Le Cheval

1007 Clay St
Oakland CA 94607
510. 763.8957

Le Cheval is one of my favourite Vietnamese restaurants in Oakland. It is located just outside of Chinatown, so parking is much easier than hectic Chinatown proper. The food was excellent as usual.

Squid salad had the most tender pieces of squid tossed in light curry sauce, placed on a bed of finely sliced tender cabbage. The cabbage was on the soggy side, instead of usual crispy freshly sliced cabbage. I prefer crisy and crunchy cabbage tossed in just enough fish sauce + lime juice concoction.

Vietnamese Carpaccio came with a lot of cilantro and lemon slices and tasted really fresh. Mussel dish was interesting; it had a topping of chopped peanuts, that added contrast of some crunch to the otherwise soft mussel meat.

Tommy's Wok

3001 Bridgeway
Sausalito
332.5818


This is a very pleasant restaurant, tastefully decorated in neutral colours. That is kind of unusual for a Chinese restaurant.

We had Combination Seafood Curry ($14.85), Lemon Grass Chicken ($11.85), Sizzling Black Pepper Beef ($11.85), and Braisde Tofu ($8.85). I liked Seafood Curry; it had a lot of fresh seafood, prawns, scallops, and vegetables in a small amount of curry sauce (not hot). Other dishes are all too sweet to our taste. I couldn't tell which Chinese cuisine they were serving; even my friend's mother who is Chinese asked what kind of food it was. Sauces that covered food were definitely too dark to be Cantonese. At the end of meal, we were told the cuisine is Mandarin/Szechuan. It is a strange combination, and they were trying to be everything, including Indian and southeast Asian. I don't think their effort was successful.

Would I go back? I don't think so. It was a big disappointment, because everyone was raving about it.

Ping's Mandarin Restaurant

817 E. Francisco Blvd.
San Rafael
492.1638


This was one of those pleasant surprises.

Located in a complex by the freeway next to Office Depot,it looked blah from outside and I never paid attention to this restaurant.

Their Rolling Lettuce Chicken was light and delicious, and other typical Chinese dishes like Mongolian Beef ($9.50)and Combination Pan Fried Noodles ($10.95)were done just right.

Shimo

2339 Clement St.
San Francisco
752-4422


A couple of my friends drive all the way to SF to this sushi restaurant they swear by. Shimo's prices are great, and his fish are fantastic.
This was my second time there. We sat at the sushi bar, which is always full. After 10 min. wait, we were seated, and immediately served tea. Maguro is almost like toro, ama ebi (sweet shrimp) melted in your mouth, rock'n roll was rocking with taste. The only negative thing is parking. So get there early. This is the best value for your $$.

Picco

320 Magnolia Avenue
Larkspur
924.0300


This is a new concept restaurant, where you share your food in family style with your co-diners. (Picco means small plates.)
Their food is basically great! I especially liked vegetable torta, which is, well, an updated upscale version of spinach pie. It had nice flavour, but I had hard time thinking/analyzing what they were, being busy cutting the small piece of pie-shaped object into four equal portions, so everybody at the table could enjoy.
We had shrimp on a bed of cabbage and onions, mahimahi with white beans flavoured with pancetta (Italian bacon), short ribs in Thai currie sauce, mini hamburgers made with Nieman Ranch sirloin, and iceburg lettuce salad.
You know the problem? It was rather awkward to have to cut lettuce or meat or pie into the number of diners, and serve tiny portions to each person. It became a small chore at the end. Yeah, it works with Chinese meals, but you know why? They have chopstick culture; everything is already cut into bite sizes, so everybody can just dig in with their own utensils. With Euro-American food culture, we need knives to cut food, and somebody has to cut the communal food into pieces.
The other thing I missed was carbs. If you are on no carb diet, it is geat! But like most of us, I like my legitimate portion of carbs, whether it is pasta, potatoes, rice, anything. I got a tiny piece of white bread.
I heard about Picco, and tried it, the food was good, but I think I will stick to Left Bank to satisfy my cravings for Mediterranean-inspired food.

Picante

340 Bellam
San Rafael
485.6050


Great Mexican food at bottom prices. Come to Picante; go past Canal district in San Rafael, past Circuit City, and it is right there on your right side.
I like their tacos with carne asada. The skirt steak is grilled to perfection, and the salsa is great. It has become so rare to find really hot salsa these days, and I am happy to report their green salsa is REALLY hot!!!
The restaurant isn't too noisy, so it is possible to carry on your conversation, and the decor is colourful with a lot of bright Mexican tiles.

Lotus Cuisine of India

704 4th St.
San Rafael

This is a grand daddy of Indian restaurant in Marin. It took over the former French restaurant site on 4th St in San Rafael. Their food is consitent and dependable. Lunch buffet is $8.25. Maybe the best Indian in Marin.

Taqueria Mi Familia

55 Bellam Blvd. Suite D
San Rafael
457.9520

Are you looking for a burrito place that is bustling with people from south of the border? If so, try this place. Burritos are $3.50 (so cheap!), and huge. Central and South Americans are lined up at lunch time to get their good and huge and cheap burritos. You have a choice of three kinds of salsa, free fried tortilla chips, limes, and of course, jalapenos.

Just try to avoid it between 12:00 and 1:00; the line is too long.

Vietnamese Sandwich Cafe w. No Name

Grand Ave. (Between 3rd and 4th)
San Rafael

I have been looking for a place in Marin that serve Vietnemese sandwiches for a long time. I had some in Little Saigon (formerly known as Tenderloin) and Sunset in the City. I was immediately hooked.

They are sandwiches (banh mi) made of warm meat, cilantro, Vietnamese sauce, and lightly pickled vegetables in a French crusty bread. This no name cafe, unfortunately, uses inferior bread, and crumbs fall constantly as you eat. Bur for $3.25~ $3.75, I am not complaining. They are still expensive compared to $2.50 in the City ;)

Saigon Village

720 B St.
San Rafael

Do you like pho? But you don't want to venture into the City or Oakland? Here is a great Vietnamese restaurant that serves very good pho and their eggrolls are the best, according to a gourmet Vietnamese friend.

Just in case, you are hungry for pho.

Eliza's

2877 California St.
San Francisco
621.4819

Eliza is a modern-looking Chinese restautant. It has an unlikely combination of super modern interior with brushed aluminum/glass top tables and silver chopsticks, and the old stand- by fish plates and Chinese knickknacks here and there.

They serve Mandarin/Hunan (northern) Chinese dishes. I am so used to ubiquitous light-coloured Cantonese food; Eliza's dishes are dark brown with soy sauce. They are tasty, and quick, and cheap!


We shared Steamed Dumplings with Spicy Sauce ($5.25) and ordered two lunch dished; one with sauteed string beans ($5.30), the other with eggplants and prawns ($6.15). I enjoyed everything! Each lunch plate comes with soup and steamed rice.

Great value and good taste!

Pazzo

2 Henry Adams St.
San Francisco

This is a convenient place for a quick lunch inside Showplace building at number two Henry Adams St. It used to be haunted by designers and their clients only, but these days, young high-tech people from near-by Macromedia/Adobe come to have their lunches here, too.

Their portobello mushroom sandwich is the best I tasted. I mean I had had portobello sandwiches in expensive eateries, too. But nothing beats theirs! I highly recommend it.


Last time, I had chichen chowder and half of Bambino sandwich. Chowder was a bit too salty, and Bambino sandwich was a little too bland. It is a new take on a classic Italian sandwich with arugula, tomato, mozzarella, and prosciutto. This one is sans prosciutto, whcih usually provides its saltiness, since mozzarella is very mild and doesn't have too much salt. So it didn't have the neccessary tang.

Still this is a good place to have a quick bite when you are in the area.

Garibaldi

347 Presidio Ave. San Francisco
415.563.8841

We decided to take a friend to lunch to Garibaldi. It is well decorated with modern klismos chairs and black-and-white landscape photography on capuccino / taupe walls. Very comfortable.
Waiting staff were friendly and efficient. They knew we were here for a leisurely lunch, just a girls' day out. I ordered portobello mushroom sandwich ($10.95). Sliced portobello mushrooms were placed in between Italian bread, which was soaked in olive oil. They also put caramelized onions, except they were just browned and not caramelized. Roasted pepper, eggplants and roasted tomatoes were good, but they were overpowered by a large amount of goat cheese which was on the sour side. I would imagine they used American goat cheese, because it didn't have the mellow complexity of European version. The sandwich was accompanied by greens. I found the dressing too sour.
I tasted dungeness crab quesadillas with three salsas ($17.95). The delicate flavour of crab was given pungence by a touch of cilantro, and melted mozzarella cheese gave the whole dish a mild touch.
As the restaurant got more crowded, it got excessingly noisy, and we were having a hard time hearing each other. It is a nice space, food is ok, a bit too noisy. If I am in the area, I might stop by again, but I will not make a special trip to the place.

Daimo

Pierce St. Richmond

I was told they serve great shaolungbao here. Before I go to Shanghai, I have to try their famous snack food. I got there at 1:00; the restaurant was almost empty. Not a good sign. Should I go to Saigon Harbor or Asian Pearl next door? Well, I am on a mission to sample Daimo's shaolungbao so I took a seat.
Daimo is interesting; it doesn't have the dynamic energy of Saigon Harbor, nor does it offer elegance of Asian Pearl. It is clean, but no frill.
We ordered shaolungbao, crepe with BBQed pork, and chicken curry. Sweet and sour soup was served first, followed by our order. Soup was good.
Eight shaolungbao came, and they are BIG. They are not the delicate one-bite version I had in Saigon Harbor. The dough was soggy, too. The sauce that accompanied them was dark like soy sauce, it should be clear and red with gingers. They were not bad but not great.
Crepes were the best by far. Delicate crepes were filled with Chinese BBQed pork. We shouldn't have ordered chicken curry. That was way too much. Unlike other dim sum places, their portion of steamed food is large. Well, we make mistakes and learn.
Am I coming back here? Don't think so. It is not bad, but I would rather go to Saigon Harbor for their energy or Asian Pearl for an elegant meal.

Dos Pinas Taqueria

251 Rhode Island, San Francisco
415.252.8220

On my way to Design Centres, I stoppped at Dos Pinas Taqueria. My friend recommended me the place. It is dark, lively with music, and the queue is LONG. It didn't take too long to get to order. I ordered a burrito carnitas($4.95), and my friend ordered a burrito with grilled prawns($7.25). They were quick and excellent, and HUGE!
My carnitas burrito came with beef (again?) instead of pork. But it was tender and there was just right amount of it tucked in rice and beans wrapped in a flour tortilla.
They also have wraps with teriyaki chicken, barbecued steak, Thai chicken, etc. along with traditional Mexican favourites like nachos and tacos. This is definitely a good place for quick bites, and it is cheap, too.