Glenn "Omnivore's Dali Lama" H.'s Profile

Very pleased to find that their Singaporean Style Chow Fun was meaty, not oily and excellent all-round, with enough to take home. Likewise their Xiaolongbao (Shanghai Dumplings for us Westerners and ABC's) were just little pockets of heavenly soupy goodness. Even with heavily Asian crowd, the service was still very good and polite. I'll be back with/for more!

Let the fried (pig meat, lumpia, desert) feast begin! :8)

We saw this place on Check Please! Bay Area and had not made reservations for 4 at about 6 PM on Sunday. Having no reservations is a mistake here.

We were told that we would be looking at a 30-40 minute wait, but we chose to do so anyway. Also met another couple that saw the same program as we today and decided to drop in, and wait. But after about 20 minutes, we were seated.

Very nice ambiance: clean, well lit, classy looking. Friendly service which left us alone for a decent time while we sorted out the many choices provided in the picture-filled menu.

We largely decided to choose from what was featured on the Check Please program:

Lumpianitas (5/5); plentiful, hot, crispy, small lumpias were served with a sweet chili dipping sauce that we all really liked.

Beef Rib-Eye Tapa (2/5); not anyone's favorite. In spite of the fact that this was supposed to be Rib-eye, the thinly sliced beef strips were not very tender or juicy and taste was left wanting. It was served with a side of lightly pickled vegetables and a vinegar sauce that helped the beef some, but not enough.

Pork Sisig (4/5); FINALLY: after wanting this ever since I got into this area, I got a taste of this classic dish. Nice! It comes out in a sizzling cast iron platter; a chopped mixture diced fried cube-lets of pork in onions and jalapenos mixed with egg. Slightly tart, this was a very good and needs to be served with rice.

Ginataang Sitaw & Kalabasa (5/5); totally the BOMB! This is primarily a vegetable dish composed of Kalabaza squash chunks, thin string beans cooked in a coconut milk with chunks of fried pork meat and shrimp. If someone did not say this was Filipino cooking, I would have said it was from Malaysia or Burma, but this is one terrific dish, that again needs to have rice to serve delicious curried coconut sauce over. This was a hit for everyone and a must have.

Crispy Binagoongan (2/5); so pretty to look at, so disappointing to eat. Alas, this very pretty dish of fried crispy chunks of pork (yes more fried pork!), while an authentic Filipino recipe (also might be called Pork in shrimp paste) this was definitely an acquired taste. The pork is covered with the fermented shrimp paste and served under a stunning mound of chopped mango and tomato (see pic http://s3-media2.ak.ye...) over a japanese eggplant. The rather earthly, musty, taste of the shrimp paste is the most dominant flavor and unfortunately, was not a flavor that most of us liked. In addition, the rather rich (read: fatty) flavor of the very crunchy pork cubes was something that you must also like to appreciate this dish.

Steamed Rice (what can you say about steamed rice except it was hot, fluffy and not undercooked).

Turon Ala Mode (4/5); this is essentially two fried, crispy lumpia stuffed inside with a plantain and then drizzled with chocolate and served over vanilla ice cream. Given how full we all were from this very rich meal, this single serving, split 4 ways was a perfect palet cleanser before finishing the meal

All told: this feast as about $20 per person before tip and without drinks and we had plenty (PLENTY) to take home. We all agreed that this was a place to return to and try the other choices.

If you are new to Filipino food, this would be great place to get introduced to it, but please bring a Filipino friend (or one who'se familiar with this cuisine) to guide you. We did and we weren't sorry, in spite of the couple of entrees we didn't like as much.

So we did the Check Please! choices. Now for a return visit (or two or three) for the rest the yummy looking menu!

:8)

I'm very pleased to report that all appears well with this place after the previous owner sold the Golden Wok to a new owner. I went there today to find new very fast and friendly waiters, the exact same menu, and NO "Cash Only" sign in the front door that used to be for lunch. They accept all credit cards here now.

I tried their Beef with Chinese Broccoli (Gai Lan) and the beef was plentiful, tender and with plenty of emerald greens done perfectly. I also upgraded to the vegetable fried rice and it too is excellent, with even more veggies and effort put in it than the previous version I enjoyed here.

A very good Hot and Sour soup has replaced the egg-drop and tofu soup they used to serve and they included a decent fried spring roll alongside an enormous portion of fried rice that came with the generous serving of beef and broccoli. It was enough that I had to take about half home.

So the initial verdict is: "I'll be back" and very happy that the quality has continued to remain the same.

This is where the former Hot Red Masala, off Coast Hwy, Pacifica moved to. They don't have any new signage yet except for the new name on the front of the Oceana Blvd facing storefront. Even their menus still bear the Hot Red Masala name.

I had avoided this place when it was on Coast Hwy because of all the terrible reviews. So when I went into this one and found out immediately that it was Hot Red Masala, I smiled cheerfully at the one friendly woman behind the counter and told her that I wanted to do their buffet. At $7.99, all you can eat, this is a bit on the higher side but not unreasonable. They accept most major credit cards.

The buffet is curiously unlabeled, so you must open each chafing dish to see what is within. The food was hot and I saw Saag Paneer, Daal, Chana Masala Karahi, Vegetable Biryani, Chicken Tikka Masala, Beef Masala Curry, Tandoori Chicken, salad, and a potato dish.

I sampled as many as I could and none were particularly a hit, each suffering from some lack of seasoning.

The Saag Paneer had very little Paneer even though I was there right at noon on a weekday. I found exactly one thumbnail sized piece in two servings, (without me stirring and fishing for some mind you). Now the Saag was actually decent but without the Paneer, it seemed just an empty stewed spinach.

The Daal was almost tasteless.

The Biryani was average; fluffy rice with OK seasoning, but not anything more.

The Chicken Tikka Masala was not very creamy, yes full of chicken but the chicken was on the dry side and the dish seemed wanting for more flavoring. I found myself mixing things together on my plate to get some contrasting tastes going.

The Beef Masala Curry was likewise full of dry beef chunks in a very oily and not very savory sauce.

The Tandoori Chicken was not deeply red or very seasoned. It was very moist, meaty and juicy but with almost no flavor other than standard roasted chicken, and some of the pieces might have appeared not as done as I was comfortable with.

Naan would be extra for this buffet.

The only flavoring that they all had was single note of pepper so they were not totally bland, just not very complex or inspired. It was like the cook was thinking: "What is the very least I can do to come close to being called Indian food, without having to use many spices?"

The place was completely empty with a table that was not cleared. It felt clean but a bit like second-hand furnishings.

The meal was filling but I was just left wanting something more than filling the void.

I really wanted to like this place. With all the mostly positive reviews from the Elites, I thought I'd have an outstanding Sunday dim sum experience.

Sadly, this was not the case.

First the good: parking lot next to it made getting here easy enough. Their reusable ticketing system to call you when your table was ready was efficient and got us in there just over 10 minutes after we arrived at noon on a Sunday.

First dish came out within less than 30 seconds after sitting down. We tried some of the staples that we'd loved over the years:

Steamed Pork Buns (Char Siu Bau): OK. Maybe a little light on the less than chunky pork filling but at least the 3 buns were not each large to add to the difference between bun and filling. (3/5)

Shrimp Dumplings (Har Gau): This is normally a great staple of any dim sum experience. Tender shrimp (check) but they were so under-flavored, and for my wife so bit off-tasting that she refused to eat the rest. I ate them though, noting that while they were not bad, they were sorely in need of doctoring up (sesame oil?) to make them taste proper. Bzzz! Miss! (2/5)

XO Rice Noodle Rolls: This dish came out oily looking and with a side of what tasted like Hoisin sauce, which is NOT what XO tasted like. The wonderful charred stir-fry flavor was seriously missing. Bzzz! Miss! Especially because this is what they call a "Super Dim Sum" for $5.20 each (2/5)

The Chinese Brocoli with Oyster sauce (Gai Lan) were a gorgeous emerald green and were excellent. This was the best dish on the table. "Super Dim Sum" (5/5)

Stuffed Mushrooms (Bok Far): Excellent. I really enjoyed these although my wife lamented the shrimp flavor in the stuffing (shrimp and bamboo shoots) was overwhelmed by the mushroom flavors, but I loved this one. (4/5)

Shrimp Rice Roll (Har Chong Fun): Again another staple that we count on for dim sum. Missing again in flavor. The sauce was not quite right, instead of a sesame-based sauce, this was more soy based and again missed the boat. AaOOOgah! "Prepare to abandon ship!" MISS! (2/5)

Bean Curd Rolls (Seen Jook Goon):  I was really let down with this dish, while virtually a sure-fire winner in almost any other dim sum restaurant, this was seriously missing in flavor. Everything else looked right, but the taste was simply underwhelming. OOeeooEEEooo! (annoying car alarm sounds ensue) Miss! (2/5)

Custard Tarts (Don Tot): better than average, with crusts that are more cookie like than the oily pastry kinds that I've tasted. (4/5)

Service was brisk and they spoke English, but some waitresses were clearly miffed that an ABC like me looked like I could speak but had alas no talent for Cantonese.

So I'm really hesitant to try this place again because the very staples of a good dim sum place were seriously lacking where they should have been solid hits.

In our continuing quest for Indian food in San Francisco, we discovered, thanks to something call "Yelp", the Kasa Indian Eatery. Yelp's a perfect thingy to find new places to stuff your craw, if you had one, and Kasa was an affordable Indian homestyle that is now bookmarked as a place to go back to if I'm ever again in the area.

Take this place: we'd come off of a Sunday hike to Mount Davidson Park and were looking for an Indian restaurant nearby that was open on Sunday's before 5 PM. Yelp led us to this place on a corner in the Castro on 18th and Noe that is a little like a cafeteria and an Indian Bistro.

You get two main choices: a wrap called a Kati Roll, which is a filled (with one of the choices below plus marinated onions and chutney) roti rolled like a burrito for a inexpensive $4.50 each (order 2 or 3 for a meal) AND/OR what we had which was a Thali (A Combination Plate).

For about $11, you get an authentic homestyle round and sectioned stainless steel tray that holds many wondrous things: first, two choices of the following selection:

Chicken Tikka
Chicken Tikka Masala
Lamb Curry
Turkey Kebabs
Karahi Paneer
Aloo Jeera
or one of the Daily Veggie Specials (like today's Saag Paneer)

Also with that you get a Daal (lentil) with basmati rice, a large handmade wheat roti, a veggie salad (that is to plotz for), two chutney's (including a cilantro one) and a large spoonful of raita (yogurt).

This is a lot of very good food, served up by friendly and efficient people behind a counter. You then can order drinks or a mango lassi ($3), and find your seat in this small restaurant.

We three did the Thali with:
Chicken Tikka
Chicken Tikka Masala
Karahi Paneer
Saag Paneer

And we all agreed how real the food tasted (locally sourced or naturally raised BTW) and how much great food you can get for relatively little in SF. The daal was spicy as was the Karahi Paneer, but the perfect tempering of the raita and the fresh flavors and crunch of the fresh salad tempered this spice. With all the fresh, different textures and flavors that were served on a single platter, we found this a welcome change from the many standard Indian buffets we've had in our past, where we would tend to stick only with "what we knew".

The Chicken Tikka Masala was meaty with a sauce that did not come with that super-creamy opaque sauce, which allowed you to better taste the moist, grilled nature of the chicken. So many other Tikka Masala cream sauces try to cover up cubes of chicken that had gone dry too many hours ago, but this was done in small batches and the result was simply excellent.

Saag Paneer was really good and generous with their Paneer. Their large roti was really tasty and felt homemade rather than commercial.

The service tends to remain behind the counter and you are obligated to clear your own table and set your used dishes in a slot under a counter near the drink machine.

But this rather small place is clean, fast, and delicious; not much more to ask for in the City. We will definitely return.

4.5 stars. Minus a half a star for the value of some of the items but overall a terrific night out.

This is a prize of a place. Comfortable setting, great service, excellent quality food and, while maybe spend-y, is worth a look.

For our New Years eve dinner there we four had reservations (needed given the size of the place) at 8 PM. We started the night with two appetizers:

1. Tempura Style Coconut Prawns (3/5). These were not so much the Japanese style tempura (corn starch batter) that you might have had but more coconut shaving encrusted large prawns. There were 5 and were good but, if I had to go again, not a must have.

2. Dungeness Crab Puffs (4/5). These were 6, small, perfectly deep fried, wonton-skin wrapped pillows of Dungeness crab filling that were so much better than the typical Crab Rangoon's that you might have had elsewhere. They came with two dipping sauces, the better one was the sweet mustard. This was a nice, if pricey, treat and a good start to the entrees.

Four entrees:

1. Roasted Crab (4/5): this smelled wonderful as it came out and was a large, already cut up Dungeness crab, with the carapace shell. It was meaty and perfectly done with the garlic sauce. Really glad we tried this. I like crab but it isn't a must have for me. My table-mates really like it. Market price was almost $40 each.

2. Shaken Beef (5/5): very tender tasty cubes of beef (not well done, if that's important to you) that was marinated in a lightly sweet sauce, served with potato cubes that had also been marinated in the same dark sauce and grilled; all of this served over tender bay greens. Delicious! Everyone liked this dish. The Rice and Roll's Hunan Grilled Butter Beef was very comparable (and less expensive) than this dish but this was still a winning dish. And I need to mention the tender-crisp cuts of sweet Vidalia (that's my guess) onions that were served with this dish, they were great in their own right and really added dimension to the beef.

3. Seafood Combination (Scallops, prawns, Dungeness crab) Fried rice (6/5): if there was one dish that stood out from all of them, it was this dish. A simple, (even unimpressive) looking fried rice dish that just blew people away with its wok-seared taste and awesome flavors. Fried rice, yes. But extraordinary? For a mere $16 Absolutely!

4. Colossal Royal Tiger Prawns (5/5): 4 large butterflied and perfectly grilled in the shell prawns that were served over a bed of their famously delicious garlic noodles. Yeah this was a splurge, at almost $10 a prawn, this was expensive but very (very) good and to be served over the deservedly vaunted garlic noodles, this was a plus. We didn't have to order the Garlic Noodles as an entree because of this, and the waiter was smart enough to understand this by ignoring our order for these Prawns PLUS a Garlic Noodle order. The prawns did have a tendency to stick to their shells, but they were perfectly done and marinated in some fantastic sauce to make them outstanding.

The Garlic noodles had the perfect consistency of Yee Noodles, http://en.wikipedia.or..., which gives them an extra nice bite and appear to absorb the flavors better. They are also pricey. The Garlic Noodles by themselves were $9.50 an order, which seems a bit high for lo mein noodles and garlic, but if they are Yee noodles, they would be more fairly priced. Everyone at the table loved these.

Three deserts:

Creme Brulee (3/5): this was an OK rendition of Creme Brulee, not bad but not up to the standards of the rest of the meal. Nothing really special.

Chocolate Lava Cake (5/5): Oh yeah! This chocolate delight was the size of a very small hockey puck served with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream over a pool of Grand Marnier & melted vanilla ice cream. It was pricey ($9) but oh so very wonderful to have that rich oozing chocolate goodness.

Fried Banana Fritters a la Mode. (5/5): 2 fritters (your choice of pineapple or banana) served with that same scoop of dense vanilla ice cream. Love, Love, Love this simple but wonderful desert.

It was almost a perfect amount of food for 4 with each of us full to the neck and almost giddy from the great food experience.

While the restaurant was crowded, it never seemed loud or noisy and the service was spot-on: unobtrusive, available, and very polite.

With tip we were at about $50 per person without drinks (which included one modestly iced tea for $2.50).

Loved it and would eagerly go again for a special occasion!

It appears I only Yelp this place about once every 2 years. The last time I was not eager to come back, but after reviewing the other Elite's reviews, I settled on a few dishes that seemed to please most.

So we did the

Roti Canal: Still very good and that curry dipping sauce is still fantastic.

Belecan Fried Noodles: Excellent and tasty, if a little bit oilier than ideal, but still really good.

Lady Finger Belecan: A winner! Perfectly sauteed fresh okra with tender, juicy shrimp and that tasty Belecan shrimp paste. Fantastic.

Sizzling Malaysia Tofu Platter: Very good comfort style food, that only paled in comparison to the other two dishes. I really enjoyed this, my wife was less so but it was by no means ordinary or bland.

I will add back another star with this visit with the understanding that there are a few dishes here that really shine, while others tend to be hit or miss. Service was prompt  enough, if a bit perfunctory, but again nothing to really complain about.

I intend to return again with some friends again to check out their coconut rice and other dishes like Beef Rangoon.

I'd read enough negative reviews to be cautious about this place, but it appears, that if you get here early enough to avoid the crowds, you can also avoid slow service. But the quality of the food did not disappoint.

This place is a hybrid dim sum place where not only can you order from a menu and then they fill it, like Dim Sum King, but they have a traveling selection like traditional places do. We practically could not swat the traveling servers away, we were offered so many choices over and above what we ordered (and that was plenty already).
 
Overall, we liked the dim sum here. We had a wide sampling of their siu mai, har gaw, char siu bau, beef chow fun, Lotus leaf wrapped sticky rice, crispy roasted (with cracklin' rinds) pork, fried taro cake squares (smaller cubes, more easily served than the traditional card deck sized portions), fried tofu squares, and much more.

We came rather early ~11AM for dim sum so the food was fresh and hot and the service, while a bit confused (they missed our order for the custard cups which they tried to rectify, post-bill, with a free order of the freshest, tastiest, custard cups I've ever had at dim sum--hot out of the ovens apparently) was pretty fast and in addition to the order off a provided menu.

If we are down in San Mateo again, we will definitely try this one again.

3.5 stars. If you are in the mood for very good quality food and expensive beer, with a side of noise and a crowd on a Saturday night, this is the place for you!

Very friendly service dominates this rather small place. But the prices here for the great food will set you back quite a bit. Here's an unvarnished view of what you can expect here:

We four had the following:

Two Winter lettuce Salads, white balsamic roasted pear, toasted pecans $9 ea.

Two Fresh ground burgers with onion jam, aged white cheddar, acme pain de mie, regular fries $13 ea. One added the house-cured pepper bacon (two slices) for $2.

One spent grain and chick pea burger, fromage blanc, onion jam, acme pan de mie, fries $12

Two bottles of Belgian Tripel Karmeliet $14.75 ea. (these were 12 oz bottles! So good though -- a "Blond, robust, smooth, and fruity three-grain top fermented beer, refermented in the bottle. Brewed...after Karmeliet tradition with wheat, oat and barley. 100% natural. Has been brewed at Van Steenberge for Brewery Bosteels for some time until recently.")

One hot Apple Cobbler in a small pan with melting ice cream: $8

One stout brown Chocolate Bread Pudding with vanilla ice cream: $8

Verdict: almost everything was excellent. The only miss were the rather ordinary french fries were good but far from anything Belgium, not even served with a Belgian style dipping sauce.

A full side order of these MacDonald's-like fries was $6; so very overpriced, and we thankfully did not order one. The Monk's Cafe in Philadelphia http://www.yelp.com/bi...  had all the beers AND the authentic Belgian frites to prove it, while not overcharging.

Total: $112.30 with tax. Add a tip and you are well over $65 per couple. This quality of food (locally sourced, organic, etc), while appreciated, was not worth this cost on its face, but if you account for $15 for each bill was just the bottle of beer (net: $50) this might be on the moderate cost size.

Summarizing: two beef burgers, one veggie burger, two moderately sized salads, two beers, two deserts (each split) for over $110. Certainly a splurge; order a domestic beer Belgian-style (there are many MANY choices) and you could save some. But this place is renown for its beers, so why not try one?

Would I return? Maybe because the food (especially surprising was the very delicious the Spent Grain Burger) was really terrific. But will do so with a much bigger budget in mind.