommend So Cal first! keke I still need to visit the East Coast, the South, and Midwest...and Hawaii! The US is huge, I wish someday I could say I've been to every state, keke. =)

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  15. Although I just ate, your post just made me hungry again...haha! You ate WELL! XD Looked like a really fun weekender!!

    I need to make a trip to the Bay Area. It's been too long.

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  16. Lol, aww! I absolutely love food! <3 When was the last time you were in the Bay? Definitely make a trip! It's always nice to visit and get away for a bit, not to mention, eat, eat, and eat some more! XD

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  17. FEED ME!!! Or not, I need to lose my flabs. But my goodness, you had a feast in SF <3

    AND arghhhhh, I gave you something that you already own *wuwaaa*

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  18. Oh my your SF trip looked like fun!! Your food pix made me drool! I love SF too...such a gorgeous city...

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  19. Rowena Rolala LovesJune 27, 2012 at 12:01 PM

    It's always fun to get to meet up with fellow bloggers. Looks like you had such a fun and really delicious time. It's been a few years since I've visited S.F. Such a nice city.


    Rowena @ rolala loves

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  20. *whispers* Probably about 10 years ago...hehe. o.O

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  21. Aww...that was like me, until this past year! So don't feel too bad. I'm sure you have your reasons. =)

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  22. Lol I would feed you if you ever come visit! And I really, really doubt you have any flab! You liar. =)

    Aww did you? No worries! <3

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  23. SF is nice when the weather cooperates, hehe. Sometimes I find it hard to believe I'm still in Cali when I'm in SF, keke, since NorCal is a bit dif than SoCal. Gosh...I can't believe I ate all that food, lol.

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  24. wow that's an amazing food p0rn! the food looks amazing.. so does the scenery.. I want to go there some day!!!

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