Daily Archives: April 7, 2009

Hotei – Japanese Noodles + Sushi

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http://www.hoteisf.com/

Tried Hotei for the first time tonight. Thanks to Patsy and her husband for the treat!

We shared a 49er Roll which is sliced salmon, lemon, avocado, tobiko, and shiso. The thinly sliced lemon on top gives it an interesting bite, in a way very refreshing but also a bit strange.

I tried the chasu ramen with miso broth. Surprisingly this bowl of noodles was too much for me. I shouldn’t have eaten that banana before I left work… but the noodles were nice and al dente, the chasu on the leaner side, yummy bamboo shoots, other nice greens in the soup…but then broth just a bit too salty for me. I’m not really a broth drinker to begin with so I may be a bad judge of broth.

We also shared an order of hamachi kama (yellowtail cheek, usually broiled) so that may have contributed to my inability to finish my noodles. Next time I’ll know to save my stomach because this restaurant’s portions are actually very generous.

With the suddenly cooler weather, warm soupy noodles were just the thing!

Hotei
1290 9th Avenue

Williams Sonoma Bear Cake Pan – Attempt #2

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See my first attempt here.

Today is my co-worker Patsy’s birthday so a good excuse for me to try the cake pan again. This time I followed the recipe on the box but I came across the same problem that I read about on the Williams Sonoma website, there didn’t seem enough batter. The batter only came up about an inch less from the top so I was afraid it wasn’t going to bake “up” enough. I quickly made a box of carrot cake mix and added another 1/2 inch of batter, it seemed more dense, so it kind of sank into the other batter…

After baking for 1 hr 20 minutes, it finally cooked all the way through (the box says 45 to 55 minutes). The cake had puffed way up! Next time, I’ll just trust the box recipe… or maybe try brownie or fudge? Hmmm…

It cooled overnight, I used peanut butter frosting from my peanut butter & jelly cupcakes (that I had been keeping for an occasion like this) as the “glue” and filler for the cake. I accidentally cut a bit of its nose and tail off when I was trimming the cake. After I glued the two halves together, it went into the refrigerator for 30 minutes then I glazed it with a mixture of powdered sugar (1 cup), cocoa powder (1 tsp), and milk (2 Tbsp). Then used dark brown sugar to coat Mr. Bear.

He’s still not all the pretty but there’s always a next time… but it’s not as bad as what Patsy did to it… as the knife approaches the bear…

Oh no!

The head to take home and the body to eat at work… not sure how well you can see but the darker carrot cake in the middle and the pound cake surrounding it.

Happy Birthday Patsy!