Japanese Tonsu Box & Ryokucha $17

To tell you the truth, when I saw the Japanese Tonsu Box, I was envious and immediately wished I had ordered that instead. Thankfully, my husband let me have his Japanese Tonsu Box. It’s healthy and yummy at the same time. The Japanese Tonsu Box comes with Ryokucha Tea.

English Service & Breakfast Blend $19
3-Tiered Platters of: Shitake Mushroom or Wild Smoked Salmon Quiche,
Scones, Devonshire Cream & Jam, Fresh Fruit.

Breakfast Blend Tea

The traditional English Tea Service is not like the one at Ritz Carlton of course. But at $19, it’s a deal if you want to try traditional English tea. The Salmon Quiche is freshly baked. The scone was quite dry though, but that’s what the Devonshire Cream and Jam are for. Definitely, the Japanese Tea Service is much better and more filling as a meal. Next time, I want to try the Indian Tea Service which features one of my favorite teas – Chai!

Samovar Tea Lounge is open from brunch to dinner with the same menu all day. Enjoy a snack of waffles or try a full tea service which can be a meal. The tea service is more affordable than other afternoon tea services that I have had.

Samovar Tea Lounge
730 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 227-9400

I really treated myself this weekend to the best, gourmet brunch buffet I have ever been to! Sunday brunch in the Navio Room at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Half Moon Bay is a feast for the senses and satisfies the hungry soul of a true foodie.

The Ritz Carlton’s brunch buffet has a variety of fantastic, high quality dishes. There were breakfast staples like waffles with a strawberry compote, mini-pancakes, Ricotta Cheese Blintzes, Apple Wood Smoked Bacon, and Poached Eggs Benedict (really good!); an assortment of pastries like chocolate croissants displayed in baskets; a cheese station; sushi; a unique variety of hot, steaming dim sum; a seafood bar with shrimp cocktail, oysters, smoked trout, smoked salmon, crab claws, and caviar; seafood hors deurves on small glass plates; cold parsnip soup in shot glasses; a cured meat bar with prosciutto (that melts in your mouth!); Garlic Roasted Rack of Lamb with Fresh Mint Lamb Jus and prime rib station; and then my favorite, the decadent dessert bar.

I have a sweet tooth and the dessert bar was like walking into a candy store. It is a dessert lover’s fantasy! I am quite biased towards dessert, so all of the pictures are of the sinfully, tempting dessert bar, as you can see. Pure gluttony.

The dessert bar featured really yummy Creme Brulee, Chocolate Coffee Opera Cake, flan, homemade shortbread cookies, madelines, and many, many other seductive desserts. I don’t remember all of the dessert names, but it doesn’t matter. All you need to know is that they are dee-licious!

The Ritz Carlton hotel looks more like a mansion rather than a hotel. This is the view from the back, the ocean side.

After brunch, we relaxed and enjoyed the view. Not a bad way to spend the weekend.

Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay
1 Miramontes Point Rd
Half Moon Bay, CA 94019

Emporio Rulli Cafe is conveniently located inside the Union Square plaza in San Francisco. If you sit outside of the cafe, you can see a 360 view of some of the biggest department stores – Macy’s, Tiffany and Co., Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. It’s breathtaking!

On the menu, this cafe has a wide variety of tempting, Italian pastries and desserts and Italian coffees. What you’ll notice when you walk in is that there is no menu displayed on the wall, like most cafes. But they have a restaurant menu that you can look at. Emporio Rulli Cafe has the standard coffee drinks – latte, mocha, cappucino, and espresso. I tried their mocha, and the Italian espresso they use is a rich, dark roast that I’ve never had before. And I like it! I also tried a pastry that had a filling and was really good, but forgot the name. All of the pastries and desserts displayed in the glass case, look really good.

I also went for lunch one day, but was disappointed. They have pre-made paninis and salads. What made the experience bad was that the waiter never gave us our check, even after we asked for it 3 times and waited over 10 minutes. We were so frustrated that we left our money on the table and left.

My suggestion is to order your food at the counter instead of being waited on, at a table. Nevertheless, it’s a great place for a coffee and dessert break from shopping or work, with a beautiful background.

Emporio Rulli Cafe
333 Post St
San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 433-1122