Tu Lan - Vietnamese, San Francisco

8 6th St, San Francisco CA 94103
(415) 626-0927
Parking: street parking
Hours: Tues-Sun 11am - 9:30pm
http://tulan-vn-restaurant.com/about.html

Last Visited: July 14, 2018

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

Tu Lan has been around since 1977.  This hole in the wall located next to the Tenderloin is known for its ginger fish and rice plates; pho is not their specialty according to friends, but the food is hot and relatively speaking, very reasonably priced.  From the outside, you wouldn't know it, but the restaurant is fairly deep and also has an upstairs dining area.  It's nothing fancy (the picture actually looks better than the actual decor); the tables are a bit tightly configured and they move everything around to accommodate the party as needed.

Rachel suggested we try it for some good eats.  We were quickly seated upstairs and food arrived pretty quickly without any particular order - it just comes as it's cooked.  Service is efficient, but you won't find any particularly attentive people.

- Imperial Rolls - These imperial rolls are filled with very flavorful beef (at least, I think it was beef).  Using rice paper rolls makes the texture different from that of Chinese-style egg rolls.  Not really a traditional filling, but they were juicy and tasty for something different.  Served with a fish sauce based dipping sauce and a few slices of cucumber over a bed of shredded lettuce.  Okay. $6.45

- Fried Fish and Ginger Sauce - This dish was the hidden gem.  Three rather large fillets are lightly battered and fried.  They're served with a chopped ginger sauce that also contains fish sauce.  The fillets are hot and the fish is served with chopped green onions and a wedge of lemon.  This was by far my favorite dish of the night and on its own, it would be four stars. $12

- Vegetarian Fried Rice - This vegetarian fried rice is curry-based in flavor.  There is an ample amount of broccoli, cabbage, tofu, carrots, and green onions.  There's also a good amount of pepper in the dish, but it's not overwhelming.  It's a good supplement to your main entrees and with it being so hot in temperature, it's great on a cold night. $10

- Pork Shish Kebab - While the name seems less than Vietnamese, it's essentially barbecued pork.  It comes with a lot of rice, so you'll definitely be full, but I thought the pork was just ok.  I've had better.  The pork is served with more fish sauce based dipping sauce and a few slices of cucumber. $9.70

The kitchen is pretty fast at whipping out dishes - more can be seen downstairs if you want to see their operations.  Our hungry bunch was very happy with their speed after our long day.

If you are in the neighborhood, Tu Lan is worth checking out for a quick bite to eat for very reasonable prices, although you will have to walk past or through a lot of street people and their wares.  If I have a chance to go again, I would definitely try out their fried noodles which looked like a sizable portion that came out steaming hot.