Read part 1 here.
One of the reasons why I was so excited about my San Francisco business trip (aside from free gourmet food samples and sexy Italian men in near vicinity) was because I was going to be at the Moscone Center - which is just a few steps away from Samovar, the uber giant of the gourmet tea industry. Samovar is in the center of the geeky-hip tea movement of late, and I saw their president Jesse, give a little chat at the World Tea Expo (along with Digg's Kevin Rose). They're the cool kids in the tea industry, and so I was a bit curious as to what the hype was all about.
Samovar is a sit-down only tea lounge that serves everything from an hour-long high tea course to ethnic-tinged tea snacks, as well as premium teas. The one I went to was the Yerba Buena Gardens one, and it was PACKED on a Sunday afternoon. So I opted to sit down in the freezing cold so that I can nom, sip, then go back to manning our booth downstairs at the Moscone.
The tea service is impeccable here, almost like buying a bottle of wine at a bistro (which is understandable - tea IS like wine, with terroirs and harvests and whatnot). The server brings out a mini tea set, and make sure that you get a good whiff of the wet leaves before proceeding to serve. They'll pour your first pot for you, and leave you with steeping instructions specific to what you ordered. Fancy indeed!
I had the Monkey-picked Iron Goddess of Mercy. Jeez, that's a mouthful. In actuality, it's a tien kuan yin oolong. On the menu it is simply listed as "Sip, penetrate your issues, and dissolve them. Kuan Yin’s classic elixir offering transcendence via the tealeaf." For 8 bucks, you will get about 4-5 mini cups of delicious tea (more if you want to steep it more, but I stop at 2 infusions).
Food is quite fantastic as well. I had the TLT (Tofu, Lettuce, Tomato) sandwich - mirin glazed tofu, spring mix, tomato slices, mayo on a whole wheat ciabatta that tastes like an English muffin. A bit pricey at 12 bucks, but if you think about the mini salad and pretty location, it ain't bad at all. They also serve other interesting foodstuffs like curry, sushi rolls, and chays - all sorts of food to complement teas from different regions of the world. No wonder Kevin Rose loves this place.
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By the time the show came to its close, there was a HUGE rainstorm in the Bay Area. Most of 101 and the San Mateo Bridge was closed off in the morning due to flash floods and poor visibility. On top of that, people from our office called to tell us to stay the night because there was a tornado warning in Huntington Beach. A TORNADO! Don't those only happen in the midwest or something?
But of course, Coworker didn't want to spend the night because he had an important meeting the next day. I was scared shitless because I was certain that we were a) going to be struck by lightning somewhere along the coast line if we took 101 down to LA, or b) slip and crash and DIE in the snow-capped Grapevine if we took the 5.
But no, as we hop into the car, the first thing that concerns him is his incredible appetite for something hot and quick, and preferably slurpable. Nope, not the shitstorm that everybody at the convention center was talking about. So we left San Francisco and took a detour to his favorite ramen joint in the bay, Kahoo.
When I visit my parents in the bay, we often go to the Mitsuwa market... But I haven't been to Kahoo all these years because Mom was a die-hard fan of the previous resident of that spot, which was a Tokushima-style ramen joint. It was a very delicious mom-and-pop kind of place, but unfortunately the owner retired and moved back to Japan. Mom tried Kahoo once, but, 'it's not like the last place,' so we never went.
According to Keizo (and Rameniac), Kahoo serves one of the best Shoyu ramen in the area. Me, being the rebel, had to ignore the two giant ramen bloggers of LA and ordered the Karamiso Ramen (spicy miso ramen).
*Very* spicy for a Japanese joint, and the noodles are a bit on the chewy side. Reminds me of the spicy ramen at Shisen in Torrance, only, not stomach wrenching and much more sanitary. It's good! But just that - not life changing.
Coworker had a large bowl of the Kotteri Shoyu Ramen, his favorite. Apparently he eats this every time he's in the area for a business trip... And he slurped it up in a flash!
He also ordered some gyoza. I don't know how that boy manages to stay so thin with that kind of appetite!!! But back to the gyoza. Very porky, which is good for some people. I prefer my gyoza to be chock full of aromatics.
After chit chatting a bit, we hopped back into the car and drove back down to LA via 101. Luckily for us, the storm had moved down south, and we were only bothered by some flash rain near Santa Barbara.
Samovar Yerba Buena Gardens
730 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 227-9400
http://www.samovarlife.com
Kahoo Ramen
4330 Moorpark Ave.
San Jose, CA 95129
(408) 255-8244
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
TLT, quite a unique concept. Sounds quite the treat. Never tried tofu in that manner. But definitely will should I get the chance.
Ooh, the kotteri shoyu ramen looks good. I’ll be up in the Bay next month. Maybe I can talk my friend into stopping here.
dave, it was SO good! i recommend it much.
w.c., i’m gonna get the kotteri next time too! the eggs looked soooo good.
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