Jollibee and Red Ribbon Bakery, SoMa

[Update - Closed since late 2011]

As we were heading there we saw Red Ribbon Bakeshop and Jollibee (the Philippine version of KFC and McD's) and figured we'd hit those places up before we left for Berkeley. [note, the SF Yelp link shows that the Red Ribbon AND the Jollibeeis closed! What?]

Red Ribbon is connected to Jollibee. I'd never been to a Red Ribbon before actually, not even in San Diego. Even Plaza Bonita has Red Ribbon and Jollibee (as well as Chow King).

Of course, I took a photo with the Jollibee but it's not posted here. Why? Because I'm grabbing it's striped crotch and making a totally goofy face, totally embarassing TC but not Bert because he's used to my freaky antics. Heh.

I bought some sweet bread (ensaimada) for my cousin who were were planning to meet later that afternoon. Turns out that she was mega sick so we didn't visit her and ended up leaving half of the bread with Thane.

After I bought the ensaimada, we walked over to the Jollibee part. We only wanted something small. I thought about Dennis and his Jollibee post. Even when I'm on vacation, I still read my fave bloggers! So, Dennis's post came out the day before (Oct. 2) and I figured we'd try it out!

This was a sign in the restaurant. I don't like bangus (milk fish) because there are too many bones. I'm sure this Crispy version was boneless though. I still don't like it.

Here's the Ensaimada from Red Ribbon - sweet brioche topped with cheese, margarine and sugar. Lots of cheese as you can see.

Bert got the Chicken Joy 2 piece with 1 side and a soda ($5.79) and a halo halo ($3.95) for TC. I like the bee on the cup! We all shared the chicken but TC was more interested in her halo halo which had ube ice cream, macapuno, green jelly cubes, red beans, jackfruit strips, crushed ice and milk. We wanted something to tide us over before crossing the bridge.

Ooh, I love ube but I can get this anytime in San Diego.

The side were the fries which weren't that great. Kinda bland. The chicken was all right but not as good as KFC because the skin didn't have as many crunchies as KFC.

View of the Red Ribbon side from our table in Jollibee.

The day before, the Padres lost to the Giants. We won that Saturday but lost on Sunday. Boo. Damn you Tim Lincecum!

It was starting to warm up that morning and looking to be a very sunny day...Leaving the Mission parking garage on 5th which was near the Metreon.

Goodbye Jollibee! (TC took this shot from the back window)

Yerba Buena Gardens...someday we'll check it out!

Who else ate at Jollibee (not this location, duh):

Here's an old one, Kirk and his Missus went to the National City location back in Oct 2005!
However, he went back more recently to the new location at the Plaza Bonita foodcourt in August 2009
Mary from Foodies: A Southern California Food Blog went to the Mira Mesa location back in Sept 2010

I didn't think Jollibee's was all that great. I like my mom's fried chicken way better (and food blogger Michael's Killer Fried Chicken mix). If I had to choose a fast food version of fried chicken, I'd choose KFC. Don't really like Popeyes or Church's (too greasy). Jollibee's halo halo was pretty good but I didn't want to get too full since we planned to hit up several places for snacks...

Jollibee - Seafood City food court

Yesterday TC and I had to run a few errands, one of which took us to Seafood City...

Since it would be awhile before coming home and having dinner, I let TC have a small "snack" at Jollibee's..

They have what they call "Little Big Bites" for only 99 cents. There are two varieties: Spam and Corned Beef. Although TC likes both, she got the one with Corned Beef...

The pan del sal was pretty soft on the outside, but toasted on the inside. I'm not sure if that was cheese in there, as I only had a tiny bite to sample and didn't get any of it. There was more bun than meat. It was still a satisfying snack for TC. We needed to get a few vegetables for a few dishes this weekend. When we checked the seafood section, the live crabs weren't there. TC wanted to poke at them with the tongs. There's usually an old Lola or auntie whacking the crabs  and testing their feistiness in order to get the best ones. Next time, haha!

Seafood City Food Court

I wanted to get some snack items at Seafood City for the dessert buffet table...I'm such a sucker for cute packaging and the color purple...

Ooh, this banner is new! Looks like Seafood City is hyping the fact that they sold a winning Lotto ticket here a few weeks ago!

After getting our stuff, TC wanted to get a mango shake at Red Ribbon...

Meanwhile, I snapped shots of the various eateries in the Seafood City food court, such as Filipino Desserts Plus where I picked up a large sized container of Pastillas (Filipino milk candy). If they've done it the traditional way, it's supposed to be made with carabao milk. Where are the carabaos in the US, ha ha.

Of course, there was a Jollibee and Goldilocks as well...

Let's not forget Chowking either. I've never eaten at a Chowking and my few experiences trying to eat at Goldilocks resulted in frustration because of the long lines and crappy customer service (National City location). Hopefully it's much better here.

TC's mango drink with boba. I don't know about you, but I think boba is just wasted space in a drink. I don't like chewing things either if I'm drinking something. The texture of large boba reminds me of a gigantic booger ball. But more firm. Not that I've ever tried ingesting a mondo sized snot sphere. Ugh, look at those bobas sitting at the bottom of the cup...makes me wanna step on some potato bugs.

Near the front entrance is Valerio's...So this foodcourt has it all! Several kinds of fast food joints plus dessert places and a huge seating area and, because I checked it out, nice, new and clean bathrooms. Hopefully it'll stay that way.

Later tonight, dinner at Benihana's in Mission Valley, a place I hadn't been to since 1993 when I finished grad school. I wasn't married yet or engaged.  Besides my family and Bert, friends that were with me that night included Thane, Astroboi, N, and another friend whom I am no longer friends with (bitch). I wanted to see if Benihana's had changed. I also wanted to use my free birthday meal from Benihana's!

Yikes, 1993 is nearly 20 years ago!!!

Seafood City on Orange and Melrose now open!

Hey now...Out with the old (this shot taken on Super Bowl Sunday):

And in with the new!

The Melrose and Orange Ave location of Seafood City opened last Wednesday, February 16th.  Bert and I checked it out today before heading out for lunch...

I didn't take any pix inside because I didn't want to get in trouble. Inside, there is a food court - Goldilocks, Red Ribbon, Jollibee and Chow King (the only place open so far) as well as Filipino Desserts Plus. Holy shit, it's ALL THERE! No need to drive up to National City! The fresh meats and seafood are on the right as you enter. Fresh produce is on the left. In the middle, all the canned and packaged items.

Because we were on our way to lunch, we didn't buy any fresh items so they wouldn't spoil in the car. However, we did buy some kepeng (sugared crackers), pan de leche (milk bread) and bean thread noodles (buy 2, get one free; .79 each!)...

Trust me, there was a shitload of stuff I wanted to get but it will have to be another time. The wide range of seafood, fresh and frozen was amazing. The meat department was busy that morning. They had two or three shelves devoted for PORK RINDS. They also had takeout fried bulaklak (fried intestines!) and CRISPY PATA and LECHON KAWALI!

These were a couple of sinigang mixes I've never tried before, Tamarind with sili (green chilis) and gabi (taro root), plus spicy shrimp crackers for Bert and dried shiitake mushrooms for when I want to make chicken long rice.

It's a tiny bit closer than the older location which was on Third and Palomar. Now it's Orange and Melrose off the 805. I am most definitely shopping here for all of my Filipino food needs!

The rest of our day...

Before heading back home after our fab desserts at Big Joy, D had to pick up her house mate from the airport. To kill time, we went to Harbor Island to enjoy the view..

We parked in the C-Level/Island Prime parking lot...

Oakland Bay Bridge and back to the City...plus SPAM!

Finally - It's the LAST SF Day 3 post! This was way back during the first weekend of October.

To recap SF Day 3 - We went to the SoMa and saw street signs named after Philippine revolutionaries and saw the 8 story high Lapu Lapu and Filipino American history mural at the Dimasalang House, ate at Jollibee, saw some cool roadside oddities ("Berkeley Big People" statues and the "Berkeley Fish House", had awesome beignets, decadent chocolate espresso twinkies, funky flavored ice cream and drove up a steepa$$ hill so we could relax at a park.

It was time to head back to Thane's place in the city...I tried to get another shot of the "Berkeley Big People" statue and this is what I got...

Well, you can kind of see it if you squint!

Heading back on the uppder deck of the Oakland Bay Bridge...

They're building another bridge right next to it. YOu cansee some of the equipment in the corner.

Thank goodness there was no suicidal jumper that day!

Back to the city near Thane's place in the South Beach area...

So tired!

I love Thane's place. It's close to everything, the Bridge, the Muni, the Embarcadero, AT&T Park, the Ferry Building...

Since our dinner plans were kind of shot (cousin sick and former student coming back to SF late), we didn't feel like going out again for dinner. We had a late flight out and just wanted to relax at Thane's. TC played Beatles Rock Band with Thane while Bert  occupied himself online. I scrounged around Thane's cupboards and came up with this gourmet quality  delectable dish standard desperation dinner that most Filipinos would like, FRIED SPAM. That's one can between the four of us (not enough in my opinion!). Just a splash of soy sauce on that low sodium spam kind of negates the low sodium eh?

I cooked some white rice and heated up the only vegetables Thane had, frozen mixed. There you go, a complete meal.

Dessert was leftover "It's It Ice Cream Sandwiches" - I had the mint.

On a different note, Darlene sent me an email about the John Hughes tribute at The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma. Hot Fudge also sent Bert a message on his FB wall about the same event. Every Wednesday this month, they will play a different John Holmes Hughes movie. Turns out tonight was "16 Candles"!

Currently listening to M83's homage to vintage 80's music: "Saturdays=Youth

I read in one of my John Hughes' tribute books that Anthony Gonzalez (M83 frontman) used vintage synthesizers and instruments from the 80's for this album. Although this came out in 2008, it sounds like it could have come from 1988! There is also a red headed girl in this video (shades of Molly Ringwald maybe?).

Rave reviews of this album:
Pitchfork
Drowned in Sounds' 50 Albums of 2008
Urban Outfitters blog - Best Music of 2008
and Pop Matters

South Bay Food Crawl - Chula Vista: Lotto at Seafood City!

Damn, I'm on a roll now...

To get down south, I took the 54, which is also the "Filipino American Highway". Did you know that?

According to "ACR 157 (Vargas)...Designates the portion of SR 54 from its westernmost point to its intersection with SR 125, in the County of San Diego, as the Filipino-American Highway. Resolution Chapter 145, Statutes of 2006 " (info taken from the Assembly Committe on Transportation TRANSPORTATION - Summary of Legislation 2005- 2006).

I don't have a picture of the sign, "Filipino-American Highway" but there is one right when you exit the 5-S to get onto the 54 and one in the opposite direction heading west from Spring Valley heading to the Paradish Hills area. Here's a cool link that shows you all the different exits along the portion of the 54 designed as the "Filipino-American Highway".(In my opinion, the "hyphen" bothers me because it kind of implies a division. I personally don't use a hyphen when describing or writing down my ethnicity)

So back to the next destination, the new Seafood City on Orange Ave in south Chula Vista. See my previous posts on this location here

Well, last Friday, April 1, a local woman bought the winning Lotto ticket here! 19 MILLION BONES! Seafood City. That local woman is a Filipina named Ruth Sombillo. My sister knows her daughter and son (classmates). When I heard the woman's name on the radio and saw it in the paper, I thought, "Hmmm, I wonder if that is XX's mom!". And it was. Guess she won't have to work anymore with all that $$$!

I didn't take too many photos in here but Dennis did. You'll just have to wait for his epic post! Here's a shot of some seafood flavored chips - Pacific Squid (mmmm), Shrimp, and Sweet Chili fish! MSG overload!

So while Ruth Sombillo gets her $19 million in installments, Seafood City got a $19,000 for selling the winning ticket.

Hoping that lightning will strike twice, Dennis bought a lotto ticket here!

See my previous post on the new Seafood City below:
Seafood City on Orange and Melrose now open!

All of the storefronts in the food court are now open! When they opened in mid-February, it was only Chow King and Jollibee. The other establishments were Filipino Desserts Plus, Red Ribbon Bakery and Valerio's Bakery. I bought a small box of pastillas (milk candy) from Desserts Plus.  It was pretty crowded and busy so we decided NOT to eat here. The original plan was to try something from one or two of the places here.

Next up, a few miles down near Palomar and third for some tacos at a local hole in the wall...

On the way to Berkeley and street shots...

Heading east on the Oakland Bay Bridge. Back in 2003, we were heading back to the city after having gone to the Jelly Belly Factory. The bridge was backed up! We were planning to meet up with my cousin (the same one) and she told me there was a suicidal jumper on the bridge. To make a long story short, we were on that fkg bridge for nearly four hours! We ended up meeting my cousin much later than expected and found out later that the suicidal jumper had been there from noon til 11 pm. He was eventually talked down by firefighters or the cops and taken to a mental health facility! All I remember was, OMFG, I hope our daughter (or us for that matter) don't need to use the bathroom!!!!!!!!!! Four hours!!!!! FUCKKKKK!!!!!!!

On the I-80 near Emeryville...home of Pixar!

I like taking pix in the car and randomly took this one.

Look closely.

Do you see it?

By a sheer stroke of luck, I happened to get a shot of the Berkeley Big People sculpture! It's featured on the Roadside America website and in the book, "Weird California" (thanks KD!). I was actually on the lookout for it but didn't find it under I looked back at my photos later that day. The photo below is kinda blurry because I cropped it from the one above.

"Berkeley Big People" by Scott Donahue is a 30 foot tall fiberglass sculpture which was installed in October 2008 near the pedestrian and bicycle bridge over I-80. The installation commemorates Berkeley's greatest protests.  From People's Park to disability rights to the tree-sitters' standoff at Memorial Stadium with angry arm flailing protestors. (What, no Naked Guy?)

Here are a few more photos of the sculpture from different angles (photos not mine):

You can see the Campanile (tower) and the "blank" picket signs...

Info below taken from the artist bio on a Berkeley website:

"Two monumental sculptures containing oversize fiberglass figures representing a range of the community and some of the cultural interests of the City of Berkeley are visible to motorists. On the city side there are oversize figures (12 feet) of a violin player, a scientist holding a DNA model, a thinker, two activists, the University of California Campanile. On the Marina side there are a bird watcher, kite flier, jogger, boater, a dog catching a Frisbee. In addition twenty-four small relief figures on the lower parts of each of the sculptures are visible to bicyclists and pedestrians who use the bridge."

(photo source: SF GATE, Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle)

Exiting off of University, we drove by the Temple Bar. That place, along with Spats was where we used to hang out with Thane during our Presidents' Weekend trips back in the mid 90's.

Lots of Indian stores here, like this sari place! Oops, I mean "palace"! I bought a sari once but have never worn it! I'm afraid the fabric will slide off while I'm walking!

Random cheese steak shop...

Stickers on the back of newspaper dispensers. I was mainly attracted by the image of Pikachu with a guitar!!!

Even after Jollibee's, we were yet again hungry for a light snack...