Deluxe udon – Wakaba Sushi & Noodle

Deluxe udon - Wakaba Sushi & Noodle
Beef, tofu, shrimp tempura, seaweed, udon noodles, scallions. $13.95
Wakaba Sushi and Noodle, San Francisco International Airport (SFO)

This udon noodle soup was pretty good for airport food, but then most of the restaurants in Terminal 2 are better than most. The bowl looks small but there was surprisingly a lot of good! 🙂

Miso soup - Wakaba Sushi & Noodle
Miso soup. $2.45

Diet Coke - Wakaba Sushi & Noodle

Diet Coke.

Chopsticks cover - Wakaba Sushi & Noodle
Chopsticks cover.

Kakiage – Izakaya Yuzuki

Kakiage - Izakaya Yuzuki
Shrimp and root vegetable tempura with green tea salt. Tasting menu
Izakaya Yuzuki, San Francisco CA

This dish was very new to me – whole shrimp with shredded root vegetables fried tempura style! I liked the flavors especially with the dipping sauce, but the texture was a little limp and chewy. The pieces looked crispy but they really weren’t. Hmm…

Iochroma purple flowers
Iochroma ‘Royal Queen’ purple flowers (Solanaceae), 18th Street.

Shrimp spring rolls – Pho Big Bowl

Shrimp spring rolls - Pho Big Bowl

Goi cuon tom. Shrimp, rice noodle and veggies. $4.85
Pho Big Bowl, Seattle WA

Decent shrimp spring rolls. What I was struck by was the thick consistency of their peanut sauce. I’ve never had one so thick! It still tasted good though.

Typewriter Eraser, Scale X
Typewriter Eraser, Scale X, model 1998, fabricated 199, stainless steel and fiberglass painted with acrylic urethane, Claes Oldenburg, Olympic Sculpture Park.

Crispy Chao Zhou rolls – Region

Crispy Chao Zhou rolls - Region
Shrimp and pork filling, sweet and sour sauce. $9
Region, San Francisco CA

Omg, these little rolls were SO hot (temperature-wise), and they stayed hot for a long time. It was difficult to eat them without burning your mouth. They did taste pretty good though, and I loved the multiple layers of the thin, crispy wrapper.

Pink succulent
Pink succulent (Crassulaceae), West Field Road.

Street tacos – Escena Lounge & Grill

Popcorn shrimp taco - Escena Lounge & Grill
Popcorn shrimp with cabbage slaw and salsa. $3
Escena Lounge & Grill, Palm Springs CA

These tacos were pretty tasty and at $3 a pop they made the perfect afternoon snack! I know it’s kinda ghetto for me to admit it, but the popcorn shrimp was probably my favorite. I don’t eat a lot of fried seafood so perhaps I just had a craving for it that day, hehe.

Chicken tinga taco - Escena Lounge & Grill
Chicken tinga with guacamole and salsa. $3

Carne asada taco - Escena Lounge & Grill
Carne asada with guacamole and salsa. $3

Mt. San Jacinto hike
Mt. San Jacinto hike, looking back down into Coachella Valley.

Chili marinated shrimp skewers – Bankers Hill

Chili marinated shrimp skewers - Bankers Hill
With cabbage slaw. Happy hour $3
Bankers Hill, San Diego CA

There was very little of this, but it was mighty tasty, lol! I rarely see shrimp individually skewered because they’re so small but Bankers Hill managed to present a delicious morsel. We definitely should have had additional orders. 🙂

Bea Evenson Fountain
Bea Evenson Fountain, Balboa Park.

Chicken and shrimp spring rolls – Dinosaurs

Chicken and shrimp spring rolls - Dinosaurs
Shredded chicken and boiled shrimp, vermicelli noodles, mint, rice paper, peanut sauce. $4.75
Dinosaurs, San Francisco CA

Why is Vietnamese food SO good?! Perhaps it’s because it’s packed with flavor (and saltiness)! Whatevs, I’ll eat it any day.

Decorative maple tree
Decorative maple tree (Aceraceae) with a sycamore tree (Platanaceae) in the background, 16th Street.

Spicy seafood dumplings – M.Y. China

Spicy seafood dumplings - M.Y. China
Scallops, shrimp, spinach wrapper. $9
M.Y. China, San Francisco CA

This dish was SO mediocre that I don’t even remember ordering it. That’s not surprising because the food runners tried to drop off several dishes that we didn’t order. So perhaps we really didn’t order this in the first place. At least they were consistent with their lameness. Get a clue!

 Large wild iris/fairy iris (Dietes grandiflora, Iridaceae)

White, lavendar and yellow large wild iris/fairy iris (Dietes grandiflora, Iridaceae) flowers, Castro Street.

Shrimp and grits – Matchbox Palm Springs

Shrimp and grits - Matchbox Palm Springs
Tillamook cheddar grits, chorizo butter. $12
Matchbox Palm Springs, Palm Springs CA

Having eaten many versions of shrimp and grits in the South, I was NOT impressed by this at all. The grits were too congealed, the shrimp were overcooked (burnt actually), and the chorizo sauce was WAY too salty. Ugh, I couldn’t even finish it. 😦

Mixed conifers
Mixed conifers, Mt. San Jacinto hike.

Pickled Pink sliders – Sliderbar

Pickled Pink sliders - Sliderbar
Ground shrimp with chili and ginger patty, house made pickled onions, cilantro and lime mayo, arugula on an artisan white bun. Two for $10
Sliderbar, San Francisco CA

Mmm, there are some delicious Asian flavors in this unique slider! Gotta give it to Sliderbar for creating some pretty creative sammies.

“Da Kine” combo – Roy’s

Da Kine combo - Roy's
Szechuan spiced baby back pork ribs and firecracker teppan-yaki local shrimp, Malaysian garlic fried rice, pea shoots. $35
Roy’s, Waikoloa HI

Mmm, now this is what I call surf and turf! Ribs and whole shrimp, noms! My favorite part was the shrimp of course because you could suck on the heads – heavenly. The ribs were also tasty, but the sauteed cabbage and bok choy were plain and forgettable.

Hawaiian artwork
Hawaiian artwork, KOA Airport.

Phad pak ruam mid – Original Thai Cuisine

Phad pak ruam mid - Original Thai Cuisine
Thai garlic seasoned vegetable stir fry with shrimp, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, onions, zucchini with a touch of garlic. $15.95
Original Thai Cuisine, Kailua-Kona HI

This tasted pretty good. The shrimp were tender and the garlic sauce was flavorful. They included plenty of vegetables so that made me happy.

Hulihee Palace
Hulihee Palace, Ali’i Drive.