It actually is something like bbq sauce. Somewhat sweet with some heat - not too much heat its Northern Thai not Southern. The recipe in “The Food of Northern Thailand” calls for tamarind, turmeric, soy sauce, Maggi’s, garlic, ginger, shallots, oyster sauce, ketchup, shrimp paste, and several other things. A lovely complicated concoction.
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I looked up bo kho and it didn’t seem like the kang hung lay I had last night. Referring again to “The Food of Northern Thailand” I found there is both a kang hung lay, a Burmese style curry which is very similar to bo kho with lemongrass and fish sauce, and a kang hung lay tai which is a Sung curry with a very different flavor profile. It seems the restaurant didn’t add the final “tai”. Both dishes look intriguing as does the bo kho. I love how liminal regions incorporate the cuisines of the surrounding areas, like Yunnan in China or Alsace in France or Southwestern cuisine here in America.
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This salad confuses me. What is happening here?
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Oh it’s my favorite! Lotta texture going on
Pink lady apple, pepato cheese (sheep milk and peppercorn), persimmon, mint, hazelnut, lemon juice, evoo, salt
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The Cheese Board in Berkeley
this place makes only one type of vegetarian pizza daily is always packed with a line out the door…i wonder why?
cheese & basil pizza
literally just cheese and basil on a thin flat bread like sourdough crust…not a fan of this chewy and flabby crust
i do like their complimentary and self serve pesto-like sauce on the side especially since it has a bit of a kick
blackberry & apricot turnover from the bakery side of The Cheese Board
decently buttery and flaky pastry with jammy fillings that wasn’t too sweet…not bad
Fava in Berkeley
veggie-driven lunch counter that serves salads, soups, and flatbread sandwiches by a couple of chez panisse alums per eater
braised lamb, cabbage & yogurt flatbread
impossibly juicy lamb sits atop a soft, fluffy, and charred flatbread with plenty of fresh herb and pickled cabbage brightening up your bites
yup…i ate it like a taco
Benkyodo Co in Japantown San Francisco - operating since 1906
they trend on the sweet side but i enjoyed the fresh mango mochi, fresh blueberry mochi, and pancake wrap with plain sweet mochi
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The Cheeseboard is a legend with Cal students. I think its business is based more on the reputation than the culinary skills. Went there once when my daughter was at Cal. We sat in the median eating pizza. I enjoyed it more for hanging out with her than the pizza.
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i couldn’t afford it when i went there 
i remember eating lots of canned beans and rice though!
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Whoo hooo, OOE Benkyodo! Did you get the peanut butter one? I’m told that’s a must try, and on Saturday they sell out even faster of everything.
i did have OOE but didn’t see a peanut butter one. perhaps they didn’t have it that day since i was there fairly early so they shouldn’t have sold out yet.
Well it was our treat…I’m not sure she went there many other times. We used to take her to Gather a lot. They have a good Neapolitan style pizza, and its right by campus.
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isn’t Hang Le a burmese style curry? from making the pok pok recipe a few times i remember it takes about 20 HEADS of pickled thai garlic. along with 12 other ingridients… it’s gloirious.
hey! found my old pic of what went into it
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That looks glorious, but its not kang hang lay tai. There is a hang lay powder which is a spice concoction with 19 ingredients. Sort of like 5 spice on steroids.
BTW and off topic next time you are in the Valley there is a new Russian Armenian deli/grocery on the south side of Magnolia just west of Whitsett. I poked my head in there and it looked pretty impressive. Would love to have your expert opinion on what to get there.
Torimatsu (Gardena)
Chicken yakitori specialist.
Everything chicken, except for maybe the feet and head.
They even have chicken sashimi, I am sure I will most likely be fine but I cannot bring myself to eat that like @Starchtrade and @A5KOBE
The menu and some togarashi, okay let’s do this!!!
Giblets.
Chicken ball and heart
Liver and spicy gizzard
With Shiso
Chicken wing and butt
Rice soup and broth.
That rice soup and broth (zosui), so good and comforting! Was pretty surprise that this was that good from a grilled place @beefnoguy was right, a chicken yakitori specialist would have pretty good zosui. I like the chicken ball, liver, and butt the best, but all of them had a nice grilled flavor.
Why did it take me so long to get here!
Edit: I saw quite a few eggplants go up on the grill, I think I missed out on this and it damn costs more than the chicken
Took some sushi to go next door at Kanpachi while browsing FTC at home don’t judge me
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Thanks for the report! The South Bay always seemed a bit elusive to me, but lots of fun looking neighborhood like places to explore.
Your 2nd pic, the small soy sauce dish contents looks like kiriboshi daikon (dried daikon strips, rehydrated then simmered, served chilled…I love this stuff). Excellent appetizer (I guess that’s their “otoshi”).
Mirinboshi is also a fun appetizer to have. I like to use it to scoop up Japanese mayo with shichimi togarashi sprinkled on top.
Not many places serve zosui up here. Although chicken broth cooked with the carcass from carving up whole chickens shouldn’t be wasted. One yakitori shop up here makes shoyu ramen with it…but only the soup is good (lol).
You should drop by Izakaya Rintaro in SF when you’re up here and have yakitori cravings (and if you have room). Their yakitori has been on fire lately, as is their fried items. No soup or zosui though… also try Ippuku in Berkeley for yakitori.
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i gotta hit up this place, i don’t know why it wasn’t in my radar.
Thanks for this!
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That box of mochi looks soooo good. Have you ever tried the coffee crunch cake across the street at Yasukochi? It’s at a counter inside the Super Mira market, across the plaza.
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i have not but i’ll keep that in mind next time i visit! thanks for the tip.
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Garlic & Chives
hit and miss dinner at garlic and chives. the deep fried salmon belly was delicious as usual but there were a few really fishy tasting pieces.
the “famous roasted garlic crab” was more like a deep-fried frozen crab with stringy meat that clung to the shell. nothing like the versions in the bay area and at $62 even more expensive.
the shaking beef was okay, but the cha ca thanh long (grilled turmeric fish with dill) was delicious. the tender, flaky pieces of fish, instead of being served with the usual nuco cham, was served with a fermented shrimp paste (mam tom) sauce that was funkier than george clinton after a workout.
deep fried salmon belly
kristin’s famous roasted garlic crab
garlic noodles
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Was Sergio in the house?
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Which one did you go? the original location or Artesia?