Category Archives: Chefs

Feasting at Baekjeong Korean BBQ

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Come hungry to Baekjeong Korean BBQ because it's a huge spread of food.
Come hungry to Baekjeong Korean BBQ because it’s a huge spread of food.

When Baekjeong Korean BBQ opened its first Bay Area location at Westfield Valley Fair shopping center in in August 2023, waits reportedly were up to 4 hours to snag a table.

No way was I going to deal with that.

So, I bided my time, and happily waited until this month to try the restaurant that’s created a sensation everywhere it’s opened.

The restaurant seats more than 200.
The restaurant seats more than 200.

Baekjeong Korean BBQ started in 2003 in Korea by Kang Ho Dong, a former professional wrestler and South Korean TV personality. In 2012, he joined forces with Michael Chon, CEO of Kijung Hospitality Group, to expand the restaurants to the United States, the first of which opened in Los Angeles, where the late-great, Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold hailed it as one of that city’s top restaurants.

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The Ultimate Cookie: Brown Butter, Passion Fruit Chocolate, Walnut & Sea Salt

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Instead of dark chocolate in this Dominique Ansel cookie recipe, I used Valrhona Passion Fruit chocolate feves.
Instead of dark chocolate in this Dominique Ansel cookie recipe, I used Valrhona Passion Fruit chocolate feves.

Does the world need another chocolate chip cookie recipe?

Absolutely, if it’s one by legendary pastry chef Dominique Ansel.

After all, the man who originated the croissant-donut mashup, the Cronut, definitely knows his stuff when it comes to baked goods.

This cookie recipe, which I took one liberty with, comes from his newest cookbook, “Life’s Sweetest Moments” (Harvest, 2024), of which I received a review copy.

He may be a James Beard Award-winning pastry chef whom Food & Wine magazine dubbed a “Culinary Van Gough,” but rest assured that this collection is designed for the home-cook with 40 recipes ranging from the easy to those that will require a little more time and effort.

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The Name Says It All at Z&Y Peking Duck

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Maybe the best Peking duck you'll ever sink your teeth into.
Maybe the best Peking duck you’ll ever sink your teeth into.

Z&Y Peking Duck in San Francisco’s Chinatown serves what might just be the holy grail of ducks.

As a Chinese American who grew up in San Francisco, where Peking duck was the star attraction of many a celebratory banquet dinner, I rarely recall a version that was this outstanding as the one I enjoyed when I dined at the restaurant last week.

We’re talking duck meat that’s not dry or tough in the least, but juicy and tender throughout, and skin that’s incredibly crisp with all of its fat underneath completely rendered out, a rare feat in and of itself.

Chef-Owner Li Jun Han, who formerly was the executive chef at the Chinese Consulate-General in San Francisco, opened Z&Y Peking Duck in 2023. USA Today recently touted it as one of its “10 Best New Restaurants of 2025.” It is the sister restaurant to Han’s Z&Y restaurant, across the street that opened in 2008 and has garnered a Michelin Bib Gourmand distinction.

Ducks hanging in the window are a familiar sight in Chinatown. But these are actually fake ones. You'll have to snag a table to enjoy the real deal.
Ducks hanging in the window are a familiar sight in Chinatown. But these are actually fake ones. You’ll have to snag a table to enjoy the real deal.

At Z&Y Peking Duck, it pays to dine as a party of 4 or more. That’s because that’s the minimum you need to make a reservation. Otherwise, you take your chances as a walk-in, which can be dicey, especially on a Saturday night as when I was there and people were crowded inside the entryway, waiting for tables.

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Get To Know the New Eylan in Menlo Park

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Oysters with a chili-passion fruit essence at Eylan.
Oysters with a chili-passion fruit essence at Eylan.

Cementing their mettle as a culinary dynamic duo, Chef Srijith Gopinathan and business entrepreneur Ayesha Thapar are on their way to creating a mini empire of Bay Area modern Indian restaurants with Copra in San Francisco, Ettan in Palo Alto, Little Blue Door in Los Altos, and now their newest, Eylan in Menlo Park.

Eylan, which means “proclamation” or “public announcement” in Hindi, opened in January in the new retail-business development, The Villa Menlo Park.

As with all their restaurants, the interior is striking, though, a little less showy than some of their other ones, as I found when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant last week.

Located at a new Menlo Park development with convenient parking underground.
Located at a new Menlo Park development with convenient parking underground.
The dining room.
The dining room.

Its look is punctuated with leafy vine-wrapped columns, lush trees, macrame hangings, black and white geometric floor tiles, curve-backed sand-colored chairs, and red-and-green fabric-wrapped chandeliers. Dimly lit at night, the dining room offers a nestled-in quality but can get noisy when it’s full.

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Say Hello To My New Little Friend: Chili Crisp Mochi Muffin

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Third Culture Bakery's new Chili Crisp Mochi Muffins.
Third Culture Bakery’s new Chili Crisp Mochi Muffins.

What’s soft, chewy, and irresistibly delicious with just the right kick of heat?

New chili crisp mochi muffins from everyone’s favorite mochi muffin bakery, Third Culture Bakery.

Best yet, its mochi muffins are not only available at its Berkeley and Walnut Creek locations, but also now through nationwide shipping.

Partners in business and in life, Chef Sam Butarbutar and Wenter Shyu founded Third Culture Bakery in 2016 to create baked goods that reflect their Indonesian and Taiwanese heritages.

Their newest chili crisp flavor mochi muffin is a collaboration with Oakland Chef Stacy Tang, formerly of Taiwan Bento, to commemorate the Lunar New Year.

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