San Francisco Trip 2013

     The first trip of the year is an important one. It is like a precursor of how you compare to all the other trips that follow in the year. With that being said, San Francisco did not disappoint. When does it ever? 

     I got to travel with my good buddies - David, Johnny and Quang. None of them have been to SF before and it excited me that I had the chance to show them around and show them everything I love about this city. We stayed at The Westin in Union Square right off Powell. This is an amazing hotel to stay at just because it is right smack dab in the middle of everything. We were a couple blocks away from the BART station and then a 5-10 minute taxi cab ride everywhere else. 

     We arrived in the early afternoon and were all starving. We dropped off all our luggage at the hotel and headed straight for Ramen Underground. It was a 0.5 mile walk which was relatively quick. Anything under a mile is definitely doable especially in such a great town with so many things to see. We passed by a  ton of shops and restaurants we added to our list to try the next couple days. After walking around for an extra 20 minutes from being lost, we finally called Ramen Underground and asked for directions. We had passed by it twice already! It was a tiny hole in the wall place and I knew we were in for a treat.

     

David in awe.

Their wall menu

Paper menu

Cramped in one table

Hello Quang

Specials of the day

Gyoza

Pork Donburi 

Onigiri

Tonkatsu Ramen - Added chashu, pork belly, gyoza and corn

     After a great meal, we had planned to meet my cousin and his coworkers to play basketball near their company office. Needless to say, it was very cold but we had fun playing in another city. I snapped a couple pictures just so I could remember it.

     We ended the night eating at Zero Zero, where I didn't take pictures because it was too dark. They had great Italian food and was super packed! I will say that their pizza and dessert was on point! They had a vanilla/chocolate soft serve with olive oil, sea salt and ricotta donuts that you could die for.

     The next day we started our journey in Japan Town. We got to walk with no one around and enjoy everything.

This idiot thinks he can fly.

     We then headed back near Ramen Underground to grab some Onigiri next door at Onigilly. They only open from 11AM-3PM so we had to rush!

     Then we headed to meet up David's friend at Senor Sisig for some filipino food truck action.

Johnny's photobomb action

AWOL.

Nachos

Fries with fried egg

Burrito

All the foods

Staring into the distance

Chilling

Posing

Our lunch view

     Our next spot was the palace of fine arts which was near the Exploratorium. As we pulled up in the taxi, it was indescribable how beautiful it was out.

Unfortunately they were closed.

     The Exploratorium was closed so we ventured out to the Golden Gate Bridge to see it from a distance.

Golden Gate Bridge

     Then we planned on going to Fisherman's Wharf but it was a 3 mile walk! There were no taxis out in this area because most people get dropped off and the cabs will leave. We treked about a mile before we finally spotted one. The taxi driver was very friendly and asked if we wanted to check out Lombard before going down to the wharf. We couldn't say no. He drove us down the street and dropped us off at the bottom so we could walk back up.

Lombard Street

View from the top of the crooked street

View from the top of the crooked street

     After checking out the famous crooked Lombard street, we headed towards the bay and ended up in Fisherman's Wharf.

Clam chowder bread bowl @ Boudin

David's turtle bread bowl

Elmo spotted

Random clean miata

     We ended the night playing Pub Golf with my cousins and coworkers. If anyone is familiar with the game, it is no joke. We didn't even make it past the 4th hole. I didn't win but I did beat my travel mates and cousin. And that was really my goal. The rest of the night was a blur of local pizza being thrown at my head, punches to my face from David and some great Korean food at Playground in Japan Town.


     Our next day was going to be consisted of going around mission area. By this day, I was already tired of lugging around my huge camera and took photos mainly with my S3.

Crab Benedict @ Mission Bowling Club 

Sticky Bun

Lemon Huckleberry, Vanilla Bean, Bacon Maple Apple

     Our adventures led us towards dessert hunting. We were en route to Chantal Guillon for macarons when we ran across The Melt Bus. We got the special of the day which was a mushroom melt and added BACON and tomato for FREE!

     Chantal Gullion didn't allow any pictures of how their shop was set up due to copy right purposes but it was a nicely set up place. I have to say they are probably my favorite macaron place to date. 

     Our last meal was at Suzu in Japan Town. This was one of the better ramen places in SF. I think the best I've had was Ramen Dojo in San Mateo but we couldn't make the trip out there. 

     

Gyoza

Amazing Chicken Karage

Even better Takoyaki

Chicken Curry

Chashu ramen with tempura shrimp

     And here are just some night shots I took with David's point and shoot camera. The tripod I borrowed from Danh was broken so it couldn't support my D700. I worked with what I had and was pretty happy with the shots I got. Next time I'll be more prepared.

     Overall, it was an unforgettable trip with some incredible friends and family. Like people say, it's not about where you go, but who you go with.