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Bay Area Culinary Delights
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San Francisco, Carmel and Napa Valley, California, USA
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Bay Area Culinary Delights |
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7-15 October 2002
Trip diary by Francesca Sin
7 Oct (Mon)
?he coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.?I knew I had been fooled by Mark Twain the moment I walked out of the San Francisco International airport at 3pm.
Having checked in at our hotel near Union Square, we headed straight for shopping nearby. The city looked so different from last time I visited; well, it was 18 years ago. I thought Campton Place Hotel was near the famous crooked Lombard Street, perhaps those were the only two landmarks I recalled and somehow associated them together.
The day ended with an early dinner at Kantaro. The sushi were huge, in other words, not refined (I had to eat up the uni sushi in two bites). Choices weren’t that many with only selective fish being fresh. Fairly disappointed in general, yet I found it hard to explain the fact that it was all packed with Japanese by 6:30pm.
8 Oct (Tues)
Another beautiful day! As planned, we started driving down to Monterey at 7:30am via 101. The traffic was much better than expected, and we got there an hour ahead of schedule. We were told that the rush hour shrank due to soaring unemployment rate. Not bad for a visiting tourist, huh?
After a filling eggs benedict breakfast in the heart of Carmel, we headed off to the Quail Lodge resort, which was approximately 4 miles from the town centre. WANLILU got us a very good rate of US$175 (tax inclusive) for a Premium King Fireplace room on the second floor (of a two-storey building) with a private balcony, which would have cost a walk-in guest US$410 + 10.5% tax. And their bath gels and body lotions were my favourite Molton Brown too!
I decided Quail Lodge was the finest golf course, since I chipped in my birdie shot on the-par-five-hole 15. After the game, we opted for the renowned 17-mile drive along Pebble Beach. Watching the sunset at the Cypress Point lookout was definitely more worthwhile than taking a nap.
Dinner was at the award-winning French restaurant Anton & Michel. We started off with their daily special seafood linguine and the escargots. They were both surprisingly good. The linguine was al dente, and the light creamy sauce blended so well with the freshly steamed clams and mussels. The escargots were served on puff pastry with mushroom, dished up with the delicious garlic cream sauce which added so much flavour to the dish. The entree was even better. The all-time-favourite rack of lamb carved at the tableside was not to be missed. The lamb had obviously been intensely marinated with herb-Dijon mustard, baked with the crusty breadcrumbs and garnished off with rosemary. Even with the American dish size, I couldn’t resist but to finish off the last piece of meat.
9 Oct (Wed)
On the way back to the Bay Area, we stopped over at the Gilroy premium outlet for some discounted labels. Gilroy is a small town famous for its garlic, there were signs on the highway directing people to garlic tasting, I wonder how different the best garlic could taste.
Our friend from San Francisco picked us up for dinner. We went to Thanh Long in the Sunset area, a contemporary Vietnamese restaurant well-known for its roasted Dungeness crabs and garlic noodles. They were so successful that they opened a branch in downtown, however, a friend insisted that the original shop was exceptional. I personally found the crab nothing bizarre, and the peppered oil got congealed really quickly. Garlic noodles were scrumptious though.
After dinner, we checked out the hottest hangout place in town. One of Ian Schrager’s hotels and newly redesigned by Philippe Starck, Clift Hotel was an inspired fusion of old-world hotel elegance with distinctly modern-day energy and glamour. The Redwood Room was located on the ground level, packed with the hippest crowd every night.
10 Oct (Thurs)
With less than 6 hours of sleep, we set off again for golf at Half Moon Bay, 30 miles south of San Francisco, with Andrew and Beatrice. The signature 18th hole of the old course was scenic, overlooking the Pacific Ocean on the right and the grand Victorian-style clubhouse ahead.
Likewise, Ritz Carlton next-door was just as impressive. If it were not for the remoteness, it would definitely be my first choice of stay on my next visit. We had lunch at their Navio, with a view of the golf course, it served a fine-dining menu in a relaxed ambience. The waitress recommended the scallops and the pan-fried butterfly fish. Not particularly a fan of cooked fish, I still trusted the girl. They both turned out to be excellent.
We met up with Andrew again for dinner at Bacar. Located in a relatively new multi-million dollar renovated warehouse, it had 3 stories including two bars plus a wine bar in the basement. We ordered a couple of appetizers to share, which proved we went for the right choice. The duck sausage was mouth-watering, sous chef Eric Arnold Wong stuffed in the foie gras to enhance the texture and flavour. The Asian influenced wok-roasted P.E.I. mussel was another awe. Blasted by the high heat of a wok, which gave them an ineffable smokiness, the moule were then bathed in white wine, chillies and garlic. Bacar (meaning wineglass in Latin), as the name suggested, had an extensive wine list. It also offered wine in different sizes, from tasting glass of 30 ml, half bottle, 2/3 of a bottle to magnum. The jazz trio can be an earful up close though.
11 Oct (Fri)
Highlighted with its glass-enclosed sake tasting room, Ozumo offered over 30 kinds of Japanese rice wines in several different fruit and herb tonics. It was where we met this interesting friend of Stephen's. Eric is a long-haired psychologist who has a vast clientele of schizophrenics and mental disorder, he has so much passion for food. We sat on the elongated wooden bench in the front section and commenced our sake tasting evening just before sunset.
The night went on with a seven course tasting menu at Elisabeth Daniel. To keep it mysterious, Daniel Patterson, the chef owner, would not disclose what would be served. It was actually not a very good idea, had I known they would serve a different menu between men and women, I would have told them that a healthy diet was not high on my vacation priorities.
Some of their really good dishes include grilled veal bone-marrow topped with sevruga caviar and strawberry jam sauce; marin miyagi oysters with yuzu gelee, fresh wasabi and radish; crispy pork jowls with crushed potatoes, frisee and warm bacon vinaigrette.
12 Oct (Sat)
The best way to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon in California was definitely by the sea. Our first stop was Sausalito, watching the Blue Angels performing while sunbathing on the deck. Next, we went further North to Tiburon for afternoon snacks at Sam’s Anchor Cafe. Together with Stephen and Rebecca, the four of us shared a big bowl of little neck clams in white wine sauce, a dozen of Pacific oysters, deep fried onion rings and two bottles of Californian Chardonnay. I never liked Pacific oysters in Hong Kong since they were all huge and creamy. Yet those I had in California were just of medium size and really crispy too.
Before we headed for dinner at Isa, we stopped over Matrix for drinks. Located on Fillmore and Marina, this trendy bar had an unique fireplace in the center, with couches and alphabet-tables by the walls.
Isa was just a few blocks down the road. The entranceway was so narrow that we nearly missed it. We went all the way through the stuffy front room, a tiny open kitchen to the airy rustic backyard patio. French food was served in tapas and all we ordered were superb! My favourites were voluptuous foie gras, seared with rhubarb and strawberries; savory ragout of Veal Sweetbreads and the elegantly flavoured roasted P.E.I mussels with shallots and white wine. No wonder Isa is always booked up even with such an unannounced doorway.
13 Oct (Sun)
Exactly two months ago, I called up French Laundry to book for tonight. They only accept two-month advance bookings, yet it would always be too late. Lucky I could secure a reservation, albeit a 9:30pm table.
To prepare ourselves for the feast, we only had a polish dog from the cart at Union Square on the way up to Napa Valley. We spent the afternoon relaxing by the pool at the Villagio Inn & Spa, sipping through the complimentary bottle of Chardonnay under the Californian sun.
Ten minutes walk from our resort was the French Laundry restaurant. To start off, we were given an ice-cream cone filled with chopped salmon and tuna sashimi in a light mayonnaise sauce, followed by a 10 course tasting menu:
?ysters and Pearls?BR>
Sabayon of pearl tapioca with poached malpeque oysters and osetra caviar
Moulard Duck ?oie Gras au Torchon?BR>
with Jacobsen’s farm mission fig ?armelade?and toasted ?rioche?BR>
Sauteed Filet of Tasmanian Barramundi
with globe artichokes, sweet peppers and Nicoise olive oil
Sweet Butter poached Maine Lobster
with roasted hearts of romaine lettuce, parmesan croutons and ?ottarga Emulsion?BR>
?aille au Vin?BR>
pan roasted breast of American quail, with a root vegetable ?atignon?
applewood smoked bacon ?ardons?and sauce ?in Rouge?BR>
Perigord Truffle crusted ?ilet Mignon?of nature fed veal
with a Yukon gold ?omme Fondant? truffle ?ousse?and truffle salad
?omme de Villetritouls?BR>
with marinated French green lentils and shaved fennel salad
Jacobsen’s farm quince sorbet
?n Vol au Vent?BR>
Chocolate ?elours?BR>
with Valrhona chocolate ?acher?and cocoa syrup
Mignardise
The first course was my favourite. The texture of tapioca went perfect with the oysters and the sabayon sauce wasn’t too strong. The osetra left you with the succulent aftertastes. The lobster was delicious too. With the crispy croutons enfolding the lobster tails, it reinforced the tenderness and savour of the dish. The meal would be complete if it didn’t go on that late.
14 Oct (Mon)
To help digesting all the sumptuous meals, we played another round of golf. Surrounded by wineries, Chardonnay golf course was just ordinary. We visited several vineyards on the way back, and got a few gratis wine glasses by paying for the tasting.
15 Oct (Tues)
Before heading back to San Francisco for the mid-night flight, we had lunch at the Bistro Jeanty. Having worked for Domaine Chandon for over 20 years, Philippe Jeanty took up the challenge to open up his own authentic country French bistro in 1998 and recreated all those favourite food of his childhood. The menu was reasonably priced, definitely worth a visit!
Last but not least, Eric took us to B44 in downtown for our farewell dinner. Located in the alley Belden Place, where all restaurants had outside dining area, B44 was a modern Spanish restaurant with a warm and inviting decor.
My favourite dishes were the fish cheeks sauteed with garlic, parsley, chili flakes and dry sherry wine; fresh whole shrimp and garbanzo a la plancha with lime garlic toast; as well as the squid ink paella topped with mayonnaise and chives.
Our gastronomic trip ended with desserts at the Campton Place Bar. The setting brought back some old memories from my last visit, some fading. One thing I can be sure of is that my next visit to San Francisco would not be another 18-year wait. The nice weather and superb restaurants are a definit beacon for my return. |
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