Bocce Cafe - Italian, San Francisco

478 Green St, San Francisco CA 94133
(415) 981-2044
Parking: street parking
Hours: Sun – Thurs 11am to 9:30pm (closed 3:30 to 5pm), Fri-Sat 11am to 10pm (closed 4 to 5 pm)
http://www.boccecafe.com/

Last Visited: June 19, 2008

Food: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

We visited Bocce for a group dinner, so we had a limited selection of dishes to choose from, but it was a full three course meal. There is a large bar area and indoor seating as well as a covered outside patio in the rear. Upon our arrival, we were brought glasses of ice water and seated at two long tables covered with a white tablecloth. Olive oil and balsamic vinegar are placed on the table and bread is served in a basket.

- House Salad – Mixed greens are lightly dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette. It’s a sweet dressing and the greens are fresh. Good, but not special. $4.50

- Meat Lasagna – A sweet tomato sauce is placed in and over lasagna noodles layered with meat and cheese in an individual dish. The noodles were soft and the flavors were great. The cheese was browned nicely on top without being too dry. My only concerns about the lasagna were that it could have had more meat and there was a piece of sausage that had not been broken up well, leaving casing over sausage within my lasagna. Without that, I would have increased the food rating by half a star. $10.95

- Tiramisu – The tiramisu was served as a square cut from a pan of a larger tiramisu. Dusted with cocoa, the layers of ladyfingers were delicate. Although the presentation was simple and the texture was light, the flavors were bland and I only ate about half of the dessert. This is extremely rare for me so it shows my disappointment in the dish.

Restroom stalls are crowded and small so you may wish to leave all personal belongings at the table before visiting the restroom.

Considering the warm day, the water needed to be refilled more frequently. Also, since we had a limited menu, there shouldn’t have been as much of a wait, but several of our dining companions had to wait at least an additional 10 minutes after everyone else had received food before getting theirs. This was a bit disappointing. However, the flavors are okay, and I would be willing to return to order a la carte from the menu. The restaurant is a good place for group gatherings on warm days since the patio is comfortable and spacious.

Toast - American, Novato

5800 Nave Drive, Novato CA 94949
(415) 382-1144
Parking: shopping center parking lot
Hours: Breakfast/Lunch 7:30am-2:30pm, Dinner 5pm -10pm
http://toastnovato.com/

Last Visited: March 31, 2010

Food: 2 to 3 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

With a location in Mill Valley and their newly opened location in Novato, Toast opened in the Hamilton Marketplace with quite a bit of fanfare. Architect Stanley Saitowitz gets the credit for the modern decor. You walk into the room and see the light colored wood surrounding the place. Each panel has patterned cutouts that makes you feel quite a bit like you're looking at toast. The same color scheme is carried out in the tables with some tables being for smaller groups and several large tables that get shared by multiple parties during busy hours. High ceilings and an open kitchen create a very spacious feel to the place.

I've now been to toast three times - once for lunch and twice for dinner. Dinner on a Friday night can get quite busy and the waiting time for my most recent visit was more than half an hour. Try to arrive early to beat the crowd.

The menu boasts a selection of comfort food - everything from their brick oven pizza to fried chicken and burgers.

Lunch
- Build a Burger - I ordered a plain hamburger with jack cheese. All burgers are served with soup, salad, or fries. My burger was pretty boring - nothing special or noteworthy either way. The soup was hot - and okay as well. $8.95 + extra for cheese (no specifics on the menu regarding the price of toppings except to say they range from $0.75 to $1.25)

Dinner
- Buttermilk Fried Chicken - Two pieces (breast and wing) are served with mashed potatoes, gravy, corn on the cob, jicama-apple cole slaw, and jalapeno cheddar corn bread, this was an extremely hearty portion. While the chicken was fried with a nice crispy batter and worth getting again, the sides didn't do much for me. The jicama-apple cole slaw was a creative combination if you like sweet and crunchy. Of all the sides, this was probably the best. Corn on the cob was fresh, but how can you mess that up? What I didn't enjoy was the cornbread and the mashed potatoes. The potatoes tasted like they came out of a box - lacking flavor and just not the right texture. The cornbread was dry and crumbly - I was surprised that some people ordered it as a side dish! While it's rare that I leave food on my plate, I left both the mashed potatoes and corn bread virtually untouched. Fortunately, the chicken was juicy, although lacking a bit of salt, but good enough that I wouldn't mind having again, but they need to do something about those side dishes to make it worthwhile. $13.95

- Salsiccia pizza - Mild Italian sausage, mushroom, mozzarella, Parmesan, lite tomato sauce and herbs top pizza dough. Since Toast features their brick oven pizza as a specialty, I was looking forward to a treat, but the picture looks better than it tasted. The pizza must have sat out for a while because it wasn't particularly hot. The outer edge was crispy and the center a bit too moist. Flavors of the toppings were fine. While the size was ample, it wasn't a wow pizza. $12.95

Initially, I thought service just needed to work out its kinks. My lunch visit was a month or two after the grand opening, and we had gone with about ten people. They made several errors with the order - sending soup as an appetizer for someone whom had ordered it and requested it as a main dish, having long breaks between the arrival of main dishes for those in our group, sending yet another soup as a main dish despite us telling them that we wanted it packed prior to its arrival. The list seemed endless.

My second visit was okay except for the long initial wait time where there was little seating available in the waiting area. My third visit seemed left me feeling like the server forgot us. The food took a long long time to arrive - more than twenty minutes after ordering. I saw the pizza on the counter waiting for the fried chicken ordered by my dining companion to become ready, but by the time that took place, the pizza had become cool and it arrived at my table cold. This lack of coordination was disappointing and was reflected in the food quality. With all of these things in mind, I'll probably leave Toast to those whom are seeking a fun decor and don't mind the long wait. The place has a lot of promise, but the service and kitchen need to coordinate better to create a better customer experience.

Bay Fung Tong Seafood Restaurant - Chinese, San Francisco

327 Balboa Street, San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 221-8498
Parking: limited street parking

Last Visited: March 19, 2006

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 2 to 3 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $ to $$$

Turns out that this Bay Fung Tong restaurant has an affiliation with Best Panda (now closed) a number of blocks down the street. However, Bay Fung Tong is quite a bit more spacious, and offers dim sum at lunch time.

Many of the same items at Best Panda can be found at Bay Fung Tong – large portions and fresh ingredients are trademarks of both restaurants. The atmosphere is extremely casual with lots of fluorescent colored papers listing specials posted on the wall. Nothing fancy, but good food at a great value is available.

This evening’s set menu for four available for $36 consisted of the following:

- Seafood soup with tofu – Hot soup is presented in plentiful portion with shrimp, fish, tofu cubes, and yellow chives. It’s lightly thick and quite filling. For four people, it’s more than enough to have a second helping. Good.

- Vegetables with squid, prawns, and scallops – Snap peas or other seasonal vegetables are sautéed with squid, prawns, and scallops. On cool evenings, this dish cools down super fast, but it’s fine on a warm night. The seafood is fresh and the vegetables are crispy. Good.

- Deep fried quail (3) – Three quail are deep fried and halved. A half of lemon is served with the quail along with dry dipping seasoning. The quail has a lot of flavor from the marinade and the dipping seasoning adds a touch of saltiness. Today’s quail was light brown in color, and due to the size, the meat tends to taste dry around the areas where there is less flesh. Okay.

- Ginger and green onion sautéed crab – If you’re willing to get your hands messy, this is an excellent dish with crab sautéed in a sauce that contains ginger and green onion that flavors the cooking oil and the crab. Again, more fresh seafood and good wok air, but on a cool evening, this dish also cools down quickly. Good.

- Clams with black bean sauce – This is one of my favorite dishes. Black bean sauce is used to sauté a mix of clams, onions, green onions, and peppers to give the clams just a hint of heat. Very good.

- Dessert of the day: Tapioca in coconut soup with ginger – Today’s tapioca was a little on the thick side for the soup, so the consistency tasted a little less light on the palate, but the ginger gave the dessert distinctiveness. Okay.

- Steamed Rice $0.80 per person

The overall experience was similar to that found at Best Panda. Great value and fresh food, but I prefer this location to the other; however, note that parking is quite difficult at Bay Fung Tong and be willing to walk a few blocks to the car. At both Best Panda and Bay Fung Tong, the turnover rate of the food is high due to the quantity of patrons, so the food is consistently fresh, even if the presentation looks like home cooking. I would like to check out dim sum at Bay Fung Tong sometime soon.

Chester's Bayview Cafe - American, Berkeley

1508 Walnut Street, Berkeley CA 94709
(510) 849-9995
Parking: limited street parking
Hours: Breakfast and Lunch 8:30am-2:30pm Weekdays, 8:30am - 3pm Weekends;
Tapas Tues - Sat 5pm - 10pm

Last Visited: January 10, 2009

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 2 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

Helen and Mark had recommended we try Chester's for brunch, and on this weekend afternoon, we wandered into the restaurant after some difficulty with parking. They have a reasonable dining room downstairs, but the gem of the place is the limited upstairs seating which provides the bayview noted in the name of the cafe. The weather was clear with blue skies, and though we weren't able to get a table to enjoy the view, we did get to see it from atop the stairs for a moment.

Service was a bit lacking as we waited quite a bit for a server to seat us despite there being available tables. The hustle and bustle seemed to keep them from noticing us waiting for a table. When we were finally seated and served, service improved.

- Philly Cheesesteak - Thinly-sliced steak is served with grilled mushrooms, onions, green peppers, and Swiss Cheese. To me, this was standard fare - neither memorable in how good it was nor memorable in the other direction. It came with grilled potatoes even though I had chosen the other option of a side salad. Also, while the other three members of our table had gotten served, this took about five minutes more to arrive weighed negatively on the service rating given for this visit. It came so much later that I didn't even take a photo of it. $9.75

- Crab Hash - As seen from the photo, a hearty helping of potatoes is mixed with crab and topped with two poached eggs. Hollandaise is ladled on top of it. While filling and was good, it lacked the punch of the wow factor in its overall presentation and its flavor. I would eat it again, but it's not something I would make a special trip to enjoy. $11.25

The other photo is for a Belgian Banberry split and it's topped with bananas, choice of raspberry or blueberry compote, and whipped cream. $7.75

Breakfast and lunch dishes are good and plentiful. If you're looking for a slight twist on standard breakfast dishes included french toast, cramblers, potato pancakes, and omelettes, you'll like Chester's. For me, the food was just okay and service has room for improvement.

Hong Kong East Ocean - Chinese, Emeryville

3199 Powell Street, Emeryville CA 94608
(510) 655-3388
Parking: in parking lot
Hours: Dim Sum Lunch Mon-Fri 11 - 2:30pm, Sat 10:30am-2:30pm, Sun 10am - 2:30pm; Dinner Mon-Fri 5:30pm - 9:30pm, Sat-Sun 5pm - 9:30pm; No reservations for weekend lunch
http://www.hkeo.us/

Last Visited: January 31, 2010

Food: 4 stars
Atmosphere: 4 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $$ to $$$$

For the most part, recent visits to Hong Kong East Ocean have been for dim sum lunch, mostly because this is the best way to enjoy their view -when it's actually clear outside. Also, it's harder to order for smaller parties for dinner since you just can't eat a large quantity of food. However, over the last decade, I've been here for two wedding banquet dinners and both occasions were quite lovely.

Enter Hong Kong East Ocean and see an abudance of seafood in the tanks in the lobby. During weekends, the lobby is typically packed with patrons waiting for a table. Just past the entrance is a banquet room that is about a quarter the size of the main dining area. Cozy and quaint, this room is typically spacious, but there isn't a view. The main dining area has a ranch style layout with big columns in the middle of the room and windows all around facing the bay complete with views of the Bay Bridge and marina.

Pricing for dishes: Small $2.50, Medium $3, Large $3.50, Extra Large $4, Specials $5.75.

While the price tends to be higher than most dim sum restaurants in the Bay Area, the food quality is pretty good. Service gets three stars, but is typically a solid four stars or a dismal one star. For example, depending on where you may be sitting, you can have a lot of staff around you to take away dishes, fill your soy sauce dish, and refill your tea. However, while dining with some friends whom rarely have dim sum, we waited thirty minutes for food to arrive. This was appalling and when I checked on why it was taking so long, I learned our server forgot to put our check into the kitchen. This terrible mistake shows a lack of detail and the restaurant didn't even consider compensating any dishes or offering dessert. Once food arrived, service was good, but still, it was a terrible memory for all of us. Had it not been so late in the afternoon when all of us were starving, I would have walked out.

- Shrimp dumpling - As you can see from the photo, five shrimp dumplings are included. This is one more than what other restaurants typically serve. It also allows them to charge a premium for the dish. Great.

- Shrimp stuffed fried tofu - Four pieces of tofu are topped with shrimp paste, deep fried, and then topped with a bean sauce and scallions. Super fresh tasting.

- Pork dumpling - Four dumplings made of pork, topped with shrimp and shrimp roe are steamed in individual wrappers. Flavorful and good.

- Braised chicken feet - Standard fare, the chicken feet were good and well flavored.

- Spareribs with black bean sauce - An ample quantity of spareribs are steamed in a black bean sauce with chili peppers. Slightly spicy. Good.

- Beef balls - This came a little colder than we would have preferred, but the cilantro flavor was a nice complement to the meat. This would have been better hot.

- Sesame Balls - Deep fried and filled with lotus paste, I found the rice flour outer shell of this dessert to be a little too thick. Nice filling inside and crunchy on the outside, but it could be a thinner shell.

To provide a sampling of their banquet menu, I thought I would list the items of a typical wedding banquet. As you will see, there is a lot of seafood, and their food quality for banquet style food is surprisingly good for smaller banquets in the room in the entrance area. For larger banquets (typically they split the larger dining room in two), the quality isn't controlled quite as well, but still okay. The columns between the tables can be a hindrance to seeing the guests of honor though.

- HK East Ocean Assortment Platter (the Chinese version of cold cuts/deli cuts) - bbq pork, roasted suckling pig, jellyfish, meat slices
- Golden Crab Claws - deep fried crab claws stuffed with shrimp
- Stir-Fried Cuttlefish, Fresh Scallop with Jade Greens
- Royal Shark Fin Soup with Fresh Crab Meat - often served with chicken, the crab meat makes this delicacy even more decadent
- Braised Fresh Abalone with Sea Cucumbers
- Braised Lobster with Cream Sauce
- Spiced Tea Poached Chicken
- House Smoked Fillet of Black Cod - this is equally as good as smoked sea bass which was popular several years ago
- Fried Rice with Garlic & Seafood
- Chilled Mango Pudding

While this runs about $500 per table of ten, it's a meal that is sure to impress any of your non-vegetarian guests.

As always, when the dim sum gets cold, it's no longer as good as when it's hot. Hong Kong East Ocean typically serves very high quality dim sum with a great view. It's a place that I visit with friends since the atmosphere is hard to beat and the quality of the food is good almost every time. However, the prices for both lunch and dinner are higher than most places, and service during lunch can be hit and miss. Sometimes they are extremely attentive, and other times, you may feel ignored. Consider going on a clear day to enjoy the view.

Silver Dragon - Chinese, Oakland

835 Webster St, Oakland CA 94607
(510) 893-3748
Parking: street parking and pay parking in nearby lot

Last Visited: November 20, 2004

Food: 2 to 3 stars
Service: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Price: n/a

Silver Dragon has three floors – the lower floor is a smaller dark dining room, and the two upper floors are typically reserved in the evening for large dinner banquets. The lobby area is shared by the stairwell and elevator.

There are dance floor facilities on both of the upper floors. The only inconvenience being that on the third floor, there isn’t a restroom. You’ll need to go back to the second floor for that. Large chandeliers hang from the ceiling, and the room is light colored. One of the walls is lined with red fabric, an ideal background behind the host table of a wedding banquet. A thick green line is painted on the edge of portions of the ceiling to give the room some color.

The tablecloths are pink and the center of the table is topped with a lazy susan, standard amongst most Chinese restaurants.

- Cold appetizer plate – The cold plate contains shrimp (sliced in half along the body), ham, meat, and sliced meat from a roll. Jellyfish is placed in the center. All of these are fanned out in a circular pattern and makes for a colorful display. Although the presentation looked okay, I found the shrimp bland. Worse yet, there was a very tiny bug moving around one piece of shrimp, and well, that just killed most of our appetites.

- Deep fried stuffed crab claw - Crab claws are stuffed with shrimp paste and deep fried. They are placed on top of deep fried rice noodles and served with sweet mayonnaise. I found the mayonnaise a bit too sweet, but the crab claw was hot and good.

- Shark fin soup with chicken and dried scallop – Shark fin is served in a thick broth along with very thinly sliced chicken strips and dried scallop. The dried scallop was separated into individual strips. The flavor was good, but the shark fin was somewhat hard to find.

- Black mushrooms and mustard greens – Large black mushrooms top braised mustard greens. The greens were fresh and had a clean flavor. The dried mushrooms are rehydrated by soaking in water and the outcome was tender. Good.

- Seafood Bird’s Nest – Scallop, shrimp, and squid are accompanied by celery, carrots, and scallions in a deep fried shell made from potato. The shell is shaped like a bowl, and the sautéed seafood fills the bowl. The seafood was tender and not stringy. The shell was crispy though slightly too golden on the bottom, but as a whole, it was good.

- Braised Lobster – This was probably the best dish of the night. Lobster is braised with ginger and scallions. The taste was clean and the lobster texture was just right. The braising created a sauce that accentuated the lobster flavor. Very good.

- Steamed fish – Two fish are steamed whole and served with green onions, ginger slices, and light soy sauce. The fish was cooked okay. When it comes out just slightly undercooked but able to break away from the bone, the flesh is considered cooked just perfect. These fish were cooked slightly more than this. Nice clean flavor. Good.

- Fook Kin Fried Rice – Rice is topped with a sauce containing small shrimp, scallops, and chopped greens. If you’ve never had this before, think risotto and you’ll be pretty close. I personally prefer the rice to be a little softer. When biting into this rice, you can still taste that it’s a little hard in the center. I prefer to have the entire grain of rice soft all the way through, but not so soft that it’s mushy. The flavor of the topping was good. Okay.

- Red Bean Dessert – Red beans are boiled until they begin to fall apart in water with lotus nuts. Sugar is added to taste. Not profound, but Good.

The food would have received a three star rating, but since the shrimp had a tiny bug, the food rating is now two to three stars, and really would be even lower had I been the one to select that particular shrimp.

The dishes as a whole were average or better considering they were served banquet style. I hope the bug was a fluke and not a regular occurrence. Since the shrimp was laid out, it’s hard to determine whether it could have been found before serving. Just watch what you’re eating.
I recently returned for another banquet, but this one was served buffet style. The portions were generous and the food was fresh and for the most part, every dish was at least average or better.
- Black Pepper Beef – Beef is served with red and green bell peppers. The beef itself could have been more tender, but otherwise, the flavor was well balanced between the peppers.

- Shrimp with Broccoli – The shrimp was succulent and the broccoli was crisp and green. Good.

- Chow Mein – Hong Kong style noodles are cooked with vegetables. The noodles were easily separated from one another and the flavor was light. Good.

- Fried Chicken – The fried chicken drumsticks were tender and the skin crisp. Good.

The food remains a three star rating, but could be moved between three and four based on the lunch experience.

Things We Love

After doing a posting on Restaurant Pet Peeves, it only seems appropriate to discuss the things Sesame Tea Eats loves.

- Excellent Service. Who doesn't love excellent service? Yet, it's those, whom from the moment you walk into the door to the moment you walk out, treat you like you're family, a friend, or royalty, depending on the establishment.

- Server Anticipation. They know your every need before you even ask for it - be it more napkins, a fork, extra plates, the check, whatever.

- Filled Water and Drink Glasses. Though we don't want you to hover, it's great not to have to ask for a refill.

- The Correct Temperature. When hot foods are hot and cold foods are cold, that can make all the difference in how good or bad a dish tastes.

- Hot Bread. Cold bread can be good too, but there is nothing like hot bread and room temperature butter that can actually be spread without ripping the bread, that is super inviting.

Shan Dong - Chinese, Oakland

328 20th St, Oakland CA 94607
(510) 839-2299
Parking: street parking
Hours: Closed Mondays, Sun – Thurs: 10am to 9:30pm, Fri – Sat: 10am to 10pm
http://sd.qmobo.com/index.php

Last Visited: July 3, 2004

Food: 3 stars
Service: 1 star
Atmosphere: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $ to $$

Shan Dong serves Mandarin style food. If you don’t know what that means, Mandarin/Shanghai style food usually has some hot and spicy dishes and typically includes handmade dumplings and noodles.

Shan Dong has a simple setup. There is a counter and open kitchen on the front left and the dining area is wide open with round tables in the center and rectangular tables on the side of the restaurant. There are short chairs with a lot of chrome and white everywhere. The floor is white linoleum and the chairs are chrome with yellow seats. You should not be coming here for atmosphere.

- Boiled Pork Dumplings with Leeks – Ten dumplings are filled with pork and leeks. The dumpling wrappers are hand made and not too thick. The dumplings are accompanied with a soy sauce vinaigrette dipping sauce that gives the dumplings nice flavor. $4.95

- Szechuan Noodles with Hand Made Noodles – For a dollar more than the prices listed in the menu, you can select hand made noodles. These noodles are much thicker and wider than regular machine made noodles. The noodles came topped with a sesame paste based sauce that contained black wood fungus (a literal translation – there may be another name for this), bamboo shoots, minced pork, and minced waterchestnuts. The server brings the bowl of noodles in front of you and tosses it for you. The flavor is good, though not what I expected. $5.95

So you may be wondering why the service is only 1 star. There was nothing wrong with the service in general, except that our whole experience was destroyed by one simple thing. We originally ordered the Special Shan Dong Dumplings. Being that it was our first time visiting the restaurant, we had no idea what Special Shan Dong Dumplings actually were. We only knew we would be getting ten dumplings and that it would take about ten minutes for the dumplings to arrive at our table according to our waiter. About seven minutes after ordering our food, dumplings arrived. The waitress (not our waiter) said something that was incomprehensible, and being that none of the other food had arrived, I assumed she might be saying ‘enjoy your meal’ or something to that effect. The dumplings contained pork and leeks and since we didn’t (and still don’t) know what Special Shan Dong dumplings are, we ate it. About four dumplings into the dish, the waiter came and said that these weren’t our dumplings. We responded that it was okay since we had already started eating. When I asked what the difference was between these and the ones we ordered, he stated that these were supposed to go to another table. So I didn’t get an answer. Service should be customer-oriented. He should have realized I was asking about ingredient differences. First they give us the wrong food, and then the waiter claimed that the incomprehensible phrase that the waitress had said was actually her asking us whether or not we had ordered pork and leek dumplings. Considering we didn’t give an answer, I just became frustrated. Not only that, but the owner came and took our dumplings away and then turned around and gave them back after the waiter said we were okay with them. This would have been okay if the owner had actually asked us if she could take them away, but instead, she just took them from our table. What a disaster.

Needless to say, the food quality though good is not worth going back for (at least for me) since that would remind me of this awful experience. And since the restaurant made the mistake, they should have charged us for the lower priced dumplings (Special Shan Dong) instead of the higher price for pork dumplings. Instead, they charged us for the pork dumplings, and considering the actual cost, it wasn’t worth the effort to even make this request for a correction. Shan Dong has decent food, but isn’t customer oriented – a big blemish in my eyes. I wouldn’t return.

Matsuyama - Japanese, Novato

939 Front Street, Novato CA 94945
(415) 209-9823
Parking: in parking lot and street parking
Hours: Lunch Mon - Fri 11:30-3pm, Dinner Mon - Thurs 5pm - 9pm, Fri - Sat 5pm-9:30pm, Closed Sundays

Last Visited: May 11, 2010

Food: 2 to 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: $ to $$

I've probably been to Matsuyama for lunch a handful of times now during the last three years. For lunch, it's a great value, and the service is super quick. I've never tried it for dinner, but there are a wide array of offerings for both meals from bento box combos to sashimi and sushi lunches to entrees like tonkatsu and shioyaki. Dinner offers a few more entree offerings like sukiyaki and ginger beef. Udon, ramen, and donburi are available throughout the day.

Enter Matsuyama and there is seating in a large square shaped area with a divided section as well (perhaps it was converted from the previous owner), but both areas are used for dining. It's a low maintenance environment without tablecloths, but the place is clean and simple.

For lunch, the prices are extraordinarily reasonable. A two item bento lunch combo runs for $6.95 and a three item combo for $8.95. Dinner bento combos start at $11.50. Udon during lunch runs between $5.95 and $7.50. Prices are higher by three to four dollars for dinner. There are no complaints about value during lunch.

Most of my visits have consisted of Bento Lunch Combos. With 20 items available to choose from to design your own Bento Lunch combo, it's a wonder why people would choose anything else. Of course, the sashimi lunch and sushi lunch are pretty good deals too. They also offer nigiri and maki too; for dinner, combinations on a boat are also offered. I also thought it was interesting that their kid's plates provide a choice of rice or fries with each dish.

- Bento Lunch Combo - Choices range from teriyaki to tempura to rolls. I typically choose Salmon Teriyaki, Mixed Tempura, and Tuna Sashimi (3 pieces). On occasion, I've ordered the Tonkatsu and Vegetable Tempura instead. Each lunch combo comes with salad and rice. However, they usually send some miso soup over too. While the soup is pretty typical, the lettuce and carrot salad is topped with a bright yellow salad dressing. From the looks of it, you might think it's almost neon, but it tastes okay. Not my first choice in salad dressing, but I still eat it. The ladies serving are always very fast about bringing both the soup and salad to the table. The picture here shows the salmon, vegetable tempura, and tuna sashimi. The salmon is sometimes slightly overcooked, but usually okay with the sauce that accompanies it. The tempura batter is medium in coating and could be lighter. The vegetables usually include broccoli (not what I consider to be a typical tempura vegetable), carrot, yam, and zucchini. The sashimi is fresh, but it's definitely not the highest grade I've had. A big bowl of rice also comes with the box. While it's not the best quality that you've ever had, for the price and how quickly it comes, I still continue to go back to Matsuyama. Two item selection $6.95, Three item selection $8.95

From the description, it's not clear why you might go to Matsuyama, but there are lots of people going for lunch which means a high turnover of the food. The food is fresh and very reasonable. The waitstaff is quick on their feet and you are done with lunch in an hour. For Novato, it's a decent Japanese place. If you want an elegant sushi restaurant with higher quality fish and dishes, you're better off heading further south to Sausalito or Mill Valley, but to appease your appetite for Japanese, Matsuyama might be just the thing.

Unicorn - Pan-Asian, San Francisco

191 Pine Street, San Francisco CA 94111
(415) 982-9828
Parking: street parking
Hours: M-F Lunch 11:30am -3:00pm, Mon - Sat Dinner: 5-10, Closed Sundays
http://unicorndining.com/

Last Visited: September 18, 2003 (at their Berkeley location on Telegraph Ave)

Food: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 4 stars
Service: 4 stars
Price: $$$

It appears that the Berkeley location has been closed since my review, but here are my thoughts on Unicorn.

Unicorn has a vibrant feeling – trendy, but not overdone. There are deep maroons, bright but subtle yellows and an array of colors throughout the restaurant. I arrived for an early supper and found the place needing a little air circulation, but the music was at just the right level and it never distracted from the evening. The music is a perfect pairing with the décor.

Kristy recommended Unicorn and gave it high praises. She’s tried out the menu thoroughly so it’s definitely worth another visit. She raves about the crab, but we just weren’t that hungry this evening. The pictures of dishes shown on their website are more than enticing, but the Horn of Plenty caught my eye the most and that’s what I came to try.

Dinner began with a refreshing mango sorbet to cleanse the palate - a very nice beginning that leaves a great impression.

- Horn of Plenty - The presentation of the dish is great. It’s certainly deserving of the name. New Zealand Mussels – these were absolutely the best mussels I’ve had in a while. They’re charbroiled and seasoned with scallions and shallots, topped with peanuts. The flavor is intense – sweet and crunchy. By far the best part of the Horn of Plenty for me – if every part of the horn of plenty was like this, I would have bumped up the food rating.Salt and Pepper Calamari and Prawns – Cantonese food creates high standards, so the shrimp and calamari seemed dry compared to other versions I’ve tried. The calamari and prawns are flash-fried with a light batter, but again, just a bit on the dry side. Comes with a pepper dipping sauce.Roasted Quail - Full flavored. These were average compared to the Cantonese food I’ve had (not hot enough and not juicy enough), but prepared in a typical style – marinated and roasted.Unicorn Rolls - Shredded taro and tofu wrapped with glass noodles, lettuce, and mint. The flavor combination is light and the mint flavor is very apparent. I liked these rolls, especially with the light soy vinaigrette.Chao Zhou Shrimp Rolls – A deep fried roll with minced shrimp, jicama, and chicken served with a sweet chili sauce. There’s a lot of flavor in these rolls; they too were very good. $13 per person, minimum two person order

A light salad of lettuce and red cabbage accompany the appetizers listed above in the Horn of plenty. It’s crispy, but didn’t have much flavor, although my taste buds may have been overwhelmed by the time I tried it.

- Jasmine Rice – yep, it’s just rice. $1

- Cocopine Ice Cream – light tropical flavors of pineapple and coconut ice cream was very refreshing. Served with two vanilla wafers and a mint leaf. Simple, but oh so good. $ 3

- Flan of Amaretto – soft, custard-style, served with whip cream in the middle and a rose bud. It’s pumpkin in color and the hint of amaretto wasn’t much of a hint, but I’m not a big fan of flan. $5

The water glasses were filled frequently, but the pitcher didn’t seem to contain ice so it warmed to room temperature quickly. The prices on the website need to be updated. A number of dishes have seen increased prices.

New Canton - Chinese, Sacramento

2523 Broadway, Sacramento CA 95818
(916) 739-8888
Parking: small parking lot, street parking

Last Visited: May 16, 2010

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 2 to 3 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

Part of the same restaurant group as Asian Pearl in Richmond, we felt that New Canton would likely serve authentic Cantonese cuisine. Like its sister restaurant, New Canton offers some of the standard dishes, but it also had a few more innovative ones like the beef ribs below with papaya. Prices are also less than its sister location.

Upon arriving at New Canton on a late Sunday afternoon, my first impression was that the parking lot was a bit small, but it was the entrance that grabbed my attention. It reminded me of what would have been cool in the 1980s. Small squares of patterned were glass used to create a larger pane. It made me think I was about to enter a karaoke bar or that neon lights would be just around the corner.

After entering, there is a dining area to the immediate left, but we were quickly ushered upstairs for seating even though nobody was downstairs. I don't know if the downstairs is dedicated to other activities. Upon being seated, despite seeing at least two servers, the menu took about ten minutes to come to the table. Then, it took about twenty minutes for a server to come take our order. I don't know if they understand the definition of service here. Fortunately, they had a television turned on in the background, but that's not enough to entertain someone. When more patrons arrived around us, they seemed to be ready for service. My thought is that if you're not ready to serve, you should let people know you're not open for x amount of minutes, thereby offering a choice to the patron about whether or not they would like to stay. The upstairs setup could also be more refined; it currently feels very bare and in flux with tables and chairs stacked against the walls - there is definitely room for improvement.

After taking our order, about ten minutes later, a bowl of soup, served free with our meal, arrived at the table. This was a nice surprise. It wasn't as hot in temperature as I would have liked, but it was fine in taste.

- Beef Ribs Papaya Clay Pot - This was a great dish. Slightly sweet from the sauce and the papaya, the ribs were sticky and good. Cut like you would find Korean ribs, these had a lot of great flavor and although it was a stainless pot, the cooking and serving temperature were super hot. Great. $9.50

- Tofu and Veggies with Black Mushroom - This is a standard dish where tofu is fried, then braised with Chinese mushrooms and fresh greens. The tofu was also very hot and had just the right texture inside - smooth and silky. At their sister restaurant, this would probably have cost at least another dollar or two more. Good. $8.50

- Fujian Fried Rice - A healthy serving of rice is covered with a sauce made with dried scallops, chicken, shrimp, straw mushrooms and other items. While the flavor was good, this dish is not typically made with chicken breast, and as a result, the texture was a little more dense and firm (dark chicken meat would be more tender) than I would typically prefer. More vegetables, usually the stalk of a Chinese green cut into disks, would also give the plate a better visual appeal. $8

Service near the end of the meal was also very attentive - much more so than at the start of the meal. Based on the food alone, I would go back to New Canton, but considering how few patrons were present at the start of the meal and how long the meal took overall due to the initial waiting time, I will probably continue to search for good quality authentic Chinese cuisine in Sacramento.

Le Cheval - French/Vietnamese, Oakland

1007 Clay Street, Oakland CA 94607
(510) 763-8495
Parking: street parking and pay parking in nearby lot
Hours: M-Sat 11am to 9:30pm, Sun 5pm to 9:30pm
http://www.lecheval.com/

Last Visited: January 29, 2005

Food: 4 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: $ to $$$

Open since 1985, Le Cheval is a bright and open restaurant with high ceilings and large windows. Enter Le Cheval and you see the large dining room with the wood bar in the rear. The windows bring in a lot of light into the room during the day. The walls are a creamy pink color with more dark colors on the light background. There are pictures of horses, plants hanging from the walls, paintings, and Asian panel art throughout the restaurant walls and columns. Light fixtures and large fans hang from the ceiling. More light fixtures are also placed throughout the room. The rear of the restaurant contains several wood bars. One is for the cash register. Another is dedicated to the full bar. The ceiling is painted black. Greenish-yellow foam rectangles are placed on the ceiling in a checkerboard pattern, most likely to absorb sound.

The tables contain short glasses flipped over, a napkin with a fork and spoon. Chopsticks arrive later with a pitcher of water. The chairs are dark wood with green cushions.

For lunch today, we were also given a complimentary soup as soon as we arrived. The soup was yellow with carrots and onions, with the main ingredient being potato. The soup was very filling. It would have been better if they had give us soup after ordering (this wasn’t consistently practiced with all tables – some received it before ordering while others received it after) so that people wouldn’t be deterred from ordering the soup available on the menu.

- Le Cheval combo – This combo comes with a pork kebab, prawn kebab, fried chicken drummets, an imperial roll, and French rice. French rice is rice cooked with butter and tomato sauce so that it has a reddish texture. The flavor of French rice is light, and tastes okay, but I think I prefer white rice. The pork kebab from the grill is great. The slight amount of fat on the pork gives it a softer texture and the flavor is sweet and salty. Very good. I would order pork kebabs on their own in the future. The prawn kebab contains three prawns. I found the shell to have been slightly tough, making it harder to remove from the shrimp, but the meat is still juicy and tender. I still preferred the pork kebab more. The imperial roll is deep fried until crisp and golden brown. Inside is roll is ground chicken, bean threads, mushrooms, and carrots. The roll is crispy and has a meaty texture, but is in a form that is unexpected. A side of cucumber slices, pickled carrot and turnip strips, shredded lettuce, and nuoc mam (sweet dipping sauce) accompany the meat and roll. This is a great way to sample multiple items in small quantities and try out the excellent flavor. $8.25

- Steamed fine rice vermicelli with beef kebab. This dish is really fun. You receive a platter containing fresh carrot strips, bean sprouts, cucumber slices, green lettuce leaves, two beef kebabs, rice vermicelli topped with a mixture of stir fried shallots, green onions, and peanuts, and a stack of rice paper wrappers. Nuoc mam is served on the side, and you receive a large soup bowl which they fill with hot water. You dip the rice paper wrapper in the water and when the wrapper is hydrated, it’s ready for you to fill with the different vegetables and as much meat as you like. You can continue wrapping as long as you want, or just eat the items on the dish by themselves. It’s a lot of fun playing with the various combinations. The beef is grilled until just right and has a great grilled flavor. Excellent. $10.95

The service as a whole is fair. There was one server who was very pleasant to us when we asked for extra napkins, otherwise the service rating would have been 2 to 3 stars. It’s very rough service from the moment you come in to the moment you leave, but this may be a cultural thing. Our check came midway through the meal before we had even touched the second dish. This unnecessary rush interrupts the meal. If we had wanted dessert, it would feel like we had missed our chance. Even though one of the hosts was sitting near the exit, she seemed to stare off into space as she sat staring at the dining room when she could have been giving a goodbye greeting to the patrons leaving the restaurant. These simple touches don’t go unnoticed. Unfortunately, she was not interested and in her own world.

The four star atmosphere was downgraded due to the noise level. The lunch hour had reached beyond its halfway point and the dishwasher must have just finished a load since there was a lot of noise related to organizing the silverware. There was a lot of shaking of chopsticks and preparation for the next shift. Since its presence was more than noticeable, the atmosphere rating was reduced.

If you want some good quality food, try out Le Cheval for a nice atmosphere and wide selection.

Chalet Basque - San Rafael

405 N San Pedro Rd, San Rafael CA 94903
(415) 479-1070
Parking: in parking lot, street parking
Hours: Tues-Fri Lunch 11:30am-2pm, Dinner 5pm-9pm; Sat - Sun 4pm-9pm; Bar open all day
http://www.chaletbasque.com/

Last Visited: August 15, 2010

Food: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

I first heard about Chalet Basque after trying out a Basque restaurant in South San Francisco. The recommendation came from a Basque native, so of course, I had to listen and take note.

Chalet Basque offers a wide selection of dishes including duck, sweet breads, rabbit, tripe, seafood, and steak. All dinners include soup and salad (that's a Basque tradition). And for an additional $4, you can also get the pate maison and a choice of dessert (rice pudding or ice cream) to complete your meal. They also offer daily specials, and on Sundays, there is a five course menu available for only $22.

One thing is for sure, there is no reason you should go away from a Basque restaurant hungry. I've now been to Chalet Basque twice. While I struggled with deciding to rank the food a solid three or in between three and four star range, it's definitely a good value and you're in for a hearty treat.

Chalet Basque was first established in the 1960s. Passing by the area, you might never notice that there is even a restaurant amidst the residences. The current owner and executive chef first worked at Chalet Basque in the 1970s and later returned to purchase the restaurant during this past decade.

During our first visit, they were short staffed, and unfortunately, though our waitress tried her best to cover the lack of help, it was still noticeable. I wouldn't have penalized the service rating except that I overheard her tell the manager that she could handle it all and she refused additional help; yet, the amount to do was too much. Also, during our second visit, although we had made a reservation, the waiter still didn't realize that there were four in our party despite us telling them our names and that a reservation had been made. They almost took away place settings too since half of us came separately. This lack of detail brought down their service rating.

During each visit, upon our arrival, we were promptly brought glasses of ice water. Hot bread (love that) arrived in a basket - during the first visit, it came wrapped in a paper napkin and the second visit, in a cloth napkin. Two options of bread - french bread and garlic bread - were available.

The menu offers many choices. During my first visit, I tried the salmon and got a full meal, just for the experience. As mentioned above, the full meal starts with a pate maison - two slices of salami for each diner ordering a full meal and a slice of house made pate. Pickled peppers also accompany the plate. The salami and peppers are fairly standard. The pate maison tastes good, but the presentation of a dark ring on the outside and pink meat on the inside causes some patrons to hesitate. I ate the whole thing, but didn't feel the need to order it during my second visit. It didn't wow me, and I still don't know what's in it.

Served family style in a stainless bowl and then plated into individual bowls, the soup, during both visits, was a puree of vegetables. Both times, it came out very hot (love that too). I can't remember what I had the first time, but it was smooth. The second time, it was a watercress soup with a potato and onion base. The watercress left the soup with a slightly bitter aftertaste that was to be expected. Both times, the soup was a little on the salty side, but still tasty.

A fresh salad with your choice of dressing also is included with all meals. A lightly dressed spring mix and leaf lettuce salad with a slice of tomato is sprinkled with parsley. During both visits, the vegetables were very fresh and the salad was cold and refreshing.

- Salmon with Champagne Sauce - Served with a mound of rice and seasonal vegetables (zucchini, carrots, cabbage, and broccoli), the salmon is topped with a champagne sauce and mushrooms. Although the color of the sauce is a little more bright yellow than I expected, it was absolutely one of the best cooked salmon dishes I've ever had. It was tender on the inside, cooked just right and not even a little dry. The rice separates nicely from each other and everything is well-seasoned. Wonderful. Market Price

- Rack of Lamb du Chef - As you can see from the picture, the portion is quite large. Beautifully frenched, there is a lot of meat on these bones. Mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables accompany this dish. While the quantity is large, I personally prefer to have less sauce cooked with my rack of lamb. Good flavor. $25.95

- Lamb Shank (Sheepherder style) with beans - The lamb shank is slow cooked until tender and falls off the bone. Beans are also cooked in the same sauce. This dish is also served with seasonal vegetables. While the meat is tender, I think there isn't quite enough sauce with this dish as the meat started to dry out near the end of the meal. The beans had changed the texture of the sauce and though very hearty, it was also very heavy. Although it states that it's cooked sheepherder's style, I didn't expect the presentation to look the way that it did. The first thing you see on the plate are the two bones. The flavor is good, but the dish is a bit hard to manage since the plate itself is small while the bones are rather large. Good. $22.95

Rice Pudding or Ice Cream are the choices available for the dessert that comes with the full meal. For the ice cream, you can choose between vanilla, chocolate, or spumoni. You can see that it's a healthy scoop. The rice pudding comes in a small bowl and is topped with cinnamon. Smooth and creamy, it was also a nice treat.

The meals at Chalet Basque are good, but service varies. The manager is visible and accommodating and the servers are friendly, but it seems that they are not as quick as they could be. For example, sometimes it took a long long time for dishes to be cleared and the check also took a long time to come.

The prices are very reasonable considering that every entree comes with soup and salad, and the daily specials are an even better deal. The value is great considering the quality and portions of the food - I would imagine they could even charge higher prices if the atmosphere, slightly dated, was improved. As far as what they could do better, I would ease up on the salt in the soup just a touch and also consider updating some of the menu items to offer a few additions that would better cater to a younger crowd while still remaining authentically Basque.

I also noticed that my visit lowered the average age of the dining patrons - many are older folk especially in the early dinner hours, but as the evening continued, younger folks arrived.

Chalet Basque offers solid value and great food in a traditional atmosphere. You won't walk away hungry.

Restaurant Peony - Chinese, Oakland

388 9th St # 288, Oakland, CA 94607
(510) 286-8866
Parking: in parking structure

Last Visited: 2001

Food: 0 stars (was 3 stars)
Atmosphere: not rated
Service: 0 stars (was 2 to 3 stars)
Price: $$ to $$$

I have been boycotting Restaurant Peony for the past couple of years due to the most recent experience I had there.

Restaurant Peony has a reputation for being one of the nicer Chinese restaurants in Oakland. We had ordered a very nice Westlake Beef soup to start our meal and were ready to enjoy an array of dishes. After the first bowl of soup, the manager of the restaurant came to refill our bowls. As he ladled the first refill, a clothespin appeared in the soup. First, for those who are unfamiliar with clothespins in the kitchen, they are often used to identify which table a dish should be served to by attaching the clothespin to the plate. What was most unfortunate was that this clothespin was filthy and black. Even worse, the manager took the clothespin out of the soup with his fingers. Even more shocking, he just took it out of the soup without comment, pretending that we couldn’t see him as he did this. There was no apology by the manager or any other personnel, and needless to say, our appetites were completely ruined.

It was shocking and amazing that something so blatantly wrong wasn’t acknowledged in the slightest. No more soup for us. As the other dishes came, we did a thorough inspection. When the bill came for the meal, we were still charged for the soup! Unbelievable but true! After complaining about the bill, the manager was still fairly reluctant. We had to tell him we saw the clothespin before he deducted the cost of the soup. Incredible!

I wholeheartedly recommend you go elsewhere!

China vs. Brazil (aka Dim Sum v. Churrascurria)

So we're not talking about the world cup or even world basketball games. Instead, the topic of the day is the business model and pricing for Chinese dim sum versus a Brazilian churrascurria.

I've grown up going to dim sum houses and have been to some around the world. About a month ago, I visited my first Brazilian churrascuria, located in San Francisco. My mom's comment about half way through the meal was that the churrascuria experience seemed quite similar to that of a dim sum restaurant. Servers walk around bringing you food, but the pricing and business model of the two seem to vary greatly.

How It Works
So let's start with a little background. Dim sum houses continue to evolve, but the original dim sum concept was to serve small dishes of dumplings, breads, and the like, in small bamboo or metal steaming vessels. These vessels are transported on a cart that contains some sort of heating element or hot water bath, helping the food to remain hot. The carts are then pushed around the dining area by staff members, and each table selects which dish they would like to eat. Originally, the concept was to count the number of vessels or plates that were at the table at the end of the meal to determine the total cost of the check. However, as with any system, there is always someone whom wants to cheat the system, and restaurants started finding dishes hidden under the table or being taken home. To address the problem, when each dish was selected and served, the staff would mark the bill with either a stamp or pen mark (nobody is going to mark their check excessively because it would mean additional charges for food). Each dish is categorized as small, medium, large, or special category with a single charge for each item as determined by category, and that's how you determine the total price of the meal.

At a churrascuria (at least at this one that I visited), you pay a fixed price per person. A buffet contains a variety of salads and side dishes where you help yourself. Multiple options of rotisserie meat (filet mignon, chicken hearts, parmesan pork, and more) still on their large skewer are then brought to the table by servers whom cut a slice of meat for you to take. An indicator on the table allows you to let the servers know whether or not they should continue to stop by the table.

Pricing
Dim sum options typically range anywhere from $1.25 to $8 depending on the category with larger sizes or more premium ingredients (e.g. shrimp and other seafood) commanding a higher cost. Specialty items like roasted suckling pig can run as high as $15. An average meal for two, without significant specialty items, usually runs about $30, sometimes more or less depending on the ambiance of the restaurant. Tea is charged per person and ranges anywhere from free to $2 a head.

At the churrascuria I visited, the cost was $50 for dinner per person for endless trips to the buffet and for meat. Beverages and dessert were extra.

Business Model
Dim sum servers loudly say the name of the dish as they wander around. It helps you to know what is being served. These days, dim sum often comes on trays, with a smaller quantity of vessels per tray, to allow for more tables to be placed together, thereby eliminating the need to push a cart and keep large quantities of food warm. With the tray, servers are also able to come closer to your table and share the name of the food as well as uncover the lid to show you each item in a quieter voice. Another version of dim sum service offers a menu for you to choose from and indicate the quantity of individual dishes you would like to order.

At the churrascuria, men dressed in black costume/uniforms complete with special boots and belt sashes come to each table with knives and skewers, state the name of the food being served, and cut the meat right in front of you.

Analysis
It's clear that churrascurias could convert to the dim sum model, but that would really not help them with their revenue. Right now, headcount represents $50 per person, and for those whom don't eat a lot of meat, the churrascuria makes a killing on profit. Many people can't eat even a few pounds of meat, and the buffet items are relatively low cost compared to the filet mignon.

However, could the dim sum restaurants change their business model into that of a churrascuria? It's too bad that the culture is so imbedded in finding a good value. Even if you served the highest quality of dim sum, I'm not sure you could get people to pay $20 per person for all you can eat dim sum. Perhaps it could work as a buffet, but the culture also demands freshness - that's part of the appeal of dim sum. While it's much more labor intensive to cook multiple dumplings both steamed, fried, and pan fried versus roasting meat, charging a premium for dim sum through a per person charge would be a challenge.

Conclusion
Alas, kudos to the Brazilians for finding a way to create a dim sum like experience and gain so much profit. Dim sum houses will probably continue to remain similar in their styles with better service and better quality ingredients being the primary source of charging higher prices. In the end, I know that dim sum will stay a regular part of my dining options, while a churrascuria will continue to be a rarity.

D&A Cafe - Chinese, San Francisco and Oakland

407 Clement St, San Francisco CA 94118
(415) 668-7882
702 Webster St, Oakland CA 94607
(510) 839-6223
Parking: street parking

Last Visited: August 1, 2004

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Atmosphere: 1 to 2 stars
Price: $ to $$

D&A Café is a busy place, no matter the time of day. The main attraction at D&A is good food at even better prices. It’s an excellent value that really can’t be beat. D&A specializes in Chinese food and Chinese food American style. Examples of food that is Chinese, but prepared American style include deep fried French toast, macaroni with ham in broth, and Russian borscht. Think American food made to Asian tastes.

The most excellent bargain is food offered between 3pm to 6pm. At already incredible prices, the food is a bargain, but between 3pm and 6pm, D&A has Happy Hour prices where certain dishes are discounted. You can get a bowl of soup noodles for only $2, a dish of gai-lan for $3.50 and other similar items. There are even a selection of drinks available for only $1 each.

There are so many dishes, it’s difficult to highlight them. There are noodle dishes – both in soup or pan fried, seafood, and so much more. It’s virtually impossible to list everything I have tried. They have great oysters in a clay pot, excellent deep fried food (from chicken to calamari to bananas), and lots of drink selections (tapioca, red bean ice, milk tea etc). On my most recent visit, I did find that the gai lan was not as tender as it could be, but for the most part, since there are so many customers, their food turnover rate is very high, so the majority of the food is typically very fresh.

- Field snails – This is a seasonal item. I was lucky enough to find them available. A bowl is filled with snails in their shell served in a rich spicy sauce. The flavor is very good, especially if after you remove the snails from the shell, you dip the meat into the sauce – that’s the best way to eat them. The dish is served with a lot of toothpicks (for removing the meat from the shells) and a lot of napkins. $5.50 (Happy Hour price: $2.80 - incredible!)

- Fried Chicken Wings – Five chicken wings are lightly coated in a seasoned batter and deep fried. The wings are then accompanied by a scoop of potato salad. The chicken wings taste great. The quality of the potato salad varies. The first time I tried this dish, the potato salad wasn’t very good, but the second time, it was creamy and average. The focus really is on the wings themselves. Good.

- Iced Honey Lemon Tea – This is one of my favorite drinks. Iced Tea is served with about 5 slices of lemon with honey as a sweetener. The lemon flavor is very strong, but not overly acidic. Great. If you’ve never tried one, it’s very refreshing, and different from American style iced tea.

- Boil Chicken Lai-Fun Soup – Lai-Fun is a rice noodle that is much like spaghetti in shape, but with different consistency. It’s softer and served less al dente than spaghetti. This noodle also tends to be shorter in length. The lai-fun is served in chicken broth with a seasonal vegetable, (in today’s case, it was lettuce). A dish of chicken accompanies the lai-fun. Finely chopped ginger and green onions are blended with oil and salt to create a dipping sauce. It’s an incredible bargain, and if you like breast meat, the chicken served will suit you perfectly. I prefer dark meat, and there are few pieces of dark meat. Good. $4.75

Another incredible bargain is the menu that allows you to select three items for $15.99. Individually, these dishes are $5.50 each, still an incredible bargain. Here’s an example of what you might find.

- Deep Fried Flounder – An entire flounder is breaded and deep fried and served with sweetened light soy sauce and chopped green onions. It’s incredibly fresh. The breading is light and though the fish is not particularly thick, it’s still quite meaty. With minimal bones, it’s easy to eat.

I have visited D&A multiple times. Some words of warning. The atmosphere is far from one of ambiance. In fact, if you’re lucky, it will be that of a fast food restaurant. The hustle and bustle atmosphere fills the room. At the San Francisco location, you’ll find more small tables and booths, and televisions show the latest Chinese pop star. In the Oakland location, you’ll find several more large tables available, but still limited seating. Also, if you can help it, don’t look in the kitchen and don’t go to the bathroom. The San Francisco bathrooms are slightly more hygienic (though not much more) than the Oakland bathrooms, but don’t go if you don’t have to; it might spoil your meal. As for the kitchen, be grateful that everything is cooked under high heat or deep fried.

Service is typically not very attentive. It’s not always the most polite, but typically it’s bearable. They give you your food, and if you need something, flag someone down. These people are overworked, but they’re fast and efficient.

Great food for excellent prices – D&A is the place to go for both.

Hong Kong Restaurants

There are so many restaurants in Hong Kong. The scene is ever-changing.

Whether it's the actual food, or food establishments, sometimes you don't know whether or not one of the places you enjoyed on your last visit will still be there. I remember drunken shrimp being the 'food of the month' so to speak one year, and the next time I visited, it was snake soup.

If you're the type that plans travel around food or wants to know what others are thinking, check out Open Rice- it's like yelp for Hong Kong eateries. Search by cuisine, location, and more.

Chinese Version: http://www.openrice.com/
English Version: http://www.openrice.com/english

Legendary Palace - Chinese, Oakland

708 Franklin Street, Oakland CA 94607
(510) 663-9188
Parking: street parking

Last Visited: January 17, 2004

Food: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 2 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

During my visit, Legendary Palace was having a special with a 20% discount on dim sum when dining Monday through Friday and a 10% discount for dining on Saturdays. Also, they had a special of no tea charge.

Outside, Legendary Palace is quite grand looking. It’s highly decorated, with fancy colors like a royal Chinese palace and well, you just need to step back a moment and take a look. It’s a two story building that occupies the entire corner at the intersection of Franklin and 7th Street. Upon entering, you first notice the large size of the room with its high ceilings and sparkle from the numerous chandeliers that hang from the ceiling. They also have a dining area on the second floor.

We sat near the far wall with the large blanket of red velvet with a gold Chinese character on it symbolizing double happiness. Despite the fancy appearance, it’s a very casual place, from the patrons to the wait staff demeanor.

The good:
- Deep Fried Turnover with Minced Meat – Pork and dried mushrooms are placed in a sweet rice dumpling and deep fried. The consistency of the dumpling was good, and the filling tasted as it should. Still a bit crunchy on the outside, this was one of the better dishes. Three turnovers per dish.

- Deep Fried Sesame Balls - Red bean paste is stuffed inside dough rolled into a ball and deep fried. The sesame balls were still warm, and the texture was good – crispy on the outside and soft inside. This was also one of the better dishes. Three sesame balls per dish.

- Shrimp Wrapped in Tofu Skin and Deep Fried – Shrimp, bamboo shoots, and other vegetables are folded into tofu skins, braised, then steamed. They were steaming hot and flavorful. Good. Three rolls per plate.

- Steamed Spare ribs – Spare ribs are steamed in a garlic sauce. The consistency of the spare ribs was good – soft in texture and the sauce is not overpowering. The sauce could be a bit more flavorful by adding black beans or jalapenos. Also, this is the first place I have seen put taro root underneath the spare ribs. The good thing is that the taro was good, and it absorbs the flavor of the sauce, but the bad thing is that the taro occupies more plate space meaning less spare ribs.

- Har gao – Shrimp dumpling – The presentation of the steamed shrimp dumpling in a rice wrapper was good, and there was multiple shrimp inside each dumpling. The flavor was good. Four har gao to a plate.

The average:
- Shrimp Noodle Roll – Shrimp is placed in a rice noodle roll and steamed. This dish was average. It was on the bottom of a stack which means that it had been out of the steamer a while. It was cold making the dish lose a lot of its appeal.

- Pork dumpling – The presentation of the pork dumpling is typical with the orange shrimp roe on top, but the wrapper is more yellow than typical. The flavor of the dumpling was good, so that makes up for the presentation. Four dumplings per plate.

Now, onto the noodle dishes.
- Seafood Combination Pan Fried Noodles, Hong Kong Style – Scallops, fish, and squid along with seasonal greens are cooked in a sauce served over pan fried noodles made Hong Kong Style (which means pan fried, so the outer edges of the noodle which is a bit like a fluffy pancake are crunchy). The flavor of the sauce is good, and the texture of the seafood and vegetables are tender, but there is a bit too much sauce which make the noodles a little too soggy. A little less sauce would have made this dish perfect.

- Beef Chow Fun (Dry Style) – Chow Fun is pan fried with bean sprouts, beef, and yellow chives. The chow fun was very good with the fun being loose from other fun and the texture was good. Each fun was thin and had absorbed the color of the soy sauce used to cook it. The beef chow fun was good – hard to make it better except perhaps a little bit hotter in temperature.

One thing I was disappointed about was the restroom. On the first floor, there’s only one woman’s restroom. I hear there are at least two stalls in the restroom upstairs, but downstairs, the men’s restroom has multiple stalls, but the ladies’ does not. The line is impeccable. Seating a multitude of tables, the facilities should have more restrooms. The restroom is actually pretty nice, but the lack of maintenance turns it into a pig sty, completely unappealing to patrons. The men’s room was not much better. Another disappointment was the wait staff. Since they are serving dim sum during the lunch hour, there are a number of carts being pushed through the facility. However, when you get up to go use the restroom, the wait staff doesn’t let you walk through the narrow aisles first. They pretty much plunge through without a thought. Some training would definitely benefit this establishment and raise the level of service to the same level equal that of the décor. Overall, food is average, service could use improvement, but the atmosphere is nice minus the restroom.

Australian Dairy Company - Breakfast & Dessert, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Best: Steamed Milk

47-49 Parkes Street, Jordan, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Hours: 7:30am-11pm

Last Visited: December 2009

Food: 4 stars
Atmosphere: 2 to 3 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: $ to $$

No matter what, when I'm in Hong Kong, I have to stop at the Australian Dairy Company. So that may sound bizarre, but Australian Dairy is popular in Hong Kong and this place is known for its steamed milk and eggs. One year, we went back to Hong Kong, and because it was Chinese New Year, I nearly missed out on my steamed milk! It was rough waiting out an entire week for the place to reopen (in Hong Kong, Chinese New Year is a bigger holiday than Christmas and it's typically the only time that you'll find restaurants and stores closed).

- Breakfast Set - While you can get scrambled eggs, eggs over easy, or made almost any way you want (I'm not sure I've seen an omelet in this place though), one of the most popular menu items is the breakfast set. You receive scrambled eggs, toast as thick as Texas toast slathered with butter, a bowl of macaroni with ham in broth (this is a popular Chinese style of making macaroni), and a cup of tea (lemon tea or milk tea). I usually select the milk tea served hot - it's rich and creamy with a great tea flavor. The drink is served hot, but if you prefer a cold version, you can enjoy it for a few HK dollars more. It's great stuff. An incredible bargain at $24 HKD (which translates to between $3 and $4 USD).

While you can get hot steamed egg, cold steamed egg, hot steamed milk, cold steamed milk, and other items, including a bottle of milk, my all time favorite must get item to get here is a Hot Steamed Milk.

- Hot Steamed Milk - Creamy and custard-like, this sweet

concoction is so smooth and delicious. The milk is so good - it's the ultimate in simple desserts and yet complex in that getting this perfect texture that just jiggles when you tap the bowl can be a challenge. It's also pretty healthy - egg whites, milk, sugar, and just a drop of vinegar - that's it. Yummy! I could eat this every day! $24 HKD (~$3 to 4 USD).

It's extremely fast turnaround though - you're immediately seated, given a cup of hot tea, and asked what you want to order. Minutes (sometimes seconds) later, the food arrives, and as soon as you're done, you're on the move. It's not a place to leisurely enjoy food (most HK places of this style aren't), but you can take it home if you prefer. Enjoy!

Juan's Place - Mexican, Berkeley

941 Carleton St., Berkeley, CA 94710
(510) 845-6904
Parking: ample street parking

Last Visited: September 25, 2003

Food: 2 stars
Atmosphere: 2 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: $ to $$

There are bars on the windows and the windows in the ceiling. I suggest locating the exits in case of emergency; I don’t know if the bars can be opened. Parking is easy to find.

They serve two kinds of chips. One is a very light and flaky chip, kind of tostada-like. It may be a bit oily for some tastes. The other is a regular hard tortilla chip. The salsa is good – one red, one green. The green one is a little bit hotter.

- Chicken Enchilada – This enchilada is filled with breast meat. This might be great for some tastes, but it wasn’t shredded very well, more like chunks. Enchilada sauce was okay in flavor.

- Chicken Mole – I’m not a big fan of mole in the first place. Again, this dish was made with breast meat. Seemed to be okay, but nothing too special.

- Guacamole – They have good guacamole. I’m not raving about it, but I like how they have three sizes available – The smallest size works fine as a dip or side for two people.

- Flan - The flan is straight from the refrigerator, so it’s still has a chill to it. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m not a big fan of flan, and this dish didn’t make me become a fan of it either.

Overall, I would go back for the chips, and maybe the guacamole. Rumor had it that this is the best Mexican food in Berkeley. Maybe I didn't order the right thing, but I would suggest looking elsewhere for a new place to bestow this title.

New Hing Lung - Chinese, San Francisco

Best: Chinese (Cantonese), Value

1556 Noriega Street, San Francisco CA 94122
(415) 661-8860
Parking: street parking

Last Visited: January 2, 2011

Food: 4 to 5 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 4 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

On the recommendation of the Yeung family, connoisseurs of Cantonese cuisine, we've now been going to New Hing Lung for at least two or maybe even three years - that means dozens of visits. This left me a little perplexed as to why I've never written about it - maybe it's because I don't want there to be a line outside the next time I go or maybe it's just the sheer quantity of restaurants that I haven't written about that has helped me to procrastinate. Nevertheless, it's time to reveal this shining star.

The story behind New Hing Lung - about fifteen years ago, it's neighbor, Jumbo Seafood Restaurant, was one of the best Chinese restaurants in town - great food, great value, packed every weekend. The neighboring restaurant, now New Hing Lung, was known for being expensive in comparison and a little stuffy. I remember eating there long ago and the waitstaff hovered around our table. Every time we took a sip of tea, one of the wait staff whom were standing by our table filled my tea cup. I felt uncomfortable - what ever happened to personal space? Fast forward to more than a decade later, and now, the original owners of Jumbo have opened a restaurant further south. New Hing Lung is the place to go for fresh Cantonese style cuisine at an excellent value.

The menu boasts a wide selection. They have a menu offering more than 30 items at the low price of $5.50, and it's good quality stuff too. Items ranging from from Peking Spareribs to Dry Braised String Beans with Minced Pork are generous in portion and awesome in flavor. Those are two of my favorites from this list. There are also special daily seafood items available include fresh live fish and lobster that will satisfy even the most picky palate. Family style dinners are also available.

New Hing Lung isn't fancy. The two story dining area is pretty simple with a fish tank in the rear of the first story displaying the live fish and seafood. The walls list the specials on dry erase boards and paper. Each table is topped with paper placemats and paper napkins. However, it's authentic food. It's where we go for family gatherings, birthdays, bringing friends to try awesome food (especially if it's their first time eating Chinese food), and the food is the star of the show. There have been a lot of good memories here already in the short time we've been visiting.

If I began to write about everything that I've eaten here, it would take pages and pages of this blog. Instead, I'll just say that I like almost everything that I've ordered here.

If you don't order soup, New Hing Lung serves a homestyle soup that is usually made of a broth with fresh and dried vegetables. Today's soup contained carrots, soybeans, and Chinese dried herbs. It's a great way to start your meal and it's on the house.

- Deep Fried Crispy Garlic Chicken - This is another favorite. While they offer Deep Fried Crispy Chicken, which is more traditional, I find that the meat of this dish is juicier. Also, if you love those deep fried pieces of garlic, this dish offers plenty of that too. Crispy and delicious skin makes it even better. The photo is showing the chicken darker than it is in reality because of the lighting. I highly recommend ordering this over traditional Crispy Chicken. Half $7

- Hong Kong Style Beef Chow Mein - Noodles are fried and topped with stir fried beef and seasonal vegetables (in this case bok choy, straw mushrooms, and carrots) in a sauce. I love Hong Kong Style noodles because of the crispy texture. It's super fresh and just look at it - there is so much for such an inexpensive price. More than enough to feed one person so that you're full. Terrific - you can't ask for more than this. $5.50

- Mustard Greens with Black Mushrooms - While this dish isn't on the menu, you can find it in the family style dinners. A very typical item, it's representative of the typical Cantonese style of cooking and the freshness of the vegetables. There are a lot of people coming to the restaurant, so their produce gets a high turnover.

- Peking Spareribs - The flavors are sweet, the colors are vibrant, and the portions are good. Deep fried spareribs, almost the size of a pork chop, are then cooked in a sweet sauce. I like these a lot. $5.50

- Deep Fried Stuffed Tofu - This is really good when served hot. The tofu blocks are topped with shrimp paste and then deep fried until golden brown. The tofu consistency is so light and melt in your mouth that you'll want tofu made this way every time. $6

- Spiced Salt and Pepper Spareribs - Like the Peking Spareribs, these are also quite large, and they're deep fried with the salt and pepper seasoning. Jalapenos, red chilis, or whatever else in season is used to give a touch of spice. $5.50

- Fresh Fish Two Ways - One of the more expensive items on the menu, you can select live fish and select the two ways you would like them prepared. We typically select soup and stir fry. The fish is cooked in a simple broth with fresh vegetables, a preserved duck egg, and ginger. The fish bones are then separated from the soup and served with soy sauce and the delicate broth is served into bowls. It never fails - they make a great soup. The fish fillet is then stir fried with seasonal vegetables and served with the main meal. Excellent. Market Price

- Steamed Chicken with Ginger and Scallion - This is a simple dish, but the challenge is not overcooking the chicken. Great. Half $7

- Dry Braised String Beans with Minced Pork - Sometimes you order this dish at other places and find the string beans haven't been cooked properly. Here, the minced pork is cooked with spicy preserved mustard greens and the dry braised string beans are perfect. The combination of flavors and textures are slightly spicy, slightly sweet, and a little crunchy. If you're going to try this dish for the first time, New Hing Lung is a great place to get it. They are also able to make this spicy or not. $5.50

- Yang Chow Style Fried Rice - This is one of my go-to dishes. It's even better for lunch the next day. BBQ pork, whole shrimp, egg, peas, green onions, and carrots are stir-fried together. On occasion, the vegetables will be different, but the rice is separated from one another and lightly coated. Perfection. $5.50

- Fook Kin Fried Rice - Fried rice is topped with a white seafood sauce. This is great if you prefer a more moist version of rice and like a little shrimp and scallop with your dish. $7.50

- Hong Kong Style Beef Chow Fun - Another standard, the beef chow fun is simply good. Bean sprouts, green onion, onion, and beef are stir fried with chow fun noodles and soy sauce. Yummy. $5.50

- Deep Fried Sand Dab - While a Hong Kong native wouldn't be caught dead eating a fish that had been pre-frozen, here's where you can see American adaptation to Cantonese cuisine. A whole sand dab is lightly battered, deep fried, and served with chopped green onions and soy sauce. The meat is tender and falls off the bone. It's delicious. True fish connoisseurs can even eat all of the bones on the side and enjoy every piece of skin and tendon in between. You'll love the texture and flavor of this fish. $7

If you're not already satisfied with your main dishes, they end your meal with a free dessert. Typically, it's a warm red bean soup which is also traditional in that it balances out the savory food that you've had during your meal with something sweet. The beans are cooked in water, typically with lotus nuts, until they break apart and then sugar is added. I could probably spend an entire blog post on the art of soup, both savory and sweet, in reference to Chinese meals.

As mentioned earlier, if I were to write about everything we've eaten here, I could just go on and on. Those listed above are some of my favorites. You can't go wrong with them. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. And if you see me in line for a table, now that the secret is out, I hope you invite me to come sit down with you. We can order more and try even more dishes together.