San Francisco's Pier Side (Farmer's Market and Fisherman's Wharf) - Pt. 1

We visited the pier side on a Saturday and luckily for us, the weather was perfect, with close to no clouds found among the blue sky and a shining sun to keep us warm from the typical wind that is synonymous with San Francisco. It seems we chose the right day to do all of our outdoor activities. We begun our day by parking at the Golden Gateway Garage (268 Clay Street, San Francisco, CA 94111), which is mere 7 minutes walk from the Ferry Plaza building. For those who are planning to visit by means of driving, Golden Gateway Garage costs only $3 for the entire day if you receive validation from participating merchants (we received our validation at parking booths found at the Farmer's Market).

Diner Deluxe

The perks about having a random day off in the middle of the week is skipping the queue of popular brunch restaurants. This is exactly what happened today - I have never seen a brunch place this empty, but it worked out to my favour because I didn't have to wait in line, despite arriving just a bit past noon.

Bouchon Bakery

To complete our trip in Las Vegas, we made sure to grab some last minute goodies from Bouchon Bakery before boarding our flight. Bouchon Bakery is a bakery opened by the famous Chef Thomas Keller, an American chef who is widely known for opening The French Laundry. After having come home, I did some further research on Keller and a couple things stood out to me that I thought would be neat to share. The first is this interesting fact: the first Bouchon Bakery was opened within walking distance of The French Laundry, with the original purpose to provide Keller's restaurants with his own homemade unique breads.

The second item I'd like to share is a tidbit of Keller's philosophy "A great meal is not one that just fills you up. A great meal is a journey that returns you to sources of pleasure you have may have forgotten and takes you to places you haven't been before." I really cannot agree more. Of course, having a full belly is satisfying, but a meal isn't just merely the act of filling up one's belly but also comes with it many other layers of fulfillment. Whether it is to be in a new restaurant with a special ambiance, thus allowing you to experience that foreign and new sensation that is often missed, or to be able to taste a familiar dish that you'd never thought you'd be able to find again, or even the simple pleasure of sharing a special moment with a close friend.


Enough about Thomas Keller and onto Bouchon Bakery! (If you wish to learn more about Keller and his achievements, you can do so at www.thomaskeller.com)

Village Ice Cream

I've been dying to go to Village Ice Cream for a try ever since I've first heard of their salted caramel flavour, but the weather was not cooperating and as a result people were seldom in the mood for a cold treat. Luckily a few weeks ago, the weather improved and over a debate that I won, I found myself at Village Ice Cream for the first time. 

CEREZO cafe & bar

I visited CEREZO, a Japanese fusion tapas themed cafe & bar, for the very first time on Saturday for a late lunch with a couple of friends. It was a bit difficult for me to find at first because I wasn't expecting CEREZO to look like a house on the outside. Upon entering the cafe & bar, the ambiance reflected was very coozy and home-like. The seating arrangement was spacious and we were lucky enough to have sat at a table in an area away from the other customers. It works just like any cafe - order up front and have the food brought to the table as it is made. As I stood in front of the till, my eyes bounced back and forth from the chalkboard menu to the glass display  filled with homemade desserts, and once again I was faced with my usual dilemma of deciding what to order. After what seemed like a decade, I had made my decision. For starters, I ordered a couple appetizers to share with my company.