Ninja New York

Ninja, the restaurant deserves its' very own blog post. It's not so much about the food but rather the whole experience - the ambiance, the ninja-clad waitstaff, the magicians and of course the food theater!

Once you're greeted by the host, you descend via elevator and walk through a tunnel until you are seated at your table. Then you get to do all of these things:

Be entertained by a magician who comes to your table to perform a few interactive tricks just for you! This was surprisingly entertaining and funny. Our performer was great and revealed how the tricks were performed before expecting a tip (of course).

Witness your rib eye steak ($38) being set alight by a bespectacled ninja:

I'm told the rib eye was done as requested (medium) and very tasty. It was served with side pots of roasted garlic cloves, herb and sea urchin butter for your own smothering and something called 'ninja special bbq sauce'.

Eat in a cave like setting with partitioned tables mostly all around. Practice your chopstick ninja skills:

Order a dragon roll and have it literally look like one:

The dragon roll was the largest entree and came with 2 types of rolls which made up the dragon's body and tail being a shrimp tempura roll and a spicy tuna roll, both topped with avocado slices. The dish also came with small rice balls topped with thinly-sliced salmon and on a separate plate, the mother of all rice balls with tuna tartare in the center. All of that was $28 and was enough to feed 2 hungry people, maybe even 3!

Watch as white smoke puffs out of your Ninja Special Roll for at least 5 minutes:

The Ninja Special Roll consisted of 5 types of fish, avocado, cucumber and scallions wrapped with rice and rice paper. You get 8 huge pieces which again could feed 2 people. The fish was fresh so this was my favorite dish of the night for taste even if it wasn't as fun as the other two in presentation.

Watch as a ninja-star is transformed into your Chocolate Mousse Cake! I don't have a photo of this since it was devoured as quickly as it was transformed. It was $10 and rather sensational - a thin base of chocolate cake is topped with a light chocolate mousse and the whole thing was enrobed in a thin layer of chocolate ganache. Forget about the chocolate sorbet - 3 tiny scoops of runny sorbet melt before you for $9.

Overall it was a fun experience and a good place to go if you've never been before, enjoy novelty places and/or have visitors in town. The more you drink, the more you will enjoy this place. The sake flights $30 for 5 or $15 for 3 are good value but once is enough...really.

San Francisco in 24 hours

SAN FRANCISCO IN 24 HOURS

Ok so technically, I was in SF for 48 hours but it was 24 hours of pleasure followed by 24 hours of business. I’ve put the highlights together though who is keen for a short, fun and food-filled trip.

WESTIN ST FRANCIS, UNION SQUARE

This hotel is located on one side of Union Square, a hub of tourists, traveling business folk and hotels. It’s huge, grand and offers good value. The work out room is large and open 24 hours. One stand out was that if you’ve neglected to bring your work out gear, they will lend you a full set for $5 for use during your stay. I told them my shoe size and clothing size and presto, a work out kit complete with top, shorts, shoes, new socks and even a sports bra appeared! Recommended for a work trip given facilities and location.

VINYL BAR & CAFE

I caught the number 71 bus from Market Street (5 mins from the hotel) to the Haight and stumbled on this café, being attracted by its’ name and general vibe. Always trust your instincts. Good drip coffee (Bluebottle) for only $2.50, made to order and a relaxed vibe with free wifi. 70s records on rotation including mostly Hendrix.

AMOEBA

Located at the end of Haight Street is this gem of a place once you’ve trudged past all the vintage stores and cafes. I always have to pay homage to this mecca of new and used CDs, LPs, DVDs and posters. They just happened to be having 25% off all posters so again, I had to trust my instincts (yes, I blame them for all good things)! Last time I was here, I saw the Scissor Sisters and this time, I’d just missed The Polyphonic Spree.

BAR CRUDO

This popular seafood restaurant in Divisadero blew my mind! It was the best non-Japanese seafood meal that I’ve had in a very long time (in case you hadn’t noticed, I love sushi so had to disclose my bias). The Crudo Sampler consisted of 4 perfectly paired varieties of fresh and raw seafood with various accompaniements including scallops with a lemon rind smear, salmon squares with horseradish cream and fish roe, cod with aioli and sea salt and mahi mahi with slivers of plum. Between 2, we then shared lobster on a bed of the juiciest and sweetest peeled tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and greens and the mussels in a cream and tomato sauce with toasted ciabatta. Perfection! Book ahead or be prepared to wait – it’s worth it!

BI-RITE CREAMERY

Even though I was still full and on a high from Bar Crudo, we had to visit Bi-Rite and join the 15 person queue on a cool and chilly evening for ice-cream. I’d read too many reviews about the Salted Caramel ice cream not to try it. They offered loads of tastings here so go crazy. I tried the signature flavor as well as strawberry balsamic, melon and honey lavendar. I ended up getting the chocolate coconut vegan sorbet which was divine. Go rain, hail or shine! Ice cream is always in season.

SUGAR CAFÉ

There’s always one exception to the rule and this was it. I failed in my limited research of breakfast places since my priority was to find something close to the hotel with free wifi that was not a chain. Sugar came up on Yelp and I ignored my instinct to just go to Starbucks and be done with breakfast so I could get on with work = fail. The coffee was weak and the milk in my latte was over-steamed so that it lacked all flavor and instead just left a burning sensation when I tried to sip it. The granola with yogurt ($4.50) was served in a porcelain bowl with a plastic teaspoon!?! Both were from a packet but edible. At least the wifi worked and was quick on the upside. Omit this from your future itinerary though. I’ve since heard that Dottie’s is a good local place for breakfast near Union Square or read on for my other ‘must do’ for serious coffee lovers…

SLANTED DOOR

This trendy, modern Vietnamese joint is still hard to get into just like 3 years ago when I last visited and we had to wait for ages at the bar for a bar seat. This time, I dropped in for a pre-dinner cocktail. The Mai Tai was perfectly balanced and shaken ($11). Yum! Friendly service, a busy atmosphere and water views made it a triumvirate!

FRESCA

Following a day of work, the team headed to Pacific Heights, a West Village like area for this Peruvian restaurant. A group of 8 of us show up on time for our reservation but our table had not even been put together, a sign of things to come. We started with a carafe of fruity sangria and a bottle of wine and then waited around 40 minutes for our appetizers to arrive. We then devoured the following in near silence (due to hunger): Ceviche Sampler (choice of 4, all were awesome but each serving was a tablespoon size), seared scallops on fried plaintain and green salsa (a must order even if the sweetness of the plaintain over-powered it a little), fried prawn wontons (ok) and Caesar salad (good but still just a Caesar). We had an entrée each and I ordered the whole-fried catch of the day, Halibut served with clams, mussels and prawns with jasmine rice and a tomato fritto sauce. So good that I ate it all and then still stuffed myself with dessert (get the tres leche cake or trio of ridiculously creamy ice-creams).  In short, great food, terrible but sweet service.

Catch of the day: Whole halibut - not for the squeamish!

For the squeamish - the deboned fillet of halibut on top of a cheesy quinoa cake

BLUEBOTTLE CAFÉ

One last meal before you depart – there’s always an added pressure to end on a high. Fortunately, this place did not disappoint. It’s hidden on Jessie Street, parallel to Market Street, close to Union Square. Again, be prepared to wait to have your senses blown away by full flavored coffee and delicious breakfast menu items all for under $10. The stewed strawberries with granola and honey ($8.50) were delicious as was the thick-cut French Toast with strawberries and maple syrup ($8.50).

SUSHI ROCK

I actually didn't eat here but walked past this place in Chinatown and the sign caught my eye and made me smile!

So that’s how you do San Francisco without barely a bad meal! Till next time San Fran!