Trying Portuguese food at Pinocchio Restaurant

in Macau with family and friends

 

As we gather to celebrate Thanksgiving later this week, I have many fond memories of past family gatherings.

"Food is magical because it fulfills our stomachs while at the same time bringing us together as family"

Almost everyone in my family is in the restaurant business. When I was a kid, we would dine at one of the restaurants owned by my family either in San Francisco or Hong Kong. These dinner functions would easily attract as many as 50 family members. It always amazed me to see how food could pull a family together, and how everyone enjoyed food as much as catching up with one another. Most of the time, the food itself would be the main attraction where we would discuss how they tasted, and we would make guesses on the recipe and its cooking method.

My parents wanted to expose my brother and myself to interesting and complicated food. I remember trying alligator meat and even drinking turtle soup. One of my favorite quotes is "No one can understand the culture of a country without first experiencing its food and drink." Whenever I travel to another state or country, I would make it a point to try their food staples so we could learn more about the person or country through experiencing food and drink.

That being said, 'Celebrate the diversity in this vibrant city' is the motto we want to convey to diners at Mozzeria.

 

 

 

Jonathan Shorter and his crew resumed work on the chimney installation. They said it would be a rather large project expected to take a week and half. They surveyed the ceiling, and outside the building, before starting the installation.


The crew assembled large pipes and installed them right above the Stefano Ferrara oven. Then the crew moved into the servery (wait station) and kitchen. We didn't realize they would have to remove existing pipes in the kitchen and replace them. We thought they would leave minimal dust in the kitchen. Boy, we were wrong. It was like going back to the beginning where we had to demolish the kitchen floor to replace the plumbing pipes underneath the floor.


They also opened up the hole above the 3-compartment sink where the light well is located. Ahh, sun rays came into the kitchen. I bet the kitchen was happy to see the sun, having been isolated for who-knows-how-long. Pardon me for my silliness. :)


We were told that we were responsible to rent and build the scaffold. Gulp. Would the store be open on Saturday, and do they have one available right away? We scrambled and searched on the internet for local equipment rental stores. Whew, one store out of 5 stores had one that met our requirements. Russ and his friend, Allen built the scaffold going from the 2nd story upwards. The building is four floors high. The crew continued to work on the installation over the weekend and this week.

Friday is going to be an important day because the inspector will come to examine their work on the chimney installation. Please, please, please, please… (I can continue typing please here…) send positive vibes to the inspector and have him approve the work. If we get the approval, we can finally start the curing process in our Stefano Ferrara oven.

 

 

 

We are having a party in our kitchen with Balloons...  What’s the special occasion?

ANSUL SYSTEM....

What? You all probably are thinking what the heck the “ANSUL SYSTEM” is.

An Ansul system is a sophisticated method of extinguishing fires. There are several types of Ansul systems and products that are suitable for use in a specific location or to be used on a specific type of fire.

Ansul type F class systems are for commercial kitchens; these systems direct chemicals towards the stoves and fry baskets

In the Mozzeria kitchen, there are two ways to trigger the Ansul system:

A huge flame that triggers the sensor which automatically shuts down gas, electricity (for the fryer), and the lighting system;

Manually pull the lever to trigger the Ansul system the same way - to shut down gas, electricity, and extinguish the fire in the hood area.

You will notice that appliances on both ends of the hood must be 6 inches away so the pipe can be located on the top, and targeted directly at the equipment.

Safety comes first, and we must make sure it functions properly. How did we do this? When a fire department inspector came to check the system, I wondered how we would test it, or how we could prove the installation is working correctly. I was thrilled to participate in the "testing". Please check out this video...

Significance
The most important function of an Ansul system is to save lives and property from fire and from fire-related deaths such as by asphyxiation by installing the correct system that is suited to your needs in the home or workplace.

I hope now you all will remember what an Ansul system is and its function when you see the kitchen in any restaurant.

Russ Stein
Guest Contributor

 

 

We know how complicated it is to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements in restaurants. Several people had told us at different times that a certain person in wheelchair actually became a millionaire by suing several restaurants for not being in compliance with ADA regulations. It is an unfortunate situation when someone in a wheelchair is unable to dine at a restaurant.

There are small restaurants who barely get by with their daily sales and cannot afford the costs to renovate and make it accessible to people with limited mobility. In these situations, they often choose to give up their dream and close down the restaurant. Some banks do offer loans targeted at small restaurants to help them make renovations to meet ADA requirements, and help them stay in business The way I see it, providing accessibility is a win-win situation for both people with limited mobility and business owners.

Being deaf business owners, we also fall under this category. The ADA regulations are primarily targeted at people with limited mobility. We understand their needs, and we are working hard to meet requirements in all areas in a satisfactory manner. We asked the building inspector to arrange an initial walk-through at Mozzeria as we were worried about the entrance ramp and restroom. The inspector identified several areas in the restroom and entrance that we need to correct.

Restroom:


The soap dispenser is located in the wrong place. The top of soap dispenser needs to be 40 inches high from the floor. Its current location is higher and difficult for people in wheelchairs to reach.


We got a 27" x 27" mirror for the restroom. The bottom edge of mirror needs to be at 40 inches height. If we lower the mirror to 40 inches, that mirror would not allow able-bodied people to see themselves in the mirror. We would need to change the mirror with a larger one.


We need to replace the existing door hinges with 5 lb spring hinges to slow down speed of the door closing.

Entrance ramp:


According to regulations, you must have 5 feet of "flat" surface and allow up to quarter inch for every twelve inch segment leading to it and then, at the end of the "flat" surface, make an inch upwards for every twelve inch space to create the ramp.


Hand rails are required to be placed on both sides of the wall surrounding the ramp.


We look forward to making our restaurant accessible to everyone.

 

 

 

A plumbing inspector came from the City of San Francisco to check the work we did at Mozzeria. We had been rather through with our plumbing work. As this would be our first inspection and having heard stories about failed inspections, we were anxious the inspector would agree everything was done properly.

Well, that was wishful thinking. The inspector pointed out the 3-compartment sink as an issue. We told him the sink was already there before we took over the space. He explained that some items may not be on the blueprints but it was still his job to look at everything and ensure they were up to current codes. Ok, ok. We asked what we need to do with the 3-compartment sink. He said we needed to install a vent pipe for each compartment. It was a good thing that our plumber was with us and he took notes.

We had relocated the hand sink when we installed a larger water heater, as 36" width access is required to allow access for anyone in a wheelchair. The inspector requested we put the vent pipe on the wall by the hand sink.


The inspector asked us where the grease trap was. We were not familiar with grease trap, and were not sure where it was located in the kitchen. He found the grease trap. Oh, we had wondered what that square thing on the floor was. We hadn’t tried to take it off to see what it was. He removed the grease trap door and, gosh, there was a thick pond of grease. Imagine grease building up over several years and lying in the trap. What a stinky smell!!!

We were told we needed to get a bigger grease trap because of the wood burning oven in the dining room.

We failed the first inspection, but that was okay. We had learned a lot about plumbing in a restaurant. We made all the corrections immediately and the inspector came back the following week. We are pleased to announce that we passed the plumbing inspection! Hooray!! Now we will have to deal with electrical, building, and fire inspections.

Wish us luck!

 

 

 

gingerfruit Restaurant in Castro neighborhood was launched on June 8. Exciting! Who are behind gingerfruit Restaurant? My parents! Francis and Anna Tsai.

What do you want to be when you grow up? My answer was always the same since I was a kid. My dream is to run a restaurant. That is because I was growing up in restaurant environment. I had watched my parents running the restaurant since I could remember and I would love to be the one like them. When I announced my ambition of running the restaurant to my friends a year ago, they keep telling me that they remembered my dream when we all were little kids at school. They thought it is awesome that I am still pursuing my dream.

Francis Tsai has been in the restaurant industry for sixty years. Most recently, he, along with my mom, owned and managed the Wu Kong Restaurant at historic Rincon Center before retiring to spend quality time in San Francisco and Hong Kong. Staying away from being a host and making new friends, however, has been challenging and they are back in action. While they are planning their restaurant, I am lucky to get a chance to help out with some projects and work with them. They are great teachers and I have learned a great deal from them. This is something I hope I could pass onto my kids.

I want to send big congratulations to my parents for launching gingerfruit. Come try their delicious Asian Tapas and refreshing cocktails at gingerfruit.

gingerfruit Restaurant & Bar
2029 Market Street
San Francisco
www.gingerfruit.com
www.opentable.com/gingerfruit
www.facebook.com/gingerfruit
twitter: gingerfruit