Dinner @ Mourad in San Francisco, CA

A couple of years ago I was able to hit up Mourad for a friend's birthday.  I was able to dine there recently for another birthday, this time for 6 people.  So we ended up ordering a lot more food than last time.

One of the coolest things they have at Mourad is a family style meal called "la'acha".  Basically, it's a large family style protein served with sides.  For 6 people we ordered two of them with a bunch of appetizers to share.  It ended up being way more food than we could eat.  This is an overview of what we had.

1) Eggplant - cucumber, oregano, pepper, flatbread, za'atar, pine nuts

We ordered two of these appetizers for the group.  The flatbread was particularly delicious, which I used the soak up all of the pureed eggplant from the main dish at the top.

2) Duck liver - citrus, ginger, rye, pistachio

We got just one duck liver appetizer, which was perfect for 6 people, as each person could get about 1/2 of a scoop of duck liver on a piece of bread.  Overall, quite good, although I felt the liver overpowered some of the other ingredients.

3) Octopus - brussel sprouts, cauliflower, mustard, preserved lemon

We ordered two of this appetizer for the group as well.  I didn't catch what the server said about this dish, but I believe the sauce in the middle was a mushroom ju and the white sauce is a cauliflower puree of some sort.  The octopus was incredibly tender and flavorful.  Along with all of the sauces and the perfectly charred brussel sprouts, my favorite appetizer of the night.

4) Lamb Shoulder - tangia, moyer prune, cumin, almond, chicories

The first la'acha main dish we got was the lamb shoulder, which you can see in the middle nestled on some seasonal greens.  You can also see almonds and the moyer prunes (covered in sesames) nestled on top too.  It's hard to see how much food there is since a lot of it is covered it, but it was a sizable portion for 6 people and probably would have been perfect for 4 people.

The lamb was really tender and not to "lamby" compared to the lamb I normally cook up from Costco.  Overall really good.

5) Chicken - preserved lemon, gaeta olive, cipollini, marash pepper

The second la'ache main we ordered was the chicken.  Normally, I'm not a big fan of white meat on chicken.  It's typially dry and (IMO) just not that tasty. 

I took one for the team and grabbed some chicken breast so that everyone else get get more dark meat.  It's probably the best chicken breast I've ever eaten in my life.  It was juicy, not dry in any way, and just delicious with whatever glaze they put on top.  When I told everyone at the table how good the chicken was, they didn't believe me at first.  In fact, I might have preferred the white meat to the dark meat in this case.

It's worth noting at this point that there was no way the 6 of us were going to finish these two la'achas.  Each was probably the perfect size for 4 people, and with the appetizers, we had left overs.

6A) Kale - olive, harissa

6B) Potato - hollandaise, preserved lemon, tarragon

6C) COUSCOUS - brown butter

6D) Heirloom beans - shakshuka, feta, sumac

The la'acha comes with the 4 sides above.  I will repeat a comment my friend told me from the last time I ate here.  The sides are all relatively plain ingredients, but all the little additions (hollandaise on the potatoes, preserved lemon the kale, feta on the beans, etc.) everything is just a little tastier than you would expect.  Of all of the above, my favorite was the potatoes.

7) Honey & Almond - beeswax, orange blossom

We were completely stuffed after ordering too much food.  Since it was a birthday dinner, we got one dessert for everyone to share and take a bite of.  The waiter recommended this dish.  As far as I can tell, it's a honey flavored ice cream-ish thing (searching online it might be sabayon), with almond granita, and some crispy bits on top.  Overall, I loved the flavors in this dish, really good.

8) Sesame fudge

Finally we got some mignardise (I took the picture after many pieces were yoinked), which was some sesame fudge bites.  After biting into it, it immediately reminded me of several Chinese flavored desserts that have sesame flavor.  Overall, really really good.

Overall, a great meal at Mourad.  I can't recommend it enough.  The price is not too exorbitant given the quality of the food that you're getting, especially when getting the la'acha family meals.

Poor reviews for Fallout 76 & Anthem

I have not played either Fallout 76 or Anthem.  However, I've been following the comments and reviews online, and find their reception very interesting.

Both games come from storied RPG developers.  Fallout 76 coming from Bethesda, the makers of Fallout 3, Fallout 4, and the Elder Scrolls series.  Anthem comes from Bioware, the creators of the Dragon Age and Mass Effect series.

Both companies have storied history creating incredible worlds and stories, but they've all been single-player RPG experiences.

It's very interesting that both made a decision to create a multiplayer RPG at some point in the last 5 years, and both released it in about a 3 month window of each other.

And both games have not been received as well as their prior single player RPGs.

Lets start with Fallout 76, which was released in November 2018.  The game is averaging a review of about 50/100 on most of the review aggregator sites.  It puts the game squarely in the "poorly reviewed" category, it's not even close to "mixed reviews".

As far as the reviews go, it seems that the general commentary is that by taking a single player game that concentrated on story (including quests, NPCs, etc.) and turning it into a multi-player game where you interact with other humans, just made the game terrible.  Unlike MMORPGs, by trying to mix multi-player into a single-player like gameplay just didn't work.  Other human players were simply not as interesting as NPCs.

In addition, the single player Fallouts weren't considered good shooter games.  But one has to remember they don't have to be.  The primary focus of the game was on the solo-story aspect.  So the shooting mechanism was there as a necessary way to fight enemies.  But transform that into a multi-player shooter, and the reality is there are a many better shooters out there.

Add in a bunch of bugs, and you have a game getting an F grade overall.

The story of Anthem's reviews seems much the same, although not quite as bad.  The review averages seem to be converging in the low 60s range on aggregator sites, so it's just hanging onto the "mixed review" territory.

Bioware attempted to make a multi-player shooter, but have a solo-RPG story for the user.  Most of the reviews thus far have panned the mixture.

The reviews of the shooter aspects of the game are generally good, but the story and the purpose of the game have been heavily criticized.

Although I cannot find the review, the best comment was one that stated that if the game were only a shooter game, it probably would be ok.  Imagine you are playing the game with friends (b/c its multiplayer).  In most shooter games, you go shoot things, get loot / win / whatever, then try to shoot more things again.

But it completely fell apart in Anthem.  Instead, you go shoot things, get loot, have to go walk around a city by yourself, talk to people (by yourself), then go configure your fighter (by yourself), then eventually after many minutes, you can go shoot more things.  If this is a multi-player game, how are you supposed to enjoy playing with your friends when you have to run around by yourself so much?

There are other criticisms that aren't important to go into (weak story, poor missions, etc.).  Add in the fact that the shooter game doesn't even have PvP, then people begin to wonder what kind of game it is.  Now you have a game that is averaging around a D- grade.

I find it so interesting how both Bethesda & Bioware went the multi-player route with poor results.

Was there industry pressure to create multi-player games even though their experience was single player?  To have microtransactions in games?

Yet, to appease their fanbase, to try and add a similar single player RPG experience into the game?

Naturally, one then wonders how these companies will react given the bad reviews of these multiplayer games. Will they go back and try to create a new / great single-player RPG?  Or will they dig in their heels and continue with multiplayer going forward?

Night Trap - The Movie

So not too long ago a friend of mine picked up the video game Night Trap for the PS4.  For those who don't know the history, Night Trap was a terrible video game made in the early 1990s for the Sega CD console.  The game was made using full motion video and was controversial at the time, leading to it being brought up during congressional hearings.

Apparently when the game was re-made for the PS4, it also came with a way to view all of the scenes in the game so you could piece together the actual story.  I guess some people have been piecing those clips together to make a movie:



The "movie" is so bad, it's actually good.  Obviously some of it was b/c it was all filmed for a video game, (breaking the 4th wall, bad guys walking slow), but add in the cheesy B movie acting, a cheesy video game song, terrible sound effects (I think "dentist drill"), terrible special effects, a ridiculous plot, it's wonderful.

Some of the hilarious oddities I couldn't help but laugh about

12:02 - "Want to die Eddie?"
19:20 - two actresses remove their shirts, for no apparent reason
23:24 - racist accent, b/c apparently it was ok back then
26:30 - the infamous nightgown scene with a terribly hidden kidnapper
28:20 - character brushing his teeth for no reason
41:10 - uhhh .. dunno
42:45 - nonchalant lighting powers
48:28 - ... special effects?

Dining @ Rich Table in San Francisco, CA

I first heard of Rich Table around 6 years ago when the San Francisco Chronicle pondered why they weren't given a Michelin Star.  Well, they eventually captured a Michelin Star in 2017 after many years of praise locally.  Reservations are hard to come, as Rich Table has regularly been considered one of the best gourmet-casual spots in the city.  But I was finally able to snag a reservation for a Saturday at a time I could make.

Rich Table's menu is divided into four chunks: snacks, appetizers, pastas, and mains.  The pasta is said to be "primi" sized and not really entree sized.  There's also a chef's picks for $99 per person for about 6 courses.  The chef's pick apparently goes with both menu and off menu dishes.  If you go the a la carte route, the waitress recommended 2-3 snacks, and an appetizer, pasta, and main to share.  We followed her suggestions for the a la carte route, and here's what we got.

1) Sardine Chip - horseradish creme fraiche

This is apparently a signature snack from Rich Table and it's priced $2.50 per chip, which you can see is a chunk of sardine weaved into a potato chip.  We didn't know how many to order and just ordered 4 for the two of us.  I think that was the right amount, as 1 each would have been too little.

Overall quite tasty.  The horseradish creme fraiche was delicious, with a bit of kick, but not so strong as overtake the dish (e.g. like horseradish wasabi can).  I would love the horseradish creme fraiche as a general dip for chips.

2) burrata, bbq leek, romesco, everything crumble

This dish was the appetizer that we ordered, the restaurant brought all the snacks and appetizers out at the same time.  I had expected the dish to be more "balanced", like a salad, but the dish was mostly burrata.  But this ended up not being an issue, because the burrata was delicious.  I can't remember having a burrata that was quite light in this flavor and creamy as well.  I think I would have enjoyed it paired in a typical salad instead of with roasted leeks though.

3) Dried Porcini Doughnuts - raclette

This is apparently another semi-well known snack from this restaurant.  Doughnuts, lightly sprinkled with dried porcini powder, which you can dip into melted raclette cheese which you can you on the right.  Overall, lots of umami in this dish.  There are 5 small doughnuts served, which maybe is a tad high for 2 people.  It would be better for this to be ordered in a group.

4) aged beef wonton - chili oil, sesame

The wontons were listed at $5 each, so I didn't quite know what to expect.  I had expected them to be huge, but these were more medium sized.  Overall tasty, with a lot of umami from the chili paste on top.  The dumpling skins were particularly good, chewy but not too thick.  Good, but I'm not sure these were worth $5 a piece.

5) tonnarelli, sea urchin cacio e pepe, idiazabal

Other than the fact that this was a pasta dish with sea urchin, I had no idea what "cacio e pepe" or "idiazabal" was.  Well, the former is a type of pasta and the latter is a type of cheese.  Overall, really good dish, creamy, rich, with the pasta perfectly al dente.  I appreciated the fact that the dish was a "primi" size portion of pasta, and not some gigantic pasta dish.  Otherwise we wouldn't have been able to eat ...

6) 21 day aged ribeye, RT "Poutine"

So we picked this entree somewhat at random, just b/c we hadn't had a steak in awhile.  It was topped with the restaurant's version of poutine.  You can clearly see the gravy sauce, but there are pieces of fries on top with cheese and some vegetable (perhaps a swiss chard or kale).  I thought the topping of the poutine was an interesting choice.  I actually enjoyed eating the poutine a bit by itself, b/c it was really good with perfectly crisp fries.

But in combination with the steak, I'm not really sure I enjoyed it that much.  I should say the cheese as a sauce for the steak was good but was a bit perplexed by the combo.  The steak was cooked a perfect medium.

I should mention that this steak was gigantic.  I think we were expecting around a 8-10 oz steak to share, but this was more like a 14-16 oz.  If it were a steak by itself, that'd be one thing, but with all the fries on top, it was more food than we expected.

7) Coconut Cake - lime curd, brown butter ice cream

Due to the gigantic steak, we decided to just share one dessert.  Given it was cold and raining this day, we rejected several of the other "cold" desserts and went with this coconut cake b/c we figured it was the least cold dessert.  This cake was delicious, which sprinkles of coconut, frosting, and lime curd dotted all around.  I didn't think the brown butter ice cream had quite the flavor I was hoping for.

Overall, a great meal.  We put the meal on a similar level of Aster and Al's Place amongst the city's gourmet-casual dining spots.

.

Baseball Hall of Fame class of 2024

It was recently announced that the Baseball Hall of Fame class of 2019 would include Mariano Rivera, Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina, and Roy Halladay.

What's interesting is how many players have been voted in in recent years after a big donut in 2013.

2014 - Maddux, Glavine, Thomas
2015 - Johnson, P. Martinez, Smoltz, Biggio
2016 - Griffey Jr., Piazza
2017 - Bagwell, Raines, Rodriguez
2018 - Jones, Guerrero, Thome, Hoffman
2019 - Rivera, E. Martinez, Mussina, Halladay

That's 4 players in each of the last two years, atleast 3 in 5 of the last 6 years, for a total of 20 in the last 6 years.  In contrast, there were only 9 players elected from 2007-2012 (and again, there were zero in 2013).

However, things are looking slim for awhile.  Assuming that PED connected layers like Bonds, Clemens, and Sosa, and controversial players like Schilling won't get to 75%, here's what looks like the strong and maybe cases until 2023.

2020 - Jeter is a lock, Bobby Abreu is a medium candidate
2021 - Tim Hudson is the best of a weak new set of candidates
2022 - Alex Rodriguez has PED connections, David Ortiz is a strong consideration
2023 - Carlos Beltran is a medium-strong candidate

Discounting players connected to PEDs, I would say there were 5-6 locks amongst the 2013-2019 group, and 5-6 medium to strong candidates.  But the 2020-2023 group looks a little thin.  Only 1 lock with Jeter, and Ortiz & Beltran the only minimally medium-ish candidates (discounting the PED connected A-Rod).


I was curious which players retired after the 2018 baseball season, because they would be eligible for the 2024 HOF vote.  2024 is when the HOF voting should pick up again.  The 2024 additions could be Ichiro Suzuki, Adrian Beltre, Joe Mauer, and Chase Utley.  I would consider Suzuki a lock, Beltre, a "very strong", Mauer a medium-strong, and Utley atleast medium (he could hover like Jeff Kent has).  Suzuki hasn't officially retired yet, so it's possible he would be included in the 2025 HOF vote, but things should definitely pick up after 2023.

Milk / Cream With Egg Desserts

Some time ago someone had mentioned to me how they thought Chinese egg tarts (dan tat) were a bit of a weird dessert.  I said something to the effect, "Do you think creme brulee is a weird dessert?"  They responded no, then I said, "then it's not a weird dessert, you're just not used to that kind of dessert at a Chinese restaurant or with dim sum."

The conversation then moved into the differences between various milk / cream with egg desserts.  The reality is so many desserts have only minor variations from each other.  So the weirdness really comes from the unfamiliarity with it in a certain cuisine or in a certain restaurant.

I was reminded on this conversation after making some pot de creme and decided to recall the differences.  The internet is not too helpful on some of the detailed differences (everyone has their own recipe, globalization / commercialization has changed recipes over the years), but here's my minimally researched summary on all the differences.

The main difference between all of these desserts is the ratio of milk, cream, sugar, and eggs (and if it uses egg yolks or whites or both).  I don't mention the ratios or the specific cooking technique, it's just to give the basics.  I don't mention flavoring, which all of the below can add whatever flavoring you want (vanilla, chocolate, lemon, etc.).

Here we go with the dessert list.

custard - milk / cream & sugar and egg yolks used to thicken it

creme brulee - custard with a caremalized sugar topping

flan - custard with a caramel sauce topping

pot de creme - a lighter custard

pastry cream - an even lighter custard, usually done by using only milk and/or using only egg whites.  Use this in ...

cream puff - pastry with pastry cream in it

bavarian cream - pastry cream, but add whipped cream to make it lighter.

mousse - like custard, but instead of cream / egg straight up, add whipped cream / whipped egg whites to make it lighter and airier.

semifreddo - mousse but you freeze it

ice cream / frozen custard - you basically start with a custard, then you churn / freeze it (modern day ice creams in stores may not add eggs, as they may use other thickeners)

gelato - different ratios than ice cream, leading to denser / less airy form

Portuguese egg tart / pastel de nata - custard in a puff / pie crust, and slightly caramelized on top

so ... how is Chinese egg tart different?

Chinese egg tart (dan tat) - custard in a puff / pie crust, usually less sweet.  No caramelization on top compared to pastel de nata.  The internet can't seem to agree if the custard is denser or lighter, I'm sure every restaurant / region has a variation.

And I'll add one more Chinese dessert that hasn't really gotten a foothold in Western countries.

Chinese steamed pudding - milk with egg whites as thickener

at the end of the day?  How different are these desserts really?

To finish up this post, for fun, how about a few other desserts that are similar, but just use non-eggs as thickeners.

pudding - milk & sugar with flour / cornstarch used as thickener

panna cotta - milk / cream & sugar and gelatin as thickener

Tasty Stuff I Ate in 2018

Last year I missed out posting a miscellaneous "tasty stuff" post like I did in 2016, 2015, and 2014.  I simply did not wander into enough hole in the wall restaurants to put together a post.

However, by visiting a ton of places in Asia this year, I have plenty to write about this year.  So here's a list of random tasty stuff I ate in 2018 that didn't get into one of my bigger restaurant write ups.

1) Noodles & Wontons @ Mak Man Kee Noodles (Hong Kong, China)

There are many "Mak's" noodles in Hong Kong.  I know that there is a lineage between a very famous chef, his proteges/family members, and all of the "Mak's" noodles around the town.  I don't know this particular restaurant's lineage, but I can say the noodles were delicious.  There's a good "chew" to the noodles that doesn't really exist in more mass manufactured ones.

2) Congee @ Fu Kee Congee (Hong Kong, China)

While there are other famous congee places in Hong Kong, this is the one me and my +1 liked the most.  I don't know what they did to make the broth (i.e. it's clearly not just water), but it was delicious.

3) Steamed Milk Pudding @ Yee Shun (Hong Kong, China)

Before my trip to Hong Kong, I don't think I ever had this dish before.  But after trying it, I was hooked.  The above pic is the ginger flavored one, which gave it just a bit of a zing along with the milk.  But the plain one was delicious too.

4) Fish curry balls & wontons @ Block 18 Doggie's Noodle (Hong Kong, China)

This street stall in Hong Kong is pretty famous for their noodles, but I couldn't get over the fish curry balls & wontons (they are separate orders, but they put it in the same togo container).  Spicy and with tons of flavor, way more than any curry fish balls I have ever tried before.  And the wontons had these wonderful chewy texture that I loved.

5) Shrimp @ Chuen Cheng (Taipei, Taiwan)

So Chuen Cheng in Taiwan is most famous as a shrimp fishing bar/restaurant.  I believe Anthony Bourdain went there during his Taipei No Reservations segment. Many guides online go over the fact you can rent a pole, fish for shrimp, and grill up your catch in the back (just search "taiwan shrimp fishing" to learn more).

Unknown to us until seeing a sign (it's not in English), you can actually pay the staff to cook the shrimp for you if you don't want to do it yourself on the grill.  And you can have it cooked in many different ways.  We just asked for a recommendation and they picked this, which was stir fried with some type of lemony kind of sauce.  Delicious because the shrimp were so large and fresh, but the lemony taste imbued into the shrimp.

6) mandu @ Myeongdong Kyoja (Seoul, Korea)

Myeongdong Kyoja is most famous for their noodle soups, but I was more blown away by their dumplings.  Larger than most Chinese style dumplings, they have a really thin skin that sort of "hugs" the meatball inside.

7) Kiawe Wood Smoked Heritage Pork and haupia tart @ aina (San Francisco, CA)

Had a great dinner at aina this year, and they're going to get 2 dishes mentioned.

I'm not the biggest fan of pork, perhaps having eaten too many dry and overcooked versions in my life, but this was the most tender and delicious pork I've ever had.  I assume it was sous vided and then smoked?  I have no idea.  Along with the ginger chimichurri, the dish was amazing.

The other dish I'll mention is the dessert.  The menu lists coconut pudding, coconut shortbread, and sweet potato vinegar ice cream in this tart.  Some macerated berries were on there as well.  An incredible mixture of flavors and some good crunch from the shortbread.  The ice cream was particularly delicious, which would not have been expected ... b/c it's vinegar flavor.