Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu

Lighthouse Cafe, Sausalito, California

After a huge bear claw filled with sweet cinnamon infused almond paste, one large croissant and a tall glass of cocomocha at Bread and Cocoa, I found myself too lazy to pack my bags for Sonoma and began collaging some of the pictures I took yesterday instead.

I had an amazing mexican chorizo scrambled eggs with salsa and tortilla at Lighthouse Cafe yesterday morning. My companion and I were lucky to get counter seats as a queue of hungry diners formed a line outside the cafe after we placed our orders. The eggs were delicious with a squeeze of orange juice and some freshly made salsa; the potatoes were great – charred with bits of caramelised onions, bell peppers, and just enough salt and pepper to taste. And, to complete the meal – the mixed berry pancake that my brunch companion and I shared was heavenly (even without drenching the whole thing in maple syrup)!

We took a slow (and much needed) stroll down the street after brunch to burn off some of the calories but we succumbed to two large scoops of kona mocha almond and blueberry cheesecake gelato along the way.

Looking at those nice wooden houses perched on the hills in Sausalito, I can’t help but wonder how beautiful life would be if I can actually move and live here – wonderful (but temperamental) weather, good food, fine wines, great company, excellent outdoor sports. Should I even ask for more?

Red Door Cafe, San Francisco

By the time I got to the Red Door Cafe on 1608 Bush Street, I was starving. It didn’t help that there were 3 couples before me who were still waiting for their tables. It’s a quirky little cafe run by Ahmed, who’s charming and friendly. Service was swift and personable with a great breakfast selection. Well, it was rated at #1 spot on Yelp.com, so I guess that speaks a lot about the cafe. And in fact, they had just re-opened yesterday after a week’s break and the crowd was already back!

I was told later that the wait can be 2-3 hours long on weekends but like Ahmed, I don’t think I would have the patience to queue on the streets for my weekend brunch. My friends were quite surprised to hear that I waited over 30 minutes to be seated yesterday morning

Red Door Cafe’s French Toast Josephine, one of their house specialties, is delish. Drizzle the maple syrup served on the side on top of the icing-sugar-powdered toasts, strawberries & caramelized bananas, and you’ll be guaranteed a sweet start for the day. The girls who were seated on the table adjacent to mine couldn’t resist asking me about the french toast after I polished everything down in a jiffy. I smiled and said, “need I say more?”

farm:table cafe, San Francisco

Perfectly executed hard boiled eggs on baguette with habanero chutney, chives watercrest  & farm cheese and an excellent cup of cappuccino at farm:table to start my second day in San Francisco. It was a little chilly to sit on the sidewalk but it felt so good to read the new york times and sip my warm latte while the world passed me by.