Fried Chicken Rice Burger

It’s been a while since I last posted anything about Sandbox Bakery, but I’m still a huge fan. I just had their fried chicken rice burger. It’s a play off of Japan’s fast food chain, MOS Burger, but better. (Well, it better be if it’s gonna be $6, right?) I didn’t get it fresh out of the fryer so it was already cold, but the chicken was still crispy and juicy. All the ingredients blended well together, especially with the rice buns (because that’s what we Asians like to eat).

833 Cortland Ave
(between Ellsworth St & Gates St)
San Francisco, CA 94110
Neighborhood: Bernal Heights
(415) 642-8580

I’ve been going to Patisserie Philippe for years now and it’s still one of my favorite places for French macarons. Every place makes it differently – texture, size, filling, sweetness – and here they’re made not too sweet, crispy outer layer, chewy inside, and filled with buttercream. I’m usually into non-fruit flavors like tea flavors or pistachio, but I just had their passion fruit and it was a refreshing change. I also tried their chocolate mousse cake. It was rich and sweet – perfect for those with a huge sweet tooth.

655 Townsend St
(between 7th St & 8th St)
San Francisco, CA 94103
Neighborhood: SOMA
(415) 558-8016

The most random thing happened to me today. While walking to Chinatown for lunch, I passed by a brand new cupcake window stand. It was really ghett-looking because it was tiny and still brand new, but the cupcakes weren’t ghetto at all. It was so new – just opened that day – that they didn’t even have a real sign up, nor a name for the place.

Cupcakes are $3 each, and I can vouch that their red velvet is very moist and delicious. I’ll have to try one a day or something.

I looked it up and found that the venue was previously called The Dreaming Room. Here’s the address:

One of my favorite Hong Kong pastry is the wife cake (老婆餅), which is a winter melon paste wrapped with a flaky and thin skin. There hasn’t been any in San Francisco that has gotten me wanting more until I tried the ones from Fancy Wheat Field Bakery (小麥田西餅店), one of the newer Chinese bakeries to hit the city. Their wife cakes are smaller than usual, but they come in packs of fours. The skin is very flaky on top, and the bottom has a light crisp to it. The winter melon paste filling is not too sweet, which is just the way we Asians like it!

2668 San Bruno Avenue
(between Burrows St & Bacon St)
San Francisco, CA 94134
Neighborhood: Portola
(415) 330-9982

I just wanted to give a special shout out to one of the best cupcakes I’ve had, the “Lost in Paradise” cupcake from Cups and Cakes Bakery. It’s a banana cake topped with a strawberry butter cream. The cake was very moist and not too heavy, and the buttercream tasted fresh and fruity. It did feel like paradise!

Their Root Beer Float cupcake was also unique, plus it looked like root beer topped with ice cream. Their “Luscious Vanilla” cupcake with a vanilla cake, vanilla buttercream, and a Nilla wafer on top was also good. These two were on the sweeter side. Cups and Cakes never seems to disappoint!

451 9th St
(between Mclea Ct & Bryant St)
San Francisco, CA 94103
Neighborhood: SOMA
(415) 437-2877

My favorite dessert bakery in the Bay Area is Satura Cakes. I usually go to their Palo Alto location since it’s closer to me. They bake European treats with a Japanese/Asian taste, which usually means less on the sugar overload and more on the flavors. Just about anytime I get something there, I’m never disappointed.

This time I went for their Chestnut Mont Blanc cake since I’m a huge fan of this French treat. It’s everything I could ask for – rich, chestnut cream and actual chestnuts topped on a layer of a moist sponge cake. My favorite this time, however, was their Strawberry-Misu – think Tiramisu, but strawberry. No rum or cocoa here – it’s been replaced with strawberry preserve and fresh strawberries. Add mascarpone and a sponge cake at the bottom and you have yourself a strawberry-misu.

320 University Ave
Palo Alto, CA 94301
(650) 326-3393

Jann and Steve came back from Las Vegas and brought be a nice little treat – French macarons from Payard Patisserie & Bistro in Las Vegas. I can’t say it’s the best, and I wasn’t too fond of their bright nuclear colors, but I did really like its texture. Hard, thin outside, soft, chewy inside – just the way I like it.

Thanks guys!

Caesar’s Palace
3570 Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89136
(702) 731-7292

I haven’t had a slice of sacripantina cake from Stella Pastry & Cafe over at North Beach in a while.  It somewhat reminds me of cakes in Chinatown, except this one is guaranteed light, moist, and not overly sweet. Plus, I’m a fan of zabaglione, which is the custard they use in this cake, and you can taste the rum in this. Their pear tart was also very good, though I’m still a bigger fan of flaky crust.

446 Columbus Ave
(between Green St & Stockton St)
San Francisco, CA 94133
Neighborhood: North Beach/Telegraph Hill
(415) 986-2914

I remember wanting to eat at Patisserie Boisserie Restaurant & Patisserie the last time I was at Carmel but I was too full. This time, I didn’t care – I had to go. I went in at full force, even though I had just finished eating at Carmel Belle. I was so stuffed after eating …

I ordered their Eggs Parisienne, which is “two poached eggs smothered with crispy chopped bacon and melted cheese on croissant, and served with assorted fresh fruits”. The eggs were poached just right and the bacon really was crispy. The croissant was warm, soft and flaky, and all that cheese just made this my heaviest meal of the day. But I still had to get their desserts …

I’m a fan of banana cream pie, so I had to try theirs. It was really good – texture and sweetness was just right. My one complaint was their crust … it was very thick, and I guess I’m just used to having it flaky like at Mission Pie rather than a thick sheet of crust.

I had a zabaglione for the first time, which is a dessert consisting of “Marsala wine, egg yolks, sugar, and cream over cake soaked in espresso”. It was nice and light. It’s something I’ve never had before and now I want more.

I went with my mom, but she was still full from our previous lunch and barely ate. I can’t believe I ate all that! Oh wait, I can.

Mission St & 7th Ave
Carmel, CA 93921
(831) 624-5008

I’ve mentioned the blueberry mousse served at my current favorite bakery in Chinatown, Yummy Bakery and Cafe, but now, I want to mention their milk egg tart (鮮奶蛋撻). Everyone is familiar with Chinese egg tarts (蛋撻), but a lot of people don’t know that they come in different variations. My favorite is actually the milk egg tart, which is a milk variation. I can’t guarantee how good it is when you get it here, but when it’s fresh, it’s definitely worth the trip!

I also tried their orange chocolate mousse – it was too pretty to not try. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I just don’t think Chinese can do chocolate right. It’s just never rich enough because they don’t like sweets too sweet. After thinking about it, there really aren’t that many Chinese chocolate desserts. I’ll stick with the fruits and beans.

607 Jackson Street
San Francisco, CA 94108
Neighborhood: Chinatown
(415) 989-8388