Assorted temaki (hand rolls) – Tenka Japanese Restaurant

I think I’m undecided whether I truly like hand rolls or not. It’s just a lot of seawead to deal with and these were chewy and hard to chew through, making it hard to neatly eat the rolls. They do stuff quite a lot of filling in these hand rolls and you don’t have to use chopsticks, which is great for incompetent users like myself. The spicy tako temaki was my favorite!
Tenka Japanese Restaurant, San Mateo CA

Road runner hand roll Tenka Japanese Restaurant

Road runner – tuna, salmon,  avocado and cucumber. $2.95 for happy hour

Spicy tako hand roll Tenka Japanese Restaurant

Spicy tako – octopus with spicy mayonnaise. $2.95 for happy hour

Cajun hand roll Tenka Japanese Restaurant

Cajun – fried oyster, avocado and cucumber with spicy mayonnaise. $2.95 for happy hour

New York hand roll Tenka Japanese Restaurant

New York – shrimp, fish eggs, avocado and cucumber. $2.95 for happy hour

Negima – Tenka Japanese Restaurant

Negima Tenka Japanese Restaurant

Sliced beef rolled with scallion and avocado. $2.95 for happy hour
Tenka Japanese Restaurant, San Mateo

This appetizer read better than it looked once it arrived.  Perhaps it was the lighting, but it looked so unappetizing.  I’m not even sure what the sauce was on top. I can’t say that I remember what these tasted like, but they were cheap!

Asahi beer Tenka Japanese Restaurant

Asahi beer.

Assorted sushi – Tenka Japanese Restaurant

This place is awesome for happy hour! The prices are great and the sushi doesn’t suck. You always have to be a little weary of super cheap sushi, but this place serves above decent sushi at rock bottom prices. That’s awesome in my book!  You can get a nice large meal for only a few bucks. Of the sushi below, the scallop nigiri was my favorite!
Tenka Japanese Restaurant, San Mateo

Hotatagai nigiri Tenka Japanese Restaurant

Hotatagai nigiri (scallop). $1.25 happy hour

Unagi nigiri Tenka Japanese Restaurant

Unagi nigiri (fresh water eel). $1.25 happy hour

Hamachi nigiri Tenka Japanese Restaurant

Hamachi nigiri (yellow tail). $1.25 happy hour

Cape cod cocktails – Downtown Tiki Lounge

Cape cod cocktails Downtown Tiki Lounge

Well vodka with cranberry juice and a lime wedge. $4 for happy hour
Downtown Tiki Lounge, San Mateo CA

This is a pretty chill place with great happy hour drink and appetizer specials.  The tiki vibe is adequate with all the fake palm trees, bamboo trim, and  tiki statues scattered throughout. Only ducked in for a quick drink while waiting for friend, but this place would be a great after work hang out!

Chicken with bean curd – Hung To Seafood

Chicken with bean curd Hung To Seafood

With mushrooms and celery, served over rice. $6
Hung To Seafood, South San Francisco

The portion size of their lunch plates are ridiculous! All that food for only six dollars! The dish tasted pretty good too. They use large pieces of chicken breast and I love the whole mushrooms. Noms!

Beef with five spices – Hung To Seafood

Beef with five spices Hung To Seafood

Sliced beef served with imitation jelly fish and red vinegar. $5.20
Hung To Seafood, South San Francisco

This is definitely NOT what I expected when I ordered this menu item, lol! But you know what, it tasted great! I’ll admit that I’m not a big fan of the imitation jelly fish though – I can’t overcome the odd texture.  The meat which is served cold, however, is flavorful and very tender.

Crispy lobster turnovers – Hung To Seafood

Crispy lobster turnovers Hung To Seafood

4 large pieces of deep fried turnovers filled with lobster and garlic chives, served with salad sauce. $4.20
Hung To Seafood, South San Francisco

I didn’t know what to expect when I ordered this, but I was pleasantly surprised. The pieces were huge and I love the large chunks of lobster inside. I will defnitely order these again! Not sure if the salad sauce really added to the dumplings though.

Crispy lobster turnovers Hung To Seafood

Baked bbq pork buns – Hung To Seafood

Baked bbq pork buns Hung To Seafood

3 buns filled with tender bbq pork and coated with a sweet glaze. $2.50
Hung To Seafood, South San Francisco

This is definite comfort food, noms!  And you get three of these delicious buns for so little! These buns cover most craving bases – carbs, bbq meat, salty umami, and sweet. I just recently discovered Hung To Seafood Restaurant and it’s definitely going on my great food-great value list.

Baked bbq pork buns Hung To Seafood

Office Holiday Party Extravaganza!

So my office held our 2nd Annual Holiday Potluck and everyone (well almost everyone) brought delicious food to share! I’m posting some of the yummy food so you can get a few ideas for your next holiday get together.  If all else fails, make a Costco run apparently. I mean who needs a fancy corporate holiday party when you can have a good ole potluck?! All names have been changed to protect the innocent! 🙂

Pork belly steamed bun

Pork belly steamed bun – Papa Chang
We all know that most holiday plates are fattening so why not get it in the form of tender pork belly?! Just top the bun with shredded scallions and hoisin sauce for an elegant presentation! You can purchase frozen buns at your local Asian market and steam them prior to serving.  Xiexie!

Pigs in a blanket

Pigs in a blanket – Rapunzel
Simple but delicious, a perennial party favorite! Just wrap ‘Lil Smokies (these are turkey) with crescent pastry rolls (these use a low fat variety) and voile, you have an all-American treat! According to Rapunzel, each piece has only 45 calories!

Pomegranate kielbasa bites

Pomegranate kielbasa bites – Dumes
The perfect combination of beefy meat and sticky sweet. Simmer sliced beef kielbasa sausage in a mixture of pomegranate juice, ketchup and Tabasco sauce until the sauce is thick and reduced. Serve on a buttery Ritz cracker to make it classy! Thanks Dumes!

Spam musubi

Spam musubi – Sophie
Perfectly portioned and utterly delicious! Spam plus sushi rice and a nori strip equals a happy vicenteSF! Arigato!

Traditional Midwestern Queso Surprise

Traditional midwestern queso surprise – vicenteSF
OK, I made that name up but my roommate IS from Kansas and he makes this delicious dip once in a while. Just combine Velveeta cheese (SO American!) with browned ground beef and a can of Ro-Tel brand diced tomatoes with chiles (another midwestern staple) in a crock pot. Set it and forget it! It’s customary to eat this with potato chips, not tortilla chips, silly!

Quiche lorraine

Mini quiche lorraine – Mats
Another easy potluck option, the frozen mini quiche! Just throw into the toaster oven for a few minutes and these buttery, salty bites are sure to please everyone!

Shrimp cocktail

Shrimp cocktail – Pong
Costco wins again! Seafood always ups the chichi factor!

Roast chicken

Roast chicken – Pong
And antoher Costco treasure!

Chewy mixed chip holiday cookie

Chewy mixed chip holiday cookie – Rapunzel
These are surprisingly good despite Rapunzel’s baking track record! Just kidding. These nommy cookies have milk chocolate, white chocolate AND butterscotch chips! And lots of butter for all the good lil boys and girls!

Almond jello with fruit

Almond jello with fruit – Sophie
Sophie fights back with a more sophisticated dessert approach. The light almond jello pairs wonderfully with fresh fruit!

Walnut brownie

Walnut brownie – Jefe
And what’s more traditional than some chocolate brownies with NUTS! Walnuts are a safe, delicious and nutritious choice!

Melkesjokolade chocolate

Melkesjokolade chocolate – Huff
And Huff brings up the rear with a Norwegian contribution! Tusen takk!

Happy holidays, everyone!!!

Carnitas – Nopalito

Carnitas Nopalito

Tender pork braised in orange, bay leaf, milk, cinnamon and beer. $15
Nopalito, San Francisco

This is one beautiful packet of pork, NOMS!!!  The carnitas at Nopalito are so frickin’ good!  The meat is so flavorful and tender, it’s ridiculous!  You can smell and taste all the ingredients in the lovey braise.  The cut isn’t overly fatty, but I think that the fatty pieces were worth every calorie!

Carnitas Nopalito

You might not be able to tell from the pic, but you get a very generous portion of carnitas. David and I could barely finish the order, granted we did eat a few other things. 🙂

Carnitas Nopalito

The pork is served with a cabbage salad, pickled jalapenos and salsa de tomatillo, and warm tortillas for wrapping.

7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014