Category Archives: Restaurant

Hot and sour soup – Xiao Long Bao Kitchen

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Hot and sour soup Xiao Long Bao Kitchen

Noms, this soup was SO good!  Hot and sour soup is one of my personal favorites, and this one was especially flavorful.  It also had a great kick to it.  They definitely didn’t skimp on the ingredients like some other Chinese Restaurants trying to save a buck.  This was the soup of the day that came with a combination meal that my friend and I ordered.  The meal was very affordable and we got SO much food.  Definitely going back to this place for the delicious food! 2 person lunch combo $14.95
Xiao Long Bao Kitchen, South San Francisco

Fried wontons – Xiao Long Bao Kitchen

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Fried wontons Xiao Long Bao Kitchen

How can you go wrong with these fried, greasy morsels? Although they have no nutritional value, I love their warm crispy texture and the unnaturally pink sweet and sour sauce that accompanies them. These were free, so I can’t complain.  Yum! Free with an order over $28.
Xiao Long Bao Kitchen, South San Francisco

Green tea Xiao Long Bao Kitchen

Complimentary green tea is good every time.

Steamed buns – Xiao Long Bao Kitchen

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Steamed buns Xiao Long Bao Kitchen

I’m not sure if I’m a big fan of these.  Perhaps I should have eaten them while they were still warm.  I decided to wait because they came with a sweet condensed milk dipping sauce and I figured they’d be better for an after-meal dessert.  Not the case!  They didn’t taste all that good when they were cold.  Lesson learned… 2 person lunch combo $14.95
Xiao Long Bao Kitchen, South San Francisco

Condensed milk sauce Xiao Long Bao Kitchen

Sweet condensed milk dipping sauce.

Super spicy roll – Katana-Ya

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Super spicy roll Katana-Ya

Spicy tuna and cucumber roll topped with more chili sauce, sesame and green onions.  $6.50
Katana-Ya, San Francisco

Why are “spicy” rolls never really that spicy at Japanese restaurants?  This roll was more sweet than spicy to me.  I think it had some good flavors but lacked the spice.  C’mon guys, gimme some heat!

BBQ pork ramen – Katana-Ya

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BBQ pork ramen Katana-Ya

Ramen in a soy broth with 4 pieces of BBQ pork, bamboo shoots, seaweed, and scallions.  $11
Katana-Ya, San Francisco

This char siu ramen is on the 7×7 Big Eat List 2011, but frankly, I wasn’t impressed.  Perhaps I’m just not a ramen expert, but the I didn’t find anything exceptional about it.  My favorite part was the bamboo shoots and the pork was pretty tender, but I think the soup was too rich for my taste.

7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2010, 2011, 2012

Beef brisket platter – Smokin’ Warehouse Barbecue

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Beef brisket platter Smokin' Warehouse Barbecue

Slowly smoked and cooked for 10 hours, topped with their house BBQ sauce. Ordered with potato salad, steak chili with onions and cheese, and cornbread. $11.95
Smokin’ Warehouse Barbecue, San Francisco

This brisket was cooked for 10 hours, and it tasted like it!  The beef was SO tender and flavorful.  I’m not a big potato salad fan, but this tasted pretty good.  The chili was rich and tasty as well.

Pork ribs platter – Smokin’ Warehouse Barbecue

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Pork ribs platter Smokin' Warehouse Barbecue

Slowly smoked and finished with their house BBQ sauce. Ordered with mac and cheese, baked beans with pork, and cornbread.  $13.95
Smokin’ Warehouse Barbecue, San Francisco

I love BBQ, that this was some pretty good BBQ ribs.  It had a great smoky flavor and it was SO tender.  The macaroni and cheese was such a guilty pleasure.  It had the color and texture reminiscent of those from elementary school cafeterias.  And that’s not a complaint!  It was so yummy!

Diet coke Smokin' Warehouse Barbecue

Diet coke.

Caramelized catfish claypot – The Slanted Door

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Caramelized catfish claypot The Slanted Door

Served with cilantro, ginger, thai chilies, and onions.  $15
The Slanted Door, San Francisco

This was my absolute favorite dish at The Slanted Door!  I remember ordering this back in the day when the restaurant was still in its small space on Valencia Street.  I loved it then and I still love it today.  It has such a deep, rich flavor and the catfish is so tender and fall-apart flakey.  The sauce is SO amazing with the caramelized onions.  The catfish slices do have a lot of bones in them so be careful!  I’m used to fish bones, and I actually like that they’re there because they add more flavor to the dish.  Beautiful and delicious!!!

Cellophane noodles with crab – The Slanted Door

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Cellophane noodles with crab The Slanted Door

With green onion, fresh dungeness crab meat, and garnished with cilantro.  $19
The Slanted Door, San Francisco

This has got to be one of The Slanted Door’s most popular dishes.  It’s absolutely delicious and the flavors are amazing.  Even the noodles have absorbed a great seafood/crab flavor.  There are large chunks of dungeness crab hidden throughout the pile of clear, al dente noodles.

7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2010, 2011, 2012

Bloody Mary – The Slanted Door

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Bloody Mary The Slanted Door

I’m not a big Bloody Mary fan, but this one was absolutely beautiful!  I love the purple cauliflower made the entire cocktail.  It was unexpected and pretty.  The drink had a nice kick, but it took forever to reach out table.  I think we had eaten a course or two before it finally arrived – not cool!  $10
The Slanted Door, San Francisco

Slanted Door & Vegetarian spring rolls – The Slanted Door

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Slanted Door and Vegetarian spring rolls

Slanted Door spring rolls (foreground): shrimp, pork, mint, lettuce, vermicelli noodles.
Vegetarian spring rolls (background): tofu, shiitakes, cabbage, mint, lettuce, vermicelli noodles.
Served with peanut sauce.  $10 for a half and half order
The Slanted Door, San Francisco

These were so good and refreshing.  When we were ordering I only wanted the Slanted Door spring rolls, but the waiter suggested that we get half and half.  I’m so glad we did because the Vegetarian spring rolls were amazing.  I actually liked them better, hehe.  The Vegetarian rolls had more flavor, mostly from the shiitake mushrooms.  I did like how there was a thin slice of pork rolled throughout the Slanted Door rolls.  The peanut sauce was different from others I’ve tried.  It almost had mayo texture and flavor in it, very creamy.  I wasn’t a fan at first, but it grew on me.

The Little Star – Little Star Pizza

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The Little Star Pizza

Spinach blended with ricotta and feta, mushroom, onion and garlic on a deep dish cornmeal crust.  $24 for large 12″
Little Star Pizza, San Francisco

This is my first Little Star Pizza blog entry, but I’ve been eating at this place and ordering pick-ups for a while!  I love their pizzas!  They are still my favorite deep dish pizza in The City.  I love their thick, buttery cornmeal crust.  YUM!  All their toppings always taste fresh and flavorful, and I enjoy their chunky tomato sauce.  I’m not a big eater so one slice is usually enough for a meal, they’re kinda large.

The Little Star Pizza

I cheated and added anchovies to half the pizza. That’s the Filipino in me, lol!

7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2010, 2011, 2012