Away for a while....
For work and for trying out new food.
So, stay tuned until I come back with exotic food tales from Taiwan!
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Tied House - Mountain View - 3 stars
Visited on: Sep. 29, 2006
Comments: Average -> Recommended
Ordered items:
Blackened catfish
Garlic fries
Fried calamari
Beers
Bread
General description:
Came here with colleagues for happy hour drinking. $2 a beer, half off selected appetizers. We ordered them all. The natchos is not outstanding, but the garlic tossed French fries are rather fine, fried calamari is also plenty, goes well with the beer. The blacked fish is, however, a bit small, there’s only about six pieces of fish in one dish. Could have hoped for more, but tastes pretty good, surprisingly spicy in its flavoring, and the fish is still juicy. Beer variety is also pretty good, but nothing as spectacular as some of the Irish pubs in Mountain View. I probably would choose somewhere else for happy hour gathering for a party of 8 or less. For more people, however, the airy barn feeling with its nice patio filled with gorgeous morning glories should be a good choice. The menu looks very adventurous, featuring New Orleans specialties like alligator sausage and wild boar sausage, and it has a weekly rotation of wild game burger – buffalo, elk, wild boar, and a couple others. My colleague said that the wild game burger is good. I need to try it some other time.
Basic information:
http://www.tiedhouse.com/
Maruichi - Milpitas - 4 stars
Visited on: Often, last visited on Oct. 3, 2006
Comments: Recommended
Ordered items: All ramens on the menu.
Kuro ramen
Maruichi special with pork-chicken bone broth
Cold ramen
General description:
There are many types of broth based soup in Asia. However, I suppose ramen holds a special place among all the others, for it is unique in its complexity within its own breed. For chow fun, you get beef or chicken, taste pretty much the same, but when you get a pork-bone broth ramen and soy bean sauce broth ramen, the only similarity is as if you say you look like your next door neighbor. Aside from the fact that you are both humans and share the same feature components, you are nothing like each other. Same goes for ramen. The broth base is everything, but the noodles and the accompaniments are what make the broth base divine.
Maruichi Milpitas is a branch of the Mountain View original. I’ve never been to Maruichi Mountain View before, but I can honestly say that Maruichi Milpitas has came a long way since it just opened. Now, the kuro/black ramen based on black sesame oil is no longer greasy but found its broth/oil balance, miso ramen is fully comforting in its warmth and that delightful miso blend of mellowness/sharpness, and the Maruichi special with its abundant accompaniments serves up both taste and value. I like the char siu, the roasted poark, a lot better now, more tender and firm to the bite. When I immerse the soft boiled egg with its semi-ripe, sunset golden yolk into the broth and taste a bite, let the broth melt the yolk in your mouth, a moment of content washes over me. The thin and al-dented ramen noodles trap the soup within its curls very well, and order an extra portion of mentaiko to kick it up a notch. Or you can simply order the special, when you get to choose from pork-bone soup base or kuro soup base, and comes with roasted pork, buro pork (three layer, slow stewed lean/fat/lean cut), scallions, bean sprouts, black fungus, mentaiko, and dryed seawood. A very satisfying meal in itself.
For summer its has cold ramen, prepared cold and dry, and you can add broth to it from a small sake bottle. It is also good, because it comes with crunchy and heat-dispelling accompaniments like cucumber and chilled bean sprouts.
In any case, needs to either come early or come late, since many people are seeking comfort from work or weather in this small restaurant.
Basic information:
530 Barber Lane Milpitas, CA 95035
(408) 434-5991
Friday, October 06, 2006
Beef Noodle Soup (牛肉麵) from my colleague
This beef noodle soup (牛肉麵) was made by my colleague and his wife. The recipe they used is said to be from Taipei Yuanshan Hotel (台北圓山飯店)’s chef. It was definitely very different from the taste of other beef noodle soup/牛肉麵that I had before. For one thing, it used a special ingredient: Chinese barbeque XaCha sauce, 沙茶醬. The brand? Of course red bull’s 牛頭牌沙茶醬. The usage of the xacha sauce gave the noodle soup an underlying level of complexity that is hard to achieve through regular stock. This is unsurprising, as xacha sauce itself is a blend of sweetness, spiciness, and soy bean sauce-like taste. However, xacha is usually eaten as a dipping sauce for hot pot or used to stir fry things. I was very surprised when I heard about the ingredient’s importance in the recipe, but once I tasted the broth, I realized that it made total sense. The beef in the soup came from boneless spare ribs, and the mixture of fat and lean in the spare ribs gave the broth its substantiality without turning it to an oily, clinging mess. The fat also kept the beef from drying up in its 3 hours long cooking process. I was informed that the “3 hour rule” must be followed utterly with full respect, otherwise the beef will fail. I have no doubt that this is how it should be.
Okra was served as a side, drizzled with thick soy bean sauce(醬油膏), a type of sauce that is thicker in texture with more profoundness in flavor than regular soy bean sauce. The other side dish is bean curd with thousand year preserved eggs and shredded roasted pork (肉鬆皮蛋豆腐). There are two schools of thought on how this dish should be eaten: eat the tofu, and get a bite of preserved eggs to go with it; or mash everything up together and eat it. To me, the second way is the “right” way. Glad to know that colleague’s wife thinks so too. The photo is from before it was mashed up.
Excellent meal all around, big thanks to my colleague and his lovely wife. Hope that we’ll be invited back again when he sees this blog.
Better Bento - Sunnyvale - 3 stars
Visited on: Often
Comments: Recommended for lunch
Ordered items:
Teriyaki chicken
Oyako don
Tofu don
Daily special
Onigiri
Curry with katsu / chicken katsu
General description:
Japanese home cooking in a box. You can get the combo, which is a pretty good deal, for you get to pick two items out of three, or you can order different kinds of curry and different kinds of don. I like their chicken katsu curry and oyako don very much. For vegetarians, there is tofu don, but you might want to ask about that broth, it could be bonito stock. What I like the best, though, is their onigiri. It is nothing special, just white rice wrapping some pan fried salmon inside with a piece of nori on the outside, but it just tastes very very comforting. If you can’t finish it, leave it for the next morning, add tea or hot water to it, then you’ll have yourself a bowl of chazuke for breakfast. Their daily special is also a good deal, usually with one grilled and one fried main items in the box, with additional side dieshes. Most appetizing.
Basic information:
550 Lakeside Dr Ste 1
Sunnyvale
(408) 720-8889
M-F
M, T, F:
Lunch/ Dinner box: $5.75 - $7.25
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Windows on the Water - Morro Bay - 3.5 stars
Visited on: August 4, 2006
Comments: Recommended
Ordered items:
Ocean Rose Abalone – Locally Raised
Japanese Cucumber & Seaweed Salad, Wasabi and Yuzu Tobikos, Sweet Soya $14
Roman Style" Artichokes
Lemon Aioli, Roasted Garlic Puree, Fresh Herbs $9
Pacific Bouillabaisse
Clams, Calamari, Prawns, Mussels, Pacific Fish, Crab, Saffron Infused Broth, Spicy Rouille $25
Fried local sand dabs with mashed potatoes
Lamb braised in pancetta, rabbit, and duck with spring vegetables.
General description:
I saw this restaurant from Rachel Ray’s program, and thought it is worth a visit. The town itself is beautiful, filled with adorable little shops selling everything from postcards to exquisite jewelry from
Windows on the Water
699 Embarcadero
Morro Bay, Ca 93442
805-772-0677
Open Daily 5:00 P.M.
http://www.windowsonthewater.net
Monday, October 02, 2006
Restaurant O opening again
Read about this on the newspaper: Restaurant O's chef Justin Perez is reopening his restaurant at the same location in Campbell. Expect NY swanky decor and items like fettucine with fire roasted Dungeness crab, or pizza with wild boar and chanterelle. Looking at its website, I see past offerings include elk, rabbits, foie gras, wild boar, and other kinds of seasonal games. Seems like the chef intents to continue his original line of cuisine.
What intrigues me is that the chef's main business seems to be in catering rather than dining. It would be interesting to try this place, and figure our how the chef's background influences the cuisine style, either positively or negatively.
Some basic information:
http://www.restaurant-o.com
2081 South Winchester Boulevard | Campbell, CA 95008
restaurant . 408.871.3135
The restaurant is said to open in late autumn.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
The Spice Islands Cafe - Mountain View - 3.5 starsMalaysian and Singaporea
Visited on: Sep. 22, 2006
Comments: Recommended
Ordered items:
Mustard spinach stirred fried with shrimp sauce
Pork curry
Pineapple rice
Hainan chicken
Katong laksa
Roti prata
General description:
I’ve been looking for a good Malaysian and Singaporean place for ages, and I seem to have found a rather good one in Spice Islands. It has many Malaysian dishes, with some Singaporean favorites like roti prata and Hainan chicken rice. The mustard spinach stirred fried with shrimp sauce (馬來風光?) is really good, the restaurant is not timid about lathering on the pungent seasoning, so the dish is memorable instead of bland. That bowl of Kantong laksa is huge. There were six of us, and we each could get one full small bowl out of it. Pineapple fried rice is definitely not a staple in either Malaysian or Singaporean cuisine, but hey, I like it. The only weak point is the pork curry, and even that is good, just not what I expected. It was like a mild version of its Thai or Burmese cousin. Hainan chicken rice is generous with the chicken, which is tender, moist, and sweet. On a par with the Hainan chicken rice of Prima Taste. A good spot for lunch. Next time I’ll have to try their ice kachang. I haven’t gone back to Singapore for a while, so I’m definitely missing that. Ah, the land of perpetual summer…
Basic information:
210 Hope St. (corner of Villa St. and Hope St.)
(650) 961-0628
Hours:
Lunch: Sun-Fri 11am-3pm
Dinner: Sun-Thu 5pm-9:30pm, Fri-Sat 5pm-10:30pm
Laksa around $8, most dishes around $10 - $12.
Michelin Guide Bay Area: Star Restaurants
The Michelin Guide result just came out, on Oct. 4, 2006. Not many surprises.
I think it is pretty fair, based on my experience in Chez Panisse, Bistro Jeanty, and the Dining Room, and my previous experiences with 1 and 2 star restaurants in France.
I personally think that it is fair that Chez Panisse does not get more than 1 star, Bistro Jeanty deserves its 1 star, and the Dining Room should be more than 1 star, but maybe not quite up to 2 stars. If there is 1.5 star, it should get one.
So, 2006 winners are as following:
ONE STAR
Fleur de Lys | San Francisco | Financial District |
Rubicon | San Francisco | Financial District |
Bushi-Tei | San Francisco | Marina District |
Quince | San Francisco | Marina District |
Range | San Francisco | Mission District |
Acquerello | San Francisco | Nob Hill |
La Folie | San Francisco | Nob Hill |
Masa's | San Francisco | Nob Hill |
Ritz-Carlton Dining Room | San Francisco | Nob Hill |
Gary Danko | San Francisco | North Beach |
Boulevard | San Francisco | South of Market |
Fifth Floor | San Francisco | South of Market |
Chez Panisse | Berkeley | East of San Francisco |
Sushi-Ran | Sausalito | North of San Francisco |
Chez TJ | Mountain View | South of San Francisco |
Auberge du Soleil | Rutherford | Napa Valley |
Bistro Jeanty | Yountville | Napa Valley |
Bouchon | Yountville | Napa Valley |
La Toque | Rutherford | Napa Valley |
Terra | St. Helena | Napa Valley |
Dry Creek Kitchen | Healdsburg | Russian River Valley |
Farmhouse Inn & Restaurant | Forestville | Russian River Valley |
K & L Bistro | Sebastopol | Russian River Valley |
TWO STARS
Aqua | San Francisco | Financial District |
Michael Mina | San Francisco | Financial District |
Manresa | Los Gatos | South of San Francisco |
Cyrus | Healdsburg | Russian River Valley |
THREE STARS
The French Laundry | Yountville | Napa Valley |
Fentons Creamery & Restaurant - Oakland -3.5 stars
Visited on: Sep. 18, 2006
Comments: Recommended, go for portion and decent ice cream. Pretty good pie too!
Ordered items:
Banana boat, the big one
Blueberry pie a la mode with light coconut pineapple ice cream
General description:
A huge, huge ice cream parlor, with many many types of ice creams, and rich rich creations that are downright decadent and messy. Everything overflows: the topping, the scoops, the syrup, the fudge...It is an awesome show of sugar addiction and guaranteed to satisfy kids' ice cream craving. If you like creamy ice cream, this place is for you. I won't say that it is the best ice cream that really showcases the flavors, but it is definitely very nostalgic, the way strawberry ice cream tasted before someone came up with the idea of only using real fruits and organic ones at that. There is a certain charm for artificial flavoring, just like that moment of epiphany of tea-dipped madeleine on the tongue. Might not be the best of tastes, but certainly memory invoking.
Four of us managed to finish the large banana boat and the nice, warm blueberry pie with berry-filled fillings and soft pie crust that melts with the fillings. Fenton's is the ultimate self-indulgences, and I'll be sure come back to indulge myself more.
Basic information:
Fentons Creamery & Restaurant
4226 Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, California
11am to 11pm everyday of the week, and on Friday and Saturday open until midnight
Phone: 510-658-7000
http://www.fentonscreamery.com/
Hyde Street Bistro - San Francisco - 3 stars
Visited on:Sep. 22, 2006
Comments: A little bit less than recommended because of uneveness in quality, but not without its own merits, especially the margret de canard. That is one outstanding dish.
Ordered items:
Terrine de lapin
Chevre chaud
Escargot
Bouillabasse
Margret de canard
General description:
Small and crowded, just like a bistro in Paris, serving similar foods as well, so I was really excited upon seeing its menu. However, the uneven execution put a damper on my enthusiasm. I like the terrine, but I think it was done too greasy, so instead of a solid mouthful that you get to chew on and mull over the strong dark flavors, you get too much greasiness that you just want to wash away soon. Escargots is lacking in flavor, and a slight bitterness of sloppy cleaning of the snail entrails. Sauce is very good, though. Chevre chaud is too stingy, really unable to appreciate the chevre with such thing slices, and since it is wrapped in filo, makes it even harder as your tongue is not in direct contact with the cheese. How I miss the Parisien cafes where they served up a complete piece of chevre, wonderfully cooked…
On the other hand, the restaurant really shone in its main dishes, a very pleasant surprise. The bouillabaisse has many ingredients in it, shell fish well cooked, fish slightly overdone. The taste is there, but texture wise, it is actually more like a ciopino. I’d want it to be even thicker and creamier, like La Provence’s version. The margret de canard, on the other hand, is a poster child of margret de canard. Succulent, thick pieces of dark meat, drizzled in fruity sauce, every chew brings out more juice from the meat, and the texture is like burnt velvet, lingering, tenacious, and bold, yet tender to swallow.
The servers, however, are a fun bunch. Celebrate a birthday there. I won’t give away the surprise, but it is definitely a lot more than just bringing a cake to your table. The familiar “bah ouai…” brings back many nostalgic memories to be savored along with my duck.
Basic information:
1521 Hyde Street
San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 292-4415
$19 - $26 for main dishes, $8-$11 for appetizers
Pizzeria Delfina - San Francisco - 5 stars
Visited on: Sep. 21, 2006
Comments: Highly recommended for pies
Ordered items:
Cherry tomato, ricotta, and basil pie
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Don't the tomatoes look delicious?
Create your own burst of flavors!
Homemade sausages
An interesting dessert that we did not try - baked apples
General description:
Delfina is one restaurant I enjoy very much in San Francisco, but I’ve never been to Delfina Pizzeria before. I definitely missed out! It is really small, which only added to the homey and warm feeling of a neighborhood spot. Appetizers look delicious from the counter, but we decided to save our stomach for the pie and the daily special: sausage. The cherry tomatoes, ricotta, and basil pie we ordered was wonderful. The crust is as thin as the ones I had in Naples in Italy, and perfect for the fold-and-eat style favored by the pizza originators. Intensely flavorful cherry tomatoes paired with ricotta plays a beautiful symphony on the tongue, all flavor, no grease. Add a sprinkled of fresh grated Grana Padano cheese, or crush your own stem of oregano over the pie, and add a sprinkling of red pepper flakes, and the flavor becomes as sharp or as mellow as you’d like. Even the crust rim, which I usually leave aside because of undercooking/overcooking/greasiness or simple futile attempts to assuage my diet guilt, was consumed gustily. That’s where you taste the dough, and it has that whiff of fresh, clear bread fragrance that just brings a sense of overall wellbeing.
I also like the homemade sausages. Very meaty but again, never greasy. The sauerkraute piled on top cleared away the remaining oiliness that enabled me to finish my portion even after eating half of a pie.
The staff is fun, and seeing them dancing in the kitchen while tossing/making/baking the pie made you feel like you are also a part of the action, which made it not only a delicious experience, but also a very fun experience.
Basic information:
3611 18th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 437-6800
www.pizzeriadelfina.com
Hours:
Mon 5:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Tue-Thu 11:30 a.m.-10:00 p.m.
Fri 11:30 a.m.-11:00 p.m.
Sat 12:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m.
Sun 12:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Around $12-$18 per pie.
Read more...
Little Sheep - Union City - Unknown
Updates:
Recent visits by friends informed me that the soup quality has lowered.
Reduced from highly recommended to unknown.
Visited on: Often. Latest visit: Sep. 23, 2006
Comments: Highly recommended
Ordered items:
Premium lamb, beef, intestines, winter melon, bead curds, frozen bean curds, assorted vegetables
This is the basic broths: red and white. Have a taste of the white before you put anything in it.
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Order as many items as you like, and put the thinly sliced meat into water.
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A few seconds later, ready to eat!
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Everything else goes into the pot, doesn't that look yummy!
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General description:
This is one legendary hot pot place, originated from China, one of the most popular hot pot chains there. With good reason, too. The soup base consists of dozens of herbs, which not only gave it a distinct flavor that is aromatic and earthily powerful, but also has holistic medicinal quality that balances the body and nourishes the ki. The hot pot has two types of soups: white and red. Just in Little Sheep’s case, red does not come from hot pepper oil, like so many inferior hot pots, but from spices. The result is that the spiciness only stays in your mouth without going to the stomach that made your next bathroom visit a truly interesting experience. The herbs also help with digestion, so even if you eat a lot, you don’t feel bloated.
The way to eat a Little Sheep hot pot is to do it like a shabu-shabu with the thinly sliced meats – take a slice of meat, dip it into water, wave it around until it is cooked in mere seconds, and just eat it. Everything else should be put into the pot until fully cooked. However, remember that ingredients will absorb the broth, so if you are not sure about your palate toughness, do not things in the spicy section of the pot for long, or just order a plain white pot (though you'd been missing out if you do that). What’s special about Little Sheep’s broth is that it is fully flavored, so they’ll not give you any dipping sauce, making it an anomaly of Chinese hot pots, but in a very good way. Thinly sliced lamb is very tender, better than beef, and their frozen bean curd is a must try, most excellent and goes very well with the broth. If you see the broth running low, ask for more broth.
This Little Sheep is the first direct operated Little Sheep in the US, other franchise spots are in the LA area. I like the one in Monterey Par, CA very much. The Union City Little Sheep is slightly different in the cuts of meat it uses and presentation is a lot better, but all these are reflected on the price. Call to reserve before you go, otherwise it is going to be one long wait.
Basic information:
34396 Alvarado Niles Road
Union City, CA 94587
(510) 675-9919
Hot pot items from $3.50 and above Read more...
Kaita - San Jose - 3 stars
Visited on: Often. Latest visit: Sep. 25, 2006
Comments: Recommended for lunch and dinner.
Ordered items:
Grilled beef tongue
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Japanese hamburger
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Miso marinated tuna with Kaitan soup and sashimi
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Salmon-ikura don
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General description:
Kaita is in the middle of San Jose Japantown, a good place to get some nice Japanese dishes. Although on the expensive size, Kaita turns out a pretty good array of daily specials that are always quite interesting. A small selection of fish is available for sushi, quality is not bad. Read the daily board and pick from there. The only items I’d avoid are the udon that goes with the daily menu, and hamburger meat. They said they use flat udon, but frankly speaking, I have yet to have any udon that should be as soft, squishy, and breaks apart when I try to lift it from the soup. Either it is bad quality flat udon, or their cooking ruined it. Hamburger meat was really, really dense, and not a bit of juice in sight.
Basic information:
 |
| From Kaita |
215 Jackson StreetSan Jose, CA 95112
(408) 287-5551
$7.00 and upwards for set meal
Has small izakaya style dishes in the evening
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Crustacean - San Francisco - 2.5/3stars
Date visited: Sep. 2, 2006
Type of cuisine: Asian fusion / Vietnamese
Comments: Average
Ordered dishes:
Lobster salad with mango salsa: $18
Roasted crab: Under $40
Garlic noodles: $9.50
General impressions:
A trying-hard-to-impress restaurant with dress code.
Vietnamese fusion cuisine, known for its roasted crabs.Good service. Very hard to park.Very fresh lobster, okay mango salsa. Could be better.Interesting crab, but the crab is quite thin and not really meaty. Too early in the season, perhaps. Cuisine style does not really bring out all the sweetness and characteristic of a Dungeness crab.Garlic noodles: good first impression, full garlic flavor with sweetness. Firm, chewy noodles. When cold, became greasy.
Note:Would go to PPQ instead.
Basic info:
1475 Polk StSan Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 776-2722Mon-Thu 5pm-9:30pm; Fri-Sat 11:30am-3:30pm, 5pm-10:30pm; Sun 11:30am-3:30pm, 5pm-9:30pm Crab: Under $40
Swan Oyster Depot - San Francisco - 4 stars
Date visited:Sometime in late August
Type of cuisine:
Raw seafood bar
Comments: Recommended for chowder and crab, oysters are a little bit above the average for the price (I still believe going to Tomales Bay is the way to go)
Ordered items:
Clam chowder
Seafood mix cocktail with bay shrimps, one prawn, one oyster, Dungeness crab meat
Open oysters: Fanny Bay, Tomales Bay, Miyagi
Little neck clams
Smoked salmon
General impression:Very, very hard to get a seat. It is a chrome bar with bar stools. No more than 16 seats, probably. Need to stand in the cold.Nice friendly service, but quite forgetful. Totally forgot about what kind of oyster I ordered, just gave me whatever he had on hand.Very fresh seafood, reasonably priced, good variety of oysters.Saw others eating crab salad, big portion, nice chunks of crab meat.Fantastic chowder. It is of a light variation, so ppl who like thick creamy soup might not like it as much. I like a robust flavor of clam that shines through without the hinderance of cream, so I love it. Can actually bite into pieces of clam. Quite a rarity.Amazing smoked salmon. Tender as toro, melts in the mouth without unpleasant fishiness. Served with some bay shrimps, very sweet, a lot better than expected.Good variety of seafood in the cocktail, but so much cocktail sauce that I tasted more sauce than seafood.Oysters....so so. I would still go to Tomales Bay to get the fresh ones directly. Could satisfy a craving if one doesn't want to drive.
Basic info:
1517 Polk StSan Francisco, CA 94109-3606
4156731101
Mon-Sat 8am-5:30pmCash only
Oyster: $1.75 each Seafood salad: $15 Seafood cocktails: Under $10 Whole crab: $25-$30 Chowder: Under $5
Trattoria La Siciliana - Berkeley/Oakland - 3.5 stars
Date visited: Sep. 10, 2006
Type of cuisine: Sicilian Italian
Comments: Recommended
Ordered dishes:
Marinated clam, shrimp, mussel salad
Bon Appetit mentioned risotto: artichokes, sun-dried tomato, etc.
Linguini al Nero: black squid ink sauce with fresh squid
General impressions:
Cute decor, very compact, two floor high, very noisy. Nice European feeling.
Mediocre salad with good ingredients but lacking finesse in implementation.
Outstanding risotto. Beautiful taste of sun-dried tomatoes, excellent usage of artichokes for texture. Amazing creamy rice grains with the right amount of hardness in the core. Layers of taste, great execution. Best in a long while.
Good linguini. Genuine sauce, full bodied flavor in the sauce, good al dente in pasta, real fresh squid, but overall lacking the extra kick that pushes really good to great.
Very pushy servers. Keeps wanting us to order Family size: double portion of everything, double cost. Not necessary. The amount of food ordered left four girls very full and happy. Supposedly a $8 will be charged, but was not charged.
Need to go early, fills up very quickly with long, long queues outside the door.
Basic info:
2993 College Avenue Berkeley, CA 94705
(510) 704-1474 Tuesday - Sunday 5:30pm-10pm Cash only.
Antipasti: $7-$10 Pasta: $12-$19 Risotto: $14 - $19 Carne & Pesce: Forgot
PPQ Dungeness Island - San Francisco - 4 stars
Date visited: Sep. 6, 2006
Type of cuisine: Vietnamese / Crab
Comments: Highly recommended
Ordered items:
Fish maul and crab soup: $7.95
Roasted Crab: $32.95
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| From PPQ |
Garlic Noodles: $6.75
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| From PPQ |
General impression:
Easy parking. Free 1hr validation at nearby parking lot.Seems easy to get a table.Good servers, fast response.Many types of crabs: pepper & salt, butter aka oven roasted, curry, chili, and a couple others.Good soup, uses the Cantonese kind of dried fish maul. Large bowl for a small order.Very very good crab. Fresh and meaty, with really really nice sauce. Garlic smells wonderful, permeats the entire crab. Very thoughtful in how the sauce is applied to the crab too. Instead of crab dipped in sauce, you get crab cooked in sauce.Really good garlic noodles. Slightly browned, had to be cooked in a wok. Not as sweet as Crustacean, but not as cloying or oily too. Same chewy texture. Large portion.Note:Prefer here to Crustacean. Can make a mess without worried about making a scene, which is how a crab should be eaten. Will be back again.Basic info:
2332 Clement St San Francisco, CA 94121 (415) 386-8266 Wed-Mon 11am-10pm
Crab: SeasonalDishes: Under $20
Dinner for two: $46.50: Imperial rolls / Cabbage with chicken salad / Roasted Crab / Garlic Noodles / Fried banana - desert Read more...
Angelfish - Alameda - 3.5 stars
Updates:
Recent visits in May and June prompted me to lower the recommendation to 3.5 stars, because on both occasions, the chef was drunk, sushi rice was soggy, and the sous chef made sushi for us even though we were doing omakase and asked specifically for the owner chef.
Date visited: First: Sep. 5, 2006. ;Latest: Sep. 30, 2006
Type of cuisine: Authentic Japanese sushi and other cuisine
Comments: Recommended
Ordered items:
Hirame fin / Hirame / Suzuki
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| From Angelfish |
Oh-Buro (Yellowtail)
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| From Angelfish |
White Tuna
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| From Angelfish |
Uni
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| From Angelfish |
Toro Sake
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| From Angelfish |
Maguro and Toro
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| From Angelfish |
Mirugai
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| From Angelfish |
Fried yellowtail with ponzu and spicy radish
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| From Angelfish |
Grilled taco (octopus)
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| From Angelfish |
Anago
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| From Angelfish |
General impression:
Could be hard to get a seat here, best come early. Saturday more slow. Definitely sit at the bar for sushi, otherwise you get Mexican or second chef made sushi. Look to the board for today's specials.Very fresh fish. Chef also knows his fish well. Cutting and nigiri making technique could be improved upon. A bit sloppy in the edges of the fish slices. Rice grains over dry. However, even with all these problems, it is still genuine Japanese style sushi, and quite palaptable when my favorite Hideki-san is away.Also, some new fish I've never had here. Suzuki is really good, sweet and chewy, fragrance brought out by a leaf of shiso. Aji is very small, but good in freshness. Katsuo is overcharred on the outside, should be 1-2 mm only, not the 4mm I got.Hirame is from a nice part of the fish, good texture and firmness with a clarity in the taste.White tuna...fantastic. The rich taste of hamachi without the oilyness. Refreshing yet rich is the best description I have.Maguro from near bone, yum. Fatty salmon, very very good. I don't like salmon as a rule, but this I'll eat. Probably king salmon. Abalone...not good. Too hard and not fragrant enough. That $26.50 a pair abalone I had in 大和 in 築地 is definitely a treasured memory. Saba...not good. Probably he's a friend of Hideki-san's, the flavoring is definitely close, but way too salty and heavy-handed. Chef treated us a bowl of fish + clam soup each. Very very tasty. Probably can't be ordered from the menu, cuz it has a lot of fish bones in it, but definitely beautiful in its taste. Broth is dominated by the clam but supported by the delicacy of white fish. Reminds me of 紅目鰱. Will probably visit once in a while for new fish.Seems to have a lot of cooked Japanese dishes.
Updates:
Sep. 30, 2006: Bumped this place up to a highly recommended because of the grilled taco sushi. Out of the world and bold taste. The tough exterior was removed, leaving only smooth and juicy meat. The texture is between the crunchiness of mirugai and the tenacious sweetness of ika. Blowtorch grilled, adding a layer of cooked fragrance, with the dollop of ume and leave of shiso to enhance the natural beauty of octopus. A totally new experience for me. Chef's treat, too. I would definitely come here for an omakase. However, had the first five sushi made by the apprentice. Such a waste of beautiful fish. His gestures are totally wrong, resulting in a hard brick of sushi rice that tasted flat, dry, grainy, but in Chef Taka's hands, the sushi rice came out perfectly fine. A lesson to be learnt here: trust only Taka's hands. Another chef's treat is the deep fried yellowtail in ponzu and spicy radish. Used the dark meat of the fish, so it is more oily and has heavier taste. Most suitable part for the dish.
883 Island Dr Ste C-2Alameda, CA 94502-6798
5107490460
http://www.angelfish-restaurant.com/
Refer to website for menu and price Read more...
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