Bake.Nuts.

There are two rather popular places for ramen in The Central, Clarke Quay. Marutama Ramen and Ramen Santouka. I tried the former almost 2 years ago when it first opened, this one, I only recently discovered. Ramen Santouka is hidden in a corner of The Central, it is necessary to rebuff the advances of the very-friendly waitstaff from the chinese restaurant you need to pass through in order to get to it. Or, you just really need to know where you’re going. I ordered the Toroniku ramen the first time and the char siew ramen the next. I will admit that I’m not particularly carnivorous. With that said, the toroniku (pork cheeks – at this point in time, an imaginative friend asked me if it was really the cheeks of the pig, or the butt cheeks) slices were delicate and tender. I haven’t tried the supposed meat that melts in your mouth, but this comes close, I think. They didn’t have much fat on them (which was a big plus for me) and even the ones that had fat weren’t overwhelmingly fatty. The miso soup base I chose was rich and tasty and the noodles were springy. 口感! Yum. It is a bit pricey for ramen though – the Toroniku came up to about $20. Then again, I suppose this is the kind of price you get around here. I’ve seen a couple of ramen places at Liang Court though and I think they might just be a bit cheaper for similar quality.

Toroniku

Toroniku Ramen

Ramen Santouka
http://www.santouka.co.jp/

6 Eu Tong Sen Street
#02-76 The Central
Tel: 6224 0668

Infused tea

Flourless chocolate cake

A very long while ago, I trawled the net for interesting, funky cafes at which I could chill and people-watch for an afternoon. I chanced upon 25 degrees celsius. I was attracted by its concept – a cafe + cookbook shop. Coffee and food books. whee~

The interior design of the place was modern and slick. Being there on a weekday afternoon ensured that there weren’t very much other people save for a couple who looked like they were getting their wedding photos taken. (awesome idea, that) I do hope that they get more business on weekends though, otherwise I don’t see how they’d survive. The tea was decent, as was the cake. Though, it is one of the pricier cafes to chill at.

25 degrees celsius is hidden at a corner of Keong Saik Street off Chinatown.

25 Keong Saik Road
#01-01 Bukit Pasoh Extension

Operating Hours:
Mon-Thu: 11am – 10pm
Fri-Sat: 11am – 11pm
(Closed on Sundays)

Here’s a series of food related outings that I went on.

Breakfast in SF. French toasted croissants. I wasn’t too impressed but it seems that I got the wrong dish.

We waited 1 hour to get a seat.

Le Cheval – Vietnamese restaurant in Oakland. A farewell dinner for a friend who has since gone on a year long trip all over the place. First stop is Latin America, I think.

Calamari too. But, omg. These are so. good. I rather liked the fish too.

Finally, my favourite bakery in SF. Tartine.

Hello Morning Bun! How I do love thee~ =P

Le Cheval

1007 Clay St
Oakland, CA 94607
(510) 763-8957

Tasty Morsels – Summer edition.

There was a new Italian restaurant that I had read about on Shattuck. Apparently, it’s owned by the owner of the rather pricey and very tasty (so I heard) Rivioli on Solano with the top chef coming from another tasty restaurant on College (Oliveto, I think). And so.. Tasty Morsels!!

Calamari with fried onions and lemons. I had no idea fried lemons could taste so good.

The sausage and chilli pizza I had. It really is pretty spicy.

Pasta that zm had.

All in all, I thought it was a rather nice restaurant. Pretty decor, excellent service (though the food took a while to come), just a tad too pricey for the average poor student (i.e. me).

Trattoria Corso

1786 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley

(510) 704-8003

Dinner at Angeline’s Lousiana Kitchen

It was featured on tv just a couple of weeks before we went so it was packed.

I had the Shrimp Po-boy. It’s good. =)

Crunchy, sweet shrimps sandwiched between fresh bread. Yum.

This was a longer while ago.

Bette’s Oceanview Diner – Brunch!

Milkshake. It seems kinda wrong to have it so early in the day.

4 orders of the daily pancake special – Cornmeal and currant pancakes.

I totally loooove their pancakes. They just melt in your mouth.

Rick and Ann’s

More brunch! Ah – the benefits of having a car, even for just a little while. =)

Yummilicious french toast. They had it infused with orange blossom water.

Subtle citrus-ness. And very fragrant.

My brunch kaki’s omelette. I really love their scone. It’s soft and fluffy.

Nothing like the terrible dry and heavy ones you get outside sometimes.

Angeline’s Louisiana Kitchen

2261 Shattuck Ave
(between Bancroft & Kitteridge)
Berkeley, CA 94704 (510) 548-6900

Rick and Ann’s

2922 Domingo Avenue

Berkeley, CA – 94705

Indian food on Solano. I thought the basmati rice was surprisingly soft and fluffy. Having had my share of dry and hard basmati rice, it never quite occurred to me that it could taste so good.  We shared Badal Jaam – Eggplant with tomato sauce which was pretty interesting. I thought the tangyness of tomato paste was quite refreshing. The chicken curry was just the right degree of spiciness and the chicken remarkably tender. I loved the garlic naan. Pretty good indian food if you ask me. It’s a bit upmarket for the average student though. It came up to $18 per person for the 3 of us. If I go on eating like this, I’m going to eat myself into debt. =(

AJANTA
1888 Solano Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94707

Tasty Morsels head for Mexican!

Overall, I was quite disappointed. I ordered a fish taco and guacamole tostada. The fish taco was pretty tasteless. The guacamole wasn’t much better. I left most of it on my plate. I must say, the chips were definitely good. Cancun wins hands down. I must remember to revisit Cancun soon.

Juan’s Place

941 Carleton St
(between 8th St & 9th St)
Berkeley, CA 94710