Delivery Sushi in the East Bay

Sushi Hinata / Hinako โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ

(I think itโ€™s Hinata but it says Hinako in DoorDash)
August 2023

Sake Oyako Don $21.95: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
Generous amount of fish thatโ€™s just right for the amount of rice.

Haha Ramen Sushi โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ

June 2023

Sake Don $16.99: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ Decent size for the price
Chirashi Don $17.99: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ Decent size for the price

Golden Sushi Li โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ

February 2023

Incredible Tray $62.99: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
Fancier rolls and more sashimi. Definitely a good deal if you are just craving cheap sushi

Golden Sushi Li โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ

November 2022

Nigi Tray $52.99: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
This was a good deal but quality is just ok. it was merely just to stuff ourselves with sushi.

Oishii Sushi โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ

October 2022

Sake Bowl $11.99: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ Standard quality but a good deal
Rainbow Roll $12.99: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธ Mediocre

Torarenbou Sushi Bistro โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ

September 2022

Chirashi $19.5: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ It was decent, 75% of the fish was good and the ones on the right were just ok
Sushi Roll Combo $22: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธ Mediocre sushi
Super Dynamite $13: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธ Standard quality

Make you own mixian!

Make you own #mixian! @ Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle
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The spread was impressive. The noodle soup was flavorful but not too strong, which was very much Hong Kong style rather than YunNan style I feel like. We like it for that reason. We tried the original and the tomato broth, and they were both very decent noodles. I think having the diy style adds fun to the meal so it elevated it from an average-good meal to a engagingly good meal. We will definitely come back again to try the spicy ones as we donโ€™t think this would be as spicy as those other Chinese noodles.

#bayareaeats #bayareafood #mixian #noodle #noodlesoup #soup

Cute Easter macaron!

Easter calls for bunny and chick macaron, with a piece of Earl Grey Tres Leches! Yum!

Macaron โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
This place has the cutest macarons! I love how this place is so easily accessible because itโ€™s right where I live. They have new characters almost daily and lots of characters you probably know of!

Earl Grey Tres Leches โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
Great flavor of earl grey but I wish itโ€™s more soggy and has more condensed milk like other tres leches.

Goldhill Bistro @ Valley Fair

Overall: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ

This place was really pretty and the menu was very attractive so we thought we would give it a try. However, I think the prices were very expensive for some normal entrees, signature dish was underwhelming, and they couldnโ€™t get some of the basic things right (dry minced pork, solid yolk in onsen egg, etc.). It was nice to snap a few instagrammable photos here but we probably wouldnโ€™t come back againโ€ฆ

Decor: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ The only reason why I gave 3 instead of 2 stars is because this place was an eye candy!! Nice flowery decor everywhere, flower board outside for photos, flowers hanging from the ceiling, chairs were pink and tables, and the plates and cups were nice lookingโ€ฆ

Drinks ๆฐดๆžœ่Œถ: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธ Really tiny glasses, the size of an espresso cup, of fruit tea for $8.99 plus tax and tips. The pot held two glasses and each glass had about one mouthful of beverage. We didnโ€™t know until later that they actually would refill our tea! That was a plus but the refill was already diluted. Tea was good but I could get at least triple what we had with that priceโ€ฆ

Crab Tamagoyaki ้ฆ™้†‡่Ÿน็ฒ‰ๆ—ฅๅผ็މๅญ็‡’: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ Very good but I could not taste the tiny amount of crab at all.

Teriyaki Chicken over Rice ็‡’้›ž่…ฟๆ‰’ไธผ้ฃฏ: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ Good chicken, just what I expected from a teriyaki chicken rice but it was too pricey for such a generic dish.

Onsen Tamago ๆบซๆณ‰่›‹: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ This was probably the best thing (and it came with the rice) I tasted all night. The sauce was on point and the egg was good. The only thing was that the yolk was a little over cooked and it was solid instead of runny.

Crab Noodle ๆ‹›็‰Œ้ปƒ้‡‘่ฌๅ…ฉ่Ÿน้ปƒ้บต (ไธๅซ้ปƒ้‡‘): โญ๏ธโญ๏ธ This was supposed to be the signature dish and the whole point of why we were getting this combo. A la carte price was ~$40(?). I was expecting the flavor to be stronger than ่ณฝ่žƒ่Ÿน (crab stir fry with egg white). However, the crab was over cooked (Iโ€™d rarely tried crab thatโ€™s so rough), the sauce was sort of tasteless, and it was very watery. Noodle was okay so I kept a couple stars.

Free vegetable that came with the rice: โญ๏ธ hmm, how could the minced pork be so dryโ€ฆ. I thought you couldnโ€™t go wrong with minced pork in Taiwanese dish? Even boba cafes could do minced pork betterโ€ฆ

Taiwan Professional Tea in the Bay Area

Sharing my love with boba! Apparently this is one of the best tea places in Taiwan, and they have several locations in the Bay Area! I already tried it twice already. The tea is very strong!

Thai Brรปlรฉe Tornado @ TP Tea

Overall: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
Thai Tea with Brรปlรฉe Cream: Not too sweet because my husband got me 30% sweetness, but the brรปlรฉe cream definitely made up for it.
Boba: On the smaller side, but chewy and have the right sweetness

Matcha Brรปlรฉe Tornado @ TP Tea

Overall: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
Matcha with Brรปlรฉe Cream: Not too sweet because my husband AGAIN got me 30% sweetness, but the brรปlรฉe cream definitely made up for it. The Matcha is legit for those who enjoys the little kick it gives.
Boba: On the smaller side, but chewy and have the right sweetness

Where should I order a Taco Salad from?

Taqueria Azteca (Yelp)

Doordash Delivery 9/29/2022: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
8/24/2022, 9/29/2022
Ah this taco salad is much bigger and better than the other place (though at $13.95), no rice/bean as requested. Very fulfillingโ€ฆ. Ordered from this place twice already and definitely will order again.

IG Post: https://www.instagram.com/p/CqBvEBMPBsA/

Portales Taqueria (Yelp)

Uber Eats Delivery 9/20/2022: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
Pretty decent taco salad for $12 but it has rice and beans even though I requested for no beans. The size is on the smaller side though. Quite a good amount of meat for a $3.3 taco.

IG Post: https://www.instagram.com/p/CqBsX59PMzL/

An easy and cute lunch box for my little girl!

Second lunchbox for my kid with egg and cheese sandwich, grapes, and corn.

Really really love this bear-shaped sandwich maker. I can always count on it to make food fun! It’s pretty self-explanatory but, just in case, this is how you use it. Oh, and this is the lunchbox we used. It’s not bad.

#kidslunchbox #lunchbox #lunchboxideas #kidslunch #bearshapedsandwich #bearshaped #funfood #kidslunchideas #sandwich

I made my first lunch box for my little girl!

First lunch box I made for my little girl so I think this is definitely worth documenting.

For the longest time, Iโ€™ve been blessed with school provided lunches. However, knowing todayโ€™s lunch is something my daughter wouldnโ€™t like, I bought this lunchbox yesterday via same-day shipping so I could whip up something quickly for her to bring to school. It was probably meant to be as this was a lightning deal and was only $11!

Bento Box
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I was looking at those highly rated bentgo ones but they are $25 with a lot of wasted space between compartments. While I was hesitating, I saw this $11 bento box with thin walls and a storage place for utensils! It says itโ€™s microwaveable but I never really like putting flimsy plastic in microwave.

I like it so far. I would probably prefer putting fresh, room temperature, or cold food in there, and look for another option to put cooked food.

The tool you absolutely need when you cook!

Ever wonder what to do with your pot/pan lids and ladles while you are cooking? It used to take me a few seconds to look around and decide if I should leave them on the stove, put them on the countertop (and have to clean up after), or find a plate/bowl/whatever is available and have more things to wash later. This is until I stumbled upon this ladle & lid stand while shopping for a kitchen spice rack…

Yamazaki Ladle & Lid Stand
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Never knew I NEED this until I bought it. Not only does it look sleek, I now finally have a place to put the lid and ladle while cooking without having to leave them on the stove or countertop and have drips all over the place!

The problem is that my husband steals it sometimes because he says this has the perfect angle for his iPad/iPhone. Moreover, the edge is very low profile so it doesnโ€™t block any part of the screen.

… I might just have to get another one now.

Other images from Amazon:

Chinese New Year Celebration Meals ็›†่œ in the Bay Area

There are not that many options for ็›†่œ in the bay area. Here’s a list of where we’ve gotten ours.

2022 CNY Top Contenders:

Porridge & Things (Millbrae): $268 for 6 / $338 for 10

  • We ended up getting two of this, one for 6 people and one for 10 people. We will see how this turns out. ๐Ÿ™‚

Koi Palace (Daly City, Milpitas, Dublin): $228 for 6

  • Room Temperature ones are sold out, only frozen ones are available now…

Harborview Restaurant (San Francisco): $288 for 6

  • Available for pickup in SF, but not available for group buying until 2/1 (CNY) due to busy weekends

Cheung Hing (Millbrae): $208 for 6

  • This is cheaper but it doesnโ€™t have sea cucumber or fish maw

2021 CNY:

Harborview Restaurant (San Francisco): $238 for 6 People

  • We had this delivered via group buying last year and it was pretty decent. It came with nice instructions and all the food was warm and delicious after we reheated it.

HL Peninsula Pearl ๅŠๅณถๆ˜Ž็ ้…’ๅฎถ (Burlingame): $188 for 6 People

  • We picked up the Poon Choi around 1pm. It was in a nice red decorated box. However, we couldn’t reheat it well because the sauce was too thick to seep into the food, and the food inside stayed cold.

How to eat vegetable without eating vegetable

Weโ€™ve been doing a modified keto diet following what everyone is doing in this facebook group. However, I’m not a veggie person, and after 12 long weeks, I’m definitely not eating as much vegetable as it’s advised.

I’ve been seeing this young barley grass powder in Asian grocery store so I decided to to give this top selling supplement a try to up my veggie intake!

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

I add this to milk / soy milk along with some almond powder, sesame powder, flax seed, and chia seed, and it actually tastes pretty good! It’s not too pricey at $0.375 per sachet. This only has grass powder and nothing else so it sounds healthy. I will definitely keep taking this. I’m giving it only a 4-star because, as a lazy non-vegetable eater, I would like to look for other options that offer more vegetables in a bag…