Cafe 3:15 - Chinese BBQ, San Bruno - CLOSED

1212 El Camino Real, San Bruno CA 94066

(650) 636-4380

Parking: shopping center lot

Last Visited: December 4, 2020

Food: 4 to 5 stars
Atmosphere: N/A - Takeout only, catering available

Service: 3 to 4 stars

Price: $$ 

This is my first post since sheltering in place, so it seems fitting to write about a restaurant that opened during COVID-19.  A friend mentioned that this place recently opened and to come check it out.

Cafe 3:15 doesn't have a sign with its name out front, but from the Chinese roast duck hanging in window, there is no mistaking what this bbq shop is selling.  Located in the former Dickey's BBQ spot, this place has now switched over to Hong Kong style BBQ. 

The ordering area is pretty small and can barely fit two people maximum, but plexiglass surrounds everything and the staff is masked.  One person takes the orders and bags up the food while the chef is chopping the meat, so I felt it was COVID safe.  

- Marinated Duck - I tried the leg, and it's so incredibly full of flavor, but not overly cooked.  Their duck is meaty and the skin is so tender that it practically melts in your mouth.  The leg offering is written on a paper sign in Chinese and not on the regular menu. $2.50 Leg only,  $11.80/half duck, $21.80 whole duck 

 

- Roast Duck (as part of BBQ combo over rice) - I tried a piece of duck after bringing it home, but even hours after, the duck skin remained lightly crispy.  It's impressive how good the duck is without being too fatty.  I don't think I've had duck skin that good outside of a restaurant.  Highly recommend getting this.  $11.80/half duck, $21.80 whole duck

- Soy Sauce Chicken (as part of BBQ combo over rice) - Since we ordered two meats over rice and paired with the roast duck, the duck was dark meat and this was white meat.  If you know about Chinese bbq shops, if you request all dark meat, they will usually charge you more, or by default, give you one meat that is dark meat and the other is white meat.  Even though it was white meat, the soy sauce chicken was still pretty juicy.  The skin had absorbed the flavor of the soy sauce well and tasted very fresh.  Rice plates also come with vegetables - in this case, broccoli and half of a cooked salted egg which was a nice surprise. The rice itself wasn't as hot as if you just took it out of the steamer, so I would forego that next time.  Still nice that there is broccoli though.  $11.80/half chicken, $21.80 whole chicken

- Roast Pork - No matter what you do with an air fryer, you can't get the skin as good as this.  The pork had just the right amount of fat to meat ratio and the skin was on par with getting a suckling pig.  It's rare that the quality of skin is that high where it just melts in your mouth, but retains that crunch.  The color is also so beautifully golden.  Highly recommend this one too. $11.80 per pound

The line will likely be out the door in no time, even if it wasn't for the six feet requirements between parties during COVID.  Definitely check out the roasted duck and pork.  I hope to try the Peking Duck offering some time soon.

Dumpling Alley - Chinese, San Francisco

2512 Clement St, San Francisco CA 94121
(415) 753-9617
Parking: street parking
Hours: Lunch Thurs-Sun 11:30am - 2:30pm, Dinner Tues - Sun 5pm-9:30pm, Closed Mondays

Last Visited: February 8, 2020

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

Dumpling Alley was just featured on Eater SF's 22 essential Chinese restaurants article late last month as #6 on the list with xiao long bao and the shrimp stuffed donut as must-order items.  However, less than two weeks since the article went out, these have already come off the menu.  I wasn't the only one asking for XLB, and learned that these two items, plus the fried shrimp balls are no longer available because of the time and/or labor it takes to make them.  Despite warning about the long wait for XLB, which most customers agreed to, the backup on orders often grew through the evening, and even when they were available at the time promised,  people still became grumpy because of the wait.  With that, they decided to remove these off the menu.  The new menu, available in a few weeks, promises to have more specialties, including a selection of fresh vegetables.

We arrived at 5pm right when they opened and were the first table seated.  The two guys running the front of the house were friendly; we were immediately greeted and given the choice of any seat in the house.  After ordering, we had a chance to ask about the XLB situation and whether they would be on the new menu, as well as what the scoop was with the rest of the items that were no longer available.

The first dish arrived after a 15-20 minute wait.  The last dish after more than half an hour, although we ordered everything at the same time.  Make sure to give yourself plenty of time because it's not one of those places where the food comes out right away.   In the mean time, you can watch the dumpling maker in the window preparing dough and wrapping each dumpling.  She was really friendly and even brought out different colored dough for the kid that showed up at the table next to us later in the evening.  What a great way to keep kids entertained.  I haven't seen any other Chinese restaurants take the time to do this. 

- Shrimp and Chive Dumplings (10 pieces) - It was worth the wait as the dumplings were super fresh tasting with a thin wrapper.  The filling had fresh chives and each one had a sizable piece of shrimp inside.  There aren't any condiments on the table, so what you see in the photo is the dipping sauce that you get.  Four stars. $9

- Alley Stir-Fried Thick Egg Noodles - Thick noodles are cooked with red and green bell pepper strips, chicken strips (breast meat), onions, and cabbage.  The flavor is very mild and though it had good 'wok air' (super hot and steaming), it wasn't particularly special.  Good portion.  Three stars.  $11 

- Pan-Fried Pork Buns (6 buns) - These were done very well - tender bun, juicy filling, and a slight crunch on the golden sesame encrusted bottom (no soggy bottoms here).  Five stars - this is the must try item on my list. 8.50

- Organic Garlic Bok Choy - Nicely salted, this dish of sauteed vegetables is a bit pricey (about 10-12 heads), but tasty.  I give it four stars since it still had that crunch, but was thoroughly cooked.  $12

It's unfortunate that the XLB isn't available anymore - the dough for the wrappers and buns were really good, so I imagine the XLB wrapper would have been good too. 

It would also be better if they would put some vinegar, soy sauce, and chili sauce on the table so you can make your own dipping sauce because you feel limited to what they give you now.  The other area for improvement is serving time and waiting time for the receipt.  The kitchen seems to be making everything to order without enough chefs so food takes a good amount of time to come out and dishes arrive sporadically. 

We were getting close to being done with the three other dishes when the vegetables finally came. 

All in all, good food; we'll see what the new menu will bring.  Try it if you can find parking or happen to be in the area.   

Wei Guo House - Chinese, San Francisco - CLOSED

3751 Geary Blvd, San Francisco CA 94118
(415) 668-1588
Parking: street parking
Hours: Tues-Thurs, Sunday 11am-3pm, 5pm-9pm; Fri-Sat 11am-3pm, 5pm-9:30pm; Closed Mondays

Last Visited: December 31, 2019

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

Wei Guo House has been open for about a month now.  With a limited menu of double-boiled soups, dim sum and appetizers, clay pot rice, porridge and rice noodles, the selection may seem a bit small, but of the choices available, the food is reminiscent of good home cooking and comfort food.  Note that if there is tape on the Chinese portion of the menu, it's not available.

The decor is pretty simple - brightly lit, a counter for ordering take out with a view to the kitchen, and a very open layout that is visible to the outside.  It's a cafe-style setting - very simple with some booth seating new the windows.

Pricing is moderate, but clay pot rice and double-boiled soups have always been seemingly a bit more expensive because of the expertise it takes to get a perfect crust on the rice in the clay pot and double-boiled soup just takes time to cook.


- Double-boiled watercress with duck kidney soup - Unlike most soup that you order at a Chinese restaurant which is cooked to order and boiled in a wok, this is is cooked in a tiny crock that easily serves two if you're using small bowls.  A single person could easily drink a whole one too.  A serving of watercress, a few spareribs, and a single thick slice of duck kidney are cooked together over many hours in a double boiler.  The flavors of the ingredients have melded together and the broth is hot, but not so hot as to burn your mouth.  If you grew up drinking this type of soup, this will remind you of what mom or grandma used to make.  Solid.  $6.99

- Seaweed siu mai (4 pieces) - While the pork siu mai inside the seaweed is much like any other siu mai, the unique thing about these is the seaweed wrapper.  The seaweed flavor is strong, but not overpowering - a nice briny taste that I would recommend if you enjoy eating seaweed.  Good. $5.99

- Pork spareribs and preserved meat clay pot rice - A good-sized clay pot is filled with rice and pork spareribs, ginger strips, Chinese sausage, and preserved pork belly top the rice.  Green onions top the meat.  Clay pot rice typically takes a while to make, and it was no different here.  The rice was cooked through and the spareribs had been marinated until tender.  Soy sauce mixed with seasoned oil is available at the table for you to mix with your rice.  While it looks like sometimes the rice is cooked to a perfect crust so that you can scrape it from the pot, I didn't find that crust at the bottom of our rice.  It was still tasty, but that's what prevented a rating of five stars.  This is a great dish for a cold night.  $13.99

- Singapore Style Rice Noodles - Since we were still hungry after the first three dishes, we added this one.  Singapore Style rice noodles is flavored with curry and contains strips of barbecued pork, bell peppers, onions, and egg.  It's rare to find al dente rice noodles, but these were perfect.  The noodles had just the right consistency and the dish had 'wok air' - perfectly hot in temperature.  We were impressed by how well done this dish was made and of all of the dishes, this is the one I would recommend the most.  It's also a great deal since the serving size is large.  $10.99

The chef/owner came by after our meal to see if we liked the food, and he seemed to do this with all of the customers.

Overall, the food is good and if you don't have time to make Cantonese-style soup at home, this is a more than acceptable option.  While I wouldn't mind going back because the food here is solid, there's just a lot of competition in the area, so I would more likely check out other places before returning. If you're going to go, get the Singapore style rice noodles.