We finally made it last Saturday night, and to address the safety concerns, we didn't feel unsafe eating there. I definitely wouldn't take a stroll in the area around the restaurant after dark, but it was fine for us to walk to our car parked on the street half a block away. We also didn't see any suspicious activities while we were there to make us feel uneasy. Ultimately, it depends on your tolerance for sketchy neighborhood. In my case, the risk was out weight by high quality food we got.

Speaking of food, we ordered
- KFC. Skin was so crispy it was almost like a layer of hard candy. It wasn't as spicy as other KFC variants, but the flavors come together nicely. Meat was juicy and high quality as someone else mentioned. This by itself was worth the price of admission.
- Karaake. Good but not terribly memorable.
- Naked Pig. Grilled pork jowl with a nice balance of fatty and meatty parts. It came with briny shrimp and mustard sauce, which give it a nice jolt of flavor to balance out the richness.
- Bacon wrapped Mochi. There version is a little heavy handed with butter on the mochi, but it's hard not to like.
- Pork Belly Bap Set. Our other favorite of the night. Nothing mind blowing, but the flavors of gochujang came thru beautifully in the perfectly grilled pork belly pieces. The banchan that came with the set was good, with kimchi apple as the standout.
- Korean Beignet. Nice crisp skin and chewy center, which I am sure is made of sweet rice given it's chewiness.

Yes! Thanks for the additional color to the story. I actually have only been to kopitiams in Malaysia, and it's been quite a while ago, so all this is bring back some good memories.

Thanks for the updates. I was justing reading the nytimes piece about kopitiams in Singapore, which makes me want to drive right over tomorrow for some kopi!

I missed out on the whole mission burger experience back in the days, so I was super psyched about its reappearance at MBC. A couple of weeks ago, we finally had a chance to make the pilgrimage there, and...it was ok.

The burger we had was actually under seasoned, contrary to some of the reports I had read. The sweet, earthy flavors of onion actually shine through in much better focus than the patty. This may offend the burger purists, but I actually liked the greens as an condiment to the burger, since it gave a nice contrast to the richness of the burger. But I did wish the fries comes with the burger at that price point.

Speaking of the fries, there were actually the best part of the meal. They were perfect bite size half domes with an incredible crisp skin and soft center. Great flavors, even without the sauces. We also ordered the french onion casserole, which was also a mild disappointment as it came lukewarm and very one dimensional, both in flavor and texture.

Have anyone tried Kopitiam Cafe in Milpitas? It seems new, and I was wondering if it's from the same team that was in Lafayette, which was one of the better Malaysian/Singaporean place in these parts.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/kopitiam-cafe...

It was toasted. The flavor and density of the bagel definitely deviate from the NY bagels, but for me, the texture is what sold me.

I have not been back for 6 months now, and it's sad to hear that they change for the worst. They seem to be an ideal family business to thrive in that area when we visited them back then.

Thanks for the report! I just went to Telegraph today to try it out after this thread. Having been a transient in New Year for 3 years, I am not a bagel purist, but I have had my share of bagels from H&H, Hot Bialys and the ubiquitous corner bagel shops. Authentic's bagels are pretty damn good.

After being deprived from a good bagel in the Bay Area for a few years, I was so terrified of missing out on my opportunity this morning to try it that I called ahead to order the take out. The lady who answered the phone mentioned 5 flavors, plain and 4 other flavors that didn't interest me (sorry for not remember the details because I was that eager). I got there around 10:30, and had the place all to myself, which I assume had something to do with DST screwing with everyone else. The lady was just finishing up my order as I got there, so no idling time, for the bagel, wasted. When I got home to eat my bagel 10 minutes later, the thing that impressed me was the crispy skin in contrast to the chewy dough in the center. It was definitely lighter than a NYC bagel, but it's our favorite in the bay by far, with Berkeley Bagel coming in second (we haven't tried Beauty Bagel yet). All I need now is for them to mass produce, while keeping the quality, so I don't have to pay $4 for a bagel with cream cheese. Great find!

Thanks!

Looks like a great meal! Does anyone know what the custard dish's name in chinese?

Thanks for the great report! Like you, I have been a bit surprise by the lack of mention of R&W on the board, but maybe this will set off the radar for some.

It's so good to hear from fellow diners about the same dishes. Great pictures too! It's too bad to hear the salad won't make it to the regular menu, but at least I can say I have tried it. I can't wait to see what the full menu would look like.

For anyone interested, my review is posted in MW's new thread above.

With all the Jeremy Fox drama rattling the news wire on the same day of our visit, I felt a bit uncertain about what's going to happen to Plum. But as soon as I saw Patterson in the kitchen, any lingering hesitation went out the window.

We started with amouse bouche of chickpea fritter with molten core of sheep milk cheese. It's a slight variation to a falafel, but like its sibling, it's too hot to eat in one bite. It would set the Mediterranean theme for the rest of the courses to come.

Our first course was cucumber and melon salad with almond yogurt, red shiso and nasturtium flower pedals and leaves. The cantaloupe, and to a lesser degree the honey dew, was ripen to the perfect sweet tenderness without triggering the mush alarm. The Japanese cucumber ribbon, which was pickled slightly to add depth, anchored a gorgeous presentation of the best California has to offer. Bonus points for casting delicately light yogurt dressing to allow for the real stars of the dish to shine. I also love that both the flowers and the pedals are on the dish to showcase more of what I can only imagine is Patterson's garden bounties.

Our second course was chilled eggplant soup with pickled green beans and preserved lemon, tomato water gelee. While the first course wetted our appetite, this dish came loaded with flavors and textures combination that shows Patterson is not just a "fig on a plate" kind of guy. The silky smooth, rich soup served as comforting rhythm to the crunchy, popping melodies of the pickled beans, peas and fresh cilantro. The refreshing energy of the dish could not be damped even under the chilly summer weather of San Francisco. I bet he can sell it by the buckets if it was served in smothering humidity. The gelee was the only minor let down as it didn't contribute to the flavors of the dish, though it did provide some visual and textural contrast. This is my favorite dish of the night.

Our 3rd course was slow cooked egg over chicken giblet, fried farro and shaved slices of radish, or as I like to call it, runny egg over chicken fried rice. The perfectly cooked egg was front and center of a mash-up of diced chicken pieces, farros, plus sprouts, pickled radish and carrots. This was the ultimate comfort food as nothing makes a splash, but eating the dish was like getting a warm hug from all the ingredients. I did wish the radish would provide a bit more acidity to balance a rather heavy entree, but that's a minor bone to pick. This dish should also serves to answer the chicken and egg question if anyone asks Patterson.

Desert came in the form of a milk chocolate parfait with basil meringue and pistachio. Basil meringue was well executed, though its pairing with the rich parfait made the lingering sweetness seem heavy handed. It also didn't help that the previous course was also a heavy hitter.

Lastly, we finished with a piece of homemade hibiscus marshmallow.

From the restraint build up of the salad, to full flavor display of the chilled soup, to homey fried rice, to chocolate desert, there's a clear vision from the chefs at work. It happens to be a vision mostly underserved in the bay area, so as long as the vision and execution hold, Plum should quickly cement itself a spot on many foodies' lists of go-to neighborhood places. There are still questions to be answered, such as can Patterson maintain quality of the food while splitting time between his growing empire? But there are enough clues sprinkled in the preview dinner to make the mystery worth exploring. I look forward to getting the full sit-down treatment at opening time.

Thanks! We will report back after the meal.

Did anyone go last Monday for Fox's preview dinner? I am planning to go next Monday, but would love to hear report to prepare myself.

I also want to support a few things others have listed

- izakaya
- ramen
- korean (esp kfc)
- Jewish deli
- casual innovative (momofuku like)

I feel like these things are missing in the bay area, not just SF. There are shops that cover these categories now, but the quality of them lacks behind LA and NYC. I do have hope that plum in Oakland will fill that last category!

Hong Kong Flower Lounge and Zen Peninsula in Millbrae are the other two so far. Although I am limited what I have tried in the Bay Area so far (not been to Koi Palace yet).

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Koi Palace Restaurant
365 Gellert Blvd, Daly City, CA 94015

Hong Kong Flower Lounge
51 Millbrae Ave, Millbrae, CA 94030

Zen Peninsula
1180 El Camino Real, Millbrae, CA 94030

We went last weekend for dinner and thoroughly enjoy our meal. What we ordered:

- salt baked chicken. This was a bit of disappointment for us since we had such high hopes. We did like the chicken itself, which was tasty, with fresh and tender chicken. However, the flavor is far more muted than what authentic "Dong Jiang salted chicken" taste like.

- pork belly with preserved cabbage. Very good rendition of the dish, with top quality pork belly and excellent execution. The result is melting, succulent, flavorful chunks of pork. The preserved cabbage, which is tender and flavorful without tasting like wet paper as is usually the case, is also worthy of high praise.

- braised tofu. This is a simple braised tofu dish that can be found in very cantonese restaurant, but the execution here is above average. Fresh tofu and snap peas without globs of sauce overpowering the ingredients.

- Deep fried pumpkin with salted egg. This was a pleasant surprise as we were originally going to cancel this dish. The waiter suggest that we give it a shot and we loved it. The pumpkins are cut into small carrot stick sizes, fried in a batter sprinkled with salted egg yoke. The sweetness of the pumpkin gel with the savory batter. Not sure if this is the chef's creation or a new trend in chinese restaurants. But either way, it's a winner. The waiter also told us at the end of the meal that this was one of the most popular dishes at the restaurant.

- Salt and pepper spare ribs. Very forgettable rendition of a popular dish in chinese restaurant. Though it was not bad, compare to the quality of other dishes, it's not worth mentioning. Won't be ordering this again.

- XO sauce fried rice. Very flavorful fried rice, not a bad deal by itself.

At the beginning of the dinner, we were served a soup with snow ear and a porky, clear broth. At the end of the meal, we were served a sweet dessert soup with pumpkin. Both were complimentary of the meal. I think there was also a 10% Grand Opening discount, which is plastered on the front window. Though I didn't check my bill carefully enough to see if we got it.

Overall, we would definitely go back. For the price, Hakka is by far the best Chinese in the Bay Area I have had. Just judging by the quality of the food, it would still easily rank in top 3 Bay Area chinese restaurant on my list.

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Hakka Restaurant
4401 Cabrillo St, San Francisco, CA 94121

btw, Grand Harbor is probably the best taiwanese snack food in the Bay Area. It's not as good as LA (grew up there) or Taipei (was there last fall), but I think it's better than Southland Flavor Cafe, which was my go-to place until GH. Portion size is also bigger for about the same price. The usual dishes such as oyster pancake, popcorn chicken and pork chop are all very good. My taiwanese sausage over rice dish was served lukewarm, so there might be some service issues, but can't complain about flavor or price. Lastly, on a Sunday night, when every other restaurant in its plaza was empty, GH was packed, so that's gotta be a good sign.

Thanks everyone for their reports! It's so rare to hear about good Hakka restaurant anywhere. I am so excited about this restaurant that I may have to trek out there this weekend.

Yesterday, I ventured into the Hmart on Route 70 near 295 to check it out, since I haven't been to a Hmart before. I saw that there's a Korean restaurant next to Hmart called Beawon. It looks promising. I am definitely going to go back and try it, but I want to see if anyone on this board has been there before. Please share!

Agreed on Tehuitzingo. It's got the best Tacos/Burritos I have had in Manhattan.