Thursday, November 24, 2011

Travel: Meeting Nami from Just One Cookbook and Japantown (8th November, 2011)

I am so excited to share with you this post as I have been planning this a long time with Nami @ Just One Cookbook. I'm sure her name is NO stranger to all of you food bloggers. If you don't know her, no worries. It's time for me to introduce her to you and do pop over her lovely website for some wicked Japanese and other Asian dishes recipes. Her recipes and step by step photos are easy to follow for any of you who is interested in Asian dishes.
Nami & Myself
A little about Nami and how it all began. I spontaneously dropped Nami an e-mail wondering if she will be attending Foodbuzz Festival 2011 and asked if she would love to meet up. Of course I looped in Elisabeth in this meet up as Elisabeth was staying back in SF for another 2 days. When she replied my e-mail, I was thrilled to know that she agreed to meet. So many e-mails sent to one another back and forth, and we nearly didn't even have the chance to meet up as Nami's daugther suddenly caught a cold. Nevertheless, all went well even though it was only for two hours and the meet up session was on.

The moment of meet, greet and get to know one another has left me constantly thinking of her. Few words to sum up Nami. She's a real sweet lady, courteous and genuinely friendly. I am truly honoured to have met her. Wished we had more time right Nami?
Elisabeth & Myself
Naturally, we went to a nearby bakery, have a cuppa and some freshly oven baked pastries and chat away. We walked to La Boulange Bakery, a French inspired bakery which is about 2-3  blocks walk up hill from Hotel Tomo.
It's like a "halo" shining above the sweet treats.. oh! my..

Left to Right: Cherry Raspberry, Hazelnut, Lemon, Chocolate, Coffee, Strawberry, Vanilla, Passionfruit Mango
I just couldn't resist. Had to snag a juicy plump tuna cheddar sandwich and box of  french macarons to try. I really liked them a lot. Especially the tuna sandwich. Maybe because it's one of my favourite sandwich of all time and it is served in a sour dough bun. A perfect breakfast of quick lunch. Delish!
Oh! I nearly forgot to tell you that I checked Elisabeth and myself into Hotel Tomo, in Japantown. To be specific it's located on 1800, Sutter Street. This is quite a quirky hotel, where each room interior decor is inspired between a cross of  what you see in IKEA with some hint of Japanese element.
Just another random shot I snapped..
Simple, comfortable, clean line furniture adorn the room. The focal wall on each room has a different anime themed wall paper. That to me was the unique part of the room. Plus after much hotel review reading from Trip Advisor, this hotel is highly recommended by a lot of families with children as they have a stay quiet along the corridors starting at 11:00pm policy and the area is generally a safe neighbourhood. Do take a note of this though. Hotel Tomo is not located in the middle of the city. There's a bus stop right outside the hotel and, you can take bus no. 2 or 3 which takes you down back to the city. Alternatively, you just walk 2 blocks to the right of the hotel towards Filmore Street and grab a bus no. 22 which takes you to Union Street, or all the way to Chestnut Street. There are lots to do and my favourite past time, is trying new food places. If I were to choose, I wouldn't mind staying in Hotel Tomo the next time round while I am in San Francisco. The staff is friendly and I am fortunate enough to have become close friends with Larissa, who's the customer service hotel manager. She a real sweet heart and we did manage to squeeze in some food adventure. Larissa, if you are reading this post, this is a shout out to you too!

Well, I hope you peeps have enjoyed my San Francisco posts so far. There are a couple more to go.. and I think those will interest you a lot too. Till then!!

xx

14 comments:

  1. Thanks Joanna for your kind mention here. :-) It was really nice meeting you and I'll be here waiting for your next trip! ;-) Did you end up eating the whole macarons? I should have bought one, but if I did, they would have been gone before picking up my kids! LOL. I am looking forward to seeing what you did for the rest of the week! Keep your posts coming! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I heard that you all meet..I am so jealous:/ Wish I could meet you all!! Lovely post Jo..enjoyed reading and staring at the photos lol!:)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, that's such fun!! I would love meeting you all as well!

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a GREAT post! I LOVE the picture of you & Nami....adorable! I'm glad you had a good time and I wish I was right there with you having fun!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Jo-More lovely photos you posted, the last, of the last of our trip!
    I will be posting my last after Thanksgiving.
    My daughter, Lora saw the photo of you and I, and she said, the we look like a "mother, and daughter."...yes; you and I have discussed that back in SF. You, my Asian daughter...just need to find the "Asian father"...LOL
    Would be proud to have such a wonderful daughter like you, and a little sister for Lora!
    Hopefully, you can come back with me to Florida next year if you join the Foodbuzz Festival again in SF, and you can fly back with me to S. Florida for a few days at least and fly back home from here. (think we already had this discussion)
    Big hugs, and lots of love!
    Elisabeth

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nami: It's my honour to have met you and now I have new friends from San Francisco. That is something I am truly proud of. Nope I shared the macarons with Larissa, Hotel Tomo's customer service manager. For all her kindness too to help me settle in Hotel Tomo. I will be more than happy to share more. It's still so fresh in my head like it was just yesterday.

    Sandra: Don't be jealous. There is always next year. And if we do plan it in advance, we all could certainly meet up. I am always happy to arrange a meet and greet session. Woudln't that be fun and something to talk about and remember?

    Purabi: It will be fun to get to meet you too.

    Ann: No worries, always next time. And I will make sure to attend Foodbuzz's event once more if time and $$ permits.

    Elisabeth: You and Lora are too kind. Thanks for having me around, it was really fun. We can work on that when time comes. Sounds like a lot of fun. Till then, you take care!!

    Big hugs and kisses, Jo

    ReplyDelete
  7. So jealous!!! Sounds like a lovely time :-D

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great post. I enjoyed all your SF posts so far. You have captured Japan town and la boulangerie perfectly. I also love those macarons.:-) here you can check out my take on Japan town: http://shikamoo.typepad.com/shikamoo/2011/03/japan-town.html
    looking forward to reading your next posts on SF.:-)
    xoxo.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love these SF posts, while I cannot go at this time-when I do go I will be sure not to miss some of these places. Perhaps it will be me in next years posts about SF!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh, I wish I was there with your three!! What fun! And everything you ate looks amazing! I shouldn't be looking at food at bedtime :/

    ReplyDelete
  11. Two of my favorite ladies! It looks like you gals has a great time! And what a cool hotel you stayed at! I love hotels like that where every room is different.

    ReplyDelete
  12. How fun! Those baked goods look so delish. <3 Nami too!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Love Nami and her blog! It looks like a lovely meeting and a very nice place!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Jo this is such a lovely post. All your pictures are great, but my favorit is the one with you and Nami. You guys look AWESOME!
    I hope to be lucky enough to meet Nami next year. And i'm going to make sure i'll attent the Foodbuzz festival next year so i can meet all you guys!

    ReplyDelete

Hey foodies! THANK YOU for leaving me with sweet comments. I hope to inspire you like how you inspire me. Cheers~