Oysters at Redondo Beach Pier, LA, California

One of the nights when I was visiting my parents, my dad decided to take me for a drive to Redondo Pier. It's kinda nice how the pier looks nothing like the asian piers we got, very different. =)

cute playground!

before the sunset!

boats parked all around!

the sunset! such a nice glow!

the pier even had a pretty big arcade!

aphrodisiacs! haha yes, ^^last longer. LOL

crabs and lobsters!

some wierd conch.some of them were trying to run away.eeks!

 more oysters! various kinds!

ordered a few and a guy shucked them on the spot. when i squeezed lime on one of em, it kind of squirmed, i was so grossed out. but it looked too yummy so i ATE IT LIVE! and it was MAGNIFICENT! hahaha

definitely a must-try if ure in LA! and the pier is too pretty to miss!

the beach at night =)

Crab and seafood at Jumbo!

Here's this weekend's food post, JUMBO! every Singaporean knows what Jumbo is, it is THE place to get your crab fix =D so to end my week, we headed over to cellebrate my cousin's birthday!

Address: www.jumboseafood.com.sg/

1206 East Coast Parkway

i'd suggest making a reservation, or risk waiting a long time! about an hour on weekends, weekdays should be alright..

I LOVE CHILLI! and they have great sambal, which is unusual because usually only nice zi-char places have good sambal. so this went really well with, erm, everything. the prawns, the fish, the crab, and even the peanuts. 

So the first wave of food finally came, the food wait was alright, though I was getting peckish. Crispy chicken was the first to arrive, which is basically roasted chicken with keropok (fish crackers), to be dipped in the salt and pepper mix. clean, fried but not overly oily. i like how the skin is superbly crispy. now i know why it said 'crispy chicken' on the menu. be careful though! some other chicken thingy on the menu is chicken skin, and not chicken meat but squid! its a wannabe-chicken dish! beware!

Then, was fried baby squid! I always like this, it's crunchy and crumbly, sweet, and has that burnt grilled squid taste!

Third was sweet and sour fish. The flavour is nicely mixed because you can taste the tanginess but isn't really sour. cuts through the sticky sweetness of the sauce, which compliments the fish well. The fish was fresh and juicy, very soft and and the clean freshness definitely went well with the thick sauce.

Cereal prawns! though they are buried under the cereal HAHA! and you can order them deshelled, so you don't have to peel them =) easy eating! the prawns were done just right, springy and juicy while the cereal was light and sweet, one of my favourite dishes. 

Lastly, before the arrival of the crabs, was fried rice! The food was sort of filling me up already so the rice was a nice filler-upper before the crabs came since crabs arent really tummy filling. it satiated my appetite so i could slowly enjoy the crabs hurhur! the rice had salted fish in it and was very fragrant, moist but not too oily, which was nice because i tend to get a sore throat if i eat too much oily crap. I don't like the carrots and peas nonsense, which this fried rice didnt have, plus-points ++ there!

Dum-da-dum!

The crabs came! we ordered two big ones, black pepper and chilli crab!

I prefer the black pepper crab because it's cleaner to eat, no messy gravy, the chilli crab usually leaves my hands gravied-out, haha! im a messy eater 'cause i have to eat every little bit. yums! the pepper was definitely strong, which made the crab very tasty, yet the sauce was dry so the meat was firm, moist but not wet, and the meat had a sweet aftertaste, after the pepper flavour wore off =) yums!

Then was man-tou, fried bread thats sweet and crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. I like eating this plain, but my mom likes dipping it in the chilli sauce! =) the chilli crab was slightly more wet and messy to eat, but the gravy was really yummy, infused with the crab essence hehe, i guess it was more like drinking gravy with crab bits in it haha! very chunky. sweet and not as spicy as the pepper crab! but definitely unique.

ALTHOUGH...it was super bizarre. a video of one of the chefs killing a crab and chopping it to pieces as it was still alive and wriggling was very disturbing. the crab looked like it was in such pain! yep. as.we.ate.our.crab. LOL and my mom said she watched the video a bajillion times because it was on a screen infront of her HAHA

So ends the seafood dinner! there wasen't any air con but it was cool and breezy and we could see the sea (see the sea...) from where we were. Was kind of crowded and the service was kind of slow, had to call and ask twice to take order, to get water, and the lady kind of walked away to get whatever it was before we could tell her the second thing we wanted, and the place was so noisy that we were shouting across the table initially, got quieter later on. =) 

Overall, good food at a reasonable price! yay!! so full now...

SF. Hog And Rocks

3431 19th St
(between San Carlos St & Mission St) 
San Francisco, CA 94110

Neighborhood: Mission

A fantastic dinner to end my San Fran trip. I made some fantastic new friends too! awesome people =)

So here's HOGS AND ROCKS, a restaurant specialising in hams and oysters, but honestly. every dish there was so special, i was left drooling for more! And their ambience was really cosy too =)

White dessert wine to accompany the meal! This wine was sweet, light, and didn't have the alcoholic sharpness,  I have never tasted any wine so smooth, not even the ice wines I've tried can compare! It was not dry either! went great with the food, and the tanginess helped to revitalise my palate occasionally, especially since some of the dishes were very heavy!

So first came the hams, prosciutto ham, danielle and serrano ham. Bottom is a salty harder ham with cheese that was creamy, and the middle ham had some dried tomatoes which blended nicely with the dry saltyness, and at the top, a softer lighter flavor. the hams were extremely tasty, a fantastic appetiser, eaten with the pita bread =)

Duck heart and purple cauliflower. salty, chewy, and the green sauce was basil puree and had some light oils in it which glazed the dish well.

APHRODIZZY OYSTERS! there were 6 different kinds, with lemon and a red wine and vinaigrette dressing to accompany it that was light, fragrant, yet not overpowering like Tabasco, complementing the freshness and sweetness and creaminess of the oysters =) 

They all tasted slightly different, yet all yummy, so I cant comment much because they were all fantastic!

BONE MARROW WITH GREMOLATA AND TOAST:
Next was bone marrow. The marrow was piping hot, and fatty. the decadence of the fragrant oils was cut through by the tangy dressing on top, called gremolata, which is a mixture of lemon zest, garlic, parsley and olive oil, coming together in an absolutely amazing dish. SLURPSSS! scooped out and eaten with a toasted bread that was fresh, light, slightly buttered and crispy!

 BURRATA CHEESE WITH FRESH BASIL LEAVES, TOMATOES, and CROUTONS!!
The tomatoes were very fresh, and apparently, taste unique because they are 'mixed with fruits' somehow! anyway, they were very sweet, juicy, and didn't really taste like tomatoes. more like a mix between the texture of a tomato with the juicy sweetness of a fruit! =) the burrata was soft, creamy and cold, creating a refreshing dish!

CIDER STEAMED MUSSELS WITH OCTOPUS CHORIZO.

Chorizo is a spanish sausage, so yeap, what looked like taco filling was actually bits of octopus, explaining the chewy, fresh texture of the lumpy sauce that went with the black mussels. The seafood in San Francisco is super fresh! must be from the bay =) and the toasted thick bread slices were covered in a yellow creamy sauce that tasted like tapatio, creamy yet spicy like hot sauce =) balancing uniquely with the octopus.

&

DEVILLED EGGS WITH COUNTRY HAM AND FRIED OYSTERS! and some dill. 

 devilled eggs are hard boiled eggs that have their yolks taken out, mixed with mayonnaise and herbs, and squeezed back! it had such a creamy yolk mixture, slightly pepperish, and topped with a fried oyster, fried ham that was crispy and salty, and some dill! thick creamy goodness. yums!

and lastly, LAMB MEATBALLS WITH A STEAMED WILD RICE PILAF, TOPPED WITH A PEPPERY LEMON YOGHURT SAUCE!!

even the peas were yummy and i usually hate peas. i pick em out of my food. here i was picking them out to eat them!! creamy deliciousness with lamb meatballs that were succulent, and didn't have that bad game taste that lamb usually has. the cream blended in with the pilaf, contrasting against the juiciness of the meat, to create a gastronomic explosion of hearty greek-ish food =) definite yums!

i loved this meal. definitely a meal to remember =) great company made it even more awesome! with the night ending with a great plum wine, that wasn't sharp at all, but had a strong plum taste.

California. Clam chowder from monterey bay

Drove on to Monterey Bay an stopped by for the best clam chowder at the pier! Creamy thick indulgent chunky fresh clam chowder that filled my mouth with decadent goodness. I walked down the streets and sampled 6 different types of chowders before deciding on the very first one because it just tasted so amazing. The good thing is that u get to try all the different types before deciding which you like best! And it was so good, after 6 samples i was still left wanting more =) so we ordered a sour dough bread bowl filled with that amazing chowder!

Next, We ordered a seafood appetiser, a crab cocktail made of bits and chunks of Sweet, textured, cold, clean and refreshing bites!

And Calamari came on the house! Made with soft, fresh squid that was juicy, succulent, yet soft, covered in crispy light batter that tasted very simple, yet flavorful! Accompanied with tartar sauce with a slight sour lemon zest!

And i even bought a can of soup to bring back home =)