A Walkabout in San Francisco

Haven't done one of these in a while

By Nathan Tsai

August 11^th, 2023

It's been a while since I've taken a camera around my hometown with the intention of just wandering around to shoot things, but family was in town, I had some time, and the weather was magnificent. I know that San Francisco gets a bad rap in the news for being unlivable with crime and other issues spiraling out of control, but it's really like any other big city -- there are certainly problems, but millions of people are able to come together and make a place their home. It's a bit more quirky than other cities perhaps, but it sure is a beautiful group of people in a cozy city with wonderful food and temperate weather.

The de Young Museum

50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr, San Francisco, CA 94118

Golden Gate Park

Doma Sushi

433 Precita Ave, San Francisco, CA 94110

Doma might just be the cutest sushi place I've ever been to. It's run by a husband-wife team in the comfy sub-city-suburbia of Bernal Heights and the music, the ambiance, and the general vibe of the place is personal and fun.

The food was solidly in the class of "solidly decent" — the fish was fresh-ish, the sauces were clean tasting, and flavors were thoroughly straightforward. That being said, the prices were higher than what I would consider to be fair for the quality of the food. To some degree, the ambiance and service command a higher value, but I have never fully understood why raw fish demands such a high price premium. This restaurant is a great example of a place that I'd have no problem recommending to someone else, but would not go back again myself.

Above: Octopus in a yuzu vinaigrette. This was the opening dish and probably one of my favorite dishes here. Thin, crisp slices of octopus with the mouthwatering sour-umami of the sauce paired with lightly pickled vegetables really made for a dish that perfectly whet my appetite.

Below: An assortment of sashimi and nigiri.

SF Conservatory of Flowers

100 John F Kennedy Dr, San Francisco, CA 94118

Dumpling Zone

408 Dewey Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94116

The 生煎包 (sheng jian bao) — literally "uncooked, pan-fried bun" — is one of the great Chinese foods. The name comes from the fact that the bun is placed, uncooked, into a hot and oily pan and allowed to both fry and steam at the same time. The result is a bun that has a gradient of textures and flavors; the bottom is crisp and full of the intense flavor of a Maillard crust and the top of the bun is tender, sweet, and light from the steaming. The inside of the bun is full of flavorful broth, just like the aspic in 小籠包 (xiao long bao — soup dumplings) and nugget of minced pork in the middle. It's easy to do badly and hard to get it perfectly dialed in since there are so many flavors and textures to contemplate.

Let me tell you. These sheng jian bao were magnificent. Maybe not perfect, certainly not the best I've had, but these are definitely among the top three pan-fried pork buns that I've had outside of Asia.