Last week, I went Martin Yan’s (“Yan Can Cook”) office. My job was to consult his staff about innovation for his new culinary school in China. As a food addict in middle school, I still remember opt not watching cartoons and tune to PBS. I still remember watching Yan magically perform his […]

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Time magazine wrote a good article on menu design titled I’ll Have That Typeface on the Menu by Caplan.
Some restaurants are describing dishes with sophisticated words to achieve two goals.
1) Paint the dish as an upscale dish
2) Charge more since the description of the dish appear to take more time
In reality, simplicity is […]

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(pictures:chocolate bars, hot chocolate, nibs, cocoa butter)
Last week, I had a hint what it felt to be Charlie from the Chocalate Factory. After a delightful tour of the Takara sake factor, my buddies and I skipped over to Scharffenberger, a premium chocolate maker. One step into the factory, I can smell the nutty […]

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Often times, things are free require obligation or just don’t present much value. Takara, a sake manufacturer in Berkeley, is a rare exception offering the community a free take tour and tasting. I visited the factory on a weekend with a group of buddies. The tour includes a small showcase of the equipment […]

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Chinese Deli’s are often misunderstood. At first glance, the ducks hanging upside don’t seem very appealing. Looking past the window display, Win’s restaurant serve delicious bbq spare ribs. Tender meat marries perfectly with the tangy sauce. Their poached chicken lacks flavor. I would suggest them to first brine (soak meat in […]

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Although many travelers associate Hong Kong with shopping adventures and international business, it is also the birth place of Hong Kong cuisine. Hong Kong’s past as a British colony and long history of being an international city of commerce has resulted in the creation of a fusion cuisine influenced by many different cultures. […]

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(In-N-Out Burger and fries)
Quality food control is paramount to any quick service restaurant. McDonald’s announced that it stopped serving sliced tomatoes in restaurants in the United States over concerns about salmonella food poisoning linked to some uncooked varieties. When I was in college, I studied Environmental Economics and Policy and learned about […]

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Contrary to the name of the restaurant, the food is horrible at this local Vietnamese establishment in the leafy Sunset district in San Francisco. Vietnamese food often features fresh herbs and pungent broth and both of these basic elements are lacking. Unlike American food, Vietnamese is very light. Cheese and cream are […]

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(smothered chicken with beans and string beans, country fried steak)
Hardknox Café may have a mean spirited name, but the restaurant is serving great food with Southern hospitality in the Richmond district. Planted next to ethnic restaurants, patrons can easily identify the baseball font signage on leafy Clement Street. After almost ten years serving soul food, […]

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After a long day at work, I enjoy cooking a simple meal done well. On a hot day, I grab a pack of Myojo, a quality instant noodle (not an oxymoron). A pack of Myojo cost around $1.40, found at your local Asian super markets. My motto: quality over quantity.
On […]

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