"OMG the five spice chicken pho is off the hook."
(in 24 reviews)
"Friendly service, great pho, and really good imperial rolls."
(in 44 reviews)
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Golden Star Vietnamese Restaurant
Rating Details »
Category: Vietnamese [Edit]
Neighborhoods: Nob Hill, Chinatown11 Walter U Lum Place
(between Clay St & Washington St)
San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 398-1215
- Hours:
Mon-Sun. 10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- None
259 reviews for Golden Star Vietnamese Restaurant
Review Highlights
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Oh yummy Golden Star... you always do me right with your delicious pho or five spice chicken. Mmmmm!
I love this place. I've been going here since 2004 when my boss insisted on going there for lunch. It's quite a distance from my office, but so worth it. I've tried several items, but my standards seem to be the #8 pho and #33 five spice chicken. I have to admit, my first experience here was alarming. Not because of the place, but because my boss took me there and he was obviously coming down with a cold. I agree with him, a good bowl of hot pho always makes me feel better when I am under the weather... but... he somehow forgot I was sitting in front of him, and his nose was running horribly... so... he blew his nose, all loud and flegmy and disgusting, all while still looking down at his soup. Then he looked up and saw me... and the horror on his face. He apologized profusely, and said he was so into his soup, he completely forgot I was sitting in front of him. That's how good the soup is, you forget you are in the presence of others.
I'm also a huge fan of their five spice chicken with rice. When I'm not in the mood for soup, I usually get this. My good friend always gets pho or bbq pork bun. Haven't had the bun yet, but it looks delicious, and she's always telling me "OMG, Kel, it's sooooo good!" Yup, I'm going to have to branch out from my standards and order it one of these days. We'll see. I'm a total creature of habit. I can't help myself. Once I find something I love, I usually stick with it.
Now that fall is upon us, and the air is becoming more crisp, I think I'll be heading back there soon for some pho. Can't wait!
Pho. Pho. Pho.
Of course the guys decided to eat here on one of the nicer days in SF, where the sun is shining. So when we were sitting down, it was quite warm in the restaurant.
I ended up ordering a vermicelli noodle dish and not pho because it was too hot to drink/eat soup. It was ok...nothing to fancy about it. I'd come back on a cold day to eat some pho though.
A co-worker introduced me to this restaurant in Chinatown when I was working downtown a few years ago and it's become my favourite Vietnamese restaurant in the Bay Area. Their ph has intensely flavourful soup. Choices of meat range from simple cooked beef to combinations of beef, tripes, briskets, and meatballs. Their rice dishes are also to die for. My favourite is the fried chicken legs with spring rolls along with fried egg sunny side up on rice. Their eggs are perfectly browned along the edge.
TIPS
- arrive before 11:30am for a sure spot for lunch without waiting in line
- bring cash as they don't take credit or debit (hence my 4 stars instead of 5)
Okay, this is a HUGE commitment...but I'm just gonna go ahead and say it: this is probably the best pho I've ever had. There.
Umm, can we say YUM?! How do they do it? Their broth has the best of both worlds: flavorful but not "greasy." Quality of meat is superb. Compared to other places, there's hardly any fat on the fatty parts. Prices: cheap! They're actually better than any of my other favorite pho places. Seriously, what's up with other places charging $7-8 for a bowl of pho when it doesn't even compare to the pho here!
It's official. I've converted. This is my new pho mecca.
MmmMMmMMMmm! Delicious! :)
P.S. Their BBQ pork is also yummy!
I often come to this Vietnamese restaurant located in Chinatown for lunch. The place is like the typical Vietnamese restaurant, sparse and basic with minimal service. However, Golden Star has very reliable food and the price is fairly reasonable.
I've tried their pork chops rice plate with egg cake, Pho and their Bun (dry vermicelli noodles with meat and Spring rolls). I like their pork chop rice plate and the Bun, both are very flavorful. The Pho is good, but nothing spectacular.
The restaurant gets very busy around noon. This is when you may get seated with people you don't know which can be a bit awkward if their table manners are not what you're accustom to... I sat by a guy who kept spitting out food on his plate and then put it back in his mouth. Maybe that's why the Pho didn't taste so good to me that day?
Advice: get there before the lunch rush
2nd piece of advice: if you do get there and its busy, make sure you sign up on the sheet tied to the door!
This place forms a line at lunchtime as it is known as a great place for Pho. And it is very good. I got the beef bowl (#1) and it had lots of meat in it, not too many noodles. Service was good, food was quick and the price, at just under $8, was perfect.
Updating my initial review since the last few visits have been a little disappointing. The soup has been watered down and quite tasteless. The noodles in my last bowl were clumped up and crumbled with any attempt to separate the chunks. Although the 5-spice chicken is tasty, the overall meal has been mediocre. People are super nice and the Vietnamese style coffee is good... I wish I could say the soup is as consistent in quality.
This place is relatively small and it is tucked away in an ally. I ordered the Vermicelli bowl with grilled shrimp.
+: Whenever I come here, I get seated right away, may be I just came at all of the right times. But sometimes this restaurant gets packed since it is soo small. The Vermicelli bowl tasted like how it is suppose to taste, in all Vietnamese restaurants the Vermicelli bowl seem to all taste the same, so I am not complaining.
-: Restroom was disturbing, I think most Chinatown restaurants should redo their restaurants and kitchens too.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
11/24/2007
I haven't eatten at this place for a while, I used to come here a lot to get my Thai Ice Tea and… Read more »
The pho here is not exceptional, but passes the taste test!
The pho noodles are very good and chewy. Cooked just right. The broth seemed light and flavorful. But after the meal, my mouth was very dry and I constantly had to reach for my water. *ding ding ding* MSG.
Their menu lists only one price for each pho bowl. My naked Pho Tai was $5.85. If you want a bigger bowl, its $1.15 for extra noodles. There's probably another charge for extra beef. Then its $0.50 extra to put beef on the side. (fee for laying out the beef and washing an extra dish??)
Each person gets a small plate of sprouts and basil with their pho. But I noticed that everything (basil leaves, jalapenos and sprouts) were a bit moist. Hopefully they were not reused goods. =/
I am still contentedly full from lunch today and the delicious possibilities of Golden Star. 2 friends decided to visit me in SF for a long lunch break and we both felt like some delicious Chinatown fair within 4 blocks of my work.
I can never finish a bowl of pho by myself. I know this already. The guys I was with might be able to, but I can't. We ended up ordering just the right amount of food: One bowl of the beef round pho, one order of the five spice chicken pho and an order of imperial rolls.
The workers were a bit curt but actually quite accommodating. They brought 3 small bowls since we were splitting the pho and they brought lots of extra sundrys (fresh basil, lime, bean sprouts, lots of peppers, the usual).
The beef round pho was great with a delicious broth and noodles that were the perfect texture. The imperial rolls were hot, crunchy, but were not served with nearly enough of the lettuce and veggies to eat them appropriately. But the winner of the afternoon was the five spice chicken pho.
Instead of chicken in the soup, it's just a big leg and thigh on the side of a giant bowl of noodles and broth. Pulling the chicken pieces off and throwing them in the soup is like eating an asian version of grandma's chicken noodle soup. It's filling and the seasonings melt off into the broth to season it further.
Additionally, we got a round of Vietnamese iced coffees, which were better than I've had most places. I was quite impressed, I can honestly say.
The total for the three of us came out to about $30, including tip. We were so full afterward (yet we were able to make it into north beach for dessert).
But what gets Golden Star 4 stars is not lunch today. Golden Star gets 4 stars because of every time I get carryout from them. They superheat the broth and package the raw beef round, half cooked noodles and crisp vegetables all separately. That way, when I get back to the office, I can cook my meat and finish cooking my noodles all in that great broth. Best of all, they are very generous with the basil. Nothing is soggy, overcooked or cold.
It's great to sit inside and have a leisurely lunch, but the takeout is why I rate them so highly.
My favorite cheap viet place downtown. Pho, imperial rolls, chicken is all spot on. We go here a lot.
Looking for a great bowl of pho in the Downtown, FiDi, Chinatown area that isn't too salty and totally reasonably priced?
I came here after work on a Friday with the case of the sniffles and came out feeling soooo much better! Pho is the best coldbuster and hungover cure.
I ordered the House Special Pho (#1) with everything: flank, tendon, beefballs, tripe, etc. Great meat portions where I finished all the noodles and still had meat to work on towards the bottom of the bowl. Overall very fulfilled walking out of this place and certainly would recommend this place to Pho lovers.
I will totally be back to sample the other dishes!
This was my first stop on a recent trip to San Fran. The Bun was really good. My boyfriend liked the Pho, though didn't think it was "the best" as some reviwers seem to think. He had much higher expectations from all the reviews. The place was clean, service was quick. All in all I'd recommend.
Somehow I was convinced to walk to Chinatown to enjoy some of the fare in this location by coworkers, an admirable feat for anyone when it involves me walking in SF. Why can't it all just be closer? If I just had more time...
So we go to this lovely little not-quite-a-hole in the wall spot, and we get seated quickly, and these speedy yet silent staff quickly get our order and write it on the paper placemats! Nice touch. I ordered an egg with my bbq pork, and he even drew a little egg on it. OK, a little over the top, but good enough.
The place was busy and cramped and had that feeling like anytime you go here it's 3am and you're coming back from the club with a buzz headache, crispy from hours of sweat creating layers of sheen on you and in serious need of food, sleep, and a reality check in any order. What? Is it just me?
But the food was plentiful, delicious, and even though I'm never that interested in having pho at a pho restaurant, I still enjoy the foods that are not the key draw for most. My meat was tender, moist, and perfectly seasoned, and the fried egg extra was a nice touch, made me think of plate lunch and loco moco. My companions had pho, they both liked it and had it before. If I ever have a two hour lunch, I may try this place just for pho.
These fellows, though, they want you out quick. Service is rushed and it felt like as soon as any indication of us leaving was imminent, three people descended like vultures and took everything and left us the scraps...er, bill. I didn't know this place didn't do credit cards, so a companion paid. Seriously, I need to consider buying other people a meal now and again. And fortunately, I wasn't too full for our speed walk back to work.
A fine little spot indeed. Lunch is packed, there is a long line, but turnaround is amazingly good, just be prepared to have lunch with a table of complete strangers sometimes and everything will be just fine.
I've been coming to this place ever since I had my first bowl of mouth watering pho 7 years ago. It's my favorite pho place in San Francisco! The menu is fairly simple but there are many delicious plates in there, some even vegetarian. I am saying this as a vicious carnivore, but their curry tofu is one of a kind!
The people are also very friendly, and prices are reasonable.
Try the five spice chicken- it is AMAZING!
Best pho in SF and possibly the entire Bay Area (another favorite is Pho Nam on Serra Way in Milpitias). My crtieria? Quality of broth and meat (not to mention quantity of meat -- they are very generous).
Some tips if you've never been -- it gets packed on weekdays during lunch thanks to the work crowd but the tables turn fast if you have 1-3 people. If you have a larger group, the wait might be 15 minutes, but you'll still be in and out in less than an hour because the service is quickfire.
Another nice thing -- these people know what they're doing. It may appear like one of those unorganized Asian restaurants that don't know who arrived first when there's a wait, but trust me, there's a method to the madness. Just sign your name and party size on the clipboard and and they'll take care of you.
Weekends are less busy, and you can easily park in the lot underneath the park.
When many think of Vietnamese food, they mainly talk about the quality of the pho. Me? well I'm a whore for bun.
For those who are unfamiliar with the dish, in layman's terms it is essentially a noodle salad with delicious crap in it (the crap being roasted meats, greens, herbs, veggies and fried imperial rolls) Well, I've been on the hunt for the city's best bun since I moved here 3.5 years ago and was just about to give up and hand the title of the "winningest bun" in the city to PPQ beef....that is until I walked into Golden Star.
I had previously ordered the egg rolls, which are done in the style that I prefer (with rice wrappers instead of spring roll wrappers) They were fantastic, so the next time I came in, I ordered the bun. It was effin' delicious with the perfect ratios of veggie to noodle and meat and eggroll. God, my mouth waters just thinking about it.
Anyway, if you want some damn good bun (or imperial rolls in general) come on down!
Best Pho in the Financial district/Chinatown!! The food here has never disappointed. I recommend the lemon-grass chicken over vermicelli, the grilled shrimp and egg rolls over vermicelli or the five spice chicken. But really, whatever you get, you will like!
Five Spice Chicken Pho
This is the only place that I know that serves this. It comes out like regular Pho, a hot broth with light thin vermicelli noodles, but also comes with a side of huge chicken marinated in five spices. I order this with a side or rare beef and extra limes and basil leaves, or some imperial rolls. When ever it comes out, my friends are like, "what is that? I wish I ordered that!", What can I say? "It's not where you go, it's what you order...."
and I order WELL. :) All this for under $8.00? Cheaper than a cab ride! Love it!
I love Vietnamese food. It's so healthy, light and inexpensive! I could eat this stuff everyday!
This is the first pho place I've been to since moving to SF, and I must say, it's not bad.
After reading reviews and needing to nurse a hangover from the night before, my roomie (my partner in crime) found our way to Golden Star in Chinatown.
They have an extensive menu, not just your pho variations, and I really wanted to try the chicken pho everyone's raging about, as well as the pan fried noodle (liang mian huang), but I had a craving to take care of, and settled for my usual combination pho. My roomie had the steak meat pho.
The soup base is the most important part of cooking good pho, and they definitely had that down. The broth and very flavorful and the meat was plenty. This is definitely one of the better places I've had pho (it's ridiculous how horrible some places can get).
My only complaint (hence minus one star) is that Gold Star is not cheap, it's actually on the pricier side for pho. My favorite place is still in Chinatown LA, Pho 87, where the servings are noticeable larger (without losing the quality) and still $1-$2 cheaper.
We opted out of our imperial rolls (usually a staple) because of the price, but it definitely cured my hangover :)
I've only tried their pho here. It's okay. I prefer Ben Tre in South San Francisco.
Their soup is a little bland and noodles are overcooked....meh
They get really busy too.
food taste = 3.5
price / value = 4
service = 3.5
environment = 2.5
the taste is not as strong as i'd like it, but having eaten here a few times, i do admit they give a decent serving. not the best pho i've ever had, but pretty darn good. it's extremely busy for lunch and every time i've eaten here, i've had to share the table with some other people. when you're waiting in line, make sure you sign into the sheet or you'll be skipped!
Been coming here for years, but fell off my lunch rotation when i moved office buildings..but now i'm back. Went there today. Food is always tasty and inexpensive. Plus the portions are generous. Not the prettiest place in town, but definitely will be back on the lunch rotation.
For the purpose of reviewing Golden Star, since Golden Star and Golden KING are under the same family (I think same ownership interest as well), and both places are nearly identical, I am reviewing BOTH G.Star and G.King. But I am not making any representations about G.Strings............
I use to come here a lot. But when City of SF started to ban plastic take-out-wares, G.Star (and other restaurants as well) increased their price to arguably balance out the alleged increase in cost. I guess that is reasonable. But the price increase (not just once, but a few times) just pushed their prices way too much for food in Chinatown. I prefer Golden Flower more now. I would not avoid this place if friends want to eat here.
1.5 dollar signs!
Yummy pho #1. Quick, good, big menu to please everyone. No complaints here.....
2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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6/5/2009
Still the same old goodness. My friend and I tried the special spicy noodle that was posted on the… Read more »
This past week I found myself getting sick. My eyes throbbed from sinus issues, and my body ached. I knew was looking at a weekend spent hiding beneath my covers, while watching all three seasons of Arrested Development.
But instead of stocking up on my usual Tylenol cold and sinus stuff, and dedicating hours to long phone complaining sprees to my siblings- I decided to be proactive.
I began drinking lots of herbal teas. I made regular visits to Good Earth for bowls of fresh fruit and yogurt and large quantities of veggies. I chugged water. I got sleep. Lots of it.
And of course I got some Pho at Golden Star.
Due to Nicole G's glowing recommendations about Golden Star - I knew this place had to be good. And so sniffling away, I made the trek with her to get some hot pho.
If you're nervous about the distance - don't be. It's actually a very pleasant stroll and if you go a little later in the day - you miss the hectic work lunch crowd.
As soon as we arrived, a kind gentleman made sure we were seated. He beamed as he gave us the menus.
We both ordered the five spice chicken pho. (unfortunately there are little if no vegetarian options here)
Once it arrived I knew it was just what my cold needed.
It consisted of a huge bowl of pho, piping hot with perfectly cooked vermicilli noodles, a big side portion of five spice chicken, and a side plate of basil, sprouts, lemon, cucumber etc.
I hungrily poured everything into my warm pho and devoured it in a couple of minutes.
It was the epitome of comfort food.
I can assure you that when you're feeling lousy - there is really nothing better than a big bowl of pho to ease away the sickness. Especially when it comes to Golden Star's generous portions, cheap prices, friendly service, and delectable fresh ingredients.
Pho -realz.
(Oh and for those of you who may have been concerned by my health status :) - I am 100 percent better. I've seriously never kicked a cold so fast. I owe it all to lots of fruit and veggies, sleep, and Golden Star.)
It's been a long week, a really long week. And it's only Thursday. The sheer horrific-ness of this week made it absolutely necessary for some serious, hardcore deliciousness at lunch time. There's no going wrong with good Vietnamese, so Jenny W and I (yes, we are attached at the hip) set off to Golden Star Vietnamese Restaurant.
We split the imperial rolls. By nature of being fried, they were delicious, but not the best imperial rolls I've had. I prefer larger imperial rolls cut into smaller bites over the 6 mini rolls served at Golden Star. I had the five spice chicken and Jenny had the pho ga. The soup bowl is huge!! I can't imagine anyone being able to finish that, it's definitely multiple meals in one. Overall, we were both happy and the food was good enough to distract us from the horrors of working full time for a short but pleasant little hour. To anyone hiring for the full time position of trophy wife: we are highly qualified and have resumes and references available.
Seeing the single dollar sign on Golden Star's yelp profile led me to believe it was going to be super cheap. And overall, it is a pretty cheap lunch, but each item was about $1 more than most Vietnamese restaurants I've patroned (not a word according to spell check, but I disagree).
And lastly, I would rank the service at Golden Star as simply spectacular. We were seated quickly, attended to immediately, the food arrived in record speed, and everyone working was extremely friendly. Thank you for the delightful lunch Golden Star!
I am by no means a frequenter of Vietnamese food places. We went here cause my sis is obsessed with pho since spending time in Nam. I ended up getting sweet and sour soup (one of the few vegetarian dishes). They said the pho was good. I suppose I'd go back.
After having our St. Patty's fun, we were ready to chow down and Golden Star was just a stone's throw away, so we decided to give it a shot.
Golden Star looks just like any other vietnamese place, and tasted like any other place as far as the entrees went. I had Pho w/ 5 Spice Chicken, w/ the chicken being juicy, but the pho noodles overcooked. My dining companions didn't have much to say about their entrees. It just seemed like stomach filler food.
The imperial rolls however, were bomb! I ended up inhaling the whole plate and kept on blabbing about them after we went back to Irish Bank. That would probably be the only reason I'd go back; to shut myself up and get my hands on more of those imperial rolls!
Today I was determined to find a mouth wateringly delicious bowl of pho, and nothing was going to get in my way, not even the 10 blocks between me and Golden Star. I put on my shades, grabbed my compatriot, and off we went, to slurp the ultimate comfort food.
The line out the door almost caused a minor freak out on my part, but D was barely done with her ciggy and the wait was over. Minutes later we were seated and two hot steaming bowls of broth arrived with a side of 5 spice chicken and all the fixins. Definitely excellent, and I did manage to slosh it all over myself and the table in my excitement, but better than Turtle Tower? Pho-getaboutit.
The drip Vietnamese iced coffee was divine. Ummm... has anyone noticed the effects of drinking that stuff are akin to hitting the crack rock? I'm still twitching.
Maybe I'm just not a phan of pho...It's just kinda boring. I mean don't get me wrong, I always add a ton of http://hueyfong.com (whatever that red sauce is called) plus the sprouts and other veggies, but every time I order it I don't like it. Started off with the imperial rolls, which I thought were only decent. No one beats Cordon Bleu's (AKA the chicken place to moi) imperial rolls. I ordered half of a 5 spice chicken which was ok. I thought it was pretty sweet actually and I definitely prefer white meat over dark meat (which is something else my beloved "chicken place" can accommodate).
Maybe I'll try out the Pho some other time when I'm sick.
Mediocre. Uninspired. Predictable.
Not as dehydrating as Pho Hoa, but not sure if that merits noteworthy praise.
Golden Star has decent Pho. It's hot, it's salty, and the noodles are slurp-able. Sauces provided for dousing your noodles on the side. Tripe and tendon goodies were scarce.
The price is right ($6 for pho) and the decor is standard Chinatown fair. Fluorescent white lights, white walls, white floors, cheap chairs.
I'd go again per happenstance, but not a place to seek out.
This is an awesome pho placed in a pretty cool location. I wouldn't claim this is the best in the Bay, but.. Very clean and very fresh compared to other pho places I've been to. The shrimp/pork roll sauce was awesome. Pho was very very good, although making broth a tiny bit more flavorful wouldn't hurt.
Will definitely be back.
A hearty bowl of pho not too distant from my SOMA workplace, Golden Star will make a welcome addition to my stable of SOMA/FiDi eateries. I came here pretty late and the place was basically empty, service was brief but perfect, and the pho - I tend to start with a straight tài when I first try a pho place - was delicious. Golden Star uses larger pieces of meat than I have seen in other phos, which I found to be a welcome variation.
As we walk away, I turned around to see a lady who worked there lighting sticks of incense and placing them in the sidewalk cracks at the base of the outer wall. I found the image soothing, for some reason.
Best Pho in San Francisco. Clear broth.
They have similar crispy imperial rolls as Slanted Door.
I've been going to Golden Star for about 5 years now. I think they deserve 5 stars, for keeping my attention.
Go here all the time for lunch. Love it. I am almost always the only non-Asian in there, which I am told means that the food is really good. Hmmm. I think I get that.
Despite the long lines and the fact that the place is packed for lunch every day, they always remember me with a smile and will bust me when I haven't been there in a while. Just the service you want from a neighborhood place.
The Pho is good, but so is are some of the other menu items that I have sampled. When not in the mood for Pho, I usually get the five spice chicken, which I highly recommend. One caveat, it is greasy, but that grease is sooooo good.
Take out from there a lot, too. Only complaint is that when taking out Pho, they fill up the container to the rim with broth so there is no room for you put the other fixin's in. But hey, nobody's perfect.
Pho me!
#1
Gets me every time!
Sorry Golden Star...two strikes and you're out. I'm not going to allow myself to attempt the "third try is a charm" at this place. I'm afraid I'll just be further disappointed.
Today, I was craving pho so one of my co-workers took me here.. Once I sat down, I realized I had been before and told myself not to come here again. It was too late, we sat down and the guy was beside us ready to take our order. I ordered the seafood noodle soup...yuck! The shrimp wasn't clean, and the first fishball was okay, but the second one left a really weird after taste.
First time I came here, I ordered a rice plate and it arrived with a huge amount of meet that I was grossed out upon seeing it. Whenever I see a plate with an extra huge portion of meet and it's cheap...I start to wonder...are they just trying to get rid of the meat off their hands. I still tried to be a good sport and ate some of the meat, but it was bad quality.
Now that I've written a review, hopefullyI'll remember not to come back here again...I'm going to try to save my palate from further suffering.
We ordered regular Pho and the portions were HUGE!! They give you everything and the prices are nicely affordable. The spring rolls were however not that good of value - a bit too dark from the frying and small for the price they charge. Overall though we were very very full walking out of this place and certainly would recommend this place to Pho lovers.
I can't go to this place anymore even if it is my mother-in-law's favorite Vietnamese place. My predictable running home after eating here to get to the bathroom can't be psychosomatic. And it can't be in my head every single time. Next time, mom-in-law wants to get lunch here on a Saturday, I'm not going. Sorry, but this is info that can help fellow yelpers not to hurt the business, but when you've got plans for the day, an unclean meal wrecks your afternoon. And I'm tired of it.
