Pretzels, hot dog, beer. Complimentary
Genentech Concert, San Francisco CA
I was finally invited to attend the Genentech concert this year, yay! It’s great because they buy out AT&T park and all the food and drinks are free. We sat out on the field and watched Colbie Callait, Foo Fighters, and Usher! I got kinda drunk, but had a great time. I also won stuffed animals playing carnival games. 🙂
Big Malt chocolate ice cream. Complimentary
Hot dog with ketchup. Complimentary
Brown sugar flavored beverage with gulaman (gelatin).
Villa Escudero, San Pablo City PHILIPPINES
They serve this “welcome” drink when you first arrive at the plantation. It tasted ok, but I didn’t really like it so I just ended up fishing out the gelatin pieces from the bottom.
San Miguel light beer. I love how they individually wrap the napkins around each bottle for service so it doesn’t fall off!
Awkward “mano” Filipino tradition statue. Hehe!
Grilled fish, pork and chicken, pork apritada (stew), kangkong (water spinach) with shrimp paste, pinakbet (calabaza squash and string beans), pancit, and banana cue (deep fried banana coated in caramelized brown sugar).
Villa Escudero, San Pablo City PHILIPPINES
I was amazed at the variety of food they had especially since the service area was directly in the water! They also kept everything nice and warm, and had servers bring drinks to your table. This was a really fun, new and exciting dining experience. Everyone was just really happy and thankful to be eating at such a great location. And the food was really good too!
It’s SO cool that you get to eat lunch in the water from a waterfall!
The stream flows down through the entire dining area.
You have to be careful though because some of the rocks can be slippery especially closer to the waterfall. Everyone is taking pictures of their experience. 🙂
I would go back just to eat in this amazingly beautiful setting again!
Fried peanuts with fried garlic cloves, salt (I’m sure it’s MSG).
Villa Escudero, San Pablo City PHILIPPINES
Omg, these are SO addictive! I think it’s probably the MSG. Thank god I’m not allergic (to either the peanuts or MSG)! We munched on these and drank beer while watching the Filipino dances on stage at the Villa Escudero.
Bamboo raft and water lettuce. We rafted in one of these around the lagoon and it was really fun!
Palm leaf bird handed out during their cultural performance.
Chicken, chayote, and chili pepper leaves.
Villa Escudero, San Pablo City PHILIPPINES
I always forget the names of Filipino dishes partly because I don’t remember but also because every dish has multiple names depending on the region. Tinola a very familiar soup that I ate a lot of growing up and it was great to have a nice warm bowl of it during this trip.
Inside the AERA Memorial Museum.
I both love it and hate it that not every coconut you get is gonna be sweet and delicious. I guess it depends on how developed it is (the younger the better) so it’s pretty much a crap shoot. The anticipation to see if you get a sweet one is exciting, but you’re very disappointed if you don’t. This particular one wasn’t very sweet. But on the flip side, I got a lot of coconut flesh.
Villa Escudero, San Pablo City PHILIPPINES
I was a little disappointed that the coconut didn’t come with a spoon stuck into the side (for eating the flesh). I think it’s a cool accessory and a nice touch.
Carabao pulled cart. This is how you get around the park.
I went to a niece Maya’s 1st birthday party and of course there was plenty of Filipino food. They got a local restaurant to cater it and the food was pretty good. I don’t even know what everything was (I’m such a bad Filipino, lol), but I ate everything! 🙂
Embarcadero Center holiday decorations.
Moylan’s hefe weiss beer and St. Francis chardonnary.
Novato Festival of Art, Wine and Music, Novato CA
This was a small but cute festival in downtown Novato. We had gone because a couple of David’s friends were volunteering and we had just had brunch with them. It had a charming small town feel and there was a good variety of booths.
Punch and Judy puppet show by Piccolo Puppet Players.
Kids in self-contained balloon balls in water.
Came here for a Patricia Barber performance and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Although this intermission drink was a ‘lil expensive for the super small size, you can’t really complain too much while supporting the arts. $11
SF Jazz Center, San Francisco CA
Yellow yarrow (Achillea millefolium, Asteraceae), West Field Road.
Kalua pig, teriyaki chicken, fish, purple yam, noodles, pickled vegetables, salad, braised greens, etc.
Ali’i Luau, Laie HI
During my previous trips to Hawaii, I somehow managed to avoid attending a “cheesy” luau. Well, I made it my mission to finally go to one of these popular tourist attractions during this visit and what better place to attend one than at the Polynesian Cultural Center! Their website advertises the Ali’i Luau as Hawaii’s “Most Authentic Luau”, but I’m still not convinced of its authenticity after sitting through it. It seemed pretty cheesy to me. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the experience and the chance to check a Hawaiian luau off my bucket list. The food was ok as buffet food goes, and the entertainment was enjoyable. I don’t think I’d do it again, but I would still recommend it for those who haven’t tried it.
Taro roll. This was pretty good, especially slathered in butter, lol!
Entrance to the luau.
The dining area.
Luau entertainment. The show was actually pretty long with many dancers. The little kid dancers were SO cute to watch!
A few months ago, a work friend of mine had a beautiful wedding in the North Bay and a group of us work-peeps were able to attend and help celebrate the joyous occasion. It was a warm, sunny day and as the ceremony commenced the weather became more comfortably cool. The crowd was intimate (possibly a hundred people or so?) and the food was delicious! I’m not sure who they hired to cater the wedding, but everything was beautiful and tasty. They served drinks before the ceremony, passed hor d’oeuvres after the ceremony followed by a sit-down dinner. I appreciated that the ceremony and dinner were at the same location because it made the event really relaxed and you could just take time and enjoy everything. Needless to say, I had a wonderful time!
Here are some of the food pics I was able to snap when I wasn’t busy stuffing my face or drinking like a fish, lol!
Bacon, egg and frisee on a potato chip. This was scrumptious!
Fried chicken slider with red cabbage slaw and aioli. A juicy, flavorful bite!
Savory choux pastry filled with steak, pork, and chicken? Geez, my kinda hor d’oeuvre!
Prosciutto, fig jam and goat cheese canape. A yummy classic!
White wine. Fill ‘er up, hehe.
Dinner salad with red and golden beets, goat cheese and mixed greens.
Seared Sonoma duck breast and leg confit, braised savoy cabbage, roasted fingerling potatoes, and star anise glaze. SO nommy!
Sauteed mahi mahi with portobello mushroom, white corn, caramelized red onion, spinach and balsmaic beurre blanc. David had this options and it was very tasty too!
J&E wedding cake.
Multi-layered white cake with a berry filling.
Parting gifts filled with TCHO chocolates!
Shrimp caesar salad.
Shilshole Bay Marina, Seattle WA
It was a warm, beautiful afternoon and my brother found out that Shilshole Bay Marina was throwing a block party to celebrate their 50th anniversary. So, naturally, we hopped onto our beach cruisers and biked over. We were pleasantly surprised by the great quality of free food they were handing out! You had your choice of a shrimp or salmon casear salad and a drink. They were also handing out bags of Kukuruza popcorn which, by the way, is delicious! It’s a local Seattle company with a storefront in Ballard (and elsewhere probably). We hung out for a while, just long enough to get some cake – lol! Ah, another great day in Seattle!
Blackened salmon caesar salad.
Strawberry lemonade.
Kukuruza gourmet caramel popcorn.
White anniversary cake with buttercream and strawberry slices filling.
Chocolate anniversary cake.
Shilshole Bay Marina.
