Monthly Archives: January 2009

Victor’s Pizza and Alembic Bar

We met up with a friend tonight for dinner. He used to live in SF so picked the places we went tonight.

First stop, Victor’s Pizza. Apparently our friend Arjun says that almost everything they had was delicious. We had eyed their calzones as we were waiting for our table so we got Calzone “B” with pepperoni, salami, and mushrooms. The breading is nice and chewy and the ingredients seemed very fresh. This was a mini size and is plenty for 2 people. Ron and I had leftovers because I also wanted to try their pasta.

I chose the carbonara. The bacon was good and there was a lot of it! It was a bit oily though and very filling. We ate about 2/3 of the dish so we have enough for one more meal.

After dinner we tried to go to a wine bar down the street but it was packed full. There was a 30 minute wait to get inside. Instead we drove over to the Haight to Alembic Bar. One of Arjun’s friends recommended it. Apparently it had been written up recently in the New York Times.

It was really crowded there too and we had to wait about 15 minutes to get inside. They have a rule “one person out, one person in”. We were lucky to get a table to sit and chat. We had a few drinks, including one not on the menu. A mint julep. The poor bartender had to make three of these for our table and to make the ice, she pound a block of ice in a canvas bag with a mallet. She was beating the bag with a vengeance. The drink was worth it though, ICE cold!

Very refreshing and a good way to end the night.

Victor’s Pizza
1411 Polk Street (between California & Pine)

Alembic Bar
1725 Haight Street (between Cole & Shrader)

Poleng Lounge

Tonight I went out with Vicki and Joyce for dinner. We hadn’t had the chance to catch up before the holidays so this was our chance. I found Poleng Lounge on Opentable and it seemed to have good reviews and it was easy to make a reservation.

The restaurant was pretty empty at 6:30pm but then that is pretty early to have dinner. It seems like they have music in the evenings and a pretty mellow atmosphere.

We ordered some yummy appetizers, roasted edamame, roti, and sweet potato fries with banana catsup. The edamame was salty and smoked, yum. The roti was nice a hot but the accompanying curry was a bit cold. The sweet potato fries were delicious and the catsup was unique.

We ordered the shaking beef. The beef chunks were a good size and the dipping sauce complimented the meat well.

The garlic lobster noodles were a bit greasy but very yummy. The noodles a bit chewy and lots of garlic. Don’t order this on a date!

They have delicious cocktails too! I’m sure you’d be happy with whichever one you order.

We had a bit room left for dessert (probably I had more room than Vicki and Joyce…) and ordered the bread pudding.

One of the best bread puddings I’ve had. There was a slight burnt crust on the bottom because of carmelization and the rest was moist and delicious. It was served with a taro (I think) tapioca with a bit of black sesame seeds. That was really yummy.

I’d like to go back again on a weekend and see what the night scene is like… it’s pretty close to where we live so I think this may be a nice place to frequent. Here we can have the cuisine we miss from Singapore.

Poleng Lounge
1751 Fulton Ave @ Masonic

Firsts…

A few “firsts” this week for me…

Yesterday, I went for my first workout of the new year at the UCSF gym. Ron and I joined last week for our New Year’s resolution to be a bit more healthy this year. I sure am sore. Oh well, with time hopefully it’ll get better.

Today I went to the library. I don’t think I’ve been to a public library since high school… I can’t remember the last time I checked out a book. I love books but I usually just buy the ones I’m interested in or will browse at Borders or Barnes & Nobles. I’m glad I went today though, picked up a few books… I’ve already started reading Marley & Me.

Also, tonight was the first time I’ve seen Mochi and Misu simultaneously cleaning each other. Usually Mochi is the one cleaning Misu. I didn’t capture a good picture of them in action but here’s a photo of them sitting together keeping warm. Makes me want to join them but then I’d disturb them…

Koi Garden – fresh lobster

I spent the day at my parents’ house in San Ramon. They kindly let me use their washer and dryer to do my laundry, saved me from using all my quarters 🙂 We went out together for dinner at Koi Garden because my parents had just recently been there for the delicious lobster. The restaurant was experimenting with a lobster “three-ways”: sashimi, rice, and stir-fried.

The sashimi was delicious with a bit of lime, wasabi, and soy sauce. The texture is a bit crunchy but also like fish.

My parents were already experts at this so they asked for a pot of hot sharkfin flavored broth to poach the lobster and lettuce. The soup was tasty and warmed us all up. I preferred the lobster meat raw though, the fresh flavor was more pronounced.

My dad compared the rice dish to a Spanish paella, except this was curry flavored and very much Asian.

I didn’t care for it as much, a bit too many onions, not enough other vegetables, and not enough sauce for all the rice.

My phone camera went on the fritz and I couldn’t take a picture of the last “way” which was stir fried with green onions. Tasty but a mess to eat.

A very satisfying dinner with my family.

Koi Garden
4288 Dublin Blvd Ste 213
Dublin, CA