I've come to the Land Down Under

Gentle Readers, Its approaching my third month living in the land down under.  Its time for a great food round-up.  After reading, surf over to Youtube to hear the Thunder and see the Outback.

Best 10 Meals in Australia
01) Rockpool @ The Rocks - Sydney CBD
02) Our Place on Darling @ Balmain - Sydney Inner West
03) Churrasco @ Coogee Beach - Sydney Eastern Suburb
04) Viet Rose @ Fitzoy - Melbourne Suburb
05) Bloodwood @ Newtown - Sydney Inner West
06) Pendolino @ Strand Arcade - Sydney CBD
07) Spice I Am @ Surry Hills/Haymarket - Sydney CBDish

08) Old Thanh Huong @ Merrickville - Sydney Inner (South) Westish
09) Tokonoma @ Surry Hills - Sydney CBDish
10) Bartino @ Pyrmont - Sydney in Pyrmont Village

Best Meals 5 Runner's Up

11) Chat Thai @ Haymarket - Sydney CBD
12) Glenmore Hotel @ The Rocks - Sydney CBD [roofdeck!]
13) BBQ City @ Liverpool Street - Sydney CBD
14) Chinta Ria Temple of Love @ Darling Harbor -Sydney CBD 
15) Hannah’s Pie’s @ Ultimo - Sydney border of Pyrmont/Broadway

Worst 5 Meals in Australia

16) Hurricane's @ Darling Harbor - Sydney Darling Harbor
17) Sauce @ Coogee Beach - Sydney Eastern Suburbs
18) Breakfast @ the Inter-Continental Melbourne  - CBD Melbourne
19) Charlie & Co @ Westfield Mall - Sydney CBD Pitt Street Mall
20) There are more that were less than noteworthy but not nearly "worst"

Basil Canteen Review - 1489 Folsom St SF CA

Basil Canteen - is getting the thai street food formula right in a phenom space within the nightclub corridor of Soma, SF.   The restaurant and lounge sits in a big windowed NYC-esque room:  a former brewery with tons of exposed brick as well as architectural iron work, smack on the fascinating corner of Folsom and 11th Street. For a large, open room you can actually hear yourself talk, and the music (nice downtempo stuff) and the tone of others talking.  Its a pleasant audio mix, which is a surprising in a "loft" space.   Its a great place to drink, snack, catch up with people or just people watch.   The staff is usually friendly and attentive and food itself is vibrant, flavorful and well, decadent.  

One of my favorite apps is captured (poorly) below: The Roti is so crispy and sweetly crunchy - I've never had better Roti - but its boardering on pastry-like.  You know what?  I'm ok with that.  Its melt and crunch in your mouth delicious, especially when complimentd by the sweet and spicy green curry replete w tender tiny bits of eggplant and topped with a big basil leaf.  Those white dots that look like marshmallows in picture below, are the eggplant pieces (left - square bowl).   Its amazing curry.  In the middle of the plate below are bits of bbq'd steak, with a nice marinade I might add.  I didnt ask them what it was, but the beef was lean/tender yet really almost herby taste bc of the spicing. The beef looked like the sad third wheel on this plate though, ha.  Wow, is that the best vegetarian appetizer ever?  Meaning it would be if you took out the sad beef.  Or go the other way, and add big pieces of rib-eye with a wee bit bigger bowl of thai green chili to have a heartier meal.  I would order that every time.  

Here is what I had tonight.

Two Snacks:
1) Daily Special ~ Fried pork and crab meatball


2) Kang kiow wan roti
(shown to the left - this stuff is heavently, my poor cell phone pix dont do it any justice.  


1 Rice plate
Kao mok gai
‘all natural’ chicken braised in rice with tumeric and spices


The chicken has not as good as past but the sauce was amazing - a mint and vinegar or something.  Hand to identify ingredients,  and I would have drank it like a small freshly squeezed orange juice if given the chance.  


Canteen is a great place to share dishes and most are substantial enough  that four people can eat and have a sizable portion.  Mostly everything is good on the menu, and clearly I recommend the curry.  The noodles are all great: I think the kee mao talay dish which features manila clams is an awesome seafood noodle execution.  I'll include the pic from their website to show the manila clam kee mao.  The balance of veggies, starch and protein is wonderful and unusual a bit too.  Its surprising in a good way.  It you like seafood, pasta or green leafy vegetables you could eat this and love it.  Even if you never had thai food before in your life.    

The Fried Rice is ok, I wish it had more flavor actually.  But the pickled jalapeños on the table are a fine addition to the rice to give it spice. One of the first dishes I tried, and one I love the concept on is this: 


kao moo daeng
crispy house-cured pork belly, roast pork, and egg served with star anise gravy


The roast pork is colored outside with what looks like red #5 - just like chinese char siu.  It reminds me of my childhood favorite foods re-interpreted.  The two types of pork plus sauce and egg (plus rice) is just brilliant.  Its off the savory richter scale, but its a small portion and worth the experience.  I guess I'll have to go again and take better pics this time of this unique dish.  Hopefully this review moves people to go to this great resto, please do - I want it to stay open and thrive!  Check out the big communal table that is in the front.  Also in my pic at the top of post and many on their website.  If you click on the header to the post it should take you to the Basil Canteen website, if not just "google" it.  


Non-traditional but still delicious thai food in a very contemporary yet comfortable setting.  
Check it out, its worth the trip.


Basil Canteen gets 4 "Musubis" ("stars" out of 5)

Food with a View

For being a "City by the Bay" I've always been surprised at the paucity waterfront eating and drinking establishments in San Francisco.

The Chronicle Resto Critic, Michael Bauer, just published his six best bets for outdoor dining.  Most are high end, there are a few places just out of town.  If we are going past the bay proper I'd throw in Sierra Mar @ the Post Ranch Inn to that list.  If we are going real low-bro I'd go with grabbing In-N-Out Burger + a Tall Boy and watching the planes fly into SFO near the bay.  However - my vote on this debate is unequivocally, The Ramp.

What's your favorite place to eat, drink and smell the seagulls?

Please leave a comment, Oyster places highly valued!

If you are bored, feel free to vote on your favorite waterfront watering holes (including your own) by clicking here.

Will be putting up pics of Ramp and Sierra Mar soon.

Chiang Mai Thai - Honolulu, Hawaii

http://www.locokinegrindz.com/2009/chiang-mai/
Recently reviewed on Loco Kine Grindz blog - this was my favorite Thai place in Honolulu.  A review I wish I had written myself.  Enjoy.



I’ve heard the name “Chiang Mai” several times over the past few months, but have never made the time to check it out. It just so happened yesterday that I decided on a whim to give this place a try. It turned out to be a pretty good choice!

Located right across the street from Longs Drugs McCully on King Street, Chiang Mai has always been a sign easily visible from the road. Normally lit in green and and red colors, the sign sits over a seemingly plain restaurant. But as I found out today, Chiang Mai was yet another restaurant that could not be judged by its cover.






Inside Chiang Mai

The interior of Chiang Mai is very beautiful. The walls are decorated with various paintings and the pillars within the restaurant feature intricate carvings and trimmings. Each table is clad in white cloth, complimented by a small vase filled will purple flowers. I will admit that this type of environment is not what I had expected just before walking in!

As we had decided to dine at the restaurant pretty close to the end of their lunch hours, there were very few people inside. We were seated promptly by one of the servers and browsed over the menu. Chiang Mai’s menu offers a variety of appetizers, curries, and sautéed dishes. The last page of the menu is dedicated to vegetarian dishes for healthier alternatives.

The hardest part about dining at Chiang Mai was deciding what to order! There are quite a few menu items to choose from, and everything is described so deliciously that you want to order it all!






Chiang Mai Wings

One of the popular dishes as indicated by the menu, we elected to try the Chiang Mai Wings as an appetizer. The Chiang Mai Wings features golden fried, boneless chicken wings stuffed with mushrooms, carrots, long rice, chicken and spices. Each order comes with four wings and a side of sweet and sour sauce.

From first bite to last these wings were delicious! The crispy golden crust of the chicken presents a wonderful crunchiness, and the contents within are piping hot. The flavors of the ingredients stuffed inside the chicken are delicious by themselves, but when combined with the fried outer chicken wing and the sweet/sour sauce, this appetizer becomes a true winner. I’d definitely recommend this dish to anyone who might dine at Chiang Mai.






Thai Garlic Shrimp

The Thai Garlic Shrimp is a simple dish featuring shrimp and mushrooms sautéed in a heavy mixture of garlic. The shrimp was a tad overcooked, but nothing serious. The mushrooms provided an interesting contrast in taste to the shrimp, but ultimately paired well with the garlic. If you are a fan of garlic, this is a dish you might enjoy.






Evil Beef

The “evil” name of this dish likely stems from the hot color and taste that it affords the customer. Available in chicken or beef, this dish features the meat of your choice and basil fried together and mixed with a red Thai curry. You can order the dish on any one of three levels of spiciness. Being a great lover of spicy food I of course opted for the spiciest version, and boy was it hot!

The beef was tender and juicy, mixed with just enough basil to give it a fresh herb taste. The red curry was very spicy, packing that “punch” that spice lovers love! After a while of picking at the beef you might start breaking out small beads of sweat! This was a very delicious dish and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Final thoughts: Chiang Mai certainly did a great job of living up to the buzz I have been hearing about it recently. The service is fast and friendly, and the food is great. Overall I’d say that Chiang Mai is one of the better Thai restaurants that I have had the pleasure of eating at over the last few years. It is obvious that taste and freshness of ingredients are two key focuses of the chefs at Chiang Mai, combined to create dining experience. I wholeheartedly recommend Chiang Mai if you have a hankering for some good Thai food.

Chiang Mai

2239 S. King St.

Phone: 808.941.1151

Lunch from 11 a.m.-2 p.m (weekdays)

Dinner from 5:30-10 p.m Daily