An Homage to Chips

A compilation of some of the best potato chips in existence.

Although not officially known to be a chip fanatic, I am well seasoned in worldly chips of the world. Ranging from the Far West to the Far East, I have run across some rather fabulous crunchy treats, and I feel it is due time to share. Comments and suggestions for unmentioned chips is highly encouraged, so do share your wisdom as well.

And without further adieu (as MoNKeY likes to say) here are the chips, in no particular order.

Name: Lays Ruffles All Dressed
Country: Canada

Description: This flavor of Ruffles basically contains all the Ruffles flavors inside one bag. That's right. It's got BBQ, Salt & Vinegar, Sour Cream & Onion, etc... all together, and it makes it one of the most yummy pack of chips you can imagine. Quite impossible to get anywhere else besides Canada... :-(


Name: Osem Doubonim
Country: Israel

Description: These chips are shaped like bears and they have this lovely crispy quality to them that resemble those chinese chips that stick to your tongue... They are not particularly flavored, just salty and yummy. The best part about these Dubonim (which means "Teddy-bears" in Hebrew) is that you can eat each limb one by one, then the ears, then the head and only the torso remains, which, you then eat as well! It's wonderful!


Name: Lays Weird Flavors
Country: Thailand

Description: The Thai Lays and Ruffles chips come in various unusual flavors that for Thai people are less than unusual. They have Lobster, Shrimp, Chili Peppers, Tom Yum, Nori, Wasabi, Chili and Lime, and I am sure, much much more.... It is very strange that the Thai Lay's company is the hardest company to get info about.


Name: Dirty Chips Roasted Garlic and Herbs
Country: USA

Description: These chips aren't peeled, so you get that "dirty" effect that makes them more rugged and homey like. The Garlic and Herbs are the BEST!!! Such a rich flavor, and the herbs come in very aromatically, seem to be very good quality herbs. These you have a hard time putting away...


Name: Smiths Grills
Country: Belgium/Holland

Description: Mmmm! A childhood favorite. Although being vegetarian our whole lives, my sister and I loved this brand so much. It's supposed to be of some meaty flavor... Whatever flavor it is, it is so yummy. It is also fun to eat. The chips look like spinal chords, and so you eat each notch one by one, and makes the whole snacking process just a little more exciting...


Name: Barbara's Yogurt and Green Onion
Country: USA

Description: Discovered these recently, the flavors are quite clean and real tasting. I really like the fact that there is a real yogurt flavor to these chips. They are also of the "dirty" style, as they are not peeled. The chips though are HUGE! and so much fun to eat.


Name: Osem Bissli Grill Flavor
Country: Israel

Description: Bissli is a super crunchy chip. The grill flavor is the most popular, I believe, and it is shaped in a twirl/twist, that is like DNA shaped... I guess the word Snappy is the best way to describe it's crunch. The flavor is also very distinct, and hard to describe.


Name: Smiths Hamkas
Country: Holland

Description: Hamkas is a play on words meaning Ham and Cheese in Dutch. This was also a childhood favorite, and they are shaped like a grid where you can eat each row or square one by one, which is always fun... These are very ham flavored!


Name: Smiths Nibb-it Sticks
Country: Holland

Description: Nibb It's was a treat whenever I would visit my Best Friend Laura's house. These were her ultimate favorites which you could only really get in Holland. I have not eaten them in SOOOO long that I actually don't remember what they taste like. But they sure were very significant in my life.


Name: Osem Bamba Peanut
Country: Israel

Description: Bamba is a unique one of a kind product. There are not many chips out there that are still considered chips, while not being salty. Well there is a little salt, but it's mostly peanut flavored. It resembles a cheese puff, like Cheetos. But they are so much more delicious and also they are super healthy and nutricious too!!


Name: Paprika Potato Snack
Country: Thailand

Description: Ahh, this was one food that helped to get me through high-school! An awesomely delicious chip to crunch into with paprika flavor, that actually includes a little bag of extra paprika flavoring incase you haven't had enough... The best are the ones that come in the cans, as they seal well, and keep them from soggifying in the tropical heat of Thailand.


Name: Cornae American Corn Snack
Country: Thailand

Description: These are just like Bugles... Hence "American Corn Snack"... but they are so addictive and unhealthy, it's crazy. So be careful. At least you can also get them in the can format so that they can be stored properly for future use...

Typogra-food at the Ferry Building

Medicine Restaurant

Miss MoNKeY invited me out to very interesting restaurant yesterday. Medicine has a quite unusual concept. As explained on their menu, they are using a revised version of the Shojin cuisine, a cuisine based on the belief of the Zen monks of Japan—that "food should be taken as MEDICINE for the health of the body."

With that said, I was quite skeptical, yet I kept an open mind and was thrilled to discover something quite special.


Indeed, the interior is very geometric, very Zen. Big long wooden tables stretch across the width of the dining room or "eatstation" as they call it. The seats are wood as well, and if you want to take your time and enjoy every morsel of food, be prepared to have a sore derrière by the end of the meal!


We were both treated to a tasting of 3 premium sakes. Served cold, they were a wonderful compliment to our appetizers. Our favorite happened to be their cheapest sake on their menu, the Ohyama. It's sweetness made you yearn for more, lots more.... (click on the picture to enlarge it)


This is the Medicine Roll, their signature sushi: Avocado, umeboshi, shiso, carrot, kaiware. It was served with a rough wasabi which had whole white sesames inside. This had a very scrumptious crunchy texture. It is not an illusion, the rice IS pink. It is a 9-grain rice. It melted in your mouth.


my favorite, this is the Sesame Tofu. It's described as a house-made "tofu" of sesame milk thickened with kudzu (whatever that is). I found this to taste very similar to Tahini, with the texture of custard.


Our third appetizer, highly recommended by MoNKeY, was the Maitake Tempura. This was served with a wedge of lemon (with all the seeds included :-) and sea salt. That is all it needed! It was absolutely awesome! Still dreaming about it.


Next, we moved on to our main course. This is the Kyoto Soba, MoNKeY's choice. Buckwheat noodles in a clean light shojin broth, with fiddlehead fern, wakame, and umeboshi.


This was my choice for the main course, the Curry Udon. Being that curry is usually served with meat, I rarely ever eat it, but this time I didn't need to worry! No meat! My curry udon was so very comforting and warm. Juicy udon noodles in spicy creamy curry broth, kakiage garnish, which I assume is a type of sweet potato or gourd... They were lightly tempuraed and when drowned into the broth, were mighty excellent!


For dessert, we went for MoNKeY's childhood treat, the Yaki-Imo. What this is is an oven baked sweet potato medallion, here, served with maple syrup and black sesame seeds. Rich, soothing, and mild in sweetness, it was a perfect ending to our meal.

You know you ate something good, when you are thinking about it the next day—all day long! I know that this is a place I will go back to very soon, and I think MoNKeY is of the same mindset as I (Well this WAS her second time...).

Some things to note:
This place is open for Lunch and Dinner everyday.
A 17% service charge is included in the bill, no tip is accepted.
The average cost for two people for a filling dinner, such as ours, was $45 ($22.50 each)—pretty decent, no?
Their menu is seasonal.
Plate portions are very reasonable. 3 shared appetizers, one entrée each and a shared dessert was a perfect quantity for two, without feeling bloated after the meal.
They have two tasting menus that serve a 6 course meal, and are pricier than everything else ($30–$55 per person)

161 Sutter Street @ The Crocker Galleria, San Francisco, CA | (415)677-4405

Raspberry & Rémy Martin Yogurt Cake

The Yogurt Cake is a marvelous recipe. For those who think that baking from scratch is a strenuous process, the "Gâteau Au Yaourt" as it's called in French, will prove you wrong!

I was so enticed by a couple posts on Chocolate & Zucchini, where Clotilde demonstrated a couple of lovely variations this cake allows. In fact, the variations you can try with this recipe are endless.

Basically, the basic recipe is a Plain Yogurt Cake. From this basic recipe, you can add whatever your heart desires. I decided to do, as the title of this post suggests, a Raspberry and Rémy Martin Yogurt Cake!

It turned out so adorable! Don't you think?



Other variations I think would be fabulous:
• Orange Juice + Zest + Mini Chocolate Chips.
• Cut in half and spread Apricot Jam in the middle.
• Replacing the Yogurt with Sour Cream.
• Replacing the Plain Yogurt with a Fruit Flavored Yogurt
(in this case remember to reduce the amount of sugar you use).
• Top cake with Cherry Preserves.
• Add Pomegranate into the batter.
• Use a big loaf pan, or small little cute loaf pans for individual portions!
• Use Brown Sugar instead of White.
• Add Ground Almonds in batter.

Ooof! There are tons more variations I am sure....
Check out Clotilde's recipe for the Yogurt Cake, as that is the one I used.