Author Archives: Korrena Bailie

Restaurant Review: My Tofu House

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Full disclosure – I am obsessed with Korean food. It’s partly because I lived there for two years and partly because it’s insanely delicious and unlike any other cuisine out there.

Of course, it’s not the nicest cuisine to look at:

You’re so delicious, I don’t care that you’re ugly!

 If San Francisco has a Korea Town, then the Richmond is it – that is, if a Korea Town was spread out over a radius of several square miles. Luckily for me, many excellent Korean restaurants are within walking distance from my house, and a notable entrant at the top of the pantheon is My Tofu House, a restaurant so Korean that I immediately become overcome with nostalgia as soon as I see the neon lights.

Inside, there are booths, usually filled with chattering groups of Koreans, with dishes of banchan laid out in front of them. My Tofu House specializes in soondubu jiggae, a spicy soft tofu soup. You can get many different versions, and it’s served bubbling in a stone pot and honestly – it looks a little like the devil’s cauldron. You then drop in a raw egg and stir it in vigorously. The portions are huge and the soups are a great deal at just over $10 – this includes a delightful range of side dishes and plenty of rice. You will not go hungry here. Continue reading →

Restaurant Review: Cafe Bunn Mi

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It’s winter time in San Francisco and that means…that the Richmond and Sunset neighborhoods aren’t foggy. For these few, short months, seasonal equilibrium reigns and I think it is an excellent time for folks to venture to my part of the city. To celebrate being fog-free, I will be writing a series of reviews showcasing the best eating of the Richmond and Sunset. I shall wear my stretchiest jeans.

Cafe Bunn Mi on Clement Street.

Cafe Bunn Mi opened in the summer of 2011 to little fanfare, but has gradually built up a loyal following thanks to its clean, pretty space, friendly staff and its slightly nontraditional take on banh mi. It also serves pho, rice plates, and other dishes, but really…go here for the sandwiches. The freshly baked bread is crisp, but not dry, and it has the right amount of give for an absolute stuffing, which is how Cafe Bunn Mi generously serves its sandwiches.

Fish banh mi. 

I am partial to the fish banh mi, which features breaded sole, perfectly cooked, Vietnamese coleslaw and a ridiculous amount of cilantro. I am one of the genetically cursed who cannot bear even the sight of cilantro curling out of my food, so luckily it was in big, easy-to-remove pieces. The pork belly sandwich was a tender, flavor-packed bomb of cubes of garlicky pork belly, boiled egg and coleslaw. Continue reading →

Postcards from Disneyland

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Cue our second Disney-related post! Ayeon, our intern from Korea, is back with a few snapshots of her recent trip to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park. For her, it was a slice of her childhood.

What’s one place in the USA that people from all over the world can’t wait to visit? I think it’s Disneyland, the happiest place on earth! I was lucky enough to have a long vacation from work over the holidays, so I decided to make it special by spending the first day of 2012 in Disneyland. Disneyland is one of the main reasons why I wanted to come to the USA.

I’d love to introduce a few tips on how to really enjoy Disneyland.

Tip No.1: Enjoy the benefit of the Fast Pass

Disneyland is too huge to experience in only one day. It consists of Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park. You should take advantage of the Fast Pass system to spend your time effectively so you can visit as many spectacular attractions as possible. First, pick one from the list. When you insert your admission ticket into the Fast Pass machine next to the line for the attraction, it creates a Fast Pass ticket. If you visit that attraction at the written time on it, you could be the very first person in the long line.

Tip No.2: Place your luck on the game table

Forget fortune cookies for today and try luck your at one of the game tables. I think we need to return to the innocence of childhood sometimes, so be a kid again at Disneyland. Play, talk and love! At Disneyland California Adventure Park, there are some game booths where you can fish, shoot a target with a water pistol, or score a goal. You can be a superman in front of many people, so claim the spotlight and win the prize! Continue reading →

24 Hours in London

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Two months ago I traveled to Europe with a friend. London was our first stop and we would only be staying two days, which admittedly is not enough time to see and experience all that the city has to offer.  Our first day in the city was lost in a haze of tube transfers and jetlag. When we finally did manage to leave our hotel the first day, we spent most of the day walking, walking and more walking–ending the day utterly exhausted. That night, feeling a slight panic that we only had about 24 hours left to experience the city, we resolved to make the best of our last day before catching the Eurostar to Brussels. With only a short list of priorities, here are 24 hours in London.

9am: Eagerly we leave our hotel located in Kensington Garden Square, right behind Whiteley’s, and start walking west through Notting Hill to a cafe rumored to have a great traditional English breakfast.  The morning is bright, crisp and sunny as we pass expensive cars and gleaming white row houses covered in ivy. The cafe is located just across the street from The Travel Bookshop–yes, Hugh Grant’s bookshop from the movie. It was a real bookshop, but sadly it closed not too long ago.

9:30am: “I can’t leave London without  having some bacon,” my friend announces firmly. “English bacon is different, it is actually cut from the back of the pig as opposed to to American bacon that is cut from the belly,” he explains. He orders the traditional English breakfast with a side of bubble and squeak (a fried mash of vegetables and potatoes) and I order french toast with bacon and banana; we both order huge cups of coffee.  Looking around the cafe, I get a good feeling about the food we are anticipating. Its a Thursday morning and the place is busy with people on their way to work, friends catching up over coffee and eggs and an open refrigerator full of a mixture of familiar and exotic looking drinks (Tang in a can!). Continue reading →

In Defense of the East Bay: Part 2

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A Little More Oaktown Lovin’

Well, it seems that since the last time we took to the cityseekr blog to defend the East Bay, it has blown up! The New York Times recently named Oakland the #5 (out of 45) place to go in the world in 2012, sandwiched right in between tourism powerhouses London and Tokyo (check out the article here). Did I mention that was OAKLAND that made the list and not San Francisco? So yes, I know this column is supposed to be about the entire East Bay, and I promise that will still be the case, but it seems clear that this month it’s time to specifically honor what the Huffington Post is calling “the coolest new kid in the country,” my and MC Hammer’s hometown, Oakland.

Photo by gerbache, CC by 2.0

Now many people upon first hearing this newest Times designation say, “Really? Oakland? Why?” And the periodical will answer you: it’s all about the downtown renaissance. Oakland likes to consume. For several years now, Downtown Oakland, and really many other areas of the city as well, has been revitalizing, especially when it comes to the funner things in life: food, booze, art and music.  In their little blurb the New York Times mentions some of the more exciting dining and drinking newcomers, so we’ll be skipping those here. However, in every category they mention, their examples, while all very recommendable, only scratch the surface of the awesome variety of places to eat, drink and enjoy the artistic and cultural offerings that are really starting to abound in The Town. Yes, Oakland has a Michelin star and all kinds of fancy establishments, but even though this is its newest incarnation, the city’s kitsch and grit are really what make it so unconventionally fun and charming. Really, Oakland is highly successful at having a fantastic collection of places with all kinds of different atmospheres to fit any mood, whim or occasion.

Photo courtesy of Bar Dogwood

The DTO (that’s “Downtown Oakland” to all you non-savvy folk) and Uptown (and of course the rest of the city as well) are brimming over with bars and eateries. If you want to go along the more upscale lines, you could head to Bar Dogwood for one of their specialty cocktails and the main attraction: the Charcuterie and the salty, fatty goodness of cured pork products. And cheese. Don’t forget the cheese.  If cured meat products are your bag, Adesso on Piedmont Avenue wins the crown. The menu includes dozens of different types of house-cured meats. Their happy hour is killer too, as those sitting at the bar get to experience a virtual tasting menu of dishes free of charge. As far as other nice drinking establishments in the area, Make Westing is one of Uptown’s newest additions. Owned by Oakland natives, the bar features two full-sized bocce ball courts inside the bar; folks, they’re the only ones in Oakland who can say that. Continue reading →