Banana bread is one of the sweet things in life I cannot live without.
And I find that I love it  even more when it comes shaped like an actual banana. :)   

I found this little pastry treasure at a popular Korean bakery called Shilla. Although it doesn't taste as rich as other banana breads I've tried (even the one baked by my roommate is better), the fact that it is shaped like a banana adds that extra oomph and I enjoyed eating it anyway. For those interested it is only a $1.50 for a pack of 3. Not a bad deal. 

The Golden Gate Bridge

The Bay Bridge

My friends and I had an Asian BBQ at the park last weekend. It was a beautiful day and the food was delicious. Unfortunately I forgot my camera so I don't have a lot of pictures. I did manage to borrow my friend's camera and experiment with a 18-135mm lens!

All images taken with a borrowed Canon EOS 60D + 18-135mm lens + 35mm pancake lens.
All images (c) thecopyrightofbrandmarie.blogspot.com

No San Francisco food trek would be complete without a visit to  

America's oldest chocolate factory in Ghirardelli Square!

Ghirardelli Square from behind

Ghirardelli chocolate covered strawberries

Ghirardelli ice cream sundae on waffle cone (rich and sweet!)

All images (c) thecopyrightofbrandmarie.blogspot.com

Another great food-related discovery in San Francisco was Sally's Famous Fishwich. It's a food stand located in Fisherman's Wharf that serves the most humongous fish sandwiches I've ever seen! The cashier starts out by asking you what you want. If you say the Fishwich, the guy behind the food counter whips out a huge piece of bread and a gigantic fish fillet. He puts the fillet on the grill, picks up literally a tub-full of yummy peppered lettuce with Italian dressing, and slathers a generous amount over the bread. He then plops the fillet on the lettuce, wraps up the sandwich, and sends you on your way. The service is fairly fast and the gargantuan sandwich can feed about three people and only costs $8.

Sally's gigantic fishwich

Another Fisherman's Wharf staple is Boudin Bakery, which claims to have the best clam chowder on sourdough and is famous for baking bread in the cutest shapes possible. The bakery has two floors with a cafeteria-style eatery and a Pete's Coffee stand on the first floor, and a more expensive gourmet restaurant on the second floor. You can basically get all the essentials on the first floor so my friends and I saw no need to check out the gourmet place. 

Boudin's famous Clam Chowder in a Sourdough Bread Bowl

Shrimp Cocktail also on Sourdough

Bread in all these lovely animal shapes

All images (c) thecopyrightofbrandmarie.blogspot.com

SWAN  OYSTER  DEPOT

My love of seafood probably stems from the fact that I come from a country with the freshest seafood in the world. Not everyone would agree but I say this all the time. :)  I have never found seafood in the US that could parallel the freshness of what I've had back home. That is until I ate at Swan Oyster Depot in San Francisco.

Swan Oyster Depot is a small restaurant on Nob Hill that comes highly recommended on Yelp and other food rating sites. When my friends and I got there we were greeted by a long line of people patiently waiting their turn to be seated. When the line had diminished, we finally found ourselves a seat at a casual looking counter top with a nice flower display and a view of the wait staff cracking oysters, peeling shrimp, and mixing up salads. Seeing the food prepared right in front of me only added to the appeal of the place. And of course, the seafood was to die for. I can't wait to go back! 

The array of seafood that greets you at the door

San Francisco's famous Dungeness Crab

How the famous Combination Seafood Salad is made

The Swan Oyster Depot Story

My place at the counter with the spiciest horseradish sauce imaginable

Combination Seafood Salad (highly recommended and to die for!) with freshly made Thousand Island Dressing 

Crab Salad (heaven in a bite!)

Coming from a tropical country, I'd always seen snowy mountains in the movies

but I never thought I'd get the chance to see some up close.

Over spring break my friends and I took a road trip to to Yosemite National Park 
and on the way up it began to snow! We stopped overnight at a lodge slightly 
outside the park and when we woke up the next morning we were greeted 
by snow-covered mountains, a white roadside and the smell of fresh air!

First thing I saw when I woke up

Yosemite Falls (Lower Falls not visible)

The Upper Falls

Bridalveil Falls

Mirror Lake (lucky shot)

The Ahwahnee Hotel (most expensive hotel at the park)

El Capitan

Photos taken with both a Sony Cybershot DSC T-100 and a Canon EOS 60D 18-55mm lens.
All images (c) thecopyrightofbrandmarie.blogspot.com