Vietnamese cuisine in San Francisco, Sep 2008

Laugh all you want but I'm always craved for Vietnamese food when I travel. For my trips to US and Canada, I always had to get at least some Vietnamese meals or instant noodles. American food doesn't really appeal to me, after a few meals. That is quite sad, I guess, cos I didn't manage to explore more of the food scene of the cities I travelled to. But I always think I have to enjoy every calories I take in. Or else, it's a waste of money and kilograms.

When I was visiting SF, I had been staying for over a week, so obviously, I needed my fix of Vietnamese food. And there is Little Saigon in SF, which I had to visit, made it easier to plan for meals.

So where could you have good Vietnamese food in SF, in my opinion?

Chinatown - Not surprising, I guess. Vietnamese restaurants are often found in Chinatown due to a good (but competitive) business environment and some other reasons I can't think of at the moment. No less than 10 Vietnamese restaurants and supermarkets were spotted in SF


After walking around for a while, I had decided to have dinner here


The condiments to eat with pho. And yes, I did order pho bo


Pho bo here is delicious. Better than 90% the noodles I had tried in Saigon. The beef was tender, the soup was yummy and the noodles were what we always have in the South of Vietnam. Not only that, the red sauce here was really good, not those chilly sauce they are using in Saigon nowadays (Darned! I hate that)

Moving on another part of the city. I don't think you could imagine of finding a shop selling "banh my" (Vietnamese baguette) around Union Square, but yes, there is one and the food is amazing. Authentic and yummy are what I could describe "banh my" here. You can't find it in Singapore, even Singapore is nearer to Vietnam than America is. Ironic, isn't it?


Dolci Cafe on Market St, near to Powell St


The menu. I love the ham and pate baguette


Other food available here, i.e "xoi" (sticky rice), "banh da lon", etc.


And this is the yummy baguette. I really miss this.

Another area is Little Saigon. Well! It makes sense, doesn't it? Getting Vietnamese food from Little Saigon. Of course, I had to go there to see how Vietnamese community lives in SF. A bit quiet but much cleaner than Chinatown. And yest, all the Vietnamese food you can have.




Here it is. Little Saigon in SF


The famous Lee's Sandwiches


"Xoi", "bun tam bi", "banh day"...


Plenty of "nem chua"


Different types of desserts


Menu of available Vietnamese baguettes and sandwiches


"Banh da lon", "banh khoai my", "banh tam bi", etc.


Where you place your orders


And what did I buy there? A huge and delicious avocado milkshake. My fav drink.


How about some pho? Let's go to "Pho Tau Bay". It is also a famous brand of pho bo in Saigon.


Some special if you are not in the mood for pho


Another bowl of pho bo, not that I will ever get tired of this.

6th St - A slightly questionable neighbourhood. But if you want to try some Northern pho bo and good "bun thit nuong" (grilled pork with rice vermicelli), then you can come here. An advice though: Try to take out your food.


Tu Lan restaurant on 6th St


I didn't really like this version of pho bo, but it was a good experience


Grilled pork with rice vermicelli

Fisherman's Wharf - It might be the last place to find a Vietnamese restaurant. But I had an amazing plate of grilled pork with rice here. So yeah, you should try it if you are in the vicinity.


Darren's Cafe is the place to go


Yummy grilled pork and rice. I love grilled food.

Alcatraz Island, San Francisco 2008

Alcatraz Island is an island located in the San Francisco Bay, near to San Francisco. It is featured in a number of movies, i.e. The Rock, X men: The last stand, The book of Eli, etc. I don't think I could remember much from the movie "The Rock", but now think about it, no wonder I feel it was so familiar when watching "X men: The last stand". It's Alcatraz Island alright.

Visiting Alcatraz Island and its famous prison made me value the freedom I am having now (relatively speaking). I dun even dare to imagine myself locked in some small cells. Not fun at all.


Pier 33


On the ferry, waiting for departure, even this seagull


Alcatraz Island, here I come


First look of Alcatraz Island


Alcatraz Cruises ferry


On Alcatraz Island




Inside a federal prison (ex)


Rows of prison cells


A prison cell


Isolation prison cells


San Francisco viewed from Alcatraz Island


I'm not so sure about the name of this bridge. Is it Golden Gate Bridge?


The ruin of a federal prison

Enough with the scenery photos, now it's my turn to pose:


On the ferry to Alcatraz Island


In front of a federal prison cell


San Francisco in the background


Again, what is the name of that bridge?

Twin Peaks, San Francisco 2008

If you'd like to have gorgeous view of SF, where is better than Twin Peaks? I prefer this to Coit Tower and there is a reason for that. I had a very bad experience getting to Coit Tower, and of course, I didn't enjoy my time up there. So yeah, give me Twin Peaks anytime.

I think for Twin Peaks, it is better to show you the photos I took there than using words. So enjoy yourself with the beauty SF offering you.




Around Twin Peaks


San Francisco viewed from Twin Peaks


San Francisco Bay viewed from Twin Peaks


On Twin Peaks

Cable car, San Francisco 2008

Another must-see and must-try in San Francisco is its cable cars. Each single ride costs you 5 bucks, but if you are a tourist and buy a Muni 1-day, 3-day or 7-day pass, you can ride it many times, whenever and wherever you like. That was why cable cars were my main method of transport when I was in SF, more than buses and trains. It was fun to ride the cable cars, enjoying the scenery along the way and hop on, hop off when and where you like. Also, it was exhilarating to ride up and down those steep streets. It was one of those factors that make me love SF so much, of all the cities I have been in the States.


Cable cars at Powell St.


Queuing up, waiting for departure

One interesting fact about SF cable cars is they can't turn around by themselves (the cars, I mean). At both ends of each line, there are cable car turntables and the gripmen and conductors have to turn the cars around to make return trips. As I frequented the Powell - Market, I managed to observe this turntable twice, which were quite interesting.


Push...


... and push...


... finally the car is turned around


Of course, I am not myself if I didn't take any photo with these cable cars


At Powell - Market cable car line