Japantown, San Francisco

Japantown (??? Nihonmachi) in San Francisco is also known as Little Osaka, Funayville and J Town. It is the largest and oldest Japanese town in the United States and spans over six blocks on Post Street, between Laguna Street and Webster Street. The focal point of Japantown is the Japan Center, which opened in 1968 and is three Japanese-oriented shopping centres.

Peace Pagoda, Japantown

The other main focal point of Japantown is the Peace Pagoda (shown above), a five-tiered concrete stupa which was designed by a Japanese architect Yoshiro Taniguchi and was presented to San Francisco by the people of Osaka in Japan. It is located between Post and Geary St at Buchanan and is part of the Japan Center complex. Look how small I am compared to this Peace Pagoda! It’s absolutely massive.

Japantown is full of Japanese restaurants, supermarkets, indoor shopping malls, hotels, banks and other shops, including Kinokuniya.

I took my brother here for his birthday to treat him to lunch!

This was the first time I’ve ever had such good Japanese food before. It was so authentic and it was so much food! Mmmm.

Miyako

(Japantown, San Francisco, California)

1707 Buchanan St, San Francisco, California

For my birthday, we went to Niagara on the Lake for some wine tasting but we ended up leaving Toronto much later than we planned and arrived at Niagara in the mid-afternoon. Because of this, we only managed to visit two wineries at Peller Estates and Jackson Triggs.

Also, because we rushed over to Niagara we didn’t have a proper lunch so we were starving by 4pm! Unfortunately, the restaurant at Peller Estates was not open until 6pm but they recommended that we visit Grill on King which is located on 233 King, Niagara on the Lake. The lady at Peller Estates mentioned that the place made excellent steaks! Mmm… Driven by our hungry stomachs, we rushed over and was lucky to have the entire restaurant to ourselves (because we were so early!). It was a lovely setting though.

Muscles: these were soooo delicious. I couldn’t get enough of the tomato sauce that these were cooked in. It was so tasty and the muscles were cooked to perfection!

Grilled Calamari: this was another lovely tasting dish.

This is my shrimp skewer with roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots and zucchini. I loved the peppery seasoning they put all over this. So yummy!

Check out the size of Elliott’s steak.  It’s gigantic! The potato mash was smooth and creamy and the steak was cooked perfectly and was nice and juicy! The vegetable side was cooked very similar to the way mine were.

After we filled up our bellies with so much food, we drove over the border to the U.S of A for some shopping! Look how rainy and depressing it was outside though :( We made it over to the Coach outlet, bought mummy a bag and then went back home to Canada :)

On my birthday at Niagara on the Lake, Jackson-Triggs was the second winery we visited after Peller Estates, which we thought was beautiful with a lovely range of wines. As we approached Jackson-Triggs, we were disappointed by the boring factory look of the winery especially coming from Peller Estates!

Jackson-Triggs at Niagara-on-the-Lake

Jackson-Triggs is a Canadian winery with vineyards in Okanagan Valley, British Columbia and the Niagara Peninsula. It was founded in 1993 when Donald Triggs and Allan Jackson began producing the wine in Mississauga. In 2006, Jackson-Triggs won the Gold Medal at the International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) for the best Shiraz/Syrah, which was the first Canadian red wine to be recognized by the IWSC. Jackson-Triggs kept up their reputation and in 2010, they won their seventh Canadian Wine Producer of the Year trophy and have now been awarded more than 50 medals at 3 competitions.

We got to taste a wide range of wines here as well, from the Sauvignon Franc to various Icewines. Wine tasting here will set you back approximately $1-$3 a pop (depending on the type of wine).

Here are some of the wines at Jackson-Triggs.

I saw this and thought it was really cool, I had to take a snap! Maple Infused Wine Vinegar? How interesting.

We accidentally went down the wrong way and caught a glimpse of where they store the wine! Very cool.

Here’s me and Elliott.

Here’s what it looked like outside. So wet and rainy! It was unfortunate because this part of Niagara Region is so beautiful!

And here’s us in the car :) Hehehe.

On April 19, 2011 Diddy Dirty Money graced the stage at Koolhaus (Guvernment) in Toronto! I was soooo excited about this because I just LOVE Diddy AND Dirty Money. The combination of them on the stage was off the hook! The line up to get in was pretty long.. I think we waited 40 minutes to get in, which is really ridiculous because we already purchased our tickets prior to the event and it was freezing outside! I think it was like 2C at the time.

I managed to get some pretty awesome footage (despite the horrible bassy audio recording) but some even better photos. Please feel free to check out the videos and photos below!

I must say, Diddy Dirty Money rocked the stage but when Diddy did his classics set along with his Notorious B.I.G tribute it sent the crowd wild. It is a must see! I also can’t believe I finally got to witness the “Diddy Bop” live with my own eyes! It made me a very happy girl.

Diddy Dirty Money Videos

Part 1: Diddy Dirty Money

Part 2: Diddy Classics

Part 3: Notorious B.I.G Tribute and Diddy Dirty Money finale

Diddy Dirty Money Photos

Restaurant Review: Guu Sakabar

Last Saturday I got to finally check out the new Guu SakaBar that opened on Bloor and Bathurst. I love love love Japanese Food and I find fusion food Japanese food such as Sushi Samba really interesting. I’ve heard a lot of people raving about Guu so far but I had yet to experience it. What I found that I love most about Guu is that you really feel like you’ve stepped right into Japan! Just as you step inside, the entire staff (waters and chefs) all scream out (something in Japanese) to welcome you. It really was welcoming indeed! It was very cute.

Beware of Guu’s famous reputation as there is always a line. We were smart and made sure we were there before 6pm on a Saturday evening before the majority of people would generally go out to eat. Yet, we were still made to line up for about 15 minutes and when we finally left at 9pm, the line was quite long. So make sure you go early or you’ll be sorry for waiting!

We ended up getting quite an awesome table in the second dining room where we were instructed to remove our shoes and park them in their shoe shelf. I wasn’t fussed by this especially since I was keen to take off my high heels, however as we were  guided to our table I started to get worried. I looked at how low the tables were situated and saw that there were butt pads on the floor for you to sit on. I was thinking to myself, “Oh my! We have to sit on the floor?!?!”

While that would have been truly the authentic Japanese experience, as I approached our table I was relieved to discover there was a gap in the flooring so that we could allow our legs to sit like we would sit on a chair. Yes, we were sitting on the floor but not really because we did not have to kneel or sit cross legged. This was really cool but it was so hard to get out of there!

Guu is a tapas-style restaurant whereby their dishes are primarily small appetizers in which you can share. Above is the Specials Menu in which we ordered the last 3 items on this page!

Salmon Natto Yukke: Chopped salmon sashimi with five friends (Natto, shibazuke, takuan, wonton chips, green onion and quail egg). What you do is mix them up and then wrap it in seaweed!

Okonomiyaki: Japanese deep fried pancake with yakisoba noodles, tonkatsu sauce and mayo.

Filet of Fish: Filet of black cod like burger with pink tar tar tankatsu sauce in rice cakes.

Agedashi: Deep fried tofu in dashi broth topped with water eel and noti seaweed.

Almond Tofu

Roasted Green Tea Cheesecake

I thought this was a really awesome place to dine and easily understood the popularity and rave of this place. When you don’t have the time or money to fly all the way to Japan, you can definitely go to Guu for the Japanese dining atmosphere. While the food is not authentic Japanese (as I mentioned earlier, it was more fusion style), the types of food on offer are truly unique and very special. It brings back the fun and entertainment back into food and dining. In all, I had a great time and that’s what food should be all about.

Btw, thanks so much Jason for taking me!

Guu SakaBar

(Annex, Toronto, Canada)

559 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON
www.guu-izakaya.com

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History of Benihana

Benihana is a well-known Japanese cuisine franchise with nearly 80 restaurants around the world. It was founded in 1964 on West 56th Street in New York City by 25-year old Hiroaki “Rocky” Aoki. He was a qualified wrestler at the time, but did not attend the 1960 Summer Olympics and started the restaurant with just $10,000 that he earned from driving an ice cream truck in Harlem.

The first restaurant (named Benihana of Tokyo), was named after the red Safflower which was the name of his parent’s coffee shop in Tokyo. Rocky’s idea was for customers to enjoy meals around a teppanyaki table combined with some knife theatrics (which I really enjoyed!)

 Restaurant Review & Photos

We first started off my meal with a warm and satisfying miso soup.

And then began the knife theatrics! Our chef started throwing eggs in the air and catching them with his knife so that it would split exactly in half. Very skillful!

And then he fried us some Japanese style fried rice in the shape of a heart. Aww :)

Freshly served Fried Rice! Yum!

Then comes freshly cooked shrimp! Mmmm..

Our chef then proceeded to cut up some onions, stacked them, then poured some oil down the middle and it then turned into an onion volcano! Hahaha..

Here’s our teppanyaki style dinner. The meat was probably a lot more chewier than I liked (especially when I asked for medium-rare) however the whole experience was really enjoyable and the food was quite decent. I would recommend coming here more for the experience, and it was a lot of fun. Expect quite the show while you eat. Also expect to be very full though – I normally eat A LOT and I normally eat VERY FAST however I was the slowest one to eat on the table because there was just so much yummy food!

It is located at the Royal York Hotel at Front and York St, Toronto.

Benihana

(Entertainment District, Toronto, Canada)

100 Front St W, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.benihana.com/

Urbanspoon Rocks

About Sushi Samba

While I was in Chicago, we decided to try the famous Sushi Samba which offers a unique blend of Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian cuisine, music and design. Through the energy and spirit that birthed in the early 20th century when thousands of Japanese travelled to South America to cultivate coffee plantations and make their fortune. It is because of this, places such as Lima in Peru and São Paulo in Brazil, these three distinct cultures have integrated and became a beautiful combination. And it is because of this, the experience you have at SushiSamba is a truly unique one. It is no wonder that SushiSamba has been so popular, expanding to five locations in the world’s most trendiest locations: NYC, Miami, Chicago and Las Vegas.

As you walk into SushiSamba you are greeted with amazing design and atmosphere. Especially by the way everybody dresses up to go to this place, you’ll wonder if you’ve walked into a lounge/bar or a restaurant.

Main Room

Sushi Bar

Sexy Red Hot Interior Design

I’m not exactly sure what we ordered because we left this up to the waiter to decide what to eat. Haha! There were way too many delicious choices on the menu and you can request the waiter make a four course set for you to your liking. He asked us a few questions on what we enjoyed, what we didn’t and he brought us quite an exquisite choice of items. I very much enjoyed this experience, and I had full trust in my waiter (maybe because he was amazingly hot and I was entranced by everything he said…) hahaha. Or maybe it was because I was happily enjoying my fruity alcoholic beverage which was AMAZING, by the way! Make sure you order the SambaJuice cocktail which was a combination of raspberry and watermelon infused rum, açai, passion fruit, créme de banana and guava - it’s was fckn out of this world. No jokes.

First Course: Chicharron Calamari with mint, tamarind, plantain

I don’t normally like calamari and I’ve had some pretty badly cooked calamari in the past.. but one piece of this and I was sold! I could not stop putting these into my mouth they were so good! Cooked to perfection, soft and chewy enough without being at all rubbery.

The sushi here was so fresh and tasty with such a unique blend of Japanese flavours with Brazilian spices and textures.

Squid, asparagus with sesame seed and scallops (?)

The four course menu was to die for and was about $55 a person. I’ve been raving about this place for months but when I’ve been asked to explain why it was so good – it was really hard to say. It’s something that you really need to try for yourself. Please trust me on this – you WILL be blown away.

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Sushi Samba Rio
504 North Wells Street
Chicago, IL 60654, United States
(312) 595-2300
sushisamba.com?

About Sunnyridge Strawberry Farm at Mornington Peninsula

I’ve been wanting to visit Sunnyridge Strawberry Farm for a few years now but haven’t had the chance. I can’t believe I haven’t been here because I’ve lived in Victoria all my life and it’s so close by to travel to. Mornington Peninsula is just a beautiful place to visit for tourists and locals all around, and everything about Sunnyridge just sounds appealing. You can pick your own fresh strawberries, eat strawberry desserts, purchase strawberry jams and chocolates, or best yet – taste strawberry wines and liqueurs. There are hundreds of strawberry varieties and you can find even the most premium and sweetest strawberries here.

U-Pick was closed when we visited Sunnyridge, but we picked up a box of these gorgeous premium strawberries! They were so delicious. So fresh and flavourful.

Going to Mornington Peninsula is often a magical playground for wine lovers, who go to each and every winery tasting all the wines available. But for those who aren’t a fan of alcohol, it can be very boring. Sunnyridge is great because they offer a very refreshing Sparkling Strawberry Wine that is non-alcoholic for just $10. So good!

Here are the selection of fruit wines and liqueurs available to taste test. We tried them all! There is an apple cider, strawberry & apple cider, a sparkling strawberry wine, a sparkling strawberry & grape wine, strawberry port, cherry port, strawberry liqueur and a strawberry and cream liqueur. You can check out the wines at Rebello Wines and order online as well. We purchased the Charlotte 100% Strawberry Sparkling wine and the strawberry & apple cider. They were so flavourful and refreshing. The Charlotte has won the Best Sparkling in Show at the 2009 a& 2010 Australian Fruit Wine Awards.

We also picked up some strawberry jams. Nom nom nom.

This was my favourite part, because I love cheesecake and this was a gorgeous smooth strawberry cheesecake. It wasn’t too sweet either and had such a smooth fluffy consistency. Probably one of the best cheesecakes I’ve ever had!

This is my mum & I’s favourite dish – devonshire tea! Two fresh scones served with jam & cream, with tea.

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Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm
244 Shands Road, Main Ridge 3928
Victoria, Australia
Melway Reference 190 E12

It is approximately 75 minutes from Melbourne if you take the Monash Freeway, Eastlink, Moorooduc Hwy and Mornington Peninsula Freeway.

The last time I tried to visit Sunnyridge, it was closed during the week as I visited it not during the strawberry season. The strawberry season runs from November to April and Sunnyridge is open daily during 9am-5pm. But you can still visit Sunnyridge during the non-strawberry season on the weekends between the hours of 11am-4pm. This place is hugely popular – when we visited, there was so many people even on a Monday. It’s a must visit if you come to Melbourne!

In Chicago, I went to see Shrek the Musical! Shrek was held at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago which is really pretty in itself.

Shrek the Musical at Cadillac Palace Theatre Photos

I was worried I wouldn’t enjoy it because it seemed like it would be corny but to my astonishment – it was very funny and entertaining.

The people who played the roles of Lord Farquaad, Donkey and Fiona was absolutely amazing. It was hysterical that the guy who played Lord Farquaad had to be on his knees the entire show to be short and stumpy. Hahaha. It was fantastic how they made everything work as a whole.

My favourite scene is definitely “What’s Up, Duloc?”. It’s so joyful and colourful.. but not only that – full of hidden jokes. Actually the whole show was full of hidden jokes that aren’t in the movie. If you ever get the chance to see it – I really hope you will go!

After the show I really had to make sure I got myself a souvenir. I am ABSOLUTELY IN LOVE WITH THE GINGERBREAD MAN, I must add so I could not resist getting the puppet right shown in the middle of the below photo. SO ADORABLE!

And here are a bunch of photos of me outside the theatre.

(Btw – how annoying that some annoying guy annoyingly had to point in my direction when this photo was taken?)

GO SEE SHREK!!!!

On my trip to Chicago in September I did a guided food tour with Tastebud Tours which takes you to 5-7 food locations in the historic Chicago Loop and Millennium Park. Bring your stomach to this tour because the food tastings are enough for lunch and are included in the Tastebud ticket price (US $44.00 for the Millennium Loop Tour)

Be sure to wear comfortable clothes and shoes because you’ll be going to each spot on foot! This was good to ease the digestion of all the food you’re gonna eat. Haha.

The tour always starts at Pizano’s Pizza which is Vince Vaughn and Oprah’s favourite pizza restaurant! At 11am, there was already a line outside this restaurant!

Pizano’s is located at 864 North State Street, Chicago

This is the VIP room – where Oprah & Vince Vaughn would sit to hide away from the public.

At Pizano’s we got to try regular pizza and their famous Deep Dish pizza. In my opinion, this was much better than the Deep Dish pizza I had at Uno’s.

The next place we went to is Sarah’s Candies.

So many chocolates!!

Heart candies! Awww.

And various other sweets and cakes :) We came here and we got to try her famous brownie.

Next stop was The Drake Hotel on Lake Shore Drive.

The Drake Hotel is so pretty that this bathroom was voted the best bathroom! Never knew there was such a thing.. hahaha.

Our next location was Downtown Dogs at 804 North Rush Street, Chicago which is famous for the Chicago-style hot dog!

Heaven on Seven is a authentic cajun restaurant right in the heart of the city! That’s the most fantastic thing about Chicago is that you can find almost every food right in the city.

It has amazing atmosphere.

Here we got served some yummy rice with chicken and gumbo.

Look at all this hot sauce! Heaven on Seven recently had a promotion where if you brought in a bottle of hot sauce that they didn’t already have that dinner was on them! This is what led them to this awesome hot sauce collection. So cool!

Hahaha don’t you love the name of these sauces! Cracker.

The Billy Goat Tavern was our second last stop. Enter at Your Own Risk!

Do you recall the Saturday Night Live sketch in which a short order cook would yell out to incoming patrons? Cheezborger, Cheezborger, Cheezborger, No pepsi.. Coke!

Finally – our last stop was Candyality! This store has a variety of candy and is really unique because once you choose a bunch of candy in this store and checkout, they will give you a personalized analysis of your personality depending on the type of candy you’ve chosen!

I don’t remember my personality analysis at all but it sure was interesting! Haha

The store also has some interesting types of chocolate. No weight gain chocolate? Really? Hahaha. Lies.

Candyality can be found at 520 N. Michigan Ave, Chicago where all the other great shopping resides.

If you go to Chicago, you must do a food tour because you get to do a taste test of different restaurants and types of foods in the one day. You needn’t worry about getting your stomach too full though I was pretty stuffed after this tour. Tastebud Tours was great because it they really offered quite a unique experience.