Oddly enough, I would say this dish tasted like a Chinese version of spaghetti! Weird, huh? My friend order this thinking it was something else, but this is what we got. It tasted a little bit sweet and the sauce had a slightly slimey texture. The noodles are underneath and you just mix everything together. I didn’t NOT like it, but it definitely wasn’t my favorite. They certainly gave you plenty, though. 🙂 $6.95
Xiao Long Bao Kitchen, South San Francisco
Large pile of shredded chicken, napa cabbage, onions, carrots, green onions, black fungus, and scrambled eggs. Served with mu shu pancakes. These are always fun to eat because you get to make yummy Chinese burritos of sorts. The hoisin (or plum sauce) tastes great with the mildly flavored filling. $7.95
Xiao Long Bao Kitchen, South San Francisco
I get hungry just looking back at this photo. Pan friend pork buns are SO yummy, regardless of what my friend said about how they’re made. Let’s just say their not diet approved. I don’t care! I’ll sacrifice my waistline any day to eat these amazingly flavorful buns. Great job XLB Kitchen! 6 pieces for $5.95
Xiao Long Bao Kitchen, South San Francisco
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
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!
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
Grass fed, dry aged beef from Magruder Ranch with juicy tomato, lettuce and cheese on a toasted house made buttery sesame scallion bun. $8
4505 Meats, San Francisco
This is one of those wonderful burgers that melts in your mouth. The bun is so light and buttery that it simply dissolves against the roof of your mouth. The beef patty is exceptionally juicy and the entire burger is intoxicating! Noms!
7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2011, 2012
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
Chicken and rice noodles in a rich broth with cilantro, chopped green onions, and accompanied with sliced jalapeno peppers and lemon wedges. $6.20 small
Turtle Tower Restaurant, San Francisco
This chicken pho was really different from others I’ve tried. The most obvious difference was the wide, thick noodles they use. It also wasn’t served with a side of sprouts and sprigs of thai basil. That said, I think it was absolutely delicious! The broth was frickin’ amazing – so rich and complex. I actually enjoyed that they kept the skin on the chicken pieces. It seemed more authentic and definitely added more flavor.
7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
Tsing Tao beer. $3.45
I totally forgot aobut Tsing Tao beer! I’ve been spending too much time at sushi joints so I needed a good Vietnamese fix. 🙂
Large, fried mound of chicken hash, topped with scallions and served with scrambled eggs and a biscuit. $11.75
Ella’s – San Francisco
This amazing ball of chicken hash was pretty frickin’ tasty! It appeared to contain roast chicken pieces mixed with mashed potatoes, breaded(?) and pan fried. The chicken was super tender and flavorful. Whenever I’ve recooked roast chicken in something else, it always gets dry but the cooks at Ella’s have discovered the secret to moist chicken in this hash. SO good! Their biscuits are also noteable. They’re warm, fluffy, and so good topped with butter and jam. You deserve an applause if you can finish the entire plate.
7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2010, 2011
Spicy tuna, albacore, asparagus, scallion, and garlic ponzu. $12.95
Tokyo Go-Go, San Francisco
I wasn’t blown away by this roll. The spicy tuna wasn’t spicy enough for my taste. Compared to the Azteca roll, this barely had any heat. Everything just blended together so the flavors got muddled. I couldn’t taste the garlic ponzu at all. I’m not saying that this roll tasted bad, but the ingredients list was so appetizing that I expected more.
Spicy crab, cucumber, avocado, gobo, lightly seared suzuki, sliced chiles, chili aioli, tobiko, and scallions. $14.25
Tokyo Go-Go, San Francisco
Wow, this roll was frickin’ amazing! I loved the heat from all the spicy components, and it looked pretty cool too. I thought I would experience Montezuma’s revenge afterward, but I didn’t – hehe! The lightly seared sea bass tasted great and had a great texture. The chili aioli was so flavorful and I loved the pale yellow color of it. The sliced chiles added extra heat and flavor. Not sure I could really distinguished the gobo (burdock root), but I actually didn’t know what it was when I ordered the roll. I will definitely order this delicious roll again!
Vittle Monster 