Hella Good

YOU HAVE TO GO TO THIS PLACE.....I'M SERIOUS. It is absolutely THE BEST place to get a pedi. A friend of mine recommended this spot. Her pictures of the place were fabulous so we decided to go here, instead of Nova Nail (also in the city). It actually ended up being cheaper AND the pedi came with a complimentary massage (on the shoulders)... How could you say no?! Before going to this place, I read their Yelp reviews online and almost everyone was ranting and raving over Danny Lee - the owner. It made me wonder, how good could this guy be?!? WELL, you know what......... HE WAS AWESOME. Definitely a GREAT HOST.... When we got there, he already knew who we were and he made sure we all sat together. Once we were seated, he gave us tea and/or water and also gave us egg rolls and fresh spring rolls! We HELLA didn't have to eat before our pedis because he was feeding us FOR FREE!! LOL!! As we were getting our pedis, I asked him if he could take our picture and he totally took all different kinds of pictures of us... Different angles; one with the technicians, one without... He moved lighting around to get the best picture... He even fixed up his place so that it looked good in the background, hahahaha... We were like "Dang... you should become a photographer" HAHAHAHA.... Aside from the SUPERB customer service, the pedicures were awesome. We sat in these comfy leather chairs that reclined when they gave us a massage on our legs and feet... and the massages on our shoulders was just icing on a REALLY GOOD cake. It was an awesome experience. When we left, we wanted to walk right back in and just get something else done.. WE WERE IN LOVE with RECHARGE SPA... And seriously, I think this is where I want to get all my pedis from now on... I don't care if it's hella far. IT'S HELLA WORTH IT....

As a huge food lover, one of my favorite things to do is try the same dish in different restaurants or even the same drink in different bars just to see how different it can be. Sometimes there's a unique ingredient that's added and sometimes it's just hella plain and literal to the entree's name...but nontheless, it opens my options to different ways of cooking...something I also enjoy doing...

So fish....whether steamed, deep fried, cooked in a paper bag (as Nobu has done), raw or prepared in any way actually...fish is the dish for me! not to mention healthy and light! Anyway, one of my favorite dishes is seared Ahi Tuna and for most restaurants, it is peppered on the outside, seared rare and is accompanied with a scoop of jasmine rice, baby buk choy and soy ginger sauce for dipping...and while that is really good, Kingfish in San Mateo does it better! HELLA better actually...the entree is called the Seared Bigeye Tuna...described as I wrote above, but their sauce is more than just that soy ginger sauce...i can't even pin point what it tastes like....but out of all the restaurants I've tried....this has never been beat. I'm even biased to all the other dishes that Kingfish offers because this Tuna is sooooo HELLA GOOD!

wait a minute...I take that back...one day I was there for lunch and I was totally disappointed because I found out that the tuna was NOT served during that time....and while I opted for some yummy oysters and calamari instead, the chef was gracious enough to provide us a sampling of their skirt steak....and OMIGOD....that was seriously ON HIT...it's slathered with this sweet and subtly smoky sauce....oh mun.....totally HELLA GOOD!

so here's a recommendation....go bribe someone to take you to dinner...perhaps an old friend that you haven't seen in a while or maybe a guy/girl that you've been wanting to ask out but didn't know where to take them....impress them by ordering for the both of you....order the 'Seared Bigeye Tuna' and the 'Famous Skirt Steak'...pair the two with a good Pinot Grigio (ask the server to recommend one)....and TRUST that your mouths will be salivating for more when you're done...not to mention will solidify a guaranteed SECOND date! ;)

Usually, when we need usual basic stuff the first store that comes to mind is Target or Wal-Mart...although I prefer Target over Wal-Mart nowadays....but what about the unnecessary stuff that you don't necessarily need NOW, but probably could use or will need later?

DAISO is definitely the place to go. Located in several locations in the bay area, this houseware retailer is #1 in Japan and full of the most unnecessary stuff you'll ever need! Some stuff completely pointless and probably NOT useful, but that's why this store is so cool! It's out of the ordinary and it expands your options! Tired of paper toilet covers? They have furry toilet covers! Need a foot scrubber, but don't want to use your hands to scrub? They have this scrubber that you can "suction" to your bath tub and voila! scrub your feet while shampooing your hair all at once! hahaha... but on a serious note, they have a lot of really cool japanese dishes there for cheap! I bought my sake set there and my cousin bought the asian soup spoons there too.....

Think the dollar store, but with soo many more cool and higher quality stuff!

If you want to taste a hella good crab salad sandwich, the place to go is Darby Dan's, located in South San Francisco. It is located in the most random area, but everytime I've gone, it's been packed GALORE. The only thing is, crab salad sandwiches aren't served everyday. I believe they serve them on Wednesdays and Fridays, but sometimes they serve them on other days if they have extra. Just in case they do, I have them on speed dial so I can call them up to check if they're serving crab salad sandwiches before I make my way there... They're THAT GOOD. Before this, I'd never been into crab salad sandwiches until I tasted Darby Dan's... I live 40 minutes away from here, but I would totally drive all the way over to Darby Dan's if I get a crave for their sandwiches. The use of expensive gas is totally worth it!



NOTE: Make sure you get the sandwich WITH the jalapeno sauce. That's the sauce that does it! (I've tried it without, and it's hella not the same)

So I know the bay area isn't really known for their beaches. If you're looking to walk out 50 feet into sky blue water from the shore, you just can't get it here...To be frank, the bay waters look freaken scary to me!! And while there are many others out there who love it for what it is and challenge themselves to the mucky and freezing cold waters, there's me who can still admire the majestic coast through its scenic view on Highway 1... which is absolutely one of its kind. Actually, one of the reasons why I've stayed in California all my life is because we have the best of every world located just hours away... if not right within the bay area limits.

I've never taken the scenic route up and down the coast before, but my boss, who is a surfing enthusiast convinced that the coast was a phenom I would never forget and boy was he right. On January 1st, 2008, a friend and I headed South of the bay to Santa Cruz, found Highway 1 (although you can go as south as Carmel and beyond) and coasted on up. It's definitely another side of the bay that I failed to discover years ago. Although our coastal line doesn't have the tropical feeling of Hawaii, what we're definitely known for is the amazing cliff sides that stunningly line the water. There are more than a dozen separate beaches and surfing destinations on this route. One of which was this hidden beach located in the town of Davenport. There wasn't even any signs that lead here, you just kinda drive off the road at Davenport's first intersection and walk your way down towards the waters. We were really lucky that the weather was cooperative especially in the middle of Winter because the cliffs stood massive and strong this day. Other beaches that we passed by included: Pigeon Point Light Station, Montara State Beach and Pescadero State Beach...

If you haven't done so, do this coastal drive through this empowering course. It's about 2 hours all the way up without stopping, but you can make it an all day event....bring your camera, prepare a picnic and if you dare, take a freezing dip into the water.... it's definitely a worth while event that you will never forget...

If you've never tried Indian food before but are scared to try it out, Amber's the best place to go! The ambience is nice and the food is delicious! They have YUMMY Garlic Naan Bread that goes REALLY well with their Buttered Chicken. I seriously have yet to try another restaurant that makes as good of a Buttered Chicken as Amber.

Honestly, before I tried Amber, I never had Indian food and was a little weary of trying it just because I'm not a huge fan of curry, but when I was invited to try this restaurant in Santana Row, I figured why not. Can't go wrong with restaurants at Santana Row?! I'm so glad I went here, because NOW I'm HOOKED with eating Indian food!!

It might not be authentic Indian food, but it's definitely a good introduction to great Indian cuisine!

It’s our individual angle of HELLA GOOD stuff from the bay...and NOT just San Francisco, but the other bay districts...North Bay, South Bay, Peninsula, Tri-Valley and East Bay...all of which have HELLA GOOD stuff that are personalized and cultured in a way that only the Bay can bring together. Whether discovering this part of the world for the first time (what a shame) or just trying to explore something different in your hood, we're here to share what's HELLA GOOD....