#best san fran fish and chips

[thesingletraveller]

Codmother: The Fish & Chips You Won't Be Able To Refuse

The Solo Scale: Since the Codmother is a food truck with plenty of picnic tables, you can seat yourself anywhere that you feel comfortable. There’s several tables within the area of the truck itself and some on the street to choose from. The Combo: Fish, Shrimp, and Fries You’re in Fisherman’s Wharf. It’s lunchtime (maybe it’s dinner). You’re hungry. The line for In-N-Out Burger is out the…

[lilhawkeye3]

This Ohio discourse has got me dying to create discourse about every other state now hehe so I officially present:

Hawk’s review of 36/50 US states!

In alphabetical order because that fuckin song “50 nifty United States” has been stuck in my head since fourth grade.

Arizona: Phoenix is hot. Can’t believe y’all choose to live in a place that gets haboobs. Saw Sen. John McCain in the airport. I feel that sums up the state well. 4/10

California: as a resident of the state of Oregon, I’m legally required to say fuck California😌 unless anyone else talking shit about Cali and then we got your back😤 SoCal vs San Fran vs Northern Cal are totally different worlds though. 7/10

Colorado: damn idk how y’all breathe there, them air is thin. But really pretty out there! 7/10

Connecticut: oh my god fuck New Haven. And Stamford, and Hartford, and— Yknow what? Let’s just toss the whole state into the Sound. For real, traffic is the WORST here and I’m so sorry that y’all gotta live like that. 3/10

Delaware: I cannot believe this is considered a state. There’s no difference between Delaware and Maryland/Pennsylvania. 1/10 should not be a state

Florida: “the only hills in Florida are the highway ramps and the Matterhorn!” —the shuttle driver at Disney World. He was right. Shit is flat as fuck here. And hot. And humid. The Gulf Coast is nice? But tbh it’s just all very touristy which is kind of a bummer. 5/10

Georgia: ...I can’t with the humidity or thinly veiled racism. But y’all got nice peaches! Also Black Panther filmed there so thank you for blessing us with that. 6/10 for fruits

Hawaii: okay pineapple farms are cool. Tbh I just feel really bad for how much mainlander/tourist bs all the islanders put up with. Ik price of living is v high and keeps going up. That said I did love Hawaii... although I was stung by a jellyfish. Hate those little bastards. 8/10 for wonderful people and nature

Idaho: as an Oregonian I’m required to also say fuck Idaho 😝 you da hoes. Okay for real tho southern Idaho has become v white white and kinda scary tbh. The northern part of the state is pretty chill tho. Also Oreida kettle chips are partly made in Idaho so I gotta give you half credit for that. 4/10

Illinois: at least you’re not Indiana. 4/10.

Indiana: I never want to step foot in Gary, Indiana again in my life. (Passed a Mack truck hauling a race car to Indy 500 though so that was cool.) 2/10

Iowa: I almost moved here. I’m so glad I didn’t. Why are the Quad Cities actually a group of five towns? I hate that. Also the roads were all cement, felt like driving on a sidewalk. Was also interesting because the second we got out of the city proper, it was just... corn fields everywhere. 2/10 y’all raising children of the corn.

Kentucky: I really don’t have anything to say about Kentucky. I thought the trees were pretty? 5/10 yeah idk

Maine: my relative has totaled two cars by hitting moose in Maine. Maine scares me. Or rather, the moose do. Also the lobster roll hype is real. And the coast truly is beautiful. 8/10 but an extra point for the moose bc I hate that relative so 9/10

Maryland: oh god Baltimore. Also I’m blaming you for the DC traffic because it’s on the land you gifted them. 3/10

Massachusetts: Patriots fans are the worst NFL fans (the racism is real, especially after fans burned the jerseys of Black players who knelt for the anthem). Liking Dunkin’ Donuts is not a personality trait. The North End in Boston is truly the best place to get pizza in the entire country. Western Mass is not the same state. And the Cape Cod bridges give me nightmares. 5/10 but cause I had to pay taxes two years and it really is Taxachusetts, knocking it down to 4/10

Michigan: it’s a lot bigger than I initially thought. 5/10

Minnesota: it’s Canada but in the US. Pretty driving through the southern part. Cops suck tho. 5/10

Montana: okay Montana is downright gorgeous. (Except Billings. Sorry, Billings.) I must include a photo. I wanna get a cabin here and just exist. 8/10

New Hampshire: can’t decide if it hates Massachusetts or wants to be Massachusetts. All it knows is that it’s better than Vermont. Which... y’know, valid. (If you wanna see NH culture watch North Woods Law tbh). 4/10

New Jersey: why are there so many goddamn highways in this state? Also there are more places to weekend trip than the Shore or the Poconos. Although you do have people pump gas for you just like Oregon, so... that’s valid. Things my friends have added: Newark airport is cursed (valid), the jughandles are nightmares (true), pork roll/Taylor Ham is good and so are bagels and New Jersey pizza (allergic so idk), and everyone is split on whether the shore is actually decent or not 😂 I give it a 3.5/10 out of spite

New York: NYC is fun, Upstate is MASSIVE but really beautiful. Long Island is... yeah I don’t have anything nice to say about Long Island. 8/10 For NYC, 6/10 for Upstate, -2/10 for Long Island, gives us an average of 6/10

North Carolina: very good peaches. Isn’t South Carolina. Keep it up👍🏽 6/10

Ohio: I already told y’all how I feel about this flat ass boring state. I feel no need to slander it any more lmao. 3/10

Oregon: she flies with her own wings, mi amor🥰 to list all the reasons I like Oregon (and the issues too bc it ain’t perfect), I would need a whole other post. I’ll just leave you with this picture I took of Mt. Hood, the queen of our Cascades. 11/10

Pennsylvania: so apparently PN is three states hiding in a trench coat like NY. There’s upstate, philly and Pittsburg. Personally I think they’re just trying too hard and wanna get the same recognition as NY. Meh. 5/10

Rhode Island: THIS FUCKIN SHAM OF A STATE Just merge it with Connecticut and be done with it!! It’s tiny. Providence sucks. There’s nothing unique about this state that you can’t find in Southern Mass (except MA has cheaper taxes so y’all come to work and shop in MA anyways smh). Also the fingers are really annoying to drive down to get to some beach areas haha. 2/10 you’re barely better than Delaware.

South Carolina: my Black father was invited to a party celebrating General Robert E Lee’s birthday. So... 0/10

South Dakota: very gorgeous, didn’t realize the Missouri River went this far west, but VERY LARGE. I mean it looks big on a map but then you get there and... yeah. No speed limit on highways is a great time though. And the Badlands have mountain goats! 6/10 bc while pretty, living there seems really hard. (Picture is me in the Badlands).

Texas: gave us Juneteenth and Beyoncé and JJ Watts. Thank you Texas. But is very big, got independence from Mexico to keep slavery (yikes), is like 97% private land (yikes) and is like the second or third largest state. Very big. That said, everyone I’ve ever met from Texas is lovely. 6/10.

Utah: Other than Idaho, this is the whitest state I’ve been to. Or it feels that way. Like a, the people crossed to the other side of the street and held their bags because I’m brown, state. And I don’t ski so I can’t even say that’s a good thing (I fell off the ski lift the one time I went, long story). Yeah 0/10.

Vermont: wants to be New Hampshire or Canada and can’t decide which. So it’s just kinda there. Pretty hills though. 3/10

Virginia: let’s be real we all forget that Virginia exists west of Richmond. Nova is a beauracratic and traffic nightmare and half our neighbors had to pass security clearance checks. Hampton Roads and beach area is a tourist and mosquito nightmare. But there were dolphins and I made snowmen on the beach. Good times. 6.7/10

Washington: again, legally required as an Oregon resident to say fuck Washington because it’s all your fault we now are getting a toll on the I-5 border. But you’re better than California. And the Sound is really cool for fishing, love Wicked Tuna. And the fish market. Best salmon I’ve had. Eastern Washington... y’all got Spokane but the rest is kinda sparse. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 8/10

Wisconsin: cheese is actually good. Again, pretty state, much larger than I initially thought. 7/10

Wyoming: this was the ONLY STATE I lost cell service in when diriving cross country. Kinda surprised it wasn’t Montana, but no, it was Wyoming. Views are gorgeous though so I was distracted either way. 4/10

Thank you for joining me on this cross-country edition of Tea Time with Hawk. Please respond with any reactions, corrections, addendums about any and all of the states mentioned. And thank you for taking part in this wholesome Clone Wars fandom discourse with me 🥰💕

DISCLAIMER: THESE RATINGS ARE ALL A JOKE PLEASE DO NOT ACTUALLY GET MAD ABOUT IT

[lindoig4]

The Last Post for this time.

I have just posted lots of photos and a few videos through to the end of our adventure so this will probably be my last post to this blog.

On Friday the 13th (Black Friday), we took a streetcar to the ferry terminal and a ferry to Larkspur, a town across the Bay in Marin County.  I love larkspurs (but we didn’t see any there) and I am not sure what other attractions are around the town of Larkspur, but that is where San Quentin prison is - a big forbidding fortress of a place.  Pretty horrible really, not at all larkspur-ish, but so was Alcatraz in its day.  A good place to avoid, I think!!

It was not much more than filling in a day, but we had a slow lunch in a pub out there and returned to San Fran 2 or 3 ferries later.  When we got back to SF, we decided to take the Castro streetcar to the end of the line just for a look and then stay on it until it brought us back to our hotel.  We had (good) vague memories of Castro in 1995 and thought a visit might be nice.  Alas, our streetcar driver had completed her shift and was returning streetcar vehicle to the depot, so tipped everyone off a few stops early.  We decided to just catch the next streetcar back to downtown which she assures us would be along shortly. ‘Shortly’ turned out to be just over 55 minutes with us and a few others standing around the bus-stop in the blazing sun - not at all the sort of thing we expected.

Saturday, we had booked to go on a 9am whale-watching tour and we were up early and out at the Pier 39 meeting place almost an hour early.  We wandered around the precinct and watched the sea-lions and birds for a while until it was time for the tour. We saw a few harbour seals and glimpsed some small porpoises, but the anticipated dolphins eluded us.  And as soon as we reached the Golden Gate Bridge, the fog rolled in and we were enveloped in it for the rest of the tour. Visibility ranged from about 50 to 150 metres and although those on the bridge reckoned they sighted one (or maybe 3) whales, they quickly got lost in the fog so none of the tourists saw anything.  Having said that, I enjoyed it greatly, not for the whale-watching, but as a pelagic birding excursion and added nine more birds to our trip list.  I suspect I was the happiest person on board by a mile!

Back at Pier 39, we had fish and chips and a cold drink for lunch, then sat and watched the world go by for an hour or so before catching the trolley back.  We broke the journey halfway to visit the Friday market that sets up not far from the ferry terminal but it was generally disappointing - a lot of junk jewellery, some artwork and not a lot else.  There was some sort of parade or military drive-through that delayed traffic and the streetcars for quite a while.  Not quite sure what it was, but there were lots of military vehicles, historical and more modern, with lots of personnel waving to the crowd and a dozen police bikes having a great time hooning up and back in some sort of escort but whatever the occasion, it remained a mystery to us.

Needless to say, the parade delayed the streetcars so we had another wait of well over half an hour, thankfully in the shade, until we got our ride the rest of the way home.

We went out a bit later to get some food to-go and ate in the room again with a bottle of local fermented grape juice of the cab sav variety.

Then Sunday was our last day in San Francisco!   We fly out tonight and it will be a long uncomfortable trip so we decided to go easy on ourselves.

We caught a trolley bus (by far the best form of urban mass transport) out to the beach, just for the ride.  It took us out along McAllister, a long road with all those wonderfully quaint colourful Haight-Ashbury houses - just love them - and along the full length of the Golden Gate Park (North America’s largest urban park) to Ocean Beach.

We watched the crows and gulls for a while, then decided to walk up to Cliff House, a bit over a kilometre along the beach.  We visited it back in 1995 and didn’t remember a lot about it other than that they had a big Camera Obscura set up just below Cliff House itself - and I do have vague memories of doing that tour then.

Cliff House has featured in a number of movies, usually as a desolate hideaway miles from anywhere, usually with a gale blowing, thunder and lightning, a storm raging and the baddies on the brink of some dastardly deed that will pour treasure at their feet - until the hero turns up, rescues the maiden and captures the evildoers just before their wicked plan succeeds.  The truth is somewhat different with at least two upmarket bars and three restaurants.  We had a wonderful lunch in the bistro.  They even had a version of a Caesar so we both had one of them - each a meal in themselves and pretty healthy at that.  We shared half a dozen deep-fried dumplings (gyozas by another name) and the most delicious baked meatballs I have ever enjoyed.  The gyozas were also tastier and more substantial than those we have had before.  We sat over the meal for an hour or so then strolled back to the trolley bus and thence back to our hotel.  It was a really delightful day, warm and sunny, great for a visit to the beach, to enjoy a superb lunch and we loved every minute of it.  As they say, somebody has to do it.......

We sat in the foyer of the hotel for an hour, writing and identifying a couple more birds and suddenly, the shuttle was there and we were on our way to the airport.  We got through reasonably easily, although Heather lost a few utensils out of our picnic bag because we forgot to move it into our checked baggage before sending it on its way along the great conveyor belt that will hopefully deliver it to Melbourne tomorrow - whatever day that is (Monday here, Tuesday in Melbourne).

We stocked up on the makings for quite a number of homemade Caesars as we went through the Duty Free clip joint and sat in the lounge for an hour and a half until they called our flight. I intended doing a lot of stuff on my PC - but once again, the beast wouldn’t boot when I turned it on. Fortunately, I backed up most stuff a couple of days ago, but it would still be nice to wake it up and strip the hard drive before tying a brick to it and throwing it into the ocean.

One cute thing that happened as we sat there waiting for the very last episode of our Arctic Odyssey to conclude was that we both got emails starting the formal part of our next adventure to the Antarctic in February - what could be more appropriate?

The long flight home was predictably as dreadful as we imagined.  I just don’t know how people endure such flights on a regular basis – I am in awe of them!  But obviously, we made it through the very long night – we left SF (30 minutes late) in darkness and we arrived in Melbourne (an hour early) shortly before dawn. Our wonderful driver (Nick) who our more wonderful travel agent (Bev) provided as a freebie for us gathered up our bags and delivered us home in style, quick and comfortable after our overnight ordeal.  The rest of the day was a bit of a blur, starting the elongated unpacking process, wading through the mountain of mail Nath had collected for us, making a few urgent appointments and planning the schedule for attending to the 30-odd tasks that had accumulated on our to-do list while we were away.  After no sleep the night before, we were in bed before 10pm and asleep about 15 seconds later.

Some statistics…… Our trip took us to 6 countries (depending on how we count them) with 9 border crossings, including 13 US States (a quarter of all of them) and all Canadian Provinces except Prince Edward Island. In total, I calculate we travelled close about 80000km.

And perhaps more important (for me) was our bird count.  I identified 148 discrete species, but some were seen in more than one country – so my country stats were as follows:

     USA                     55      Canada                64      Norway                30      Iceland                30      Greenland           20      Denmark             10       (Total 209)

We had previously seen some of these before, either in Australia or our other trips, but of the 148 species we saw this trip, were 78 species we had never seen anywhere before.

So what were the highlights of the trip?  Very hard to say, but perhaps some narrative would help me to get a clearer picture in my own head.

It is hard to rank my experiences on this trip, but some of the highlights so far are as follows:

*     In the US, the Zephyr train, specifically the romance of the buttes, mesas and arroyos of the Cowboy Country, mainly in Colorado, took me right back into so many hundred Westerns and cowboy books I read when I was just a young buck trying to emulate John Wayne. Then it was the Canyons - truly majestic scenery in the Cascades and particularly the Rockies.

*     In Svalbard, the close wildlife encounters with Arctic Foxes, Reindeer and Walruses - and to a lesser extent, the Polar Bears.  My favourite birds have been the beautiful white Ivory Gulls and dainty Arctic Terns. I was also delighted with the miniature flora in the tundra.

*     Being in the Arctic Circle, right up to 83 degrees, only about 1000-odd clicks from the North Pole, was an experience I only ever dreamed about.  Seeing so many dozen glaciers, watching them calve icebergs, and navigating through the resultant ice fields was wonderful. Even more so, being in the pack ice, leaning over the bow and watching our mini-icebreaker crunching through a metre of ice was mind-boggling.  But actually standing on and walking on a glacier topped even that - simply thrilling!  (Not sure why that was such a big deal, but it was unforgettable for both of us!)

*     The Polar Plunge – insane but absolutely an experience of a lifetime.

*     Then the extreme challenge of climbing the moraine and finding a fossil for myself was an achievement of which I am quite proud.  The fossil is less than spectacular but getting there and back alive was no mean feat.

*     In magical Greenland, the splendour of the mountains, cruising up close and personal with the magnificence of the mighty icebergs, the dramatic scenery in stark contrast with Svalbard, the dearth of birds that barely outnumbered the musk ox, were all issues that made us think about so many things in a new way.

*     Iceland was simply gorgeous with the waterfall, the geyser and spectacular coastline.  I want to go back and explore a lot more widely.  Standing with one foot on each of two of the world’s great techtonic plates was another ex\perience of a lifetime.

*     Newfoundland was beautiful and Cape Spear a tick to mark the start of our cross-Canada journey.

*     Niagara – not something I would do again, but like Uluru, the Pyramids, the Eiffel Tower or the Grand Canyon, an iconic tourist destination that one has to endure if one is passing.

*     The birds and other uncommon (for us) wildlife and flora – especially the tiny Arctic trees and other plants.

I could probably replace several of these with other wonderful sights and experiences, but that is at least a sample of the things that will stay in my mind for the rest of my life.

I think that is it for this time but we are already well into the planning for our next trip – already booked and paid – so roll on February and the Antarctic!!!

[the-coconut-asado]

‘FRISCO FOOD DECODED

There are times – desperate, self-loathing times - when Starbucks can be your best friend. San Francisco at 5.30am is one of those times.

When you sleep the sleep of the terminally insane after an eleven-hour flight, and the only thing that will stop the spiteful, insistent pumping in your head is a flat white and a toasted bagel, the Green Machine on Grant Street delivers when all around it are resolutely shut until way after sunrise.

Are you going to San Francisco? If so, you will need to plan your food because ‘Friscans breakfast late and dine early. Like, 5PM early. The rest of the time, many a working San Franciscan can be seen gliding purposefully, some on rollerblades, most in smart-casual, clutching their macrobiotic lunch boxes on their way to their fintech start-up/angel investor / power spin at Soul Cycle. All pencil slender, glowingly healthy slaves to the algorithm.  

After 9PM, when most of Europe and all of South America is just getting started, no one seems interested in rustling you up something tasty. Some restaurants start managing you out of the door after 8 in the evening. Room service grinds to a similar halt and good luck trying a delivery app if you don’t have a US phone. One evening recently, rabid with hunger after a full day at work and a lengthy late workout, the lady in my hotel reception took pity on me and surreptitiously shunted me a note with the name of a local pizza takeaway, which delivered until 2AM. The pizza was delicious – mushroom and feta on a crisp, sourdough crust – but I am sure I detected a hint of New York, not SF, sass when I made the phone order.

However, when you do succeed in squeezing your food into a 9-5 window, it’s worth the time management. I have my personal favourites, and there isn’t a spoonful of spirulina among them. Here are my top five:

Mr Holmes Bakehouse

If you spot badgers as a pastime, then you have the skills to catch Mr Holmes in the few hours they are open. To be fair, this Mr Holmes is an outpost of the Los Angeles original and their tiny premises serve up unctuous, matcha-iced croissants, doughnuts filled with chilli-lime crème pat and more, between 7AM and 2PM. Maybe go a little later if you are on your own: it’s more lower Nob Hill than Tenderloin  - the epicentre of the City’s crack problem -  but it still doesn’t feel like the safest district to walk around before daybreak.

Chinatown – Old and New

Aside from Sydney, no one does Chinatown like San Francisco. My first experience of it was eating Dim Sum at the City View Restaurant (which, by the way, has no view, of the City or otherwise). We went in intending to order sensibly. Half an hour later we’d gone rogue, stuffing succulent Duck Gyoza into our mouths like Animal the muppet. Newer to the area, China Live on Broadway is a multi-layered emporium of bistro, fine dining and shop. It’s also opposite that 50’s style homage to Psycho, the Royal Pacific Motel, which I intend to stay in someday just for the Instagram creds.

 Not something I normally say about a Chinese restaurant, China Live serves a number of delicious vegetarian dishes.  These include red dumplings stuffed with scallops and peas, together with some imaginative fish and seafood, heroing the Dungeness Crab (seems to be a thing in this City). 

The shop also sold a work of art masquerading as a frying pan which I have been tearing my hair out trying to track down online ever since.

The Food Trucks near Battery Street

If you like Viet, Thai, Indonesian or Malaysian food, then google map these trucks on a Wednesday. The tastiest of them all is The Chairman, serving baked or steamed Bao. Too cool to make an obvious pun of their name and speciality, they let you do the math. 

Their crispy pork belly baked Bao is like a luxe burger and the bao chips with seaweed salt (basically deep-fried wonton wrappers) are the fries you never knew you needed.

Boudin’s Sourdough Factory

Yes, it’s by Fisherman’s Wharf, yes, it’s a tourist trap, but damn it! I love their chewy sourdough. Hollowed out and filled with New England Clam Chowder and a basil and cucumber cocktail on the side, thank you please. I used to be able to buy a loaf at the airport in departures, and it was still tasty when toasted a week later in London.

Contigo

In need of some sophistication? Poor you! Well, rich you if you fancy heading to this delicious riff on a Spanish Tapas kitchen in the Castro District. Some lovely vegetarian options, but my hands down favourite dish was their beef cheeks. Not on the menu now as we head into summer, but their current menu is sporting some pretty compelling mechouli lamb.

Wherever you choose to leave your heart, honeymoon or get drunk in San Fran (all genuine songs about the City), try out any or all of these three nods to its cuisine. And eat them at whatever time of day you like.

Clam Sourdough Crostini

It’s the texture of Sourdough that I think is so wonderful – and the way it sponges up the juices of whatever you are cooking. This little number, inspired by a recipe from Harts in Brooklyn, could be served equally well without the clam shells, but the end result wouldn’t look as pretty and scooping out the clam meat at the table at the table is part of the fun. Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

4 tbsp. Olive oil

50g diced pancetta or lardons

4 garlic cloves, 2 sliced 2 left whole

2 banana shallots, finely chopped

½ a fennel bulb, chopped

2 strips lemon zest

1 bay leaf

½ tsp. ground fennel (or smash fennel seeds in a pestle and mortar)

1 glass dry white wine

500g clams

1 tsp chilli flakes

Small bunch parsley, torn

Drizzle of single cream (optional)

2-3 thick slices ideally San Francsico sourdough

How to Make

Heat half the oil in a large frying pan.  Add pancetta or lardons and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown and crisp (around 3-4 mins). Add sliced garlic and cook, stirring, until garlic is golden.  

Reduce heat and add the shopped shallots and fennel. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and onion is translucent. Add lemon zest, bay leaf, ground fennel, ½ cup wine and a pinch of salt. Increase heat, stirring occasionally, until wine is mostly reduced but mixture is still reasonably fluid (this should take about 2-3 minutes). Transfer mixture to a medium bowl; discard lemon zest and bay leaf.

Wipe out the frying pan and pop back on the heat. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil until sizzling. Add sourdough slices and griddle golden brown on both sides. Drain on kitchen towels, then cut 1 garlic clove in half and rub one side of each toast with cut side of garlic.

Back to the frying pan for one last time and heat 1 tbsp. oil.   Crush the remaining garlic clove and add to the oil, stirring, until it begins to turn golden. Add clams, the pancetta/ garlic mix and remaining ½ cup wine. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Cook, uncovered, until liquid is reduced by half and clams are open (discard any that do not open), which should take 5–7 minutes. Add a drizzle of cream if desired, together with the chilli flakes and parsley and cook 1 minute longer. Taste and season with kosher salt and more chilli flakes.

Place fried bread on plates and spoon clam mixture and cooking broth over. Drizzle with oil and serve.

Pork Belly Bao

Like I said, food orgasm meets coma once you have eaten a Mr Chairman Bao. Here is my version, using a marinade mix for the pork from China Doll in Sydney.

Makes 10 bao.

Ingredients:

For the Bao dough:

250g plain flour

2 tsp dry active yeast

1 tbsp. Caster sugar

1 tsp kosher salt

100ml tepid water

50ml milk

1 tbsp. sunflower oil

Chopped spring onions and coriander to serve.

For the char siu pork

2 tbsp. sunflower oil

1kilo pork belly, no rind and cut into thick slices

2 tbsp each   dark muscovado and 2 tbsp. light brown sugar

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Small piece of ginger, sliced

2 star anise

80 ml hoi sin sauce

100 ml Shaoxing wine

2 tbsp. dark soy sauce

100 ml water

¼ tsp five spice powder

Kosher salt and black pepper.

How to make

First, prepare the pork (you can do this ahead and re-heat).

Heat the oven to 160C, or Gas 3.

Season the pork belly generously, heat the oil and brown the pork in a large pot, in batches. Drain and put to one side.

Mix the hoi sin, Shaoxing wine and dark soy sauce in a jug. Drain the saucepan of oil, then put back on the heat, add the sugar and a little water, and watch closely until it starts to turn to caramel. Working quickly, add the chopped garlic, ginger and star anise, stir then add the soy, Shaoxing and hoi sin mix. Add the pork back to the pan, stir to coat, then add the water and the five-spice powder. Cover and pop into the oven for about 1.5 hours.

Take the pot out of the oven and remove the lid (take care to use oven gloves - don’t forget the lid is hot too). Put it on a hob ring and turn the heat up medium/ high, then stir the pork belly while the sauce bubbles down to a sticky mess. Cover and leave to one side.

If you want everything to be ready at the same time, start making the buns while the pork is in the oven. Tip the flour and sugar into a large mixing bowl, preferably in a free-standing mixer with a dough hook. Add the yeast to one side of the flour and the salt to the other (mixing the salt and yeast too soon prevents the yeast from activating). Then add the water, milk and oil and mix with a dough hook for about 10 minutes, until the mix is smooth and elastic.

Pop the ball of dough into a greased bowl, cover and leave for an hour in a warm place until it has doubled in size.

After an hour, tip the dough onto a floured board, and roll it into a sausage, then cut it into 10 equal portions. Have some squares of baking parchment cut and ready on a lightly oiled baking tray or two. Roll each portion of dough into an oval, lightly oil the flat surface, then lay a greased chopstick across it. 

Flip one side of the dough over the chopstick so you end up with a half-moon shape, then slide the chopstick out and lay the bun on a square of baking parchment. Repeat with the other 9 portions.

Leave the buns, lightly covered, to rise for another hour.

Heat the water in your steamer, and when coming to a rolling boil, add the buns (as many as will fit at a time) cover and steam for 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

If you cooked the pork much earlier, reheat by adding a cup of water to loosen up the sticky caramel mixture and simmer for about 10 minutes. Transfer the pork to a plate or board and slice up or shred. Chop the spring onions (green stalks included) and roughly chop the coriander.

Spit each bun, fill with sliced/ shredded pork, add some spring onions and coriander and serve.

Turmeric Cake

I have never eaten this in ‘Frisco, but I feel that I should have. It’s almost vegan (properly vegan if you swap the milk for almond milk), has the anti-inflammatory rhizome-du- jour, turmeric, as it’s hero ingredient, and has the taste and texture of a light fudge. This is originally a Syrian delicacy and you can find a version in the Almond Bar cookbook. They also sell a delicious version at Café Pera in Twickenham, which uses coconut oil as its fat. It is a combination of the two on which my recipe is based. Serves 10-12.

Ingredients:

440g fine semolina

100g chickpea flour

60g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 cm piece fresh turmeric, peeled and grated

250g coconut oil, melted then cooled.

385g unrefined caster sugar

375 milk or almond milk

2 tbsp. tahini

1 tsp vanilla essence

Whole blanched almonds, toasted.

How to make

Preheat the oven to 190C/ Gas mark 6.

Rub tahini over the base and sides of a 23cm springform cake tin and put to one side.

Combine the flour, chickpea flour, semolina and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine the melted coconut oil, sugar, vanilla, milk, grated turmeric and 60ml water and whisk together. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix until smooth and golden yellow.

Pour the cake mix into the prepared tin and top with the lightly toasted whole almonds. 

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the cake turns a golden brown, then remove from the oven and leave in the tin for about 10 minutes before turning out carefully onto a wire rack to cool completely. Transfer to a serving plate.

This tin will keep in a tin or wrapped in clingfilm for a week.

[aeadventuretime]

3rd March 2018

Woke up today to blue skies. Yay. But little did we know that San Fran is SUNfran one minute, and SanfRAIN the next.

We walked up and down the many, many, many, MANY hills of San Fran towards the water. Exhausting!!!! But great views of the bay and gorgeous lil San Fran houses. We found Lombard st. Eh. Didn’t really get it?

We hit fisherman’s wharf and yup. Started raining. So we ducked into a dinner and got a stack of pancakes and Ash got a sausage English mcmuffin. Got our first ‘merican coffee. Not that bad. 🤷🏻‍♀️

When the rain stopped we walked down the wharf towards pier 33 to see if we could get on an Alcatraz tour. We could not. It’s the w/e so it’s booked up till Monday. 🤦🏻‍♀️ fisherman’s wharf is super touristy. It has a bit of a darling harbour vibe, but I guess being a tourist, wasn’t as bad. We headed towards the water to at least get some photos of Alcatraz. And then we heard barking. So yeah, I run off and we find like 100 seals just chilling! They call them sea-lebrities! And they really are! 😍

We walked past all the touristy shops and popped into in an our burger for lunch. Supposed to be best burgers. Meh. We’ve had better. And the chips, Americans do not know how to do fries!!! 🙄🙄🙄

Also once we finished we were drawn to the fact that they wrote messages about god on their packaging. Gross. But Ash got a hat and some stickers. So he was a happy Chappy.

We started to head towards the Golden Gate Bridge but yup, rain. 🙄🙄🙄 so we looked at getting a hop on hop off bus. Super expensive. So we went to look at getting a tram. They wanted exact change but we were short a dollar. I gave a dollar to a busker not 5 mins ago. But the guys had a sign saying he would kill Trump for a $1 so how could I not?! He also had a pupper. American is very dog friendly!! They are everywhere!!! LOVE!!!

So we walked, cos there was a pocket of blue sky...that annoyingly decided to stay for the rest of the day. So we could have gone to golden gate! *grumble grumble* never mind though. We will go another day. We found a cute lol pier to walk down and saw people crabbing and fishing. Big storm clouds on the horizon.

Walked around the water back into the cbd. Headed home to just rest for a second. Ended up napping for an hour. Woke up in time to go out to mission for the night. Got tasty coronas and the best burritos at the no.1 Mexican place in San Fran apparently. La Taqueria?! Our friend Michael from acne had suggested it. Then we went to one of the oldest bars around the corner. Super cute, old school , merican pub that served only beer. But good beer! Got some delicious sour beer and made friends with the bar tender who kept coming back to have a drink with us. Gave us free pretzels which normally cost $6. So ya. We beat friends now. We got an Uber home and hit up a cocktail bar next to our hotel and got some potent cocktails. Ashley drank a lil too much, and by Ashley I mean Ella. But they don’t measure drinks here and the beer was 7%. Feeling done today though!!! Heading to golden gate park.

[catandbean]

Puerto Lindo - Day 1 sailing (18/6/17)

We slept in this morning and then packed our bags for the big Panama to Columbia sailing expedition through the San Blas islands and down to Columbia (for 5 days!). After a shower, we paid at Toucan smiles (who alarmingly tried to overcharge us) and walked with all our bags to the wharf. The email we received from Blue Sailing (the travel agent that we had booked the expedition through) said that we should meet at the wharf at 11am, however when we arrived at 10.30am everyone else was there and loading their bags into the boat. We bought some beers at the local mini-mart for the trip and then jumped into the dinghy with all our stuff and drove out to our boat, the Wild Card.The captain of the boat is Charlie, a really down to earth south African guy who turned out to be a legend (and who the cat developed a real man crush on). The chef on the boat is Sophie, who is from Australia and a real character, and makes absolutely amazing food, with epic flavor kicks. There’s two young Columbian guys who help with the fishing, keeping watch etc. And, most importantly there is a boat dog, Maxy. He’s both Charlie and Sophie’s and is the cutest little puppy. He was born on one of the tiny San Blas islands (which we visit later on the trip), and protects us and awkwardly barks at anyone that looks Kuna (the local people). On the boat we met most of our fellow passengers. There was Kayla and Ellie (two Aussie girls living in Sydney), Andrew, James and Steven (Irish guys living in Dublin), Nema (from America living in San Fran), Sven (from Switzerland), Tomas and Daisy (from Holland who we met in Panama City), Amy (also from Holland), Tina (from New Zealand) and Florence and Jen (from France). Immediately the boat clicked as everyone was awesome and pretty chilled. Sophie then took us to our room, which she told us was the best on the boat. And it was. For a start we had our own room, likely because we had booked so far in advance. It had windows out to the water, a big double bed, storage space, its own lights, fans and a door. This was luxury, especially compared to all of the other bunks on the boat. After everyone had met, and enjoyed a safety briefing from Sophie, we jumped in the water to cool off. You can climb to the top of the boat and jump off a kind of diving board which is about 5 metres up into the ocean. We did that alot. Splashing around in the water we came across lots of little air tight bags of weed that someone had obviously dumped. Pretty classic. We then all hopped aboard and set sail for the San Blas islands. The journey to the San Blas islands took about 10 hours, sailing along the Panama coastline a few Kms out to sea. Shortly after departing Sophie served up lunch, which had an entree of freshly caught tuna sashimi, wasabi and delicious honey soy dipping sauce, with a main of chicken, beans and tortilla chips, which we ate on the deck. It was incredible! At first everyone was sitting around chatting and getting to know each other, but then the wind and chop picked up and people started to get queesy. Some Dramamine was consumed and everyone dozed on the deck. Once people started to get their sea legs and the waves quietened down, everyone started chatting again and had a few drinks. The expedition included all food and water but we had to bring any alcohol we wanted. We brought a bottle of rum, a bottle of vodka and a dozen beers which we thought would be more than enough for the 5 days. Most people brought double that and naturally we had to buy more later on in the trip... The sail to the San Blas was stunning and it was so great to be in the open ocean, with the sails up and the sun on our faces. At one point we all got very excited as we spotted a pod of dolphins swimming next to the boat, so we stopped and watched them. They are such beautiful regal animals. We also passed a storm with rain and a rainbow, but didn't actually sail through it. When we arrived in San Blas it was pretty dark. We got a few beers out and chilled for a while on the deck, had a swim around the boat, and then were served up dinner on the deck. It’s all so so relaxing, we basically just sit on the front of the boat and Soph taps from the tiny kitchen when the food is ready and it’s served up to to us. Heaven. After some more drinking and chatting we all called it a night and headed to bed, after all we had had the most relaxing day and needed our sleep...First day of paradise is going very well for us.

[egantrip2017sf]

Day 4 - Palo Alto

Today was the day to head south. I got up early (for us on this trip anyway) - around 7. I quickly dressed and headed outside for the journey to grab the rental car. I turned left and headed up the impossibly steep hill that is Lombard. Even in a large city like San Francisco, Sunday morning is quiet. This is really the time to be exploring the city. As I reach the top of the hill, a cable car passes and I realize that this is my opportunity to try it out. The stop is only a walk up Lombard and a one block down on Hyde. I wait for 15 minutes and there it is. There are only a few tourists on the car. I watch the brakeman and the conductor work their grip lever and brake to smoothly get us up and down the steep hills. Not sure if we’ll have time to take the cable cars with the kids but should really think about doing it before heading out of town.

This turns out to the be the perfect form of transportation. I am dropped off half a block before the rental car place. Thirty minutes later, I am back at the place, pleading with Kieran to hurry so we can hit the road. Before heading out of town we head up Lombard to drive the crooked street ourselves while the traffic is light. It is less the curves than the tourists standing in the road that represent the real danger of the street. We manage to hit no one and can say we drove down the crooked street!

We head out of town, going south. Our destination is Stanford. We arrive around 10:30, in plenty of time for the walking tour. By 11:00 the visitors center is packed with people from all over the country and world. Our host is from Chicago and does a good job of conveying the excitement of going to Stanford. She is a good ambassador for the University. We find the place very welcoming. Kieran takes it all in and asks her questions about the admissions process. The campus is very open - they have an immense amount of space. Nothing is of place or left to chance. 

I see this as an important trip for Kieran as he begins his high school years. I don't want to pressure him but I want him to know what is out there waiting for him in four years. I want him to realize that there is a big world out there with immense opportunities. He certainly seems to be taking it in. Cam is a trooper - this isn’t fun for him at all and he’s nowhere in the mindset to enjoy a campus tour. And that’s just fine. I just soon he stay a boy for as long as possible.

After the tour - and stories of impaling a stuffed Cal bear on a fountain during rivalry week, we head straight for the Bookstore where Kieran can purchase his Stanford gear. Between the Bookstore and the Athletic shop, we walk away with a sport pack, a pull-over and a hat. We have done our part for the Stanford cause.

Lunch at CoHo Cafe on campus (great Cuban sandwich). We walk back to our car, taking in the sights and drive over to the Art Museum to see the Rodin sculpture garden. Another tie back to one of our previous trips. Perhaps the most impressive part of the Musee’d Orsay was Rodin’s sculptures - including the Gates of Hell. The garden has a bronze version of both the Gates of Hell and The Thinker. The kind woman who admitted us to the museum asked if Kieran was a prospective student and wanted to know what he was going to study. He replied he was a prospective student and was interested in Electrical Engineering. Will be interesting to see if that holds up but certainly warmed my heart. No pressure!

With Stanford behind us, we go further south in search of coffee - Palo Alto style. We drive around a bit but finally find Palo Alto downtown. Yelp tells us that Philz is the best coffee and that is where we stop. The place is a Silicon Valley cliche - elbow to elbow people on their computers - coding, studying, goofing off. And of course Philz is a third-wave of coffee-kind of place - with pour-over coffee. I have found my place! 

With our Palo Alto fix, we head south in search of Apple’s new campus. We find the old campus that resembles a college. People are gathered around the Apple sign, taking pictures. I offer to snap some pictures but Kieran declines. We have bigger fish to fry. We head down another mile and find the new place. It is under construction - very hard to get a great view but we see enough of the saucer-like building to be impressed with the scale. Kieran seems to be happy with what he saw and we head back on the highway, this time heading north to our next destination, Cal.

We pass a couple of stadiums (Warriors, A’s), see Tesla’s car plant and downtown Oakland before arriving in Berkeley. Cal has a much different feel than Stanford - more urban. Since we don’t have a tour - too late - it is tough to get a feel for the campus but we park and walk around. Cam’s already spoiled, preferring Stanford over Cal (’it’s too close to Oakland’). Never realized that Cam had a think against Oakland. We snap some pictures, especially around the clock tower and then decide to head back to San Francisco.

We head over the Bay Bridge. We have quite a wait as we pay our toll and merge back into the main traffic but it is worth it to see the Bay all around us. As we near San Francisco, we are treated to the fog rolling into the city, enveloping the skyscrapers. It is quite a sight and shows how quickly the weather can turn from sunny to quite chilly. With the fog comes in the wind and by the time we arrive back at our place, there is a late fall feel to the place. 

We pass through San Fran’s version of the red-light district on Broadway - neon lights and strip clubs. It is a challenge to get to our place as the tourist (we have gone native) cars line up to take Lombard street. We manage to find a back-way onto the street. Would definitely get old living on this street and dealing with all of those cars - but, a small price to pay, I suppose, for the location.

Cam is tired and stays at home to play on his iPad while Mom, Kieran and I head to a hip, upscale Mexican place - Mezcalito - located near us on Polk. Chips and guacamole, steak and fish tacos, margarita (mezcal), kolsch and sprite. It is good to recap our day. Kieran seems happy with today and that is what we were hoping for. I think, if anything, the trip south exceeded his expectations. We finish the night by standing in line for ice cream before heading back through the fog.