Jun
9
2016

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Visiting Lian in Oakland, Part Three

by Tara

We've been eating ridiculously good food here in Oakland. Our visit has sincerely contained two of the best meals I have ever had in my life! One was a noodle dish at an Indonesian restaurant and another was at place called "Casserole House," where the garlic-soy fried chicken was incredible.

Casserole House Korean Restaurant Fermenting Crocks at Casserole House Korean Restaurant Tyler Eating Bibimbap Korean Garlic Soy Fried Chicken

One night, we visited Smitten for some Willy Wonka-esque liquid-nitrogen-cooled ice cream (Cookie dough with pretzels! Strawberry balsamic!).

Liquid Nitrogen Tank at Smitten Ice Cream Lian at Smitten Ice Cream Liquid Nitrogen-Cooled Ice Cream Mixer Cookie Dough Ice Cream at Smitten

The following day, I went to the old-timey Ice Cream Bar on a solo trip into San Francisco. The ice cream was good, but the ambiance was better!

The Ice Cream Bar San Francisco San Francisco Cable Car

On our last night in Oakland, Lian and his friend Mika took us out for Japanese fried chicken. We walked through the funky, graffitied streets of downtown to a pop-up restaurant called Aburaya. There, we scored a small table outside and were treated to miso-honey fried chicken, garlic umami chicken, fried avocado with wasabi mayo, and plenty of veggies on the side.

Aburaya Japanese Fried Chicken Lian & Mika Aburaya Japanese Fried Chicken Aburaya Japanese Fried Chicken Lian & Mika Walking in Oakland Oakland Lit to Celebrate Golden State Warriors Oakland Graffiti by Night

After supper we went to the historic bar at Cafe Van Kleef. The place is famous for their Salty Dog cocktails, and for good reason! They were grapefruity, sweet, tart, salty, and mellow all at once; perfectly balanced and delicious.

Cafe Van Kleef Grapefruits at Cafe Van Kleef Lian & Mika Walking in Oakland Bern Your Bra Graffiti

Lian, thanks for introducing us to all kinds of delicious foods! I love you so much!

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