Chicken, prawns, tofu, lo mein noodle, mint, basil. $14.50
Betelnut Restaurant, San Francisco CA
Meh, I wasn’t too impressed with this laksa. It seemed a little watered down to me. I wish there was more depth of flavor and a kick to it.
7×7 Magazine’s Big Eat SF: 100 Things to Try Before You Die
Garlic, thai basil. $13.25
Betelnut Restaurant, San Francisco CA
Wow, this ribs were delicious! They were SO flavorful, hot, sticky and wonderful. I loved the combination of flavors in the glaze. These definitely hit the spot and I couldn’t stop eating them!
$9.75
Betelnut Restaurant, San Francisco CA
These green beans had a good flavor, but they were WAY too salty! They were even good nicely and still had a nice bite to them but that saltiness was distracting.
7×7 Magazine’s Big Eat SF: 100 Things to Try Before You Die
Sriracha, lemon granita. Each $2.95
Betelnut Restaurant, San Francisco CA
Yuck! The oysters didn’t taste fresh, they weren’t shucked cleanly, and the sriracha-lemon granita tasted horrible.
Kirin ichiban beer. $6.50
With pork, shrimp and black ginger vinegar. $11.50
Betelnut Restaurant, San Francisco
This was described by our waittress as a soup dumpling (xiao long bao), but they weren’t very soupy. I guess it’s trying to be an upscale version, but it just didn’t work. The filling was super heavy, the wrapper was too thick, and there wasn’t enough soup inside! I’ll pass on this next time.
Black ginger vinegar (and another random dipping sauce).
Superior Farms lamb with chilies, raita, cilantro and warm sesame buns. $9.88
Betelnut Restaurant, San Francisco
There are many variations to Xinjian style lamb but they usually include chilies, cumin, and Szechuan peppercorns. This was my favortie dish of the night. The lamb was SO tasty! Add the warm, buttery bun and the raita and you have a total winner! Noms! It was also fun to fill your own bun and stuff your face with it. 🙂
With shrimp, grapefruit, herbs, and “nuoc cham”, topped with chopped peanuts. $9.95
Betelnut Restaurant, San Francisco
Nuoc cham is a Vietnamese sauce usually made with chilies, garlic, fish sauce, lime juice and sugar. It’s salty-sweet and so yummy. This green papaya salad was good, but I think it was too watery. I loved the addtional of grapefruit though.
With black mushrooms, lup cheong (Chinese sausage), green onions, pine nuts, and iceberg lettuce cups. $11.88
Betelnut Restaurant, San Francisco
This was pretty tasty but I expected it to be so much better. It didn’t come off as very special, but I did like the flavors and how the lettuce cups were trimmed and stacked.
7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2010, 2011
This was a random choice for a Christmas eve dinner, but I’m not traditional in many ways, lol! The food was hit or miss, but the drinks were very good overall. I loved the creativity!
Betelnut Restaurant, San Francisco
Betelnut’s famous mai tai. Myers’s rum, orgeat and the “cabin sink”. $9.25
Sweet and delicious! Makes me wanna be poolside.
Mao-jito. Betelnut’s take on the classic mojito. $9
A little too sour for my taste.
Phuket gimlet. Hendrick’s gin with lemongrass and thai basil. $8.50
The lemongrass and thai basil combo makes this drink very refreshing.
Burma sour. The classic sour made with Bulleit bourbon, fresh orange and lemon juice. $8.75
All you need is a warm beach and a beautiful sunset!
Vittle Monster 