Category Archives: Sweets/Bakeries/Desserts

Capital Restaurant & Yogurt Circle

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Ron and I had lunch in Chinatown today at Capital Restaurant. He said they are famous for their salt & pepper chicken wings so we ordered that plus a bowl of BBQ pork wonton noodles.

The chicken wings were nice and crispy and very salty and peppery (a bit too much for me). The meat was very juicy and tender.

The noodles were a bit overcooked for me, I like them al dente but the broth was good and the wontons decent. The BBQ pork was a bit fatty but then Ron said he might have eaten all the non-fatty pieces.

Overall it was an okay lunch but I’m just not that big a fan of salt & pepper chicken wings. The restaurant seemed clean and overall the service was efficient.

Finding ourselves in Daly City, we had a snack at Yogurt Circle at Westlake Shopping Center. Now that I’ve discovered that frozen yogurt has less carbohydrates than I originally thought, I’ve been sort of craving for it since I can’t really eat too much ice cream (too much lactose and sugar). It’s 39 cents per ounce self serve so I chose mango tart and strawberry-banana yogurt topped with mochi and slivered almonds, this bowl was about $2.50.

They also have a stamp card for buy 6, get the 7th bowl free. I might be back…

Capital Restaurant
839 Clay Street

Yogurt Circle
500 Westlake Shopping Center
Daly City, CA

Venus & Yogurtland in Berkeley, Protein Style at In-N-Out

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We had a very nice day out today in the bay area. Our friends Tiff & Alex are visiting from Southern California so we met up with them in Berkeley for brunch.

At first we attempted to go to La Note but at 11:20am, the wait for 4 people was 45 to 60 minutes. Venus Restaurant, just down the street, had a shorter wait and seemed to go through customers faster, so we only had to wait about 15 to 20 minutes.

Ron ordered their very beautiful looking pomegranate mimosa, served with a juicy blackberry.

I ordered the chicken sausage scramble which is chicken sausage, mozzarella, roasted bell peppers, caramelized onions, fresh basil, mixed with three eggs and served with home fries and toast ($10). The chicken sausage was a little bit sweet and nicely pan fried. The home fries were excellent and I loved how they toasted the bread (this is whole wheat) because it was a bit chewy.

Ron ordered the 2x2x2, this with 2 eggs sunny side up, bacon, and flapjacks ($10.50). Flapjacks fluffy and delicious. Alex also ordered the similar dish with sausage instead and got the extra blueberries mixed with the flapjacks. His looked yummy too (sorry, no picture).

Tiff ordered the Venus Benedict, 2 poached eggs and sliced tomato, open-face on an english muffin, with ham, spinach or avocado topped with lemony hollandaise and served with home fries ($10.50). This looked really delicious too.

After we finished brunch, we headed for a walk through the Berkeley campus and reminisce about our school. Many of the buildings are the same and look like they’ve been cleaned up or are being restored. Ron and I took this picture by the campanile:

It was a very peaceful walk through campus considering that school is out for winter break. Lots of stores were closed either for the long Christmas weekend or for the winter break. We made a big loop from Shattuck, through campus, down Telegraph, then back down Durant to Shattuck.

Before leaving Berkeley, Ron and I went to Yogurtland, the first one I’ve been to in the Bay Area. Currently they are having limited edition Tokidoki cups and spoons, so cute! Plus there is a sweepstakes to win a shopping spree and free yogurt.

We tried three flavors of yogurt: taro (thumbs up), egg nog (thumbs up), and pecan praline (thumbs down) and three toppings: brownies (thumbs down), mochi (thumbs up), and slivered almonds (thumbs up). At 30 cents an ounce, this bowl cost $2.10. Also, Yogurtland has all their nutritional information on their website.

We spent the afternoon shopping then had dinner at In-N-Out. We tried a few things from their “secret menu”. Their corporate website lists a few of their secret items but I found this more comprehensive secret menu list online.

I ordered a double double “protein style”. Basically, any burger “protein style” eliminates the bun and instead everything is wrapped in lettuce. Quite good actually, it felt less greasy because of the refreshing lettuce.

Ron ordered the double double “animal style” with “extra toast”. I think “animal style” is well known but “extra toast” is the bun a bit more toasty. We also ordered fries “well done” which made them extra crispy.

Yum… good way to end the weekend.

Venus Restaurant
2327 Shattuck Avenue
Berkeley, CA
(510)540-5950

Yogurtland
2236 Shattuck Avenue
Berkeley, CA
(510) 548-8001

In-N-Out
11 Rollins Rd
Millbrae, CA

Teacake Bake Shop

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http://www.teacakebakeshop.com/

We had dinner with Ron’s family and his brother Henry picked up some cupcakes and cookies for dessert from Teacake Bake Shop in Emeryville.

The selections included red velvet and chocolate cupcakes:

Another cupcake type I didn’t try…, chocolate chip cookie sandwiches, chocolate chunk cookies, and peanut butter cookies.

The cupcakes seemed a bit dry and the frosting a bit too sweet. The cookie sandwich was yummy though, I could have eaten more than one!

Teacake Bake Shop
5615 Bay Street
Emeryville, CA 94608

Cupkates

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http://cupkatesbakery.com/

Our friend and neighbor works in Berkeley so has access to this great cupcake truck that makes rounds in Oakland and Berkeley called Cupkates, a mobile cupcakery. She offered us a few cupcakes that she picked up while at work and I couldn’t resist.

Part of today’s offerings were a vanilla cupcake and the peppermint chocolate cupcake. So far I’ve eaten half of the peppermint chocolate, the cupcake was really moist and the cream very light (more like whipped cream, not buttercream) with little bits of candy cane on top.

Check out the website for their regular truck route and their flavor offerings. Cupcakes range from $2.50 o $3.00 each. Follow them on Twitter for exact location of the truck. I think they’re closed for Christmas though.

Union Square Macy’s, Bar Tartine, Bi-Rite Creamery, and Jeremys Department Store

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This morning I went for a walk to Union Square and did some shopping at Macy’s. They were still having some Black Friday deals this morning so I found some good gifts. While there, I came across one of those electronic vending machines that sell iPods, the Sony eReader, headphones, USB drives, etc. Unfortunately it was out of order or else I would definitely get one of these! I just may have to go back to get one.

The San Francisco SPCA has set up their pet adoption windows so I went to take a peek at the kitties and puppies. I took a few pictures with my iPhone.

This kitty was exhausted but not too exhausted to look cute and pose for the camera. Check out the tiny paws underneath the chin.

There are siblings in this window, the one on top was meowing for attention.

This is Fiona, a 3-month old little tabby taking a nap.

This poor kitty looked upset and squished itself in between the glass and the candy cane pole.

Macy’s had their tree lighting ceremony on Friday night. I took a rest on a bench in Union Square and did some people watching while waiting for Ron to pick me up for lunch; there were tons of people out shopping.

We went for lunch with friends at Bar Tartine. They take reservations but for a maximum of 6 people. They have a great weekend brunch menu.

I started out with a very refreshing Dry Soda Co. Cucumber Soda. It’s like sparkling water with a strong cucumber flavor with a bit of sweetness. It’s a bit expensive though, $4 in the restaurant, not sure what retail price is but I’ll be on the hunt for it.

The bread and butter so yummy. The bread toasty on the outside, chewy and a bit sour on the inside.

Ron ordered the open faced pork belly sandwich with avocado, egg salad, pickled jalapeno and shoestring fries ($14). The pork belly had a bit too much fat so Ron had to cut it off. The pickled jalapeno gave the sandwich a good kick. The shoestring fries were delicious with the accompanying aioli.

I ordered the Sonoma foie gras panini, blackberry jam, brioche, rocket and green salad ($16). This was really rich. We wished they had seared the foie gras because it was kind of mushy overall especially with the blackberry jam. The flavor was great and the brioche was nicely toasted. I would love more of that blackberry jam.

The other dish tried by our table was the country bread french toast with raspberries and maple syrup (plus some little currants). I didn’t try this though.

After our very filling lunch, we walked over to Bi-Rite Creamery for some dessert. This time the line wasn’t that long so we decided to wait the 5-10 minutes. We walked over to Dolores Park to sit on the grass and enjoy our ice cream. I tried the Earl Gray and Roasted Banana. The Earl Gray really tasted like the tea with a hint of floral aftertaste. The Roasted Banana just tasted like banana but perhaps the Earl Gray overpowered it.

Then I went shopping with Virginia at Jeremy’s Department Store. She went yesterday and got some good deals. They started their black friday sale yesterday where everything is at least 50% off. It’s through the weekend so ends on Sunday night at closing. We spent like 2 hours there shopping and I bought two pairs of shoes and some dresses. I’ll take some photos later. If you’re looking for a good deal on wedding gowns, they have some beauties priced below $600 and with the additional 50% off, it’s a steal! This is the best sale I’ve been to but they do have sales every weekend, just sign up for their mailing list to get notification of what’s going on sale.

It’s been a nice relaxing Thanksgiving holiday… I’m glad tomorrow is still Sunday, one more day of rest.

Bar Tartine
561 Valencia Street

Bi-Rite Creamery
3692 18th Street

Jeremys Department Store
2 South Park