Coffee | korea

People here love to get coffee before or after a meal, but did you know that according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control, Koreans consume coffee more than they eat kimchi or rice? Crazy right?? Some people even purposely spend less on food so that they have more to buy coffee.

You’ll be able to find coffee wherever you are in Korea because there is always some kind of cafe on every block, whether it’s a chain or a local business. I thought it was extreme when I noticed that on vacation here three years ago, but there are even more now. I am an avid lover of coffee (especially drip), but the number of shops everywhere still surprises me despite the fact I’ve been here for two months now.

If you want coffee in Korea, be prepared for the prices because coffee is expensive here.

Americano x Cappuccino

The go-to drink for most coffee drinkers in Korea is the americano, which is made up of espresso and hot water. A basic americano usually costs 4,800won, which is about $4.50 (I say ‘basic’ because I’ve seen places offer French americanos but idk what that means). And believe it or not, some places even charge up to ~$10!

Albona Ristorante Istriano

Not only can Albona boast the right of being the first AND only Istrian restaurant on the West Coast, but it is also deemed as one of the “The Best Ethnic Restaurants in the Bay Area” and has been included in the S.F. Chronicle’s “The Bay Area’s Top 100 Restaurants” for eight consecutive years.

This restaurant gets its name from Albona, Istria, a town that overlooks the Adriatic Sea.

Stuffed Squid

What is Istrian food, you ask?
It’s a mix of Italian, Croatian, and Slovenian food!

The Lark

In Santa Barbara and looking for some New American food? Go to The Lark!

They give you complimentary seasoned popcorn to have while you wait for your meal (pictured on the lower left). They have an assortment of beer, wine, and cocktails you could choose from.

Strawberry Beet Salad

The portion looks small but there are actually a lot of beets hiding under everything!

Charcuterie Board (1/2 order)

Their charcuterie board is my favorite from their menu because they don’t skimp on the meat (might I add that this is only a half order?).

Spanish Octopus Salad

The octopus was really tender, but I wish they had given more of it because the ratio of octopus to vegetables was 1:5 (le sigh). Also, they over-seasoned the sauce, so there were too many things going on with the sweetness and saltiness.

Pomegranate Pork Chop

The pork chop was quite tender too, but again, the sauce was too strong. The sauces for the octopus and the pork chop actually tasted very similar! Maybe they were even the same??

Cream Pan

Located in Tustin, Cream Pan is a Japanese bakery that offers a wide range of small eats, from savory things such as futomaki and steamed buns to pastries like croissants. Their most popular item is the strawberry croissant! There is an ample amount of custard and it’s just sweet enough to complement the fresh strawberries. The croissants remain flaky even if you leave them sitting on the counter for a majority of the day. They’re worth venturing out to get if you’re not in the area!

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Cream Pan
602 El Camino Real
Tustin, CA 92780

 

Usagi

Omurice w/ Menchi Katsu and Hayashi Sauce

Usagi is a Japanese comfort food restaurant. This type of Japanese cuisine (yoshuku) is Western-influenced, so it features dishes like steak and spaghetti.

Some dishes that may peak your interest are their uni (sea urchin) risotto, mentaiko (spicy cod roe) pasta, and hamburger steak.

My absolute favorite dish to get here is omurice with menchi katsu and hayashi sauce. The omurice is an omelette filled with chicken rice, and menchi katsu is a breaded and deep-fried beef cutlet. Omelettes and deep-fried foods, as you may already know, come from Western cuisine. You can choose what sauce to top off the dish with, but I always go with hayashi. Hayashi is made up of beef, onions, and mushrooms in a thick demi-glace that contains red wine and tomato sauce. Demi-glace is a brown sauce popular in French cooking.

I recommend getting their green tea parfait to finish off your meal! Green tea ice cream is layered with red bean, corn flakes, whipped cream, and then topped off with a cookie to form a nice dessert that you’ll want whether or not it’s hot outside 🙂

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Usagi
505 2nd Ave
San Mateo, CA 94401

Tony’s Pizza Napoletana

Margherita

They only make 73 of this World Pizza Cup winner a day! They make the dough by hand using caputo red flour and then proof them in napoletana wood boxes. For the toppings, they use san marzano tomatoes, sea salt, mozzarella, basil, and extra virgin olive oil.

Cal Italia

This pizza features four cheeses: asiago, mozzarella, gorgonzola, and parmesan. Croation sweet fig jam is distributed, topped with prosciutto, and then drizzled with a balsamic reduction, resulting in a wonderful sweet and salty combination. This was a gold medal winner on Food Network Pizza Champions Challenge!

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Tony’s Pizza Napoletana
1570 Stockton Street
San Francisco, CA 94133

Flour + Tea

Tea galore!

Bread galore!

Flour + tea = happy me 🙂

It’s a little bit out of the way to go to, but drop by if you’re already in the area and get their brown sugar milk tea and green tea mochi bread!

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Flour + Tea
238 S Arroyo Pkwy Ste 110
Pasadena, CA 91105

Taste in Mediterranean Food

What’s good food without good service?

Customer service is extremely important in the food industry. No matter how delicious the food is, poor customer service will ultimately ruin your meal. If the food isn’t that great, service still has the power to elevate your meal. To put it simply – being in a good mood will make everything in life seem better (this doesn’t only apply to food!).

Perhaps it is because they are a family business, but Taste in Mediterranean has some of the warmest customer service I have ever received. They treat you as if you are their friends, which makes the food taste even better than it already does. You can not only tell how much they value their customers, but also taste the wholehearted love they put into their cooking.

Takuma

Katsuni

Katsuni is tonkatsu (deep fried pork cutlet) lightly simmered in soy sauce and sweet mirin with onion, topped with half cooked egg.

Sukiyaki

Sukiyaki is a stew that consists of beef, noodles, and vegetables served hot pot style.

The interior of the restaurant has a modern feel and the bathroom is very clean (sorry, don’t have any pictures). The food is good, but the portions are small because it is tapas style. The only thing odd is that they play Spanish music in this otherwise very Japanese restaurant! Perhaps to emphasize the tapas-styleness? No se ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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Takuma
2627 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90403

Hogwash

Just look at the beautifully lit bar with all those beers on tap!

And their decor LOL. As for food, we got pickled vegetables, fries, and a salad.

House Pickled Vegetables

Is it weird that I don’t like pickled cucumbers, but I like all other pickled vegetables? (I do like regular cucumbers though)

Curry Fries

They’re known for these, but we thought they were meh. The sauce just tasted like plain packaged curry and it made the fries soggy quickly. This was the only food item we didn’t like.

Roasted Root Vegetable Salad

This salad had acorn squash, parsnip, turnip, beet, and arugula with a white balsamic vinaigrette.

And of course, beer was a must 🙂 They also have a 55 oz beer goblet for you big beer drinkers !!

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Hogwash
582 Sutter St
San Francisco, CA 94102