THE BEST OF 2011

My Best of the Year post takes time to complete.  I go through all the meals of the past year and make a short list of the places that really impressed me with an unforgettable meal.  It doesn't have to be a fancy restaurant, it's all about the food and the experience.

Since 2011 was a year of travel for me, there were many restaurants to choose from.  New places were discovered - Bangkok and Beijing, some revisited - Sydney and San Francisco, along with the usuals - Singapore, Las Vegas and Manila and of course I explored my island home - Bali - as well.  After much deliberation and elimination, and in no particular order, here are my best gourmet experiences of 2011.

BEST BREAKFAST

No questions about it, my best breakfast this year was at bills in Sydney's Darlinghurst.  From the fantastic flat whites to the amazing ricotta hot-cakes, the delicious sweet corn cake to the homemade oatmeal, the breakfast was amazing and the service friendly.  How I wish there was a bills near me!

BEST IN THE PHILIPPINES

Since I'm from Manila, I had to include two restaurants that really impressed me back home: Antonio's and Cafe Juanita.  Antonio's is a no-brainer and on most foodies best list.  It made the drive up to Tagaytay worth it and their fine dining and Colonial atmosphere is just the right mix of fancy and simple.  Cafe Juanita is a bit off the beaten track but also worth the drive to Pasig for home-cooked Filipino food.  This is the kind of food I crave while living abroad.  It felt like I was back at my lola's (grandmother's) house having one of those long leisurely Sunday lunches.

BEST IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

Here in Bali, a restaurant that that's a favorite for local food is Cafe Degan for classic Javanese cuisine in a classic wooden joglo (wooden house).  Simple food and friendly service.  They also have half their menu dedicated to Thai dishes as the chef used to work in Thailand.  Whether you order from the Thai side of the menu or the Javanese side, you won't be disappointed.

In Singapore, where I was almost every six weeks, my cousin took me to Ippudo where we had a fantastic noodle lunch - flavorful broth, al dente ramen, chunky pork belly - everything was good.

Two new places we visited this year were Bangkok and Beijing.  In Bangkok, I had my first taste of the real flavors of Thai cuisine.  I tried many types of Thai food and enjoyed most of them but it was chef David Thompson's fine dining take on classic Thai street food at Nahm that left me with a clear idea of how sophisticated Thai food is.

In Beijing, we had the best Beijing duck (aka Peking duck) I've ever tasted at Made in China  - extra crispy non-fatty skin with either sugar for dipping (a novelty!) or the traditional Hoisin-pancake-scallion-cucumber roll.  And it wasn't just the duck, the other dishes were also outstanding and it was the best Chinese meal I'd had all year.

BEST IN THE AMERICAS

In the Americas, we start down South where we made our usual pilgrimage to Buenos Aires and where surprisingly, we didn't eat at our favorite El Mirasol as often as we usually do.  Instead, we rediscovered a Recoleta classic - Munich (or as the locals call it - "el munitch") where we had dinner almost every night and never got tired of their repertoire of classic dishes - a perfectly grilled matambre (pork steak), crispy papas paille (shoestring fries), a simple green salad, the retro Chicken Maryland and Chicken Kiev plus lots of other home-style dishes from the past and the impeccable service from the white-jacketed old-timers just added to the atmosphere.

Finally to North America, first at our usual stop in Las Vegas where we had a superb tapas meal at Jaleo where it felt like we were back in Spain.  It was great to see the quality of Spanish food so lovingly recreated at chef Jose Andres' hip and happening tapas restaurant.  We also revisited our favorite city - San Francisco - so many lovely memories from past visits and so long since our last encounter in 2004.  Dinner at RN74 was impressive - cool concept, fantastic Burgundy wines, packed with a mixed crowd and best of all, the food was really good - simple classic dishes made of incredible ingredients which is what San Francisco is all about.

Last but not least, we go back to breakfast where I just have to mention the best coffee I've had all year (lots of close seconds - Sambalatte in Las Vegas, bills in Sydney and Liberica in Jakarta) but this one topped my list and made my mornings better - Blue Bottle Coffee.  The coffee was prepared with so much love and they took their time getting it right which just goes to show that after all these years, San Francisco's foodie ways haven't changed, it's only gotten better.  And with that I look forward to another year of eating and traveling.  I hope that 2012 will be as food-filled as 2011 was.  Happy Gourmet Travels!

YANK SING

What better way to end a gastronomic weekend in San Francisco than a Sunday yum cha (morning tea) or dim sum brunch at Yank Sing, a Michelin-starred and James Beard awarded dim sum restaurant.  The great thing about dim sum is that the food rolls be in carts so it's ready, making it a really good place to go in a group with kids or when you're starving.

We booked an early table and sat down and just watched the carts roll by for a bit then started ordering directly from the carts.  Here's what we had: fried dumplings filled with ground pork and vegetables, small portions of Peking Duck - just the skin served with the traditional pancakes, scallions, cucumber strips and Hoisin sauce,  vegetable spring rolls scissored in half for us to share, honey walnut prawns in mayonnaise, stir-fried green beans with chili and ground pork and Chinese broccoli in oyster sauce.  From the steam baskets: char siu bao (buns with roast pork), siu mai (ground pork and shrimp dumplings), har gau (prawn dumplings) and the popular xia long bao (soup-filled dumpling).  The food was good and the service exceptional.  Yank Sing is traditional yum cha in a refined setting without the usual noise and clutter of a typical dim sum restaurant but still with delicious dim sum.

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Yank Sing

49 Stevenson Street

San Francisco CA

Telephone: +1 415 541 4949

*Open Mondays to Fridays from 11a.m. to 3 p.m.

*Open Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

*Another branch in Rincon Center at 101 Spear St. (Telephone +1 415 781 1111)

RN74

My penultimate post on San Francisco was our last dinner in the city before I headed back home to Bali and the rest of the family went back home to Las Vegas.  On that Saturday evening, we booked a table at Michael Mina's RN74.  The name is the acronym for Route Nationale 74, the road that runs through the vineyards of Burgundy in France starting at Dijon and ending in Beaune.

The restaurant is a long room with cozy half-moon booths lining one side and a traditional long banquette (leather covered bench) on the window side.  Polished cement floors, wooden shutters covering the windows and hanging red glass lamps make the place cozy.  There are also two long tables running down the middle of the restaurant which can serve larger groups.  The back room is lit up with a large board similar to the ones seen in train stations with the most-sold wines featured on the board instead of the usual train timetable so it flicks and changes all through the night.

When we arrived, our table wasn't ready yet so we sat at the adjacent bar which was packed with several diners having just cocktails and some food from the bar menu.  There are several more bar tables in the back for those who just want to have a drink and something simple to eat.  R and I shared a glass of Californian Tatomer Riseling while C had a 16-year old reserve bourbon from AH Hirsch with some Parmesan crackers to snack on while we waited.

About half an hour later, we were led to our table - a very cozy table right behind the hostess stand.  At this point, the second round of diners for the evening were being seated as well and the restaurant stayed full all throughout our meal.  After having a look at the dinner menu and the extensive wine list, we made our choices.

From the Plates to Share, we chose a starter for the three of us - the herb-roasted marrow bones along with a celebratory Burgundy of course, my favorite Chambolle Musigny premier cru from the 2008 vintage of Ghislaine Barthod.  The bone marrow was one large piece split in half and sprinkled with parsley and served with grilled bread and sticky bacon marmalade.  The crispy bread slathered with bacon jam and topped with chunks of melting hot bone marrow was incredible.  A burst of salty rich in every bite and an excellent start to our dinner.

Next came the appetizers: R had the Burgundian escargots, a sharing plate of nine bubbling snails, half of which were covered with the classic garlic butter and the other half with a paprika butter.  From the First section of the menu, C had the hamachi crudo - slices of raw yellow tail fish with pomelo, trout roe and drizzled with olio nuovo and I had the autumn salad of fall fruits and vegetables - chestnuts, shaved fennel and carrots and pumpkin with greens tossed in a Banyuls (fortified French wine served either as an aperitif or for dessert) vinaigrette.

Main courses followed:  another starter for R, the Mendocino sea urchin and potato mousseline which came served in a very prickly sea urchin shell.  The creamy rich soup was flavored with pine nuts, Douglas fir (actual rosemary-like leaves in the soup) and black trumpet mushrooms.  C had the Snake River Farms Wagyu flatiron steak seared medium rare and served with potato and artichoke gratin, black truffle and gremolata and I had the Liberty Farm duck breast a l'orange, which actually came with duck breasts and the bonus addition of chunks of crispy duck confit, delicious Savoy cabbage, roasted salsify, braised chestnuts and rich foie gras.  It was delicious but I couldn't get through the whole plate and gave several slices to both R and C to help me finish my plate.

I was stuffed after my three courses and the wine so we all skipped the cheese and they ordered one dessert to share and another one, beignets, to take home to my niece.  The milk chocolate pot de creme came in a tumbler and with it's chunks of salted toffee, devil's food cake and cocoa nib, it made a perfect bittersweet ending to our delicious dinner.  Hands down, the best meal I had on this Thanksgiving trip to the U.S., and probably in all of 2011 was at RN74.

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RN74

301 Mission Street

(between Fremont and Beale)

San Francisco CA 94105

Telephone: +1 415 543 7474

*Open for lunch, Mondays to Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and daily for dinner from 5:30 p.m.

*Wine bar open Mondays to Fridays from 11:30 a.m. till late and on Saturdays and Sundays from 5:30 p.m. till late

AQ

Starting 2012 right with this post on a restaurant that specializes on seasonal local produce that we stumbled upon with good friend AM who picked us up for lunch and drove around the area brainstorming on where we could go for our "catch-up" lunch session.  He remembered that a new restaurant had just opened nearby (only three weeks open when we went there in early December) and that's how we ended up at AQ.  AQ means "as quoted" which is usually the term added onto menus when seasonal dishes or specials are listed.  Here, the menus change every season so specials and seasonal items are what are featured every day.

AQ is a restaurant dedicated to seasonal dining.  It's a long room with a bar near the entrance and exposed red brick walls, long banquettes and simple wooden tables.  Cheeky accents include large industrial whisks used to house light bulbs in the kitchen, flowers and plants based on the season (bare branches and some reddish and yellowish leaves when we were there).  They were still serving the autumn menu when we had lunch that day - about three or four starters, a few main courses and four desserts.  (It's the winter menu that is being served now.)

After a quick look at the menu,  we all chose different dishes. A had a simple arugula salad which we were supposed to share but when I saw AM's warm chicory salad, I had to have one - a slice of sourdough toast with a soft poached egg in the middle, pearl onions, chicory and bacon chunks in a mustardy vinaigrette - simple but delicious, a perfect example of how quality ingredients in season can make all the difference in a dish.

Main courses were the canneloni with spinach and mushrooms for AM, the Ricotta gnocchi with celery and mushrooms for A and a crab roll for me. Both pasta dishes were rich and earthy with autumn vegetables and my shredded crab meat in a soft roll was complemented with a Meyer lemon dressing and served with tiny organic arugula and hand-cut potato chips.  Again, simplicity in the presentation and preparation and just the produce and freshness making the dish stand out.

Finally, we shared two desserts: a ginger cake with  and a rich classic chocolate devil's food cake which were good and when we asked for coffee, we were surprised to find out that they didn't have an espresso machine although they did serve organic French press coffee which we declined.  All in all, a great chatty session with AM catching up on all the gossip and when we asked for the bill, we got a pleasant surprise.  They had given us a 20% discount as AM was a local and worked nearby.  Nice touch and a nice ending to a delicious lunch.

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AQ

1085 Mission Street

San Francisco CA 94103

Telephone: +1 415 341 9000

*Open daily for dinner from 5:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. and for Sunday brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

FERRY BUILDING MARKETPLACE

San Francisco, one of my favorite cities which I haven't been to since 2003 has changed a lot but still remains the same.  The laid-back vibe is still there along with the love for all things organic, local and  seasonal.  No visit would have been complete without a stop at the Ferry Building Marketplace.  And if you're luck enough to be there on Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday, you'll get a chance to experience the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market and see the local producers in action.

We arrived in San Francisco on a Thursday morning and after checking in to our hotel, we walked the ten or more blocks down Market street towards the Ferry Plaza.  Originally constructed in 1898, it was rebuilt in 1991 and opened as a historical building housing the best produce and specialty food purveyors like Cowgirl Creamery, Frog Hollow Farm, Acme Bread Company, Blue Bottle Coffee to name a few and restaurants like Slanted Door, Gott's Roadside and the Market Bar.

Lunch at the Ferry Building on Market day can be a simple sandwich from Acme, a hunk of cheese from Cowgirl or if you're willing to queue up, a delicious porchetta sandwich from Roli Roti or from one of the many food trucks parked outside three times a week.  As we were with the kids, we decided to sit at one of the outdoor picnic tables at Gott's Roadside (formerly Taylor's Refresher) and order some burgers and garlic fries while we waited for the rest of our lunch from the food trucks.  It was a beautiful sunny autumn day, typical California weather, and perfect for our impromptu al fresco lunch.  After lunch, we queued up some more for a much-needed cappuccino at Blue Bottle Coffee.  The line was so long that by the time I got to the front, I needed not just a cappuccino but also an espresso which I had one after the other.  And yes, it was well worth the wait.

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Ferry Building Marketplace

One Ferry Plaza

San Francisco 94111 CA
Telephone: + 1 415 983 8030
*Open daily from about 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Check for different opening hours on weekends)
*Farmer's Market and food trucks every Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or until the food runs out and on Saturdays from 8 a.m to 2 p.m.

Travel 2011

2011 has been my year of travel.  I have never been on a plane this much ever.  There were trips to new places - Bangkok and Beijing, a trip to my favorite city - Paris, trips to visit family - Buenos Aires and Las Vegas, several trips to see the doctor - Singapore, trips to do renew our passports - Jakarta and quick trips on a stopover - Sydney.

November, though, is going to be the busiest travel month for me, with a week in Manila from today (to finish unpacking boxes that have been in storage for several years) then a week in Osaka and Tokyo (my first trip to Japan) and finally, two weeks during Thanksgiving in Laguna Beach, Las Vegas and San Francisco, before I head back home to Bali just in time for the children's holidays and Christmas.  And there are still so many places I haven't been to and hope to visit in 2012.  So bear with me and my erratic posting.  I promise there will be lots to read very soon with my Buenos Aires posts coming out, slowly but surely, and with more gourmet travel write-ups soon.