the remnants of delicious chicken feet at Mayflower Restaurant in Union City,CA.
Within 30 minutes of arriving in rainy Northern California Niki had me at an unusual Dim Sum restaurant located in a strip mall across from a gas station. My initial thought was the food HAD to be good! Well, I was right! We dined with Siew-Chin, a pastry cook at Chez Panisse and some of her friends and family. Siew-Chin is a brilliant woman and an incredibly awesome dim sum hostess. Eating dim sum with a native speaker makes the entire experience that much better. We dined on delicious chicken feet, braised until tender, then lightly coated and fried with a mild almost sweet sauce. Simple shrimp and chive dumplings were incredible, clean flavor, great texture, as was the fried tofu, pan fried noodles and the fried taro root. We also managed with eat some delicious tripe, braised and then heated at the table and mixed with a sweet and pungent vinegar and soy sauce, thinly sliced scallions and sliced fresh chilies. The tripe was tender and absorbed all the incredible flavors of the sauce. We finished the meal with a Chinese dessert of bean paste coated in coconut and peanut with a black sesame filling. Overall it was great food, incredible company and a perfect way to start this ultimate vacation of mine.
Much more to come as Niki and I have made our schedule for the week while I am here and well it is obviously centered around food! So while I am probably making you hungry, I am also probably eating delicious food in San Francisco.
