Lin's Under the Weather

Sunday night was really bad for Lin. She had to run to the bathroom umpteen times. We had to call the hotel to get us a doc and they referred us to Dr Jim Salvage. It was in the middle of the night and a nurse picked up the call. We made an appointment to see him at 10.45am on Monday morning. However as we were up the whole night, we overslept and missed the appointment. *.* We called the clinic again and saw the doc at 11.30am.

Dr Salavge seems really knowlegable. He tried to find out the symptons Lin had and when her whole problem started. He explained to us in layman terms why her tummy had so much activities and how we could fix the problem. He also suggested she did a lab test (we're still waiting for the result). We realized later in the day that Crystal sees him too when she's unwell. :)

Lin was much better after seeing him & taking the medication he prescribed. (Lots of medication but who cares when you want to be well when travelling; whatever works). We thank God for his healing hands and everyone back home for their prayers too. :)

Slurping Hot Ramen at Katana-ya

Sunday dinner was at Katana-ya. :) Perfect on a cold & rainy December nite eh? ;)

We waited quite a while for a table...

Poor Crytsal was starving. I spared her the agony of posing for my camera & let her enjoy the hot ramen. :)

We had a bowl of regular pork ramen each. Crystal chose the miso broth while Lin & I had the shoyu broth. I wasn't blown away by the ramen as we have tried better ones in Japan & Singapore. But I guess if we're away from home & wanted something comforting, this is it. 

We also ordered agadashi tofu for the sides. :)

There were still people waiting for seats while we left. We were glad we filled our tummies. Now, we had to brave the rain & head home to bed. A bright new week awaits us. :) 

Details of Katana-ya:
430 Geary Street (at Mason Street)
San Francisco
CA 94102

T: +415 771 1280

Chocolaty Chocolaty Treat at Ghirardelli

Chocolaty chocolaty trip to a chocolaty chocolaty treat at Ghirardelli Chocolate Ice Cream and Chocolate shop. The flagship store is located where else but Ghirardelli Square. :)

Here's a pic of us in front of the Christmas tree. :)

The place was filled with Sunday crowd. :) We got a seat nonetheless and we hoarded the table for an hour or so. Sorry... :))) It was cold outside & our feet were tired. ;)

It's never too cold to have ice cream! :D We had double scoop (chocolate and cookies & cream ice cream) in chocolate coated waffle bowl. A tad sweet though...

The hot chocolate was ultra sinfully rich. In Crystal's words, she finished a bar of chocolate.  I wonder how much we needed to walk off what we had? 

So here's our sweet Sunday afternoon. Hope you had a good one too. :)

Details of Ghirardelli Chocolate Ice Cream & Chocolate Shop:
801 Beach Street
San Francisco
CA 94109
T: +415 441 2560
W: http://ghirardelli.com/

Strolling along Municipal Pier

After brunch, we headed to the Municipal Pier to view the city skyline. :) We were also able to see both the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz from the pier. It would have been perfect if the sky was blue. *.*

Crabbing & fishing enthusiasts, tourists on electric tours and seagulls are a common sight at the pier.

 

































We sure had lots to catch up. ;) After all it's been more than 5 years since we last hang out together.

The chilly weather prompted us to Ghirardelli next for some chocolaty treat! Woo hoo! :)

Details of Municipal Pier:

Sunday Brunch at Olea

It's amazing how friends can connect even though we've not seen each other for years! :) Crystal has been such awesome friend cum host, making sure we're comfy during our stay here. On our first Sunday in SF, she brought us to a neighbourhood restaurant, Olea for brunch! The restaurant features fresh organic produce from local farms whenever possible and its menu changes according to the seasonal availability of the ingredients, hence ensuring the freshness of its food. Lovely! :)

I can't remember how long we waited. The place was packed...

Everything looks delish & it was difficult to decide what to have. :)))

We eventually settled for scrambled eggs on rustic roll with tomato slices and bacon. It was so good! :D

We had lots of eggs that day. :))) Next's up were eggs baked in a cazuela with tomato sauce, steamed farro spezzato, diced niman ranch applewood smoked ham and basil-almond pesto; served with toast. Hmm...

Olea is a hidden San Francisco treat. :) A gem indeed. ;)

Details of Olea:
1494 California Street on Larkin
San Francisco
CA 94109
T: +415 202 8521
W: http://www.oleasf.com/

Our Home in San Francisco for the Next Two Weeks

The Westin San Francisco Market Street will be our home for the next two weeks. Lin's here for work & dragged me along to keep her company. :)

The room's spacious and bright. I love big windows! :) I'm working from here while Lin goes to her office everyday. The dresser becomes my workstation.

Oh and we love the ultra comfy bed...

We're surrounded by blocks & blocks of buildings and if we're lucky, we get partial view of the bay on a clear day.

There's nothing fanciful about the bathroom. In fact it lacked character...

The hotel's breakfasts aren't fantastic. We tried the egg benedicts from Ducca and it's ... The muffin was tough and the ham was too thick & sweet. The hollandise sauce wasn't spectacular either. It has got to be the worst egg benedict we ever had... : I

On Monday morning, we ordered room service breakfast. We had a scone, white and wholemeal toast, orange juice & hot lemon tea. Average. We didn't touch the scone as it had cinamon in it. I miss the good old traditional English scones with just cream and or gelee... :(

After trying Westin's breakfasts, we figured it's best to "eat out". ;)



Breakfasts aside, the stay at The Westin has been pleasant thus far. :) The location is good with lots of shopping & restaurants just mins away.

Details of the Westin at Market Street:

50 Third Stree

San Francisco

CA 94103

T: +915 974 6400

W: http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1981

Cheap & Good Sunday Breakfast - Chee Cheong Fun

One of my fav Sunday breakfast yums is chee cheong fun. Unlike the Hong Kong's version where there're various stuffing such as shrimps, scallops & char siew, the Singapore's version is just plain rice roll drizzled with sweet sauce & sprinkled with sesame seeds. It's cheap (about 60-70 cents per roll), it's yummy & it's easily available at all hawker centres! :) I love the soft texture. I love the sweet sauce. I love the sesame seeds...