I just returned from another trip to San Francisco to visit family, which means I will be threatening to swap coasts for the next week. At some point I will put together a list of my favourite SF haunts but, in the meantime, here are my latest discoveries:

PlenTea
I drink a lot of bubble tea — a lot — but I can safely say this is the best I’ve tried. I always order a milk black tea with tapioca as a baseline comparison. Normally, the condensed milk overpowers and makes the drink cloyingly sweet. Not so here; I loved how I could actually taste the tea. The real standout, though, was the brown sugar milk tea with taro pudding. It tasted just like a burnt sugar milkshake with silky taro tofu. Bonus: your order comes in a lidded glass milk bottle you can repurpose — or return for a discount on your next order, which is what I’d recommend doing.

Trou Normand
My friends Josh and Noelle are cocktail connoisseurs and never steer me wrong when it comes to food and drink. Trou Normand was no exception. Sit at the bar and chat with head bartender, Eric Ochoa, while you enjoy his masterful hand, then head to the heated back patio for dinner. We came as a group of six and by the end, glasses, plates, and forks were rotating all around the table — the sign of a wonderful meal.

Montara Beach (pictured above)
My brother and his family love the open water and each time I visit we head to a new sandy spot. I can’t believe this place exists just 20 minutes outside the city! Climb down the wildflower fields and you’re rewarded with a clean and uncrowded beach, an awesome place to surf (or watch surfers, as it may be :) ), and the most beautiful cliffside vistas.

Pro Tip!
This isn’t exactly a revelation but my top destination in San Francisco is my brother’s apartment, where I get to cuddle with this little nugget. Wouldn’t you want to head west if it meant hanging out with your nephew all the time? Oh, Otis, how you make my heart swell.