StillSF + shawarmas

Every time I see the sights and lights of San Francisco, 20 million electrical impulses are ignited inside me. Something has to be said about its character, its history. Its one-ways and its cable cars, its impeccable fashion, its strangely passionate people. Oh, and please do not think I forgot to mention this city's fantastic range of cuisines. San Francisco is the hub of Northern California's best restaurants and food stops; you can find any type of food if you just look. I think it would take me at the very least, 5 years to write about every single restaurant San Francisco houses (which is another one on my to do list before I die), from the 7 stars to the whole-in-the-walls . It really is a shame that I don't get to go as often as I'd like.


But I do know somebody who does.

Meet Gregory Jhanapin.
Click on him, why don't you.
Like me, he is in love with the lights, sounds, fashion, and cuisine of San Francisco. A very good friend, fashion muse/designer in the making, and even a photographer on the side...yes ladies, I know. He has dedicated a blog to his city, check it out -- stillsf.blogspot.com or click his picture.






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So I had made a whole video of a shawarma battle, but my internet connection is too slow or YouTube is not cooperating with me. I'll try to upload it again when I get back. I won't give the premise away just yet though...but I hope you'll like it!

In the meantime, I'll try to get more food photos and reviews this week; I haven't been bringing my camera everywhere I go, just when I really do need to get pictures. Don't you just hate that? Seriously, there was this great Indian restaurant, and then this Tandoori place, and then another Thai place...yeah. But I promise I will deliver this week.

I have a sweet tooth,

and she filled them today. Two of them actually. So after some numbing gel and a jinormous gauge of a needle the sweet tooth is covered, for now at least.

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My family and I had brunch at the Dining Hall in Dhahran as it was my *Tita's birthday celebration. It was buffet style, and the selections were pretty decent. The Dining Hall has really upped its menu when I was a child, though still not the greatest in presentation or flavor at times. I was not able to get a great picture of za'atar as when I last ate it, it was carefully pocketed into a tiny croissant, which by the way was not fluffy enough for my taste. I like 'em fluffed and buttered, buttered and fluffed. What I did manage to find were sambousas; little fried triangles of meat and vegetables encased in a crispy wrapper. Sort of a Middle Eastern version of an empanada or lumpia, something a little more closer to home.

So here I go! My first attempt at showing some simple food. I must add: I do not own nor can I afford a professional camera, and this is my first time trying to photograph pictures. I am open to constructive criticism and some tips on food photography would be awesome.

Ground beef sambousas with tabbouleh

My crispy little sambousa, cut open and ready to be eaten up.

Tabbouleh - what you see in the picture as a garnish - is a really refreshing and different type of salad that is quite common in Middle Eastern food. It is made out of parsley, onions, tomatoes, other herbs, lemon, and a wheaty substance known as bulgur. If I could describe bulgur it would be a cous cous type of flavor, although it doesn't overpower this salad. They make tabbouleh in our cafeteria at PUC and serve it up with falafels, but it's a little sketchy-tasting; it looks the same but is just not as bright and lemony as the kind they make here in good old Saudi.

One curious dish I sampled during the brunch:

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This dish was not labeled as it was not one of the main courses at the brunch, just a starter item. I tried it for fun and I found myself going back for seconds. They are simply bean sprouts tossed it with some mustard and probably some tarragon and parsley. I'm pretty sure about the sprouts and the mustard. I ate it with some Arab wheat bread - pita bread in the States - and yes, it was delicious. I'll probably try making that sometime.





By the way, I just want to add that it feels like an on the dot, automatic steam room in Saudi Arabia tonight. Goodnight.








* 'Tita' is another form of 'Auntie' in the Filipino language. Good to keep handy in your brain as I might be using it often.

Za'atar Bread

I love summer. It really is just the best season ever made.

In the summer, you can do a lot of things on the list that you've made during your New Year's resolution, and this is one of mine.

With so many great and extensive food blogs out there, I feel they have captured many a history and culture and coinkidink so that each item of food will witness at least 15 words of fame. So as a disclaimer, I am only an expert when it comes to my own pallette, but I will forever be a student of cuisine. I am merely a fanatic of food -- I would go Tom Cruise on a dish if the restaurant would let me. But in the spirit of summer and in the name of fulfilling resolutions, this blog will hopefully continue the food revolution that has started since man's first craving.

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[I thought I needed a formal introduction to my blog. That was a moment of excitement for me.]

Summer. Yes, back to my first thought. This summer I am spending it in Saudi Arabia, where I grew up and where I have been going during the summer for quite some time now. Yes, we have internet and no, I did not ride a camel or a magic carpet to school. That will be another post for another time. But for those of you who know and love za'atar, I am getting my money's worth of this herbed goodness. For the most part, the za'atar I eat is a filling for brick oven baked flatbread, and is made of certain spices such as thyme and oregano with sesame seeds. It has a little hint of sourness with a little bit of the salty...very nice and zesty with the flatbread. I've been getting these flatbreads at the local commissary, and they have other fillings now such as mozzarella, cheddar, labneh (a softer and lighter cream cheese), and this other cheese that I can't distinguish. We (family and friends) have just always referred to it as "cheese bread" not really knowing what type of cheese it is. Who knew that this simple flatbread could make a girl happy?

This concludes my first post. I'll try to put a picture up of za'atar bread sometime soon. I know you Aramco/Saudi brats will love it.