December 5, 2007 - Joined a friend for happy hour here. Very random choice in the dogpatch neighborhood near where she works.
Nice small place. Modern decor. Very simple leather chairs that can push together and create illusion of a couch. Neat wood tables. Very cozy. When we first arrived there was only another family there. Seemed like a nice quick stop for a drink. They had a toddler with them and he roamed around freely and there were no hazards to hinder his exploration. The owners had a dog that also roamed freely. After a while people started to show up for some drinks after work. It was a nice mix of people in there, families, couples, girlfriends.
We had a rose, which was very yummy. Then we decided to order a dessert off the menu. It showed "chocolate platter" or something like that. When it came it was a small plate with 3 pieces of chocolate on it... Hmph. But the dessert wine we got with it was pretty good.
Nice place, tons of parking, just a slightly shady neighborhood if you're wandering at night. Would totally go back there.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Boulevard
December 11, 2007 - Have been wanting to go to this place for a long time now. It's considered one of the best restaurants in San Francisco. Prime location, 1 Mission. Very classy, nice ambiance. They had the place decorated for the holidays so it was very pretty.
Showed up early, around 5:30p, and were seated promptly because there were lots of open tables. But despite that, we were seated at a funny location where my chair kinda stuck out into a walkway... I don't know why we were put there when there were so many more tables open that seemed a little less in the way. Oh well.
We had cocktails which were yummy and started with calamari. The calamari was surprisingly different from what we were expected. I guess we thought we were getting fried calamari but it came out on a small place and there were just a few pieces... It was good, just a surprise.
For dinner I got a fillet mignon. My sister got a hen. Both were delish. Then for dessert we had chocolate cake. Overall the food was delicious. Absolutely tasty and well worth all the praise. However, it was not cheap. My palate does not agree that the food was worth what we paid... Or maybe it's my bankroll that does not agree. Either way, it was a perfectly lovely experience, however I do not feel that it was special enough to warrant another visit in the near future, simply because I cannot afford it. Great restaurant though.
Showed up early, around 5:30p, and were seated promptly because there were lots of open tables. But despite that, we were seated at a funny location where my chair kinda stuck out into a walkway... I don't know why we were put there when there were so many more tables open that seemed a little less in the way. Oh well.
We had cocktails which were yummy and started with calamari. The calamari was surprisingly different from what we were expected. I guess we thought we were getting fried calamari but it came out on a small place and there were just a few pieces... It was good, just a surprise.
For dinner I got a fillet mignon. My sister got a hen. Both were delish. Then for dessert we had chocolate cake. Overall the food was delicious. Absolutely tasty and well worth all the praise. However, it was not cheap. My palate does not agree that the food was worth what we paid... Or maybe it's my bankroll that does not agree. Either way, it was a perfectly lovely experience, however I do not feel that it was special enough to warrant another visit in the near future, simply because I cannot afford it. Great restaurant though.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
First Crush
November 12, 2007 - Met up with a friend that I hadn't seen in quite some time. I had walked past this place so many times and have been meaning to check it out. Finally walked in.
The hostess was completely unexcited to see us. Poor thing. Hostessing is a rough job but I still expect them to be perky about it. Hey, I'm a customer! Smile at least.
The place was much smaller than I thought it would be. There were 2 levels, ground level and 1 below. It was dark and seemed the only source of light came from the little candles on the tables. There was a bar in the back.
Our waiter was friendly. He recommended a nice Chardonnay, Russian Hill I think it was. It had a slightly bitter aftertaste but it was felt nice and light.
The food was not good. Yeah, not getting many points to begin with in terms of ambiance so I was hoping the food would be redeeming. It was not. We shared grilled portabello with some kind of salsa mixture on top that seemed too raw. It didn't blend with the mushroom. The other dish as simply chicken with mashed potatoes. Sure, it wasn't the most exciting thing to choose but nothing else looked that good. And it came out as boring as it sounds. They could have at least have used some creativity in the plating. Nothing. Just chicken and mashed potatoes. What a disappointment. It did taste fine though.
Oh well, they can't all be good. Not going back here again.
The hostess was completely unexcited to see us. Poor thing. Hostessing is a rough job but I still expect them to be perky about it. Hey, I'm a customer! Smile at least.
The place was much smaller than I thought it would be. There were 2 levels, ground level and 1 below. It was dark and seemed the only source of light came from the little candles on the tables. There was a bar in the back.
Our waiter was friendly. He recommended a nice Chardonnay, Russian Hill I think it was. It had a slightly bitter aftertaste but it was felt nice and light.
The food was not good. Yeah, not getting many points to begin with in terms of ambiance so I was hoping the food would be redeeming. It was not. We shared grilled portabello with some kind of salsa mixture on top that seemed too raw. It didn't blend with the mushroom. The other dish as simply chicken with mashed potatoes. Sure, it wasn't the most exciting thing to choose but nothing else looked that good. And it came out as boring as it sounds. They could have at least have used some creativity in the plating. Nothing. Just chicken and mashed potatoes. What a disappointment. It did taste fine though.
Oh well, they can't all be good. Not going back here again.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Yank Sing
November 3, 2007 - So I've actually been to Yank Sing for dim sum on a number of occasions before. First off, it's expensive. It's not a typical Chinese dim sum place and dishes are, instead of being around $3-5, are around $6-10. So why go there?
The thing to understand about Yank Sing is that it's situated in the Financial District of San Francisco, very close to the Embarcadero. It's a great place for business people to entertain their clients at, a taste of Chinatown without the trek across town, crowds, and rude waitstaff. So Yank Sing is most popular with business people and tourists. It's not a place that locals frequent unless they're trying to impress some non-Chinese visitors. It's just too expensive to go every weekend to hang out. But I hold nothing again Yank Sing because at the very basic level, it is a good restaurant. The food is good, ambiance good, and service is very good.
So this time we went specifically because we were trying to remember which dim sum place was the one with the excellent egg custard tarts that had a nice, flaky, coconutty flavored tart shell. After some discussion we thought it might be Yank Sing so we headed over there to find out. We were wrong again. The dan tat were nothing spectacular actually. Oh well, at least now we know.
So the skinny on what we had and what I thought about it. The shanghai dumplings came first and boy were they perfect! The skin was just strong enough to contain the soup but not too thick to overpower. There was just the perfect amount of soup that squirted out into your mouth and it was delicious! That was the fave of the day. Next came the har gow. Not very good. The shrimp were overcooked and just not that flavorful. Then we had another dumpling that was just so unspectacular that I don't even really remember what it was. The ham sui gok were cold but still good. The dough had a nice chewiness and didn't have a very oily feeling to it and the filling was yummy. It was good. We don't usually get the fried stuff but today we got some fried shrimp with a sweet/sour dip. That was actually better than we expected it to be. The BBQ pork buns were delicious. The bao was nice and fluffy and though I am not a huge fan of cha sui bao because of the filling, I actually enjoyed these.
Ok, we finally worked the massive meal to dessert. We definitely splurged because we couldn't decide. So we got mango pudding, the dan tat that we came for, and the dou fu fa. So I already mentioned that the dan tat were not the nice coconutty ones we came for and were quite ordinary dan tats. They weren't even freshly made and warm or anything like that. Oh well. We ended up taking that one home. The mango pudding was my sister's choice and just what she wanted. It was fine. I'm not the biggest fan of mango pudding. My thing is the dou fu fa. It was smooth and tasty just as it should be but a big minus was that it wasn't hot. I like it when it's nice and hot. Or at least warm! This was cold... wah.
So this was not the best visit and it's unfortunate that this is the first visit to be logged on the blog, but I'm sure there might be a better visit in the future.
The thing to understand about Yank Sing is that it's situated in the Financial District of San Francisco, very close to the Embarcadero. It's a great place for business people to entertain their clients at, a taste of Chinatown without the trek across town, crowds, and rude waitstaff. So Yank Sing is most popular with business people and tourists. It's not a place that locals frequent unless they're trying to impress some non-Chinese visitors. It's just too expensive to go every weekend to hang out. But I hold nothing again Yank Sing because at the very basic level, it is a good restaurant. The food is good, ambiance good, and service is very good.
So this time we went specifically because we were trying to remember which dim sum place was the one with the excellent egg custard tarts that had a nice, flaky, coconutty flavored tart shell. After some discussion we thought it might be Yank Sing so we headed over there to find out. We were wrong again. The dan tat were nothing spectacular actually. Oh well, at least now we know.
So the skinny on what we had and what I thought about it. The shanghai dumplings came first and boy were they perfect! The skin was just strong enough to contain the soup but not too thick to overpower. There was just the perfect amount of soup that squirted out into your mouth and it was delicious! That was the fave of the day. Next came the har gow. Not very good. The shrimp were overcooked and just not that flavorful. Then we had another dumpling that was just so unspectacular that I don't even really remember what it was. The ham sui gok were cold but still good. The dough had a nice chewiness and didn't have a very oily feeling to it and the filling was yummy. It was good. We don't usually get the fried stuff but today we got some fried shrimp with a sweet/sour dip. That was actually better than we expected it to be. The BBQ pork buns were delicious. The bao was nice and fluffy and though I am not a huge fan of cha sui bao because of the filling, I actually enjoyed these.
Ok, we finally worked the massive meal to dessert. We definitely splurged because we couldn't decide. So we got mango pudding, the dan tat that we came for, and the dou fu fa. So I already mentioned that the dan tat were not the nice coconutty ones we came for and were quite ordinary dan tats. They weren't even freshly made and warm or anything like that. Oh well. We ended up taking that one home. The mango pudding was my sister's choice and just what she wanted. It was fine. I'm not the biggest fan of mango pudding. My thing is the dou fu fa. It was smooth and tasty just as it should be but a big minus was that it wasn't hot. I like it when it's nice and hot. Or at least warm! This was cold... wah.
So this was not the best visit and it's unfortunate that this is the first visit to be logged on the blog, but I'm sure there might be a better visit in the future.
Oliveto Cafe and Restaurant
November 2, 2007 - We were invited to a birthday dinner at Oliveto's in Oakland. The place is right across from the Rockridge BART station, so it was very easy to get to. One of my coworkers had mentioned that she had been there before and that it was good, but kinda loud. I was ready to see for myself.
We arrived pretty early and figured that we were probably the first ones there. Though we didn't expect a table to be ready yet, we approached the host anyway and he promptly lead us upstairs, through the dining room up there, to a private room in the back. To our surprise, there were already people there!
There were menus printed with "Joanne's 30th Birthday Bash" at the top and we were to order a antipasti and main dish. We didn't know what most of the things on the menu were. The waiter was very knowledgeable of the menu though and answered all our questions very well. Since it took so much time to swim through the exotic menu, we started with glasses of chardonnay. Delish.
Finally the guest of honor arrived and their orders taken. Not long after, the first course was brought out. I had a delicious salad of fennel, apple, and pine nuts. It was really delicious and I loved the texture of the fennel with apples. It was great and probably the favorite thing that I had. Next came a pasta dish. Not sure what kind of pasta it was... But it was good, slightly al dente in a gentle meat sauce. It was a nice second to the salad. Then came the main course. I ordered the sole dish. It was good but I thought it was too much fish and not enough "other stuff". I ordered it because it was fish with mushrooms on the menu, but when it came, there weren't many mushrooms at all. So it was mostly fish in a light white sauce and with nothing to really accompany it, I got a little bored of the taste. It tasted good. I just need some variety or I get bored very easily.
For desert the restaurant transformed one of their desserts into a birthday cake. The brought it in with the candles and all and we sang. Then they took it out and came back with slices. The cake was this very dense yet soft and fluffy chocolate cake with a very light whipped cream like icing. It was good though I was too full to really appreciate it. I just thought it was too dense for my liking and maybe not as moist as I like cake to be. Though, it wasn't really a cake, more like a lighter than cheesecake texture. Anyway, it was fine but I wasn't sooo wowed like others were.
So the food was good but nothing I'm dying to go back to try again. The location was perfect and easy to get to. It's right on college near all those cutesy restaurants there. The ambiance was simple elegance. The service was excellent. They were very accommodating for the large group and varying arrival times of all the guests. The food was served promptly and water glasses always full. The main waiter that helped with our orders was very good and I hope got a great tip for the evening. Nice place. Probably won't be going back soon unless for another event.
We arrived pretty early and figured that we were probably the first ones there. Though we didn't expect a table to be ready yet, we approached the host anyway and he promptly lead us upstairs, through the dining room up there, to a private room in the back. To our surprise, there were already people there!
There were menus printed with "Joanne's 30th Birthday Bash" at the top and we were to order a antipasti and main dish. We didn't know what most of the things on the menu were. The waiter was very knowledgeable of the menu though and answered all our questions very well. Since it took so much time to swim through the exotic menu, we started with glasses of chardonnay. Delish.
Finally the guest of honor arrived and their orders taken. Not long after, the first course was brought out. I had a delicious salad of fennel, apple, and pine nuts. It was really delicious and I loved the texture of the fennel with apples. It was great and probably the favorite thing that I had. Next came a pasta dish. Not sure what kind of pasta it was... But it was good, slightly al dente in a gentle meat sauce. It was a nice second to the salad. Then came the main course. I ordered the sole dish. It was good but I thought it was too much fish and not enough "other stuff". I ordered it because it was fish with mushrooms on the menu, but when it came, there weren't many mushrooms at all. So it was mostly fish in a light white sauce and with nothing to really accompany it, I got a little bored of the taste. It tasted good. I just need some variety or I get bored very easily.
For desert the restaurant transformed one of their desserts into a birthday cake. The brought it in with the candles and all and we sang. Then they took it out and came back with slices. The cake was this very dense yet soft and fluffy chocolate cake with a very light whipped cream like icing. It was good though I was too full to really appreciate it. I just thought it was too dense for my liking and maybe not as moist as I like cake to be. Though, it wasn't really a cake, more like a lighter than cheesecake texture. Anyway, it was fine but I wasn't sooo wowed like others were.
So the food was good but nothing I'm dying to go back to try again. The location was perfect and easy to get to. It's right on college near all those cutesy restaurants there. The ambiance was simple elegance. The service was excellent. They were very accommodating for the large group and varying arrival times of all the guests. The food was served promptly and water glasses always full. The main waiter that helped with our orders was very good and I hope got a great tip for the evening. Nice place. Probably won't be going back soon unless for another event.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Okazu Ya SF
October 25, 2007 - Our intention was to just go up the street to the one on Taraval but they were closed for vacation! Luckily the sign pointed us in the direction of their Noriega/32nd location otherwise we would have just headed up to Shimo. Don't get me wrong, Shimo is our fave but we were feeling like we ought to try some place new, especially given all the Japanese places around.
So we headed over to the one on Noriega and did our little "peek in" to make sure there were people in there and there were. The restaurant was spacious and clean. The decor was simple and modern looking. The place had a nice hip feeling for a Sunset neighborhood joint.
We were quickly greeted and seated. They brought out a big pitcher of hot tea. That was a little weird. I don't know why they didn't go with teapots but rather with these big thermos like pitchers for the tea. They took up space and I felt a little silly hefting the big pitcher just to pour a little tea into our typically small sized tea cups. Oh well.
The menu was extensive and they supplied you with a pen for checking off items on a separate list of the different rolls available. That list was very long. When trying a new restaurant I don't ever feel the need to be too adventurous with the food. So we pretty much ordered some basic gauge foods and an entre to share. We got the vegetable tempura, a roll with tuna and salmon, and for the entre we ordered the beef sukiyaki.
The tempura came out pretty quickly. For around $3 there were 4 pieces of the veggie tempura. I'm not sure if that's expensive or not... I'm bad with remembering prices. But it definitely was not as satisfying as other tempura appetizers have been. The batter was nice and light and crispy, but I didn't feel the pieces were as tasty as others have been. My sister commented that this was more similar to tempura that she had had in Japan so perhaps this more authentic. But I'm used to Americanized Japanese food so it was a notable difference to me. I didn't like it a whole lot. It was super greasy though! That was very nice.
The roll that came out next was ok. It was rolled tuna with the salmon on top. The rolls weren't too big so they were easier to eat. You could put the whole piece in your mouth to avoid trying to break the piece apart. But overall it wasn't spectacular. I'm no sushi expert but I didn't think the salmon was soft enough and the rice seemed like it had been refrigerated too long or something. It seemed a little hard. The whole thing tasted fine but not great. That might just be because of the roll we chose though. It was ok.
The sukiyaki was a perfect size to share. This dish was only ok too. The beef wasn't as tender and soft as we've had before. The broth was not as sweet and tasty as we've had before. For me there were too many carrots and not enough noodles, but plenty of mushrooms, which I liked. It was ok and we ate most of it, but it paled in comparison to the suikyaki we've had at Shimo.
Oh, the meal came with the typical salad, soup and ice cream for dessert. We had green tea of course. Why does green tea remind me so much of chocolate? Anyway, overall the restaurant was clean, service was fine, and the food was ok, just not good enough to temp a return visit. The search for a Japanese restaurant in league with Shimo continues!
So we headed over to the one on Noriega and did our little "peek in" to make sure there were people in there and there were. The restaurant was spacious and clean. The decor was simple and modern looking. The place had a nice hip feeling for a Sunset neighborhood joint.
We were quickly greeted and seated. They brought out a big pitcher of hot tea. That was a little weird. I don't know why they didn't go with teapots but rather with these big thermos like pitchers for the tea. They took up space and I felt a little silly hefting the big pitcher just to pour a little tea into our typically small sized tea cups. Oh well.
The menu was extensive and they supplied you with a pen for checking off items on a separate list of the different rolls available. That list was very long. When trying a new restaurant I don't ever feel the need to be too adventurous with the food. So we pretty much ordered some basic gauge foods and an entre to share. We got the vegetable tempura, a roll with tuna and salmon, and for the entre we ordered the beef sukiyaki.
The tempura came out pretty quickly. For around $3 there were 4 pieces of the veggie tempura. I'm not sure if that's expensive or not... I'm bad with remembering prices. But it definitely was not as satisfying as other tempura appetizers have been. The batter was nice and light and crispy, but I didn't feel the pieces were as tasty as others have been. My sister commented that this was more similar to tempura that she had had in Japan so perhaps this more authentic. But I'm used to Americanized Japanese food so it was a notable difference to me. I didn't like it a whole lot. It was super greasy though! That was very nice.
The roll that came out next was ok. It was rolled tuna with the salmon on top. The rolls weren't too big so they were easier to eat. You could put the whole piece in your mouth to avoid trying to break the piece apart. But overall it wasn't spectacular. I'm no sushi expert but I didn't think the salmon was soft enough and the rice seemed like it had been refrigerated too long or something. It seemed a little hard. The whole thing tasted fine but not great. That might just be because of the roll we chose though. It was ok.
The sukiyaki was a perfect size to share. This dish was only ok too. The beef wasn't as tender and soft as we've had before. The broth was not as sweet and tasty as we've had before. For me there were too many carrots and not enough noodles, but plenty of mushrooms, which I liked. It was ok and we ate most of it, but it paled in comparison to the suikyaki we've had at Shimo.
Oh, the meal came with the typical salad, soup and ice cream for dessert. We had green tea of course. Why does green tea remind me so much of chocolate? Anyway, overall the restaurant was clean, service was fine, and the food was ok, just not good enough to temp a return visit. The search for a Japanese restaurant in league with Shimo continues!
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Clay Oven
October 22, 2007 - We go to the one in the Richmond, on Clement. We've gone many times now and always come out satisfied. It's usually a major craving that leads us to Indian food. And it's usually a craving specifically for Chicken Tikka Masala. That dish is sooo good.
So we got there early, a little before 6pm, so were the first ones in the restaurant. We started with some samosas then ordered a rice dish that I don't remember the name of. It was saffron rice, prawns, nuts, raisins. We also got Chicken Tikka Masala, of course, with some naan, and I ordered a Mango Lassi. Yum! It was plenty of food for around $40. So definitely not cheap like Naan 'N' Curry, but the food is better, it's a nicer restaurant with really good service. The wait staff have been excellent every time. Obviously recommend it since we keep going back.
So we got there early, a little before 6pm, so were the first ones in the restaurant. We started with some samosas then ordered a rice dish that I don't remember the name of. It was saffron rice, prawns, nuts, raisins. We also got Chicken Tikka Masala, of course, with some naan, and I ordered a Mango Lassi. Yum! It was plenty of food for around $40. So definitely not cheap like Naan 'N' Curry, but the food is better, it's a nicer restaurant with really good service. The wait staff have been excellent every time. Obviously recommend it since we keep going back.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Tofu Village
October 9, 2007 - It's starting to get cold and dreary in the evenings now. Last night was particularly grey so we decided to go out for tofu soup to warm us up. Usually we go to My Tofu House on Geary but today we decided to give someone else a try.
Tofu Village is on Irving and has been open for about 6 months. It's clean and has very simple, no frills, decor. We got there right before the rush and were seated and fed pretty quickly. We decided to share a dinner combo of tofu soup and beef bugolgi. Right after our order was taken, a small salad was brought to our table. Not long after that, all the neat little small dishes were brought out. They are what make going to Korean food so much fun. Bean sprouts, cold rice noodles, pickled cucumbers, kimchee, yucca, etc. Yum.
The beef bugolgi was really good. The beef was so soft and tasty. It came over a bed of onions and was a perfect combo. The tofu soup was only ok. It was a smaller bowl than we had expected, and the soup wasn't as tasty as we've had before. We were surpised to find shrimp and clams in with the tofu. Didn't realize that we had ordered seafood. Anyway, it wasn't great which is too bad because that's what we went there for.
So overall, the food was ok, the service was pretty good, and the place was clean. We'll probably go again sometime just because it's nearby.
Tofu Village is on Irving and has been open for about 6 months. It's clean and has very simple, no frills, decor. We got there right before the rush and were seated and fed pretty quickly. We decided to share a dinner combo of tofu soup and beef bugolgi. Right after our order was taken, a small salad was brought to our table. Not long after that, all the neat little small dishes were brought out. They are what make going to Korean food so much fun. Bean sprouts, cold rice noodles, pickled cucumbers, kimchee, yucca, etc. Yum.
The beef bugolgi was really good. The beef was so soft and tasty. It came over a bed of onions and was a perfect combo. The tofu soup was only ok. It was a smaller bowl than we had expected, and the soup wasn't as tasty as we've had before. We were surpised to find shrimp and clams in with the tofu. Didn't realize that we had ordered seafood. Anyway, it wasn't great which is too bad because that's what we went there for.
So overall, the food was ok, the service was pretty good, and the place was clean. We'll probably go again sometime just because it's nearby.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Gold Mountain
October 6, 2007 - How about some dim sum in Chinatown? Gold Mountain is on Broadway and it is your classic dim sum place, or at least classic in my mind. It was a perfectly gorgeous morning to be out and about in the city. We got there pretty early so it wasn't too filled up yet. We walked in and there was no hostess right there to greet us, a little confusing. Finally someone showed up and directed us to head on over to the back. She just pointed so we started in that direction. But she didn't follow so we had no idea where she meant for us to sit. We were about to just pick any old table when a man finally saw us and told us where to go.
The place is classic in my mind because the people still go around with the carts. The restaurant is spacious enough for there to be clear isles for these carts to go around. The food circulates well and the people call out the names of the items very loud and clearly, just as you expect they should. Sounds like an auction or something in there, "har gow, har gow, anyone want har gow?" Going once, going twice...
So the food was good. Nothing stellar but also nothing disappointing. Just your classic, steady dim sum grub. We had most of the usuals like har gow, cheung fun, xiao lung bao, ham sui gok, beef spare ribs, shrimp stuffed peppers and eggplant, and dou fu fa. The har gow was really good. They were filled with shrimp and the wrapper was just perfect, not too doughy. The xiao lung bao were a little disappointing because there was no soup in them. But they tasted good. The ham sui gok were really good, just perfectly crispy and chewy with plenty of filling. Finally the dou fu fa was perfectly refreshing and smooth. Everything was good.
Clean, quick service, good location, inexpensive (total today was $24). Another solid performance. Totally will go back.
The place is classic in my mind because the people still go around with the carts. The restaurant is spacious enough for there to be clear isles for these carts to go around. The food circulates well and the people call out the names of the items very loud and clearly, just as you expect they should. Sounds like an auction or something in there, "har gow, har gow, anyone want har gow?" Going once, going twice...
So the food was good. Nothing stellar but also nothing disappointing. Just your classic, steady dim sum grub. We had most of the usuals like har gow, cheung fun, xiao lung bao, ham sui gok, beef spare ribs, shrimp stuffed peppers and eggplant, and dou fu fa. The har gow was really good. They were filled with shrimp and the wrapper was just perfect, not too doughy. The xiao lung bao were a little disappointing because there was no soup in them. But they tasted good. The ham sui gok were really good, just perfectly crispy and chewy with plenty of filling. Finally the dou fu fa was perfectly refreshing and smooth. Everything was good.
Clean, quick service, good location, inexpensive (total today was $24). Another solid performance. Totally will go back.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Superior Palace
Sept 30, 2007 - We had just had a pretty busy weekend. No cooking. And we wanted walnut prawns. I had remembered reading about a place in the Outer Richmond on Balboa with good walnut prawns so we swung by to see if I could find it. Over on Balboa in the 30-something aves there are bunches of restaurants and cafes. How fun! So we saw two big Chinese restaurants and decided to give one of them a try. Boy did we luck out on our choice.
This place was pretty hoppin'! We were seated right away and the waiters were very attentive in watching to see when we were ready to order. As soon as we looked up someone zoomed over. We ordered honey walnut prawns, beef and Chinese broccoli, garlic eggplant and sizzling rice soup.
The soup came out very quickly. It was so yummy! Well, to be fair, I should mention that we were really hungry by the time we got there. But the soup was really very good. The snow peas in the soup were still nice and crunchy and the broth was nice and clear. It was very refreshing.
The walnut prawns came next and they were so good!!! We love this dish and though we are not sure if it really is actually Chinese food, we love it and always think of it when we think of Chinese food. Trouble with that dish is keeping the prawns crispy even as they are covered in a thick sweet mayo like sauce. Also the walnuts need to stay crunchy too. It's easy to mess this one up but they sure didn't mess it up at Superior Palace. They really are superior!!
The beef and eggplant came out and we realized this was probably enough food another 2-3 days. I am newly in love with eggplant so I thought it was delicious. It had almost a sweet and sour like taste to it. The beef and Chinese broccoli dish wasn't great though. The broccoli was maybe cooked too long and lost it's crunch, while the beef was a bit too soft and chewy for my liking but it tasted alright. We took most of the eggplant and beef home. The walnut prawns and soup were wiped out. All of that food came out to only $32 including tip. Awesome.
This place was one of those pleasant surprises. We stumbled upon it and were so happy with the food and even the service. Yeah, for a Chinese restaurant even the service was good! They were fast and attentive. Not super friendly but that would be asking too much of a Chinese restaurant. It was a great experience and we're totally going back there.
This place was pretty hoppin'! We were seated right away and the waiters were very attentive in watching to see when we were ready to order. As soon as we looked up someone zoomed over. We ordered honey walnut prawns, beef and Chinese broccoli, garlic eggplant and sizzling rice soup.
The soup came out very quickly. It was so yummy! Well, to be fair, I should mention that we were really hungry by the time we got there. But the soup was really very good. The snow peas in the soup were still nice and crunchy and the broth was nice and clear. It was very refreshing.
The walnut prawns came next and they were so good!!! We love this dish and though we are not sure if it really is actually Chinese food, we love it and always think of it when we think of Chinese food. Trouble with that dish is keeping the prawns crispy even as they are covered in a thick sweet mayo like sauce. Also the walnuts need to stay crunchy too. It's easy to mess this one up but they sure didn't mess it up at Superior Palace. They really are superior!!
The beef and eggplant came out and we realized this was probably enough food another 2-3 days. I am newly in love with eggplant so I thought it was delicious. It had almost a sweet and sour like taste to it. The beef and Chinese broccoli dish wasn't great though. The broccoli was maybe cooked too long and lost it's crunch, while the beef was a bit too soft and chewy for my liking but it tasted alright. We took most of the eggplant and beef home. The walnut prawns and soup were wiped out. All of that food came out to only $32 including tip. Awesome.
This place was one of those pleasant surprises. We stumbled upon it and were so happy with the food and even the service. Yeah, for a Chinese restaurant even the service was good! They were fast and attentive. Not super friendly but that would be asking too much of a Chinese restaurant. It was a great experience and we're totally going back there.
Koi Palace
Sept 29, 2007 - It was a beautiful Saturday morning. The sun was shining and the sky was just a perfect, clear, blue. Not the slightest puff of white in sight. We were in the perfect mood for dim sum!
I've yet to hear a really negative review about dim sum at Koi Palace. There's always a line. So far we've been pretty lucky and have managed to get there early enough for the line not to be too excruciatingly long.
This time was we waiting for our table we stood right by the front where an older gentleman was making Dragon Beard Candy. It was really pretty fascinating, check it out on youtube.
We didn't have too long or maybe that's just how it seemed because we were so mesmerized by the candy making. The three of us were seated at a full round table for eight. They seemed not to mind at all and seems it's typical for them to do that. Guess there are never enough small tables. We were seated and the food started coming right away.
So this time we got plenty of stuff since there were three of us and we were there for so long. We got: crab dumplings, ham sui gok, fried tofu, xiao lung bao, chow mein, shrimp stuffed mushrooms, beef cheung fun, bean curd rolls, egg custard tarts with yeen wo on top, bo lo bao, and dao fu fa.
Everything was yummy. This was the first time we got the yeen wo dan tat. My friend even tried it and wasn't totally grossed out when we told her what it was. Cool. The cheung fun was fine though I thought it wasn't smooth enough. The xiao lung bao were properly filled with soup. The yeen wo dan tat had a lovely coconut flavor to them though they weren't warm by the time we got them. Finally, my new fave, dao fu fa was delish! So smooth and the liquid was just perfectly sweet enough. It was yum!
After a while there seemed to be a lull in the food circulation. We seemed to see the same things pass by multiple times and nothing new came out. We wondered if it was supposed to go in cycles but we waited a long time and finally just started in on desserts. That seemed strange. We wondered when new food would be coming out but were not interested in waiting. Otherwise, service was fine. The brought my friend her water and refilled it a couple of times. The check was quickly collected when we gave the nod and returned promptly.
So far not a bad experience. Oh so yummy and definitely worth the wait.
I've yet to hear a really negative review about dim sum at Koi Palace. There's always a line. So far we've been pretty lucky and have managed to get there early enough for the line not to be too excruciatingly long.
This time was we waiting for our table we stood right by the front where an older gentleman was making Dragon Beard Candy. It was really pretty fascinating, check it out on youtube.
We didn't have too long or maybe that's just how it seemed because we were so mesmerized by the candy making. The three of us were seated at a full round table for eight. They seemed not to mind at all and seems it's typical for them to do that. Guess there are never enough small tables. We were seated and the food started coming right away.
So this time we got plenty of stuff since there were three of us and we were there for so long. We got: crab dumplings, ham sui gok, fried tofu, xiao lung bao, chow mein, shrimp stuffed mushrooms, beef cheung fun, bean curd rolls, egg custard tarts with yeen wo on top, bo lo bao, and dao fu fa.
Everything was yummy. This was the first time we got the yeen wo dan tat. My friend even tried it and wasn't totally grossed out when we told her what it was. Cool. The cheung fun was fine though I thought it wasn't smooth enough. The xiao lung bao were properly filled with soup. The yeen wo dan tat had a lovely coconut flavor to them though they weren't warm by the time we got them. Finally, my new fave, dao fu fa was delish! So smooth and the liquid was just perfectly sweet enough. It was yum!
After a while there seemed to be a lull in the food circulation. We seemed to see the same things pass by multiple times and nothing new came out. We wondered if it was supposed to go in cycles but we waited a long time and finally just started in on desserts. That seemed strange. We wondered when new food would be coming out but were not interested in waiting. Otherwise, service was fine. The brought my friend her water and refilled it a couple of times. The check was quickly collected when we gave the nod and returned promptly.
So far not a bad experience. Oh so yummy and definitely worth the wait.
Lulu
Sept 28, 2007 - My good friend had just gotten into the city from Arizona. She was visiting for the weekend so get ready for this barrage of posts.
Our first stop was Lulu's in SOMA (Folsom/4th). I had driven by this place a few times before and for some reason the name was pretty catchy to me so I've been wanting to check it out. We were there pretty early, right after work, around 6pm. It was a nice space. There were high interesting ceilings and the central dining area was open and had a nice airy feeling to it.
We were promptly seated and dove straight into the wine list. My wine glass was pretty dirty so I asked for another and that one was fine. We got ourselves a nice, refreshing bottle of Pinot Grigio and ordered an antipasti and a pizza.
The wine was good and now I wish I remembered what it was called. But the food was only OK. The antipasti was a choice of 3 things so we got the following: 1) cucumber, fennel, salmon; 2) cantaloupe with prosciutto; 3) heirloom tomato with cucumber salad. It didn't look nice. They just put the 3 items on a long plate. It was kinda boring and nothing was really spectacular about it. But I think it was almost $15. Hmph.
The pizza was not great either. For almost $18 you would expect something pretty special but really it wasn't that much better than a pizza you might find at CPK. I like CPK pizzas so I liked this one, but CPK pizzas cost around $12. I wondered what the other $6 were for. Ambiance perhaps? It was really loud in there though. There were plenty of families and large groups which gave the place a little more warmth. But it still managed to keep an upscale look so they were able to charge according to that look.
Service was fine. They were very attentive with the water, which my friend drinks a lot of, but the waiter was not constantly interrupting or annoying us. He visited us just the right amount but was not overly friendly. It was fine.
Oh, dessert! How could I forget? We got chocolate cake. It was a rich chocolate with the melty, oozy fudge in the middle. It was yummy. But nothing to get too excited for.
Overall it was a fine experience. I don't have plans to return though. Nothing spectacular and overpriced for just ok food. Still, we had a nice time and nothing was horrible. Ah well, they can't all be spectacular.
Our first stop was Lulu's in SOMA (Folsom/4th). I had driven by this place a few times before and for some reason the name was pretty catchy to me so I've been wanting to check it out. We were there pretty early, right after work, around 6pm. It was a nice space. There were high interesting ceilings and the central dining area was open and had a nice airy feeling to it.
We were promptly seated and dove straight into the wine list. My wine glass was pretty dirty so I asked for another and that one was fine. We got ourselves a nice, refreshing bottle of Pinot Grigio and ordered an antipasti and a pizza.
The wine was good and now I wish I remembered what it was called. But the food was only OK. The antipasti was a choice of 3 things so we got the following: 1) cucumber, fennel, salmon; 2) cantaloupe with prosciutto; 3) heirloom tomato with cucumber salad. It didn't look nice. They just put the 3 items on a long plate. It was kinda boring and nothing was really spectacular about it. But I think it was almost $15. Hmph.
The pizza was not great either. For almost $18 you would expect something pretty special but really it wasn't that much better than a pizza you might find at CPK. I like CPK pizzas so I liked this one, but CPK pizzas cost around $12. I wondered what the other $6 were for. Ambiance perhaps? It was really loud in there though. There were plenty of families and large groups which gave the place a little more warmth. But it still managed to keep an upscale look so they were able to charge according to that look.
Service was fine. They were very attentive with the water, which my friend drinks a lot of, but the waiter was not constantly interrupting or annoying us. He visited us just the right amount but was not overly friendly. It was fine.
Oh, dessert! How could I forget? We got chocolate cake. It was a rich chocolate with the melty, oozy fudge in the middle. It was yummy. But nothing to get too excited for.
Overall it was a fine experience. I don't have plans to return though. Nothing spectacular and overpriced for just ok food. Still, we had a nice time and nothing was horrible. Ah well, they can't all be spectacular.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
S&T Hong Kong Seafood Restaurant
Well, my sister's post covered most of it. But I wanted to add in my two-cents for comparison.
I don't drive and I don't have many demands when it comes to service; I just expect the worst most of the time since it's dim sum and Chinese restaurants are kind of known for their "ability" to not pander to their customers... In any case, we did the preliminary walk by just to make sure there were actual people inside, and they seated us immediately, which always scores points for me because I hate waiting. I have very little patience when it comes to food (hence my affinity for instant ramen!). We were placed at a pretty crappy table; you could tell it was the one place that the feng shui expert probably just gave up on. The trays didn't come by fast enough, so we took a look at the pencil-in menus that they have. Most of the "popular" dishes were translated into English for ease of use, but I'd say half of the menu was untranslated.
There are a couple dishes that we always get and we use it as a base for comparison as we traverse the dim sum circuit. One such dish is the "cheung fun" which are rice flour rolls. We usually get the shrimp cheung fun because I like shrimp. ^__^ The cheung fun at S&T was okay. Just okay. I wasn't really impressed. The roll part of the dish, the slippery white noodles that wrap around the shrimp, was not slippery enough and tasted a little too floury for my taste. The shrimp was a little over-cooked, I think. Not to where it was gross, but I prefer it when the shrimp is a little soft still, plump and juicy, not too tough. Also, it's better if you can actually eat the noodles and the shrimp together. When the shrimpy falls right out, it's not really a roll anymore, it's noodles and shrimp. As you can see, I'm quite particular about my shrimp cheung fun. I think I've been spoiled, though, because I remember the cheung fun we had at Koi Palace: it was so good. Now nothing can really stand up to it. But still, the cheung fun at S&T was okay.
We also had "seew long bao" which are steamed soup dumplings. Not impressed. The skin was too thick, the taste of which kind of destroyed the taste of the stuffing inside which was not that impressive in and of itself. Also, the searing, boiling soup that is supposed to gush out and burn your tongue was almost non-existant (which might have been a good thing). The soup was more like juice, and it wasn't that hot, or tasty.
We also had "dou fu fa" which is soft tofu dessert. The tofu should be hot (which it was) and smooth (which it was) and virtually tasteless (which, I believe, it was). The syrup it comes in should be sweet (which it was) but not too sweet (which it was wasn't) and not too thick (which it was not). I liked the ginger taste of the syrup at S&T; it was sweet but not too sweet that it felt like you were eating candy. It actually tasted like tofu in a sweet sauce, which was very good. Another thing is that the tofu should be somewhat whole. That is, it shouldn't be the broken bits and pieces that are the dredges found at the bottom of the pot. The tofu was nice and hot and whole, so that was very nice. It was a good dessert.
The "dan tat," or egg tart pastries, were not very good. The pastry cup itself was flaky but tasted very bland. The custard was good, but not wonderful. They were small, which was good, but they were not very warm by the time they made it to our table, which was bad.
All in all, S&T Hong Kong Seafood Restaurant was a rather average establishment: the food was okay, the ambiance was what one would expect it to be, and the service was as anticipated.
Still, with all the other places we've yet to explore, I think I can spare myself a return visit to the S&T.
I don't drive and I don't have many demands when it comes to service; I just expect the worst most of the time since it's dim sum and Chinese restaurants are kind of known for their "ability" to not pander to their customers... In any case, we did the preliminary walk by just to make sure there were actual people inside, and they seated us immediately, which always scores points for me because I hate waiting. I have very little patience when it comes to food (hence my affinity for instant ramen!). We were placed at a pretty crappy table; you could tell it was the one place that the feng shui expert probably just gave up on. The trays didn't come by fast enough, so we took a look at the pencil-in menus that they have. Most of the "popular" dishes were translated into English for ease of use, but I'd say half of the menu was untranslated.
There are a couple dishes that we always get and we use it as a base for comparison as we traverse the dim sum circuit. One such dish is the "cheung fun" which are rice flour rolls. We usually get the shrimp cheung fun because I like shrimp. ^__^ The cheung fun at S&T was okay. Just okay. I wasn't really impressed. The roll part of the dish, the slippery white noodles that wrap around the shrimp, was not slippery enough and tasted a little too floury for my taste. The shrimp was a little over-cooked, I think. Not to where it was gross, but I prefer it when the shrimp is a little soft still, plump and juicy, not too tough. Also, it's better if you can actually eat the noodles and the shrimp together. When the shrimpy falls right out, it's not really a roll anymore, it's noodles and shrimp. As you can see, I'm quite particular about my shrimp cheung fun. I think I've been spoiled, though, because I remember the cheung fun we had at Koi Palace: it was so good. Now nothing can really stand up to it. But still, the cheung fun at S&T was okay.
We also had "seew long bao" which are steamed soup dumplings. Not impressed. The skin was too thick, the taste of which kind of destroyed the taste of the stuffing inside which was not that impressive in and of itself. Also, the searing, boiling soup that is supposed to gush out and burn your tongue was almost non-existant (which might have been a good thing). The soup was more like juice, and it wasn't that hot, or tasty.
We also had "dou fu fa" which is soft tofu dessert. The tofu should be hot (which it was) and smooth (which it was) and virtually tasteless (which, I believe, it was). The syrup it comes in should be sweet (which it was) but not too sweet (which it was wasn't) and not too thick (which it was not). I liked the ginger taste of the syrup at S&T; it was sweet but not too sweet that it felt like you were eating candy. It actually tasted like tofu in a sweet sauce, which was very good. Another thing is that the tofu should be somewhat whole. That is, it shouldn't be the broken bits and pieces that are the dredges found at the bottom of the pot. The tofu was nice and hot and whole, so that was very nice. It was a good dessert.
The "dan tat," or egg tart pastries, were not very good. The pastry cup itself was flaky but tasted very bland. The custard was good, but not wonderful. They were small, which was good, but they were not very warm by the time they made it to our table, which was bad.
All in all, S&T Hong Kong Seafood Restaurant was a rather average establishment: the food was okay, the ambiance was what one would expect it to be, and the service was as anticipated.
Still, with all the other places we've yet to explore, I think I can spare myself a return visit to the S&T.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
S&T Hong Kong Seafood Restaurant
We like to yum cha on Saturdays. We've been exploring different places in SF and this weekend decided to give S&T HK Seafood Restaurant a try. It was the first rainy day of the season so we didn't feel like going too far. We got a pretty early start this morning so weren't too worried about lines. Also the place is located on Noriega and 33rd so we weren't too concerned with parking either. Sure enough, no line and easy parking. +1
We have this funny thing of walking by restaurants and making sure there are people inside before entering. Because you know if there's nobody inside, that means something. So we did the pass by and there were plenty of folks in there. Not crowded yet because we were still early for a Saturday morning, but enough to assure us that the food was at least better than just edible.
We were greeted at the door right away by a friendly gentleman who lead us through one dining area into a second dining area and seated us at a somewhat strangely positioned table for two. The table was placed next to a column and just looked odd there. Anyway, the nice man asked us what kind of tea we wanted and we always just get jasmine tea because that's one of my faves anyway.
The table was dirty. Well, most of it was clean but along the edge where I sat, there was a portion that got missed and was smeared with some kind of sauce. I almost put my arm up in it! That was slightly distressing but I just wiped it with my napkin and got over it. It was an old Chinese restaurant after all. Otherwise things looked pretty clean. The plates, chopsticks, cups, teapot, all passed inspection.
When we were seated we were handed a menu and pencil. This is one of those places where you can order what dim sum you want as well as pull items off the trays that circulate the dining areas. We sat for a while wondering if we could just pull items off the trays but there were no ladies circulating for the first few minutes we sat there. So we marked off items on the menu.
Most of the menu had English translations but there was a small section that they didn't even bother to translate. We're not sure why. We chose 5 items off that menu. One of them was a random stab at the Chinese section with no translation. We were feeling adventurous.
The second they came and took our order, a tray came by with some "ham sui gok" which i love. They are deep fried items with a crispy, doughy, chewy outside and a pork mixture filling on the inside. Not long after the shrimp "cheung fun" came. We always get that at each place we go to and use it as a kind of measuring stick for the quality of the place. This is more of my sister's realm as she has a more discerning pallet for the shrimp and swears that she's had it where the noodle was perfectly textured around very fresh tasting pieces of shrimp. I thought this place did an ok job. The noodle wasn't too soft and didn't immediately fall apart when we tried to eat it. It was good.
Next came "har gow" and another dumpling that we assumed was the random one we chose from the Chinese part of the menu. Both contained shrimp. So far 3 items with shrimp. Good thing we were at a seafood restaurant I guess. The har gow wasn't that good to me. It felt a little dry. The other dumpling was fine. Nothing special. Tasted a little bland actually but I don't mind it that way.
We had "xiao lung bao" and it didn't have enough soup in it. The skin was maybe a tad thicker than we would have liked and I felt there was too much meat inside. It was ok.
We had marked one more thing on the menu that never came. It's translation was "deep fried meat dumpling" and we chose it because we wanted to know what it was. It never came. -1 But by then we were mostly full and ready for dessert anyway.
For dessert we got "dan tat" and "dou fu fa" which have in a way also become a sort of litmus test for dim sum places. I really, really liked the dou fu fa. It was smooth and the ginger liquid was just perfectly sweet enough. The dan tat were ok, not terrible but not all that good either. They were fine. I'm glad the dou fu fa was so yummy though.
Overall it was good experience. All that food came out to be around $25 for the both of us. I am not very good at looking at receipts but I did notice that we were charged for tea. Is that normal? I'm crazy for not knowing because we go all the time. Anyway, a decent meal and pretty good experience.
We have this funny thing of walking by restaurants and making sure there are people inside before entering. Because you know if there's nobody inside, that means something. So we did the pass by and there were plenty of folks in there. Not crowded yet because we were still early for a Saturday morning, but enough to assure us that the food was at least better than just edible.
We were greeted at the door right away by a friendly gentleman who lead us through one dining area into a second dining area and seated us at a somewhat strangely positioned table for two. The table was placed next to a column and just looked odd there. Anyway, the nice man asked us what kind of tea we wanted and we always just get jasmine tea because that's one of my faves anyway.
The table was dirty. Well, most of it was clean but along the edge where I sat, there was a portion that got missed and was smeared with some kind of sauce. I almost put my arm up in it! That was slightly distressing but I just wiped it with my napkin and got over it. It was an old Chinese restaurant after all. Otherwise things looked pretty clean. The plates, chopsticks, cups, teapot, all passed inspection.
When we were seated we were handed a menu and pencil. This is one of those places where you can order what dim sum you want as well as pull items off the trays that circulate the dining areas. We sat for a while wondering if we could just pull items off the trays but there were no ladies circulating for the first few minutes we sat there. So we marked off items on the menu.
Most of the menu had English translations but there was a small section that they didn't even bother to translate. We're not sure why. We chose 5 items off that menu. One of them was a random stab at the Chinese section with no translation. We were feeling adventurous.
The second they came and took our order, a tray came by with some "ham sui gok" which i love. They are deep fried items with a crispy, doughy, chewy outside and a pork mixture filling on the inside. Not long after the shrimp "cheung fun" came. We always get that at each place we go to and use it as a kind of measuring stick for the quality of the place. This is more of my sister's realm as she has a more discerning pallet for the shrimp and swears that she's had it where the noodle was perfectly textured around very fresh tasting pieces of shrimp. I thought this place did an ok job. The noodle wasn't too soft and didn't immediately fall apart when we tried to eat it. It was good.
Next came "har gow" and another dumpling that we assumed was the random one we chose from the Chinese part of the menu. Both contained shrimp. So far 3 items with shrimp. Good thing we were at a seafood restaurant I guess. The har gow wasn't that good to me. It felt a little dry. The other dumpling was fine. Nothing special. Tasted a little bland actually but I don't mind it that way.
We had "xiao lung bao" and it didn't have enough soup in it. The skin was maybe a tad thicker than we would have liked and I felt there was too much meat inside. It was ok.
We had marked one more thing on the menu that never came. It's translation was "deep fried meat dumpling" and we chose it because we wanted to know what it was. It never came. -1 But by then we were mostly full and ready for dessert anyway.
For dessert we got "dan tat" and "dou fu fa" which have in a way also become a sort of litmus test for dim sum places. I really, really liked the dou fu fa. It was smooth and the ginger liquid was just perfectly sweet enough. The dan tat were ok, not terrible but not all that good either. They were fine. I'm glad the dou fu fa was so yummy though.
Overall it was good experience. All that food came out to be around $25 for the both of us. I am not very good at looking at receipts but I did notice that we were charged for tea. Is that normal? I'm crazy for not knowing because we go all the time. Anyway, a decent meal and pretty good experience.
Starting to keep track
We love to eat out! And we do it quite a bit. Being in the San Francisco Bay Area means the choices are endless! After a while it can get overwhelming to try and remember where you had what, and when. So naturally, in the age of online journaling, we decided to try and start to keep track through this blog. We are NOT food critics. Just girls that love to eat out. Bon appetit!!
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