Where: Napa Valley, CA
Specialty: Creole / Cajun Food
One of the perks of being further north is the shorter distance to Napa! We took an impromptu trip there on Sunday to buy some wine. After a long day of wine tasting and some shopping, we decided to try Bleaux Magnolia located in Napa's town center for dinner.
The restaurant is in the unlikeliest of places, on a back street, near a garage and CVS. It looks sort of cute on the outside anyway so we decided to give it a try. 
Our waitress presented us with the option of dining outside or inside. We picked the patio area outside and were kept warm and toasty with the heat lamps. Very cozy even in November! The servers were also very friendly, no wonder Bleaux Magnolia is highly rated on service.
We ordered several dishes among us. For appetizers, we got the Mac N Cheese as well as the Pulled Pork Lumpia. For mains, we had the Seafood Gumbo, Cornbread Crusted Catfish, and the Fried Chicken and Waffles.
The food was very well done. I especially liked the pork lumpia which was served in a very crisp egg roll of a shell. The fried chicken was nicely fried too. My only complaint is that the gumbo was lacking okra which I love!
Lumpia (L) Mac and Cheese (R)
Chicken and Waffles:
Gumbo and Catfish (L) Yummy Jalepeno Cornbread! (R)
Chomp Meter: 
I've read some reviews that the food served isn't particularly authentic and I agree. However, if you come with the expectation that Bleaux Magnolia is a New American restaurant with cajun/creole influences, the restaurant does excellently. Another perk is there's no corkage fee for bringing your own wine!
Bleaux Magnolia also serves Jazz brunch on Sunday afternoons and a little off the beatn path, this may be a good restaurant to throw into the Napa vacation mix.
Napa
1408 Clay St
Napa, CA 94559
(707) 252-2230
Monday, November 10, 2008
Bleaux Magnolia Review
Friday, November 7, 2008
Cheung Hing Chinese Restaurant Review
Where: San Francisco, CA (Outer Sunset District)
Specialties: Roast duck!
As a recent transplant to the Bay Area, I'm so impressed by the quality of Chinese food that can be had here! While house hunting last weekend, we somehow ended up at Cheung Hing for dinner.
Cheung Hing reminds me of casual eateries in Hong Kong. Even though the restaurant is bare basics, there was a line out the door, so it's really all about the food here. Most of the customers order take out. The eat in line isn't as busy and we were able to get a seat quickly. 
Not sure what to expect, we ended up ordering a 1/2 a roast duck, some roast pork, congee, wonton noodle soup, stir fried greens, and a beef noodle stir fry. WOW, all of it was delicious especially the roast duck which was warm, flavorful and juicy. Yes, it was a tad fatty and oily but I was willing to let that go because it's soo good!
My other favorite was the congee (century egg and pork) which was about as good as I've had in Hong Kong. I loved the texture which was smooth and tasty, just the way it should be. The beef noodle stir fry is also something I'd order again. Perfectly done.
Roast Duck
Congee
Chomp Meter:
Save on that trip to Hong Kong. The roast duck, congee and beef noodles terrific. I wasn't so much a fan of the roast pork, however I noticed a customer cart away a whole roast baby pig! I almost wish I lived in the area so I can eat here more often!
Cheung Hing Chinese Restaurant
Neighborhood: Outer Sunset
2339 Noriega Street
(between 30th Ave & 31st Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94122
(415) 665-3271
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Minato Japanese Restaurant in Cape Town
My interest was piqued after reading reviews of this Minato in Capetown.
Minato Japanese restaurant has a cult following. Apparently the owner and chef (Mr Minato duh) has a little bit of a temper. Reservations are always required, and they sit only 35 people a night. You can only order once and don't complain about your food!
We arrived at Minato's with high hopes. The restaurant is in a dingy part of town (near some strip joints). The entrance to Minato's is uninviting. A grill gate with a sign that says "Fully Booked". We were taken inside by a goth waitress that you'd be more likely to see at a bar.
I'm not sure if this is common at Minato, but they didn't have many sushi or sashimi specials the day we were there. We had to order the sushi set. I think the chef expects most people to order the set and is very careful about the amount of fish he orders. For example, we couldn't order tuna ala carte?!
The inside was dark and eclectically decorated with random Japanese artifacts including a white silk kimono. 
We ordered some appetizers, including agedashi tofu and a couple sushi sets. The sushi was well cut and the pieces of fish were very generous. All in all I thought it was a pretty decent sushi restaurant though I would have liked to see more creative ingredients and local fish. There was only salmon and tuna the night we were there!
Chomp Meter: Nothing exciting if you have had good sushi elsewhere in the world. However, it might just be the best sushi restaurant in Cape Town, not Benkei.
They also have a fan club on facebook.
Minato's Japanese Restaurant - Cape Town
4 Buiten Street, City Centre
Cape Town
South Africa
One Waterfront Restaurant Review
Photo from the Cape Grace Hotel website.
One Waterfront Restaurant at the Cape Grace Hotel was one of the best places we ate at while in Cape Town. It's more of an upscale experience with attentive service(think white tablecloths) but still very affordable by Western standards.
The style of food is western with heavy South African influence. When I ate there, the menu boasted a variety of game meats and traditional South African desserts like Malva pudding and Koeksisters. Everything we had was well prepared and delicious. The breads were good too!
Here's what I had. A foie pate and South African lamb:
My companions had springbok steak:
Dessert of Koeksisters (L) and a chocolate cake (R)
Chomp Meter: A great restaurant for a nice dinner at the V&A Waterfront with gorgeous views. It's not as centrally located but I think that's perfect since you get away from the crowds. I tried several restaurants at the V&A Waterfront itself like Baia and the food there was mediocre as with most touristy hotspots. It's also nice because you can walk back to the mall after dinner for some shopping.
Some other restaurants I wanted to visit but didn't have the time are Aubergine, Showroom (ex chef from One Waterfront), Five Flies and Savoy Cabbage.
One Waterfront Restaurant
Cape Grace Hotel
West Quay Road, V&A Waterfront
Cape Town, South Africa
Tel: +27 21 410 7100
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Manna Epicure - Chic design
Manna Epicure is on Kloof Street near Cafe Paradiso. The theme of the restaurants are totally different however. Manna Epicure is trendy, the interior of the restaurant is all white with lots of glass and a chandelier (Stark-ish?).
Denise from Freshly Found has more photos of Manna Epicure to give you a sense of the place.
Manna Epicure claims to serve tapas though it was not really what I expected. It was more of a variety of dips (hummus, eggplant, olives etc.) that go with bread and some main courses like sandwiches. I liked that they had a variety of fruit juices and teas that was very refreshing!
Here's my orange avocado soup that was quite yummy!
They also serve great juices and refreshing ice teas.
Chomp Meter: This the place to be seen, and a wonderful place for a light lunch. Decor is trendy and the food is creative.
Manna Epicure
151 Kloof Street
Cape Town
27-21/426-2413
