Crossing Crazy 'Cisco

I haven't gotten a chance to explore the beautiful city of San Francisco. I did the touristy stuff a few years ago with Tito Jojo which is pretty much a day at Pier 39. Believe it or not, I haven't even seen the Golden Gate Bridge. So I guess that gives me a good excuse be touristy, in one way or another.

They have an anual fun run in San Francisco though called Bay-to-Breakers where people run (or walk) from the Bay to the breakwaters of the Pacific Ocean, that is, from what they call the Embarcadero to the Golden Gate Park!

I thought I'd do it just for fun, after all it's a fun run! I didn't have to run, a number of people just walked but I stepped up and tried to run. I knew my muscles will be all sore the next day but I wanted to finish the race and finish well.

I owe myself some exercise and sight seeing so this presented itself as an opportunity!

The Course

I didn't see a lot of San Francisco but I definitely saw a lot of San Franciscans

Crazy ones!

Like THIS crazy!!

'Nudists on strike!?!'

I had a great time! I finished the race in 1 hr 33 min.

The race ended at the Golden Gate Park. We ran to the beach and soaked our legs in ice cold water. I wasn't able to quite keep up with Kuya Jay but I, at least, acheived my goals of finishing the race and seeing the city.

I still didn't see the Golden Gate Bridge, apparently it's not visible from the Golden Gate Park. I guess I just found another excuse to go touristy, or maybe go for another run?

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Sunday, May 21 - 8:00 am
COURSE DESCRIPTION: ING Bay to Breakers is a 12K (7.46 miles) course. From sea level at the Embarcadero the course rises steeply along Hayes Street Hill. Around the 2.5-mile mark runners climb an 11.15% grade between Fillmore and Steiner, bringing them to the highest point in the race, approximately 215 feet above sea level. The remainder of the course gradually flows downhill alongside the Panhandle and through Golden Gate Park.

Managing A Busy Day

This seems to have been a really busy day for me. I think it's so far the busiest throughout the course of my internship at Aqua

I got my list of projects to do for the day. It's not a long list but most of them take quite a bit of time not to mention they all involve cooking. Among the items on my list were to prep for Blini, Onion Tarts and the Potato Goat Cheese Terrine. On top of that, I also had some set up stuff to do.

I actually got asked if I had a lot to do and I must admit, I did. The Blini battter had to be made but I'm just so glad I already did the base the night before. I just have to get it ready for service. The onion tarts project was a little problematic. I didn't have braised onions to begin with.

The Terinne is something I have to work on really fast because it takes a while and I can't exactly multi task while working on it.

And I only had about 2 hours to work on everything. Jay, Aqua's PM Sous Chef asked me if I'm ok because I seem to have a lot to do. I said I think I'll be fine. I wasn't very confident initially but I want to be able to manage.

And whew! Thanks to all the green tea I drank in the morning, I was able to work faster than I ever did.

I was set up on time. I managed. It felt good.

Eggs Benedict At Lakeshore Cafe

Eggs Benedict at the Lakeshore Cafe... A perfect brunch makes a perfect day! How can you go wrong with all that hollandaise on eggs (i.e. egg yolks on eggs) with butter and bacon. The best!

Thanks, Jenny for bringing me to Lakeshore Cafe! I normally take a picture of my food before I touch it but in this case, obviously, I couldn't help it.

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Lakeshore Cafe
3257 Lakeshore Ave
Oakland, CA 94610

Farmers Market at the Ferry Building

Green and Red. Aren't they pretty?

I've read so much about the Farmers' Market at the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero. It's the first thing I wanted to explore since I got to the Bay Area. I'm staying in Oakland though so on the weekends, I just usually spend time chilling by Lake Merrit.

I finally found a good excuse to go to the city to the weekend and that is to meet up with a very good friend I haven't seen in a LONG time!

Anna is one of my great friends from college. We've been friends for a decade now. How we became friends is quite simple. We were lined up next to each other on our freshman registration. The queue was taking forever so we started chatting. We had instant chemistry and the rest was history.

She moved to the Bay Area to do her MBA. And I haven't seen her since. We decided to get-together at the Ferry Building to catch up over brunch and treasure-hunt at the farmers market. There are a few restaurants in the building and some tents outside where you can just buy food and sit by the bay for 'al fresco' dining.

We decided to share a meal like we used to and the portions are quite big anyways, definitely supersized for our capacity. We had some sauted halibut with white beans and arugula. For dessert we shared a huge slice of brioche french toast topped with some apple compote and creme fraiche. Simple. Satisfying.

After that meal, we just walked around to check out the produce. They have a lot of great fresh stuff. Fresh produce and fresh flowers too. I just found them a little bit pricey though.

Roses are red, violets are blue and these potatoes are too?

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Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market on the Embarcadero is one of San Francisco's main attractions, especially on Saturday mornings. But foodies in the know get their produce at this much humbler market near the Civic Center, without the crowds and inflated prices but with the same quality. 7-5:30 Wed and 7-5 Sun. United Nations Plaza, on Market St. between Seventh St. and Eighth St.

Welcome to Aqua!

I recently started my culinary internship at Aqua. It's a fine dining French / California restaurant in San Francisco.

My friend Erika was in town for a visit. She's one person I love dining out with. She loves and she knows good food! Our last big dinner abroad was years ago at Gothan Bar and Grill at Union Square in New York City.

I wanted to sample the food at Aqua as a diner rather than a cook but I never really got a chance before I started my internship. So now sounds like a good time. I have a great excuse to have a nice dinner in the company of very good friends. Erika is in town visiting one of her good friends, Trina who also loves and knows good food. We had lunch the other day and she mentioned she likes french food. Perfect timing!

Erika and Trina headed out to meet me at work for a dinner reservation at 9pm. I worked for service that evening but I left the kitchen early to join them in the dining room.

An amuse of Pumpkin Soup welcomed us at Aqua

Erika had the Parmesan-Black Pepper Souffle served with Dungeoness Crab Salad.


I had the Trio of Artisan Foie Gras. The round one is a Truffle Torchon, the purplish one is a Port Poached Foie garnished with Red Onion and Grape Chutney, the one with a thick layer of butter is a Citrus Terrine with Kumquat Marmalade and Gingerbread. I love them all. I secretly hide scraps so I can snack on them, besides, it'll be worse if the chef catches foie in the garbage! I'm beginning to realize how unhealthy this is though, but who cares?

Trina had the Foie Steak which was actually the best of the 3 according to Erika's verdict but I wasn't able to take a good picture of it because my camera wasn't cooperating. Before we got my camera working, we almost finished Trina's appetizer.

This scallop dish is an extra course that Chef Peter (Aqua's Chef de Cuisine, i.e. my boss) sent us when one of the runners told him I was on that table. I tried to be anonymous so I won't get any special treatment (that way too, I'll get to try the real deal!) but when Chef Peter found out one of his interns was out dining, we got more than just special treatment. We got extra special everything! We felt like VIP's!


Erika, Trina and myself, enjoying our feast of Foie!

For our entrees I had a Monkfish dish, Erika had Pancetta-wrapped Bass, Trina had Turbot with Lobster Butter. We had some pictures but the lighting in the restaurant didn't work well with my camera.

After that we were served the Cheese sampler which came with Quince Paste. It's my first encounter with Quince Paste and I really liked it. It's fruity and floral at the same time but it was very delicate. It was a perfect complement to the cheese course.

Lastly, desserts! We didn't have to pick our desserts and anymore. Our gracious and generous host, Chef Peter just sent a sampler over to our table.

We had Souffle topped with fresh fruits, Creme Brulee and a layered mousse cake. I'm not sure what these desserts are named on the menu.

Their version of Creme Brulee which I found very creative. Instead of the conventional Creme Brulee where the top is sprinkled with sugar and torched to caramel, it was served with Florentine on top!


The last dessert was my favorite! I wasn't able to take a picture of it during dinner but maybe I can steal a shot in the kitchen. It's a layered mousse cake with Feulletine! I love the crunch that Feulletine adds to the very soft mousse.

Thank you, Chef Peter for a wonderful wonderful dinner. Every plate was an entertainment to the eyes and the palate! Thank you, for being our most gracious and generous host.

Er and Trins, cheers to a GREAT get-together California dinner!
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Aqua is on 252 California Street, San Francisco, California
www.aqua-sf.com