Digest

A new Chinese restaurant in Cupertino, iRestaurant, puts a contemporary spin on Cantonese dishes, using organic produce when possible and less oil and salt than the norm, says Melanie Wong. Its chefs hail from hotels in Guangzhou (Canton) and Dynasty Chinese Seafood in Cupertino, while its owner was formerly a partner in House of Sichuan, the previous restaurant at this location.

The i-Combo-002 set menu serves six to eight people for $128, and shows off some of the restaurant’s creative dishes, like a mixed fruit and shrimp salad. Melanie wasn’t sure about the “fruit” part, “but those giant shrimp were glorious in their sweet and snappy succulence. Hard-cooked eggs, garlicky croutons, cashews, toasted pumpkin seeds, honey-glazed walnuts, roasted peanuts, and maybe more were tossed with organic bitter greens and a cream dressing.”

Sweet and delicate stir-fried squid with sugar peas and baby corn exemplifies the Cantonese cooking ethos of simple and fresh preparations that highlight natural flavors, says Melanie. So does the exemplary seafood tofu soup, which was vibrant and clean-tasting, with a light hand on the thickener.

A dish of organic spinach poached in chicken broth and topped with firm, salty shreds of Virginia ham was also a hit. “The greens were so silky and exquisite in flavor, I had to compliment the chef for hitting it perfectly,” Melanie says.

The charbroiled whole sea bass with garlic, butter, and dill had skin so crispy it seemed deep-fried. Presented on banana leaves, it comes with a side of sweetened mayo. And the minced salted fish and chicken stir-fried rice is made with a minimum of oil and has a lovely toasty fragrance, while the tiny bits of fish infuse it with “an uncommon savoriness.”

Stir-fried dried shrimps with shredded taro may be an acquired taste, but Melanie warmed to it eventually. “Crispy shreds of taro were stir-fried with umami-laden dried and reconstituted large shrimp, puffed long rice, juicy stalks of intensely flavored Chinese celery, barely softened slivers of sweet onion, and sesame seeds.”

Dessert was a very good chilled coconut milk soup with tapioca pearl, litchi, and snow ears fungi.

They’re still pushing the envelope here: Melanie’s group was asked to taste-test an experimental dish of “sweet shrimp steamed on sections of organic Chinese okra topped with fried garlic.” It wasn’t perfect, but showed that these chefs aren’t interested in dishing out the same old stuff.

The regular lunch menu features familiar dishes like mapo tofu and Singapore-style stir-fried noodles, but they’re pretty bland, says Claudette. Better are the pan-fried chow mein, in a particularly flavorful dark sauce with just-cooked seafood, meats, and baby bok choy; and beef chow fun with half-cooked egg, which has a scrambled egg sauce fragrant with wok hay.

iRestaurant [South Bay]
20007 Stevens Creek Boulevard, Cupertino
408-777-2988

Board Links: Wo Choy @ i Restaurant, Cupertino
New Chinese resto in Cupertino

Popular Thai restaurant Basil now has a casual cousin, Basil Canteen, says Ken Hoffman. With brickwork and exposed iron I-beams, it has an urban vibe, and is located in the middle of SOMA clubland. There is a large communal table that makes up half the restaurant’s seating capacity, and Ken thinks the space will work best at lunch or late at night.

“The pad thai was a strong rendition with sweet, soft white shrimp and firm noodles bathed in a tangy coating of orangey red sauce,” says Ken. “No noodle was spared by meal’s end.” Pau pia sod was “a fresh, nonfried roll of crabmeat, egg, and sweet Asian sausage bundled in a pillowy flour wrap that reminded me of steamed BBQ pork bun dough.” And it’s not all noodles: Ken also spotted a red curry with large, succulent-looking pieces of duck and a mound of jasmine rice.

Basil Canteen [SOMA]
1489 Folsom Street, San Francisco
415-552-3963

Board Link: Basil Canteen

Little Sichuan, formerly Little Sichuan Express in Fremont, has new digs in Newark. The food is as good as ever, the new location is bigger and nicer, and there’s no more Styrofoam or plastic forks, says hhc.

Xingjiang stir-fried roasted lamb is tender, with bell pepper, onions, and cumin powder. House special dry-cooked string beans are salty and crispy, and hhc’s favorite. And the hot noodles with spicy peanut sauce are pretty good, too: You get a huge bowl with tiny bits of meat in the spicy sauce.

DezzerSF is another longtime fan, and all his favorite dishes, including the dan dan mien and that stir-fried cumin lamb, are as good as before. Dry sautéed spicy chicken wings still have an “addictive numbing spiciness,” and may even be better than at the previous location. On weekends, brunch includes complimentary soy milk (sugar on the side), and the Chinese doughnuts are light and crisp.

The menu is huge, perhaps a little bigger than it was. Entrées are priced around $5 to $9, which is generally the same as the old location. DezzerSF notes that some fish dishes appear to have increased in cost, while a few others have been reduced.

Little Sichuan [East Bay]
35233 Newark Boulevard Suite F, Newark
510-742-8777

Board Links: Little Sichuan Restaurant, Newark report w/ pics
Chowdown at Little Sichuan Express—Report

Just outside Discolandia Market, a new vendor is selling tamales that rworange says are some of the best she’s had. The masa is “moist, but not too lardy.” The chicken is “lovely, with lots of stewed meat and a nice jalapeño kick.” The above-ordinary pepper and cheese is “intensely hot, with a red sauce.” Weakest, but still pretty good, is the pork tamale, with ground pork in a “mouth-tingly” red sauce. The tamales are $1.50 each, and there is champurrado available, too.

Discolandia Market [East Bay]
787 23rd Street, Richmond
510-215-2142

Board Link: Richmond–Discolandia Market and a tale of two tamales … it was the best of tamales … it was the worst of tamales

“Whoever is manning S&T’s barbecue station is a master of his/her craft,” says Melanie Wong after trying the roast squab. “Crispy mahogany skin, perfect doneness, and so moist, this was the best roast squab I’ve had in ages.”

She says you also shouldn’t miss the char siu–style pork neck, an off-menu special. It differs from regular char siu by being “much more unctuous (in a good way), and with less discernible fat,” says upvalley. The pieces of pork come on a bed of anise-scented soybeans.

The kitchen’s expertise isn’t limited to barbecue. Melanie says the baby bok choy is top-notch, simply prepared with garlic. Clear-steamed live striper fish is another winner: “The flesh barely pulled off the bones and had the firmness of a recently swimming fish. The fresh sweetness was concentrated in the steamer juices that were delicious enough to drink.”

S&T Hong Kong Seafood Restaurant [Sunset]
2578 Noriega Street, San Francisco
415-665-8338

Board Link: Another Dinner @ S & T Hong Kong Seafood Restaurant, SF