Fung Wong

Tucked away in a small center next to a 7-elevan, surprisingly, Fung Wong has gained much attention from the Chinese people in the Daly City community. Many Chinese and Chinese American locals come to this place, which suggests that the quality of food is pretty authentic. From my past experience, the dim sum is acceptable, and good enough for American standards. As for the regular dishes, I do enjoy many of the dishes they have, especially the eggplant and pork in garlic sauce.


This place is a good for families, especially big family gatherings. There's nothing like having a huge meal with plenty of dishes and variety with 8+ people. The price range per dish is around $8-$12, which is fair for the quality of the food. This place isn't amazing, but if for some reason, you're ever in the foggy city of Daly City and want some Chinese food, this is one of the few places I'd recommend.


427 Gellert Boulevard
Daly City, CA 94015
Yelp Review

Intermezzo

Cafe Intermezzo or Matina is a well-loved sandwich shop known for its filling sandwiches and huge salad (notably the chef salad). The chef salad is the biggest salad I think I've ever seen under $10. It comes with meat and avocado, making it quite a good selection. All sandwiches come with a slice of fruit and the salad comes with their hearty wheat bread. The quality of the food is relatively good, nothing to wow about but people enjoy the lightness yet filling portions the restaurant provides. Price range for the amount of food you get is pretty cheap $7-$10. During lunch, a huge line of students form waiting to order a sandwich. Easy to carry and not too messy, I can see why people enjoy coming here. My experience at Intermezzo was never too spectacular nor was it too disappointing. I never had a bad experience here; the food has always been consistent. The place is adorned with olden wood and can accomodate a fair number of groups and customers. I suggest this place as a good lunch eatery.

2442 Telegraph Ave
Berkeley, CA 94704
Yelp Review

Millbrae Pancake House

Who says you can't have breakfast all day long? I love breakfast and brunch, and I think eating pancakes, omelets, and hash browns should be available all day long. I especially love a hearty and well-made breakfast. Whenever I come here, I can't help but order breakfast foods, regardless of the time of day. Their meals are very filling, especially when you order the omelet which comes with hashbrown and choice of toast or pancakes. I, in particular, love the hashbrown, which is real shredded potatoes as opposed to the fast food type rectangular blocks. This place is a red-brick house, which grabs an olden feel. Obviously during the mornings, this place can get busy, with less customers throughout the day. It's quite spacious with a good number of accommodating parties. The front of the shop is a gift shop with little stuffed animals and beanie babies, fluffy and cute. The food is good and definitely well-portioned with entrees ranging from $6-$18 a person. Breakfast foods mostly $6-$12 and dinner entrees (such as steak) about $18 when tax and tip is considered. If you love to have breakfast for lunch (brunch) or dinner (brinner), this place serves definitely better food than any Denny's and IHOP.


Yelp Review
1301 El Camino Real
Millbrae, CA 94030

Tani's Kitchen

I've only been to Tani's Kitchen twice, but it's one of the better eateries you can find in Daly City. At Westlake Shopping Center, I used to go to Banana Island often with my family, but over the years the quality of the food hasn't been as great. Tani's Kitchen was a place I decided to try out based on good recommendations, and I can see why it is loved. Tani's Kitchen is similar to Geta Japanese in Piedmont. I don't think the food is as good, but they have their own specialty and charm. This restaurant is known for their Japanese style hamburger in curry sauce, with a great consistency and taste of the patty but the curry can be a bit salty.

In other respects, the quality of sashimi is fresh and the preparation of katsu, tempura, and rolls are great for the price (around $5-$15). The place itself is one of those hole-in-a-wall that serves extremely good food. There's not much space and often you'd have to wait outside for space. A lot of people tend to order to go, but if you're lucky you can get a seat for a small group (not ideal for big groups at all). I'd recommend this place if you're not planning anything fancy and want good food.

Yelp Review
32 Park Plaza Dr
Daly City, CA 94015

Eggettes

If you love Hong Kong snacks, you're probably familiar with the dessert called eggettes. Eggettes are like soft egg-shaped cookies sometimes filled with flavors such as chocolate or coconut. Not only does this place carry the traditional Hong Kong snack, but also makes decent tapioca drinks. They feature original milk tea, plain tea, freezes (slush-like) drinks. The tapioca is relatively okay compared to most places. Pricing is around $2.50-$3.50 a drink. Where I grew up, Eggettes was one of the closest tapioca places I can find. It was also nearby the two high schools in my school district, making it a frequent place to find high school teenagers after school. The cafe is also an internet cafe, meaning it provides 2-3 computers in their stores for customers to use for free to surf the web. The manager and owner of this place is extremely friendly and you can often find him at the first store in South San Francisco. Eggettes' success helped it expand with three more stores opening up in San Francisco and Millbrae. Although I can't say it's the best tapioca I've had, this place is great for hang outs.

639 El Camino Real
South San Francisco, CA 94080
Yelp Review

The Infamous Pho Challenge

Living near San Francisco, I have been blessed with fine eateries. Many of which tend to be hole-in-a-wall joints that deceivingly serve high quality and delicious foods. In many of the Asian neighborhoods, such as Sunset, Richmond, Japantown, and Chinatown, there tends to be a multicultural selection of Asian foods. Pho, in comparison to the South Bay, is relatively decent with each restaurant having its own specialty. Pho Garden is unique for being known as the birthplace of the Pho Challenge. The Pho Challenge consists of 2 lbs of meat and 2 lbs of noodle that must be completed within an hour of time. The bowl in which its serve as you can imagine is humongous, and most people only get through halfway. However, there is quite a good number of customers who have completed the challenge, which for me I find extremely remarkable and unbelievable. To participate in the Pho Challenge, you must sign a waiver for exempting the restaurant's liability for your well-being. If you overcome the challenge, you earn the meal for free and get to keep the bowl as a trophy. Otherwise, you have to hold up a "I Surrender" sign and pay the $22 for not completing the task. However, you get a nice tshirt with the "Got Milk" logo as "Got Pho Challenge". If you're not in for taking on the challenge, they do have Super Pho, which is the same size as the challenge except you can share with others for $25. The quality of the pho is pretty decent, but what attracts customers is probably the challenge.


2109 Clement St
San Francisco, CA 94121
Yelp Review

Camelot Fish and Chips

Located in Pacifica, this restaurant has gained much acclaim for its fish and chips along with other seafood/crustacean friends. When I went with my father, we ordered the fish and chips and shrimp and chips, both of which were extremely tasty. Although I thought the food was a bit salty, the malt vinegar helped and made the entrees worth the price. The price range, as expected of seafood, is at least $10, but considering it's seafood it is decently priced relative to the portion. Fish and chips is a celebrated entree that is known to be served around the ports of London. Many restaurants close by the bay try to imitate the charm of eating fish and chips wrapped in old newspaper. This place certainly serves its to-go food in wrapped up newspaper, and many people have found it comparable. This place also serves decent appetizers and is a friendly hometown pub.



Yelp Review
70 W Manor Drive
Pacifica, CA 94044

Masse's Pastries

Who says you can't have cake for lunch? I know some people who do, and Masse's Pastries is one of those places people would choose a cake over a savory meal. Masse's Pastries is a small, but elegant pastry shop serving unique flavored cakes and hearty pastries. What sets this place apart from most patisseries is the beauty of its cakes. The place can be a bit steep for the wallet, but they serve smaller, individual cakes at about $5 for one's personal enjoyment. Some of their unique flavors include passion fruit, guava, poached pear, mango, and bloog orange. They also serve more traditional and common flavored cakes like chocolate mousse tiramisu, and chocolate rapsberry. If you're not a big fan of cakes, they also have great pastries such as the amaretti, macarons, russian tea cookies, and more. I guarantee that this place serves high quality baked goods that are both appetizing and appealing to the eye. The cakes are of fair sweetness and enhances the tones of the featured flavor. Situated in Gourmet Ghetto, near Cheeseboards and Gregoire, this place fits in the refine eatery environment.

1469 Shattuck Ave
Berkeley, CA 94709
Yelp Review