Foodie Digest

This post should really be titled How unsuspecting Chinatown restaurants deal with us XMas eve. We have an annual tradition going on 7 or 8 years (at least). Every year we gather a group of people (ranges between a dozen or two) and walk (a couple miles) to Chinatown. As you can imagine, even in San Francisco the weather Christmas eve can be suspect. So we need to carry warming liquids (bourbon and tequila in flasks). And we usually start with pre-walk sustenance. We’ve started sending two (relatively sober) scouts ahead to restaurants to ask if they have seating for us. Our Chinatown trek used to have 2 rules:

1. We cannot return to a place we’ve been before. This is a kindness to the restaurant and it adds to the sense of adventure.
2. Everyone has veto rights (one veto).

I say used to because we’ve bent rule 1 one time. And we have switched to the scout method and don’t give folks a chance to veto (otherwise we’d never eat). Last year’s outing was Szechuan at Z&Y (highly recommended). This year we went to another new favorite, Bund.

We had a dozen people and just managed to squeeze into a big round table. Perfect for throwing things at each other (it happened) and for passing beer with the lazy susan in the middle. The proprietors at Bund were incredibly kind, forgiving, and even maintained a great sense of humor. Luckily, the only table seated near us were relatives who seemed entertained by us. The star at this restaurant, besides the owner’s holiday plaid coat, was the food. We had:

• xia ling bao (soup dumplings). These are always a favorite of mine and this was no exception. Really well made. Would go back for just these and the next dish.
• pan fried pork dumplings the description of these does this dish no justice. These were small, juicy and incredibly tasty. We started with a single order and requested 2 more orders. And we had 3 non-meat-eaters in the group who weren’t eating these.
• veggie dumplings I didn’t have these, but they disappeared quickly. Non-meat-eaters seemed to enjoy them a bit.
• veggie soup very rich tasting.
• spinach & tofu soup w/ pork This was supposed to be the vegetarian soup until we noticed bits of pork in it. The restaurant apologized, said this one was a mistake and on them and promptly brought out the vegetarian soup. Bonus for the meat eaters, this soup was also very rich tasting and hearty.
• chicken wonton soup another great soup version. This one had plump wontons (pork filled), chunks of chicken and rustic mushrooms. Could easily have been a meal in itself.
• salt and pepper crab December is dungeness crab season in San Francisco so we always try to get crab in Chinatown. Salt and pepper is my favorite preparation. Basically fried whole crab (shell and all) and dusted with salt and pepper (and likely other seasonings). The crab this season is particularly sweet; this was a great dish and really showcased the crab.
• general tsao’s chicken sure, it’s on almost every Chinese restaurant menu. Doesn’t mean it isn’t good and this one was a winner. Deep fried chunks of chicken in a tasty and not overly sweet sauce.
• shangai duck I didn’t try this but everyone who did liked it. The skin is different than on a peking duck preparation. Still comes with the yummy Chinese “bread”.
• garlic eggplant Another crowd pleaser at the table. Folks clamored for a second order (we didn’t place it).
• pea shoots This was a great balance to all the hearty dishes. Really delicately seasoned and perfectly prepared.
• shrimp with egg and chives This dish really resembled a shrimp omelette. Very light dish and not overly saucy. This went FAST.
• braised pork shoulder Think a Chinese version of a slow cooked southern style pork shoulder. Slow braised meat with really rich flavors. This arrived closer to the end of the meal and was probably too rich a dish to end with. Was quite substantial and filling.
• sea bass with salty cabbage They tried to steer us away from this dish thinking we wouldn’t like the salty cabbage. We stuck with the order, tho, and were well rewarded. The dish was delicate and flavorful though not a substantial portion. We could have easily had more of this.
• dan dan noodles oooh. Spicy shanghai noodles. These were really good. Noodle in a flavorful broth that were a bit hard to eat as a shared dish, but very satisfying.
• shrimp fried rice tasted like shrimp fried rice. Nothing exciting. Nothing wrong with it. Not my thing but others liked it.

I would happily go back here. The dumplings were outstanding and worth a return visit; the other dishes were all quite tasty and well prepared. Still, next year the rules stand: we can’t return for XMas eve.

So it’s been a LONG LONG time since I’ve written anything. Which means I’ll write a bunch of stuff out of order as I try to catch up, and I probably won’t have any pictures

Let’s start with Tin. Tin Vietnamese just took over the Pho Ha Tien II location in my hood. Pho Ha Tien delivered (big bonus!) but so far Tin’s food is better.

Pros: All the food I’ve had so far is fresh, really tasty and the service is friendly. They’ve redone the interior to be clean and well-lit. The hours are clearly posted (closed weekends). Oh, and I really really really like their pho bo. The star anise flavor comes through in a delicate and warming way. The beef is super high quality and the rare beef is actually rare. The first time I went I tried the fresh spring rolls but requested vegetarian. They arrived full of mushrooms and tofu; very filling, fresh, and clean tasting.

Cons: The menus is somewhat limited, especially following Pho Ha Tien’s expansive listings. Still, the things that are on their menu they do well. Sure I’d love a good banh mi, but that’s what Saigon Sandwich is for. They also don’t deliver (and I’m lazy).

Overall thumbs: Up. Very glad to have a great place to get pho near the house and appreciate the super high quality of the ingredients.

Tastiness rating: High. Really great flavors. Sure, it’s just a Vietnamese noodle shop. But if that’s what you’re in the mood for this is a great bet.

Service rating: Good. Service was friendly and the guy (owner) seems to really be trying to do the right thing.