San Diego
Ever since my sister moved to San Diego a few years ago, I’ve visited her at least once a year. Every time I visit California, I tell everybody that I’m going to move to the West Coast. The somehow always 80-degree weather, slower pace of life, and prevalence of athleisure and palm trees make me question why I still endure winters in the frozen tundra that is New York.
This year, we came to San Diego with my aunt and cousin as well, and took a few days during our trip to drive up to LA and go to DISNEYLAND (which I will document in a separate post.)
As someone who needs to eat every 2 hours, (seriously, ask my boyfriend!) food is one of my top priorities whenever I travel. Aside from being Instagram-worthy, the food that I like to try ranges from: tried and true favorites, hole-in-the-wall, excessively bougie, and #basic. Some of the notable food spots on this trip were:
Rockin’ Baja Lobster - Old Town, San Diego
Old Town is a Mexican-heritage and historical neighborhood in San Diego and THE best area to find authentic Mexican food and lively shops. Unfortunately, we came here the first night and most of the shops and museums were closed by then, but I hope to explore more of this area next time! The food here was all around fresh, comforting, and flavorful. This restaurant in particular had a live band, a chips and guac/salsa bar, and plenty of margaritas - so I think it’s safe to say we had a great first meal here.
Din Tai Fung - UTC Westfield, San Diego
No matter where our family goes on vacation, we somehow always end up at a Chinese restaurant LOL. The first time I ate at the soup dumpling chain was actually in 2014 when I studied abroad in Shanghai. Ever since, I have been voyaging the globe to eat at as many of their locations as I can. The food here is always just consistently good - we got the Pork Baby Back Ribs, Kurobuta Pork (the original, in my mind) XiaoLongBao, Noodle Soup with Pickled Mustard Greens & Shredded Pork (this was my mom’s pick, I definitely could have done without), Sautéed Strings Beans with Garlic, Shrimp Fried Rice, and the Chocolate & Mochi XiaoLongBao for dessert (this one was my sister’s choice, another one I could have done without.)
Extraordinary Desserts - Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego
The Gaslamp Quarter is the downtown neighborhood known for its restaurants and nightlife. My sister and I have actually been to not one, but two, speakeasies in this area. The streets are lined with 19th century buildings, charming storefronts, and of course, gas lamps! Walking into Extraordinary Desserts is exciting because there’s a huge array of colorful handcrafted desserts on full display as soon as you walk through the door. You have to fill out a slip of the desserts you want, and then you are free to sit at a table and order drinks and other food items. The interior is spacious but minimalist, a great place to come with friends.
Rakiraki Ramen & Tsukemen - Kearny Mesa (basically a mini-Chinatown), San Diego
This one was kind of a last minute Yelp-search find, but a pleasant surprise as well. Did you know Yelp also helps you reserve a stand-by table for your party? The service was pretty slow for such a small space, but the food was pretty good! I got the tsukemen (dipping noodles). The broth was rich and flavorful and the bowl is definitely big enough to share! (If you’re a fan of tsukemen, you must try Tsujita in Los Angeles!)
This one is kind of cheating, but Costco. Costco sells literally everything. But anyways, I have this as notable because one of the best meals of the trip was a result of a shopping trip at Costco. Since my sister is living in San Diego permanently now (my parents were super happy to hear that she’s ‘settling down’), she acquired a Costco membership and discovered the unparalleled joy that is wholesale shopping. While helping her stock up for the next few weeks of groceries, we also decided to put together a nice dinner at home - Filet Mignon, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Onion & Mushroom.
During this trip, for most of the breakfasts, we also cooked and ate at home before venturing out for the day. If you’ll see the beautiful photos below, the breakfast I would usually make were scrambled eggs and lox and cream cheese on a toasted bagel (thank you, Costco!) paired with a nice latte!
All in all, I was really happy to have spent time with my family this trip even though it was definitely more low-key than others. I’ve always been very close to my family (& extended family!), and now that we are grown up, making memories together is even more precious.
Photos in chronological (I think!) order: Rockin’ Baja Lobster, Din Tai Fung, Extraordinary Desserts, Home, Rakiraki Ramen
