YakiniQ Cafe San Francisco

YakiniQ Cafe was absolutely one of my favorite spots that we visited during our Japan Town day.

We went there late at night right around 9:30 pm 

after we got out of Seoul Garden just across the street.

Everything from the ambiance to the decorations & the service was fantastic!

There was not ONE thing that I disliked about this Cafe!

The location is wonderful.

The decorations are beautiful and laid back.

The atmosphere was joyous. 

The treats we had were delicious!

We were extremely stuffed after having Korean BBQ but my friend assured me that we just had to have YakiniQ's Sweet Potato Latte! 

So we settled for 3 Macarons & a drink.

We had the Pistachio, Passion fruit & Hazlenut Macarons accompanied with the Sweet Potato Latte.

It was absolutely perfect. 

The Latte actually tasted like sweet potato & none of that instant artificial crap that you get from a box! It was sweet but not too sweet & a tad bit grainy but not in excess.

It was just enough to let the presence of the Sweet Potato be known.

This is perfect for those people who don't enjoy sweets a lot. 

We did a pretty good job in picking the Macarons with the Latte. It was a perfect pair!

The Macarons were moderately sweet , with the Pistachio one being the mildest. 

Although all three were fantastic , we both agreed that The Hazelnut one was our favorite as a whole.

My first choice was the Pistachio. It was well balanced , perfectly sweet.

My second choice was the Hazelnut. It was very yummy, if anything if you're into the whole deep roasted nut taste then this is the Macaron for you!

The Passion fruit one was fantastic , I'd like to know how they incorporated the flavor onto the Macaron it self & not the Ganache. The Passion fruit flavor really burst's in this Macaron.  

My reason why this was my least favorite is because there was just way to much filling. 

I think a Macaron should be well balanced between filling and cookie. 

But all of them were nonetheless delicious. 

 My friend krystal imitating the painting

The whole cafe is as a whole a big open space with mismatched tables, chairs, and random ornaments at the back wall.

 It sounds very weird I know , but it somehow all makes sense. 

It's very cute in a weird way.

YakiniQ is definitely the place you go to chill and relax , do your homework or anything that involves deep concentration. If you're looking for a cafe were you can talk loudly and goof off this is not the place, Starbucks is available for that sole reason. 

we figured out that one of the employees painted the owner & the cafe. pretty neat. 

What made our experience above and beyond was that one of the employees ( I believe he's the co owner)

When it came down to closing time , sat at one of the tables , asked for our attention , let us know how much They appreciated our company & ended the night by reading us a review of a local restaurant. We had to guess which restaurant he was talking about. I being a smart ass said  In & Out and ended up losing my chance to win some cookies they gave away to the winner! 

It made the experience much more personal, which is something I believe everyone appreciates.

They are the perfect example of Hospitality & Quality gone right!

So if you are in San Francisco please visit YakiniQ cafe ! 

You will surely not regret it! 

1640 Post Street (at Laguna) Japantown, San Francisco, CA

415-441-9291

Mon-Thu, Sun 11 am - 10 pm

Fri-Sat 11 am - 11 pm

Around the world menu

Day 1

Seared Red Snapper & Garden Risotto 

Creamy Asparagus & Pea Risotto Served with a Seared Red Snapper Filet 

Day 2

Mojito Grilled chicken & Wild  Rice

Served with a Tropical Mango & Avocado Salsa

Day 3

Greek Salmon Parcels 

Wrapped in Filo dough & stuffed with Greek feta pesto. Served with  Sauteed Asparagus & Caprese Corn salad. 

Day 4

Churrasco Marinado with Tostones con Aji & Arroz Negro

Spanish marinated Skirt Steak with Garlic Plantains & Black Bean Rice

Day 5 

 Classic Herb Roasted Chicken & Garlic Thyme Mash

With sauteed Haricot Vert & Suprême Sauce

Blue Hawaii Acai Bar San Francisco, Best breakfast Ever !!

First of all I have got to say San Francisco is the place to be !!

I have no regrets and this has been the best vacation I could have ever taken.

Before I get all excited and start to babble on and get off topic I will begin with the most amazing place that my friend could have ever taken me to eat break fast at. 

That's right...the place is Blue Hawaii! 

It's located in San Francisco's financial district at Two Embarcadero ( I'll post the full address at the bottom of this blog) 

 Let me say this place is very VERY easy to find! 

When we first walked in we were greeted by a mid aged super friendly laid back  Caucasian guy (Who I believe is the owner) he was the nicest and coolest person ever.

 He took our orders and this super friendly nice shy guy made it for us ( He was also super nice and super attentive!) On both days we saw him and he remembered us ^0^ He also apologized and doubled our strawberry servings because they had no blueberries :)

I just had to go back on my last day because I loved it so much >.<

My friend ordered the Blue Hawaii Acai bowl 

which had organic Acai, fresh bananas , organic soy milk,  honey , & granola.

I didn't taste it, but it looked delicious. 

I had the Brasilia Acai bowl

It has everything that her's had only with the addition of Guarana , I believe. 

On the first day we ordered Turkey pesto paninis which turned out to be way too much food.

They were yummy, but nothing out of this world. The Acai bowls are the show stoppers in this cute little cafe. 

 The bowls were a refreshing flavorful  start to the morning , it was not heavy at all but it still managed to fill us up. 

It was a nice mix up since most breakfast items seem to be way too heavy on the body and ends up giving you the " oh I want to take a nap" effect. 

This is by far my most favorite breakfast place. 

And I am super sad to face the fact that we don't have a Blue Hawaii here in Miami :( 

If you are in the San Francisco area most definitely check them out !! 

All of the staff is super friendly , and their prices wont put a hole in your pocket.

Trust me it will put a smile on your face ! everything is spectacular there , from the bowls to the paninis to the staff and the cute little surf board table! 

Blue Hawaii San Francisco 

Two Embarcadero Center


Davis Street

between Sacramento and Clay


San Francisco, CA 94111

Monday-Friday 8am-5pm

Saturday 10am-4pm

French Macaroons !! San Francisco !!

Hello !! I've been a little busy these past few days but I am so excited to announce that after 3 tries I finally got my Macaroons to work ! ( im not a baker so this is a major accomplishment for me )

I've been very very obsessed with these little heavenly creations ever since we threw a party for our residents 

so I decided to do them after stuffing my face with a few of them *O*

I did a very basic recipe that I followed from a fellow blogger Tartelette 

she has very easy to follow Macaroon recipes so check them out ^_^ 

For my Macaroons 

I cried

I got irritated

I felt like giving up

 I also felt like wanting to kill a few of my co-workers ( They kept eating them with out being finished! )

but then one day the key was just to follow the recipe and shut up. 

All the recipes I had found where in grams 

I don't know how to work well with grams so I converted them to ounces

this was a big NO NO and part of why my Macaroons kept failing

but when I followed Tartelette's recipe 

everything turned out well !! 

they had cute little footsies 

and beautiful color !

the only thing that I did change was the Temp for the oven

 because the one at work is way to hot !

 Also for the filling I decided to keep it simple 

I did a basic Creme Caramel filling

something I just rather threw together from things we had in the kitchen

Here is the Recipe for the filling *__*

3 oz Smuckers Caramel sauce

4 oz Mascarpone cheese 

1. combine the caramel and the cheese in a small bowl

2. put in a pipping bag with a round tip and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before using

How easy was that ?!

very easy ! and who doesn't like Caramel ? haha 

I am also traveling to San Francisco to visit a friend of mine ! also to do lots and lots of shopping and to eat their wonderful food *O* 

P.S. Here is a picture of my little Creme Caramel Macaroons !

Until next time ^____^  Happy Cooking !

Miami , Life and California

Hello !!

it has been such a long time since I have last written here !

things are going great here in Miami! 

I now work in a beautiful restaurant located right in the middle of the Miami scene

the menu is almost as beautiful as the view !!

I have still not given up my dreams on one day moving over seas and sharing my culinary skills

I have a dear feeling that this will come true soon. 

with happiness and success also comes a great deal of sacrifice, I have learnt this the hard way in Miami T_T 

after being accepted to do a short term externship in a prestigious restaurant in San Francisco , CA 

at Cory Lee's restaurant Benu ( my dream come true !!! *o* ) 

I must now back down :(  T____T 

but I have no fear since the restaurant and California will not disappear any time soon

and what does not kill me only makes me stronger ! ( although it does hurt a lot T__T )

I will continue to better my skills in the baking department and the creative fusion department also

while im here in Miami. It's a beautiful city , with beautiful people and such a beautiful scene. 

but I can not wait til I can call San Francisco some day my home :) where my taste buds can finally enjoy in full bliss everything that city has to offer ! 

and after San Francisco hopefully home will be somewhere in Asia ( hint hint ;] ) 

as for now I leave you lovely blog with this picture of my new home !

:)

Annyong !!!! 

my lovely restaurant is so pretty :)

Goat cheese truffles !!

Happy new year !!! I'm starting my new years with some new recipes that are sure to please new taste buds ^^
I was browsing through a Food forum and found this yummy recipe !! I made some changes to suit my taste but not much still keeping the integrity of the ingredients.

Goat Cheese truffles
6 oz goat cheese
6 oz semi sweet chocolate
1 oz maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
* you can even add spice to these truffles by adding 1 tsp of cayenne depending on your taste ! *

1. melt the chocolate in a double broiler or the microwave . ( just make sure the chocolate does not burn)
2. add the goat cheese , maple syrup, and cinnamon to the chocolate and mix through.
3. chill until the mixture is stiff and pliable. then roll into half an inch little balls and  finish it up by rolling it in cocoa powder .

simple , easy and very yummy treats that every one can enjoy :)

Nice ending to summer

Ah it has been such a long time since i have posted !!!
These past few weeks have been really full of surprises !
In my last class Restaurant Rotation , We as a class  had the honor of having a one on one with Certified world known Chef Ferdinand Metz... let me say it was the best experience i have ever had in my culinary life !!
At first none of us were thrilled because we thought he would be arrogant and full of him self like our Restaurant Rotation class Chef  " yea yea yea " Wessman. but to our surprise when he arrived he was the most humble and relaxed guy we have ever met !!! it was an honor to have him by our side and teach us how to make many dishes with corn.
the menu was as follows :
Corn fritters ( NEVER FRY !!!)
Fresh corn polenta
Corn wontons
Corn dip
Corn chowder ( NEVER USE FLOUR)
He took over my friend's station and was showing her how to make the corn base for all of these dishes when Chef " yea yea yea " interrupted and tried to kiss major ass ( excuse my french ) by taking over her station and being by his side doing everything he said like a puppy. It was annoying until Chef Ferdinand basically put him in his place by saying " No you did it wrong ,do it again" haha. Oh we very much enjoyed that and had a good laugh at it. Chef " yea yea yea" then left and we returned to our normal selves.
I believe that what made us fall in love with Chef Ferdinand is that he was just the coolest nicest humble person... he let us know he was human like us too aside from his famous title.
We all stood in a line in our best behavior and watched and did as he said , he assigned us to do little things to help around , instead of taking over and doing everything by him self ( as you would see in TV shows)
I helped with the wontons , while a class mate cooked them and sauteed them, of course 6 at a time like he said because you dont want the pan to be over crowded. :)
one of the highlights of the night was the corn fritters... which were far from corn fritters. He refused to fry it in Chef's yea yea yea deep fryer that he went out and bought with his own money -__- need i say  more ? (kiss ass) -cough-
 instead  he pan fried it. the first one he tried it did not hold so it ended up falling apart, so he did another one and it stayed together. we were all shocked to see that he made a mistake when his fritter fell apart ! it let us know he was human ! we were relaxed at the sight of that. he then made use taste both  and compare and contrast the flavor... the one which fell apart had more flavor because of the butter he kept putting in to save it, plus it was more golden in color which adds to the flavor elements.

Another interesting thing was when he made the corn chowder. to our surprise he used no roux at all. he said roux and flour does not belong in chowder ! we listened and tasted and it was still a yummy chowder with out the thickening agent.  one of the most important things he said that night was " read the labels always read the label " and to make sure to use the freshest ingredients " which not surprisingly a lot of people don't ..a sad truth. he reminded us a lot of our favorite Chef, Chef Williams. He use to scold us and say the same things he said. it made us feel comfy for a second. All in all i really enjoyed and will never forget this experience. it was the best time of my life !!!!!

p.s. It was cool when he recognized us the next day while serving his wine :)