Comfort Food

1. Pho (Phở)

Phở is Vietnam’s love language – a bowl of warmth, comfort, and tradition. The broth alone is a masterpiece: simmered for hours with onion, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, and coriander seeds, creating that deep, fragrant aroma you can recognize from across the room. On the coldest SF winter days, nothing warms you faster than that first sip of broth.

Phở comes in many forms, but the classics are:

• Phở Bò (beef pho)

• Phở Gà (chicken pho)

For Phở Gà, I always go to Pho Huong Viet in San Francisco. Their dry chicken pho is incredibly comforting.

For Phở Bò, I drive down to Pho Ha Noi  or Pho Dang in San Jose – both make the kind of broth that tastes like it’s been cared for all day.

I grew up with phở – breakfast, lunch, dinner… honestly anytime. Phở isn’t just food. It’s home, healing, and heat – all in one bowl.

2. Ramen (拉麺)

Next on my winter comfort lineup is Hinodeya Ramen in Japantown – a place I eat at way too often, at least twice a month. I was first introduced to it by a Japanese friend who told me: “This is the most authentic ramen in San Francisco.” And honestly… she was right.

There’s something about this shop that keeps calling me back.

Maybe it’s the medium-salty broth that feels perfectly balanced.

Maybe it’s with adding your own toppings.

Maybe it’s the warmth of the wooden tables, or the way the steam rises when the bowl lands in front of you.

Whatever it is, Hinodeya has become that place for me – the spot I go to when I’m hungry, cold, or just craving something reliable. The noodles have the perfect chew, the chashu is tender, and the broth always hits the same comforting note every single time.

3. Beef Rib Soup (Kalbi Tang 갈비탕)

There’s comfort food – and then there’s Kalbi Tang at Daeho Kalbijjim, a beautiful reminder that a simple bowl of soup can heal more than hunger. On a cold SF winter night, a bowl of simmering broth + tender beef ribs hits differently. It is a traditional Korean soup made by slowly simmering beef short ribs (galbi) with water, radish (or daikon), onion, garlic.

Sure, the Braised Short Rib dish grab attention. But for me, Kalbi Tang > Braise when I want comfort over show.

• Braised ribs are heavy, rich, often heavy on sauce. Great for a fancy meal.

• Kalbi Tang is humble, healing, and hits when you need something simple but real.

This beef-rib soup is the kind of comfort I come back to.

4. Hot Pot (火锅)

You can’t talk about comfort food without mentioning hot pot. It’s universal, it’s social, and on a cold winter night, it’s one of the most satisfying meals you can have. And in the Bay Area, Hai Di Lao is the gold standard.

You choose the soup base (I always go mushroom + tomato), you choose the toppings, and you cook everything to your liking. Each ingredient has its perfect timing – a quick dip for thin beef slices, a slow simmer for lotus root, a gentle warm-up for mushrooms. It’s interactive comfort.

But beyond the food, hot pot is about the table – sharing steam, warmth, conversation, and laughter. In a winter as cold as this one, gathering around a bubbling pot feels almost therapeutic.