A rare sight in San Francisco " the Supermarket"

When researching supermarkets and grocery outlets to visit whilst in San Francisco and the Bay area one would imagine that you would be spoilt for choice.

Supermarkets as we know them in Europe are an endangered and rare species, here in one of the most foodie cities in the USA.

Many chains such as Kroger's, Albertsons and Safeway have or are abandoning the city for the suburban areas around the city with parking and easy access form the major roads and being replaced by the more specialized, new generation stores such as Berkeley Bowl, Wholefoods and Trader Joe's and soon to open Fresh and easy [ Tesco].

These new Generation of grocery stores are offering very little in the way of the more well known brands such as Kellogg's and Betty Crocker, but more locally produced artisan products, such as bread from the Acme Bakery, Pancake and waffle mix under the Bette's diner brand both of which are situated in Berkeley close to the city.

Even when looking for something simple like pasta sauce you are faced with a multitude of products with unknown labels and maybe only one of the major brands such as Ragu .

This is all very well ,unless you are on a weekly budget and just need to buy the essentials . Its great for foodies but becomes expensive otherwise.

Having said all that the new generation stores that are replacing the major multiples seem to be serving the local neighbourhood very well.

One such place is a Berkeley Bowl . Both of these stores are situated in Berkeley and have been the highlight of my trawl of the Bay Area.

Berkeley Bowl west is situated at 920 Heinz avenue Berkeley 94710 CA.

This store is a foodie mecca, from the moment you enter you are greeted with the patisserie, with its own pastry chef in tow, it is not long before we are trying the new speciality chocolate chip scones, recommended if you drop by.

moving through the store you discover various food treats such as the hot and cold deli and take out meals, a soup station, olive bar , nuts and dried fruits to buy in bulk, the most amazing produce section i have seen from all my recent travels, with every conceivable vegetable, mushroom, potato or fruit you could imagine, and organic too.

The grocery aisles are packed with an array of products not seen in any other supermarkets, this is where i find a multitude of non typical branded American products.

In particular the home baking section here has changed from your typical Betty Crocker to a more artisan product with the emphasis on the packaging. Brown paper bags with very simplistic labels and all natural ingredients, also gluten free is everywhere, with Newman's featuring in every category.

Another area that is seeing huge growth is the pasta sauce fixture, here on the west coast it has seen growth from the smaller producers that are starting to push for more shelf space from the larger brands such as Ragu and Bertolli .

This store has so much to offer this up and coming area, for foodies and students alike, you can get everything here from general grocery, to fresh meats, fish most of which is from a sustainable source, to your cup cake kit or just a bowl of olives and of course your sourdough, famous in this part of the world.,

When you come to San Francisco you expect to find good food and wine but on this trip i have found out that there is a growing culture here of budding foodies , culinary genus, quality neighbourhood stores , and some amazing restaurants, which you would need a year to visit all of them, and i have only scratched the surface.

I'm sorry to say that i never got to see the up and coming trend of the food cart scene due to the weather, sunny California they say . Oh well another time.

for this blog i have listed below some of my favourites for this trip and once back in the UK will expand on, but if your in San Francisco make sure to drop by some of them if you can.

• Bristol farms - http://www.bristolfarms.com/
• Draegars markets San Mateo - http://www.draegars.com/
• Berkeley bowl west - http://www.berkeleybowl.com/
• Chez Pannisse - http://www.chezpanisse.com/
• Bouchon and Bouchon Bakery - http://www.bouchonbistro.com/
• Bettes diner Oakland - http://www.bettesdiner.com/

you can now also find me on twitter at https://twitter.com/devscout

Brasserie bread

Brasserie bread artisan baking centre is set in an old saw tooth mill a few hundred yards from port Botany. The classic warehouse is the perfect setting for this authentic bakery cafe. A glass viewing gallery enables cafe diners to enjoy the theatre and view the bakers creating handmade bread and Pastries.

The bakery, most famous for its organic sourdough recipe using its 14 year old starter with organic wheat, has an extensive menu of artisan breads including spelt honey and banana bread, Schiacciata [ Tuscan flat bread] and sour cherry loaf.
The cafe seems a popular destination for many, it offers a menu showcasing the breads, cakes and pastries made on site.

As its lunchtime i go for a classic Croque Monsieur on sourdough with rocket, the sourdough adds another texture dimension to this familiar sandwich, the Paris ham and Australian mature cheddar compliment the bread well.

Croque Monsieur on sourdough
coconut and blueberry mini cakes
orange & hazelnut cake

The bakery, voted best bread shop in the foodie guide of the Sydney morning Herald is certainly a destination shop as it could not be further from the heart of the city with trucks rumbling past en route to the port and docks.

this is just one of many small bakeries i visit during my trip to Sydney, each suburb is complimented with a bakery offering good quality rustic and artisan breads, and there is a growing demand for the products that they produce.

Victoire, Balmaine
Bourke street bakery

Haberfield Italian Bakery

Sydney "foodie heaven"

On first impressions when you visit any of the two food retailers here in Sydney you would wonder why i titled this blog foodie heaven. Woolworth's & Cole's have the market pretty much sown up with very little competition, or so it seems, then you discover the local grocery stores that are very popular choice in some of the suburbs.

These stores are usually situated along a leafy suburban street , as you would have found in the UK before the supermarket boom.

The format is simple, deli style layout with a good selection of fresh produce, dairy, fresh and cured meats. To compliment this there is a vast array of premium quality grocery items mostly made in Australia with some additions imported from many regions of the world.

My first experience of these wonderful stores is at Bondi Junction, a short drive from the Westfield mall. Macro wholefoods who were recently taken over by Woolworth's, have kept this one store in its original format, the store only stocks organic produce and groceries but the choice is endless, and as with most stores that i visit over the next few days, the food here is not cheap, Pasta sauce retails in the region of $9 average.

Macro wholefoods

31-35 Oxford st

StBondi Junction

NSW 2022, Australia

+61 2 9389 7611

My next stop is Jones the grocer, a food emporium that provides gourmet foods for everyday living. All products stocked here focus on wholesome & natural ingredients, the in store cafe menu is based around the products it sells giving the customer the chance to try before they buy. One of the product highlights that i find here is a range of cup cake baking kits produced by Donna Hay.

Jones the Grocer

Woollahra 68 Moncur Street

Woollahra Sydney

NSW, 2025
I decide this would be a good place to stop for lunch and take in the ambiance of this busy store & Sydney Life. The tuna and pea risotto that i order does not disappoint. A quick trip round the cheese room, i grab my product finds and head over to Thomas Dux at five ways.
Again set in another leafy suburb this chain owned and operated by Woolworth's but not branded. The store is well stocked with global and locally sourced products from artisan breads, deli meats and gourmet grocery items with not a ready meal in sight, their aim is to bring the excitement and passion for food. It is here that i find one of the highlights so far and on trend with my previous travels, the ultimate risotto kit, along with other various easy meal solutions.

Thomas Dux

220 glenmore road

Paddington Nsw

2021

Next up on the Agenda Auckland NZ

Handmade Noodles

As mentioned in my previous Blog we visited the Noodle Loft here in Beijing. A much talked about establishment that has theatre whilst you enjoy a steaming bowl of fresh Noodles of various shapes and sizes.


This is the place where the brigade of chefs perform a variety of skilled moves, turning out various shapes and sizes from the handmade dough. We have returned to the restaurant today as Chef Zukai has kindly agreed to give Chung Yin a lesson in making the noodles.




The chef has all ready weighed out the quantiies of flour and sets Chung Yin to work, by adding the water and kneading the dough, it is obvious from the start that this will be no easy task, as dough comes together the more difficult it is to knead, Chung Yin comments that he wont need the gym today.




After around 10 mins of hard graft, the dough is ready to make into noodles. This will follow a process of stretching, shaping & twisting, this is a lot easier than it looks, the chef tells us it takes about 3 months to perfect this technique. Chung Yin starts by stretching the dough, alongside him is the apprentice who also has only been doing this for a few weeks, a few moments later the dough is smashed against the wooden board to soften, this process goes on for a couple of minuites, then once stretched long enough it is twisted




Chef Zukai shows Chung Yin how to complete the twist, which will take some practice, after a few attempts he has something that pretty much resembles what the chef is looking for.


Its now time to create the noodles, this again looks a simple process of twists and turns, the trick here is to be quick and confident, otherwise you end up with thousands of pieces of broken noodles.





whilst all this is going on behind us the kitchen is a hive of activity, getting ready for lunch, with chefs throwing, shaving, forming various other shapes such as cats ears, hand pulled dumplings, and even one type of noodle made with a single chopstick all are made to order and seem to take no time at all.




Noodle Loft



20 Xi Dawang LuCBD,

Chaoyang District,

Beijing


朝阳区西大望路南20号

Beijing

Arriving beijing early afternoon we are met by Eileen Wen Mooney, Foodie and author of Beijing Eats, who will be our guide for the next two and half days, After a quick check in at the hotel, its off to the first of our many planned stops in this vibrant city.

Our Itinery has been carefully put together to cover some of the best of the regions cuisine that the city has to offer, the list is extensive so i have decided to give a breif overview and highlights of each one, more like a restaurant guide.

We start at Zhanjing noodle,

On the menu.

• mung bean puree with preserved vegetable and chilli oil Beijing fries -, mung bean flour made with water and formed into sheets, cut into diamonds and deep fried, who needs Mcdonalds, these are better than french fries.
  Deep fried sausage [ Zha guanchang] with garlic lemon dipping sauce- this is sausage made from starch and pan fried.
• Fried pork meatballs served with szechuan salt
• Noodles with sweetbean paste and garlic pickle

This is the first of many reastaurants we will try and what a way to start, the highlight for me was the Beijing fries and the mung bean puree, what great addition to any chinese meal.

Next up,we visit April, gourmet an expat grocery store, then onto Lohoe city organic supermarket, which both are based near the embassy quarter.

After filling the the trolley with a good selection of noodles and other interesting products, another stop Eileen has for us is the trends lounge in the CBD, a great bookstore with sleak curves and spirals, in fresh whites and greens, we visit the store and get to see the kitchen operation, which we are told that it is extremley busy during the lunchtime rush.
With one more visit before dinner ,we head off to Ole, one of Beijings main grocery stores, a very upmarket operation again in the CBD.
Dinner is booked at South silk road, a Yunnan restaurant, comtemporary in design with a distinctive cuisine.


• Wild root, yunnan style.
• Special wind tree and slower wind tree bark with tip of evispy pine branches

• Sauteed trichdoma matsutake with coriander and garlic.
• Siancity mushroom with Pur er tea C
• Crossing the bridge noodles (guò qiáo mĭxiàn) is an elaborate chicken noodle soup which hails from the southern province of Yunnan. There are many stories of how the dish originated, but the most common describes a scholar who once isolated himself on an island to prepare for an important examination. His wife would bring him rice noodles and other morsels in a rich chicken broth, with a layer of fat on top to keep the soup warm until she reached him.
• Sliced chicken and cool rice noodle with sweet juice
• Barbecued perch with vanilla
• Stir fried vegetable with ham
• Sauteed pork cheek with pur er tea and syrup

This again was a total contrast to the food we have tried in shanghai and the traditional beijing lunch we had earlier.

I have to say that trying tree bark is not something you do everyday, but it is a must try dish if your passing by this restaurant.

Day 2 starts of with a visit to the IFW[ the international food wharehouse in the basement of the plush Park Hyatt, contempory in design this is an amazing food court with open kitchens, wok frying & patisserie with coffe shop, salad and deli areas.

We decide to head for a coffee and cakes, seems the best way to start the day. The selection on offer is fairly extensive, so we decide to try

• Savoury meat pie
• Green tea bun
• Custard bun- a cross between brioche and a hot cross bun with custard filling, what a great product.
• Apricot tart
• Lychee and lime Jelly
• Green tea tiramisu
• Chocolate tart-well one always has to try this if on offer, and we were not disapointed.

After a an hour here, we head off to a reasturant that i have been waiting to see.

The Noodle Loft [ shanxi cuisine]

This is a open noodle bar which has theatre every minuite you are here, all noodles are made by hand from start to finish, i will be covering this in the next blog when Chung Yin goes back for a lesson with chef Zukai.

After lunch we head of to Dung Jiao market, where you can buy anything from a turtle to an apartment, this market is the centre for some of the cities restaurants to buy their produce, from spices, fish, meat and vegetables. Every stall has its own speciality for the various regional cuisines. This market is not for the feint hearted.

Afternoon tea

After another store trawl we are at an exclusive mall in the centre of town which has the best patisserie and coffee shop i have seen, Fauchon paris,has sister site here in Beijing and is well worth a visit.

Again the selection here needs to be fully tested as each cake and dessert are perfectly made and designed

We decide to try the

• Chocolate tart
• Lemon tart
• Chestnut cake
• Happiness cake
• Apple tart
• Selection of macaroons

Each one has been carefully hand made and the flavours well balanced, highlights - chestnut cake and the lemon tart.

This amazing foodie day will conclude with a visit to 1949 apparently the best peking duck restaurant in beijing, run by Chef patron Peter Lam, who originates from Hong Kong and runs this establishment with his son. Both come out to greet us and offer to select the menu for us.

This is an amazing complex of bars and restaurants that Chef Peter had built up.

Menu for this evening

Peking duck with hoisin, garlic and peanut addition

The peking duck oven, where the wood used is selected by age and is at least 60-80 years old.

• Pumpkin and sour plum pickle
• Welks with with courgette and sesame
• Peaking duck burger- made from the duck above with the addition of homemade sesame bun
• Garden vegetables with 5 nuts
• Fois gras terrine made from the peking duck
• Almond and tea Gluten rice



All this is all followed up by a of sweet bean paste duck petit four, and Maccau custard tart with spun sugar, These are truly a delight, The duck is far better than i have tasted before, unlike anything i would get back home. The addition of the peanut and garlic to the light Hoisin is a nice twist.

As our last day arrives we are heading off to an new restaurant, Karaiya, Hunanese cuisine, owned by the succesful restauranteur Alan Wong, this restaurant offers traditional Hunan cuisine presented in a very modern way. Our selection

• Signature fish- steamed Mandarin fish with 2 types of Hunan Peppers
• Rib Bridge- topped with spices and peanuts
• Chilled tofu with diced peppers
• Spicy diced Bullfrog and vegtables atop a flaming wok
  
spicy pepper diced ribeye


• Hunan fragrant tofu special fried[ otherwise known as stinky tofu] this dish is a must try
• Fois gras and soy fried rice


Every dish in this restaurant was perfectly executed with all the flavour and spice as you would find in this regions cuisine. This is probably the best restaurant of the tour for me.
We have only been in this city for two days but our guide Eileen has shown us some of the best that Beijing has to offer and we now feel we have that we have some good insight into the regions varied but exciting cuisines.


China is so undiscovered in terms of styles of cuisine and the flavours that this extrodinary country can create that 2 weeks just scratches the surface, and leaves me wanting to discover more.