Heads anyone??

OMG! It was such a beautiful day and I had to go to work today.  Boo!   After work, I decided to go get my passport pictures.  It doesn't expire until August but "if" all goes as planned, Europe will be on the horizon.  Yay!  So I found a place that gave me 8 pics (but only 1 pose) for only $10.  Not a bad price but what to do with the extra pics.  hmmm....

After the last post regarding Hashigo and sushi, I felt that the lack of pics and sushi, I must make that effort to go to Nana San.  I needed to go and I would go even if I had to drag Lauren AGAIN.  After making an unexpected stop at WF, we arrived at Nana San at 7:15 and it wasn't busy which was a shock for a Saturday night.  So of course I went directly for the specials.  I immediately saw:  Live Shrimp.  YES!!!  Here no options for anything except the crunchy heads.  OF COURSE, I ordered it.  ;)



Sweet Shrimp & Blue Fin Tuna

Shrimp Heads



Conch

 However, we started off the meal with Conch and Monk Liver.  The last time I had Monk Liver, it was cold and clammy.  This was warm and smooth and fatty like fois gras.  Too fatty.  I almost felt like I needed a piece of toast to spread it on.  I wish I had taken a picture so you could see it.  It was served on a bed of thinly sliced white and red onions and a light ponzu sauce.  The conch was sliced like pickles but it was so abundant.  We had the whole thing and kept eating and eating it throughout the meal.  If we were shameless, one of us would have taken the shell home.  LOL  However, I think we would have been too embarrassed to do it.  The nice thing about the sushi chef was that he kept tabs on us and wouldn't bring out the next dish until we were almost done with our first two dishes.  That way it wouldn't spoil our experience which was nice.



Blue Crab w/Avocado Roll



Our last item was either going to be the Blue Crab roll with Avocado or the Spider roll.  We decided to try the Blue Crab since it sounded different.  When it came out, it looked like a California Roll but with the avocado on the outside and with salmon roe.  At least the crab was real.  Overall, the fish was good and the sweet shrimp was cheaper than Hashigo but it wasn't as fresh as it was there.  I guess it depends on the stock. 

When we got the check, they forgot to charge us for the conch but we let them know.  They were grateful.  It came out to be the same as the last meal.  Each sushi place has it's pluses and minuses.  Would I come back?  I might but only when I crave sushi again.  I think I'm over it for now like I am with the Boiling Crab. 

Now I've got to plan my diner adventure....

It's Sweet Shrimp Season!

and you know what that means: SUSHI.

I've been hankering for sushi for the last couple of days now but NO ONE seemed to be available.  Finally, Lauren with very little arm twisting agreed to go provided I drive since she has some driving issues.  I wanted to go to Nana San but it would be to late because of traffic.  Maybe next time. So we settled for Hashigo in HB by the TJ's. 

Sweet Shrimp

Lauren had never been there so she was surprised at the decor and quaintness.  I saw that the special was the sweet shrimp and squeeled in delight.  I think the owner thought we were crazy but I was like: You still have the live shrimp, right?  Then he knew I was serious.  They were jumping out of the tank and the bowl he was using so I knew they were alive and kicking.  When asked how I wanted the heads prepared, I said fried please.   I wanted the crunchy heads instead of the soft roe in miso soup.  Nope heads salt and pepper FTW.

While we waited, we also got the Blue Fin Tuna sushi and the Yellow Jack sushi.  The Blue Fin was a deep red and silky tuna but the Yellow Jack is a firmer fish that I've only gotten here.  It is quite good actually. 

We missed the Happy Hour Hand Rolls (50% off) which was a bummer but got the usual Soft Shell Crab HR.  It had the delicately cut cucumber and carrot strips, avocados, sushi rice, salmon roe and radish sprouts.  We also got this roll that I want to say is the White roll.  All I can remember is it said spicy mayo on the side.  sigh..  It had spicy pepper slices on top of each piece with spicy tuna inside and wrapped in kelp.  It could be the Salmon white kelp roll but I'm not sure.  So if you happen to be around HB ~5-7 during the week, maybe it would be a good time to take the family.

Next time, Nano San.  I want to experience the sweet shrimp again before they go away.  :)

Open Sesame and La Creperie Cafe

After a rather testy day at work, I was so looking forward to dinner with Donna, Vini and AK. We had wanted to go to Open Sesame a while back but have never been able to go. So this weekend we just decided to since An and I both got out of work at 4:30 pm and 5 pm seemed like the perfect time to leave from CM to LB.

We arrived but boy traffic is crazy in LB and the Belmont Shores. Who knew that LBC had terrible traffic similar to SF and LA. They have parallel parking, one way streets and rude drivers.  It was like living in SF all over again. We finally got lucky and found parking a block away from the restaurant. However, being girls, with our totally lack of a directional compass,  we wound up walking way farther than we should have. hehehe...

Jalab



We had to wait a little but not that long. The LB locations are Halal which caters to the Middle Eastern population and is actually separated by two storefronts. When we sat down, we wanted to try something exotic and ordered a variety of drinks. AK ordered a Jalab (rose water and grape syrup infused with incense topped w/pine nuts).



Laban

 Donna ordered Tamarind (a sweet authentic beverage with sweetened date syrup). I ordered Laban (a yogurt drink with dry mint and salt) and Vini ordered Green Hot Tea with green mint and orange blossom water. Needless to say, at least for me the Jalab was a bit strong and Donna didn't like the Laban that much b/c it was too sour. I didn't mind but it wasn't to my taste.










Foul M'Damas



The appetizer was actually free b/c Vini had a coupon. We decided to forgo the traditional hummus and baba ghannouj because we were going to go for the platters and they were part of the meal. Instead we had the Foul M'Damas which is the simmered fava and chick peas flavored with garlic, lemon juice, olive oil served with pickles, onion, radishes, tomato and fresh mint. It was interesting although we thought it was served with warm pita bread. I guess not. :)

 

Vegetarian Combo

Open Sesame Combo



For the main course AK, Donna and I all ordered the Open Sesame Combo. It had the kafta (ground lamb & sirloin skewers), chicken tawook (marinated chicken breast) and beef kabob on basmati rice w/a choice of hummus or baba ghannouj and salad. Vini got the Vegetarian Combo of hummus, baba ghannouj, tabbouleh, grape leaf, and two falafel patties and pita bread.



After all of the food, we decided to walk around but I had remember a few years back if you can believe it when I first started at working here, I went to La Creperie Cafe with a bunch of coworkers. So we thought to have crepes for desserts since it was something different.  We didn't mind the wait b/c it was like a "second dinner" so to speak.  It gave us time to browse in Banana Republic and The Body Shop.

When we got inside, we went for the Dessert crepes but for some reason, I had to look at the appetizers and saw garlic fries and escargots.  For a brief second I was like: Hmm... if I was so full I would totally but.... oh well.  We picked the Tiramisu and Chocolate, chocolate crepe.

 

Tiramisu Crepe



The Tiramisu wasn't quite what we thought.  I guess we thought it would actually taste like tiramisu.  The description described it as a tiramisu wrapped in a crepe with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and creme anglaise.  In actuality it was more like the flavor than anything else.   Hmm.. looking at the pic again, where is the ice cream.  I think they put the scoop on the Chocolate, chocolate crepe. (see below pic)  We were very disappointed.  :(

 



Chocolate, Chocolate Crepe

The concensus was that the Chocolate, Chocolate was much better.  The description was a warm chocolate crepe filled with nutella and strawberries.  Who could go wrong with that?  On top of that we added the creme anglaise and the vanilla ice cream. Yum!  It wasn't that sweet but the chocolate was very good and the strawberries weren't that tart but just right.  Overall, I think it was just the right balance of sweetness to tartness for this particular crepe.



Overall, I think everyone had a really nice time.  We did a little shopping, gossiping and talked about things.  It was nice to spend time away from work.  Hopefully our next adventure will be at the "Dark Place". :op



P.S. Thank you Donna and An for not one but TWO delicious meals...  We need to go to the "Dark Place" or "Sushi".  hehehe :op