essvee's Profile
Clay Pot Rice and Double Boiled Soup at Best Taste in Oakland
Decided to try Gum Wah for claypot rice. Menu choices were exactly the same as Best Taste. Went with sweet rice instead of jasmine for 50 cents more. (Note: prices were higher on check than they were on the wall menu.)
Pretty good. No discernable difference in flavor or texture of the rice, which was kind of disappointing. Was not sticky at all, grains were separate. Short grained though, so ended up confused as to whether or not we got sweet or jasmine.
Portions of the toppings/garnish were significantly bigger than Best Taste. I got preserved meat and there was bacon, sausage, salted duck, and something else I couldn't identify, and a lot of it. So that was nice. My wife got chix and mushroom and was pleased that the chix was boneless, as she states the chix at Best Taste cuts up her mouth for days.
Rice on the sides was a little less crunchy than Best Taste. They just gave us the sauce from the BBQ station in a little bowl instead of having a cruet of something on the table. We asked for soup at the end and the waitress was confused but eventually acquiesced. The broth, as I remember from a visit some time ago, has a strong flavor of MSG/shrimp powder.
We also got a combo plate of BBQ pork and roast duck. Duck was very fatty, not so crisp but nicely flavorful. Pork was not good, sliced thin, no real fat or flavor, tasted wan. I like the burnt fatty ends: I wish I knew how to ask for it that way.
Overall, a nice claypot experience, not significantly better taste-wise than Best Taste but I did like getting all that yummy preserved meat. It is, as others have mentioned, unremitting in its filth, but we sat near the door so it wasn't so bad.
Some place for Sunday lunch between SFO and Mt. View please
Some clarification: she isn't into ethnic food and I would like to take her someplace nice, maybe in Mtn View? But doesn't really matter where. Thanks.
Some place for Sunday lunch between SFO and Mt. View please
Martin's West looks nice. Do I need a resie? Would prefer the Refuge but cousin won't. [insert sad emoticon here]
Just missed Robert's note that they aren't open for lunch on Sundays. D'oh! Any other ideas? Thanks for the suggestions.
Some place for Sunday lunch between SFO and Mt. View please
Picking up a cousin at SFO, driving her to Mt. View. Please tell me where to buy her luncheon. Thanking you.
Clay Pot Rice and Double Boiled Soup at Best Taste in Oakland
Had soup and clay pot today. Thanks for the tips--specifically the sauce in the cruet and the soup at the end. So satisfying. I had preserved meat, rich with bacon, sausage, salted pork and a bit of salted chicken wing. My wife had chicken and mushroom. The soup had meaty spare ribs, ginger, ginseng, dates, a bit of what looked like black fungus, something that looked like a hollowed out gingko nut, and some orange-y bits that looked like pine nuts, guessing wolf berries? Really clean despite all the pork and so full flavored. What a treat! Thanks again.
best place to buy live crab in Oakland Chinatown?
Thanks all. Knew I could count on you.
What a treat!
Can't believe we never made it to A Cote before. Seems like it's been there for, like, 15 years or so? We went to Citron a couple times but somehow never wandered next door. IT might still be in the top 100. It seems as if it hasn't lost a step.
We had chanterelle and corn fritters, which were the only misstep. Nothing wrong with them per se, but the chanterelles were not to be tasted. Came with a nice old fashioned sauce remoulade, which didn't enhance the dish much.
Mussels and frites came next, both superb. The mussel broth was creamy with a hint of Pernod (I asked the kitchen to flame the Pernod; they don't usually) and a nice chile hit at the end. Just wonderful. The frites were soft and crisp and herbed and salted just right. Aioli was good but superfluous.
Flatbread with pancetta, figs and Crescenza was a revelation. The flatbread itself was like what pizza dreams about being, so light, a touch flaky, but definitely not pastry. The cheese was creamy and pungent, the pancetta and figs salty and porky and sweet. I could have eaten the whole thing myself.
Ordered a croque monseiur just for shits and giggles. Buttery and crisp and gooey.
Had the mascarpone semifreddo for dessert and I exclaimed aloud with my first bite. Pure cream. But somehow subtly denser than ice cream. Came with truly ripe raspberries, such a rare treat outside of someone's back yard. My wife had a very nice peach and brown butter tart with anise ice cream. Mine was better.
Can't imagine it being better, besides the fritters, which were fine. What a nice dinner. Can't believe we waited 15 years to go.
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A Cote
5478 College Ave, Oakland, CA 94618
Ribeye at Mua--any good?
It was very good. I had the grilled prawns with pastis butter to start. The prawns themselves were tasty, grilled so expertly the shells were edible, but the rest of the plate, some melted onion and cherry tomatoes, was nothing special. Could barely taste the pastis.
The steak was again expertly grilled, cooked just right. A mighty piece of meat. I liked the fries and they sopped up the meat juice and herb butter nicely.
The steak came out a little too soon; I was just finishing the prawns. The soundtrack, weirdly but awesomely, was the music of my youth--Linda Ronstadt with Poor Poor Pitiful Me, Custard Pie by Zep, Voodoo Chile, Thunder Road, Long Live Rock, Suite Madame Blue by Styx (surprisingly good), Still, You Turn Me On by ELP--way better than any oldies radio. And it didn't hurt that my server was drop dead gorgeous.
Huge room. Cavernous even. Decent amount of folks for an early Tuesday, bar was hopping. I liked it. Hope they do well.
Ribeye at Mua--any good?
I want a steak and I work pretty close. 1 pound ribeye for 27 bucks sounds like a deal. Anybody eaten it recently? Was it good? Thanks.
Are there any good real spanish tapas bars in the SF area.
Best restaurant experience I've had in ages was at Barlata. From the bread, which came with this ground black olive-anchovy-garlic olive oil dip, to the stuffed piquillo peppers, to the chard, to the mushrooms, to the shrimp--every flavor was spot-on and perfect.
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Barlata
4901 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609
Oakland Chinatown hot and sour--need answer fast
I'm sick with a summer cold. Ugh. Hot and sour soup is the only thing that will do. Who's got the best in Oakland Chinatown. Thanks in advance.
What's with all those weird "coffee shop" style restaurants in Oakland Chinatown?
Oh yeah, thanks, you guys. Knew I could count on you!
What's with all those weird "coffee shop" style restaurants in Oakland Chinatown?
Gum Kuo is still there, but it's changed. The main menu is the same, but they've added the cha chaan teng stuff and their other stuff isn't nearly as good. For example, they had the best wonton soup in Chinatown. Now, the wontons themselves are just as good as ever, but the broth has been punched up with what tastes like MSG-laden shrimp powder. Bleah.
What's with all those weird "coffee shop" style restaurants in Oakland Chinatown?
You know, the ones with the ersatz Chinese-y variations on diner cuisine, tons of Spam everywhere, they serve plain spaghetti on the side, can't think of any dishes in particular. But Oakland Chinatown is crawling with them, D and A Cafe is one. Two of my fave spots have been taken over by this style of cuisine, Gum Kuo, and now New Oakland Seafood Restaurant is Angel's Cafe.
There is a paucity of good Chinese food in Oakland Chinatown, and this is one of the reasons. Can anyone knowledgeable (Robert Lauriston, Melanie Wong, etc.) explain the proper name for this stuff, what its origins are, and why it's so damn popular, seemingly replacing more traditional eateries? Thanks a lot.
New Oakland Seafood Restaurant gone!
I haven't been to Oakland Chinatown for a long while. Went to get my hair cut and saw that New Oakland Seafood Restaurant is gone, replaced by yet another of those odious "coffee shop" kind of restaurants. Very sad for me, lots of special occasions there. Loved their crab with preserved egg, West Lake rock cod soup, geoduck two ways, chix stuffed with sticky rice.
We didn't go often enough, as we liked their expensive dishes very much. Does any one know what happened, if they have another restaurant, etc.? They used to operate the restaurant across the street, but sold that a couple two three years ago. I hope they are running another joint somewhere. They will be missed. By me and mine anyway.
Nukamiso
Will you share with us how you do it, Yukari? I tried many years ago but the nuka got moldy and I havent tried since.
the search for the ultimate steak
I had a superior steak at Izzy's in Corte Madera. The Izzy's in SF should be just as good. Price was right around 30 bucks.
Ong Choy at R & G Lounge (SF)
Melanie, it seems that 'fu yee' is the way to request fermented bean curd? I have always had such a hard time asking for this preparation! Thanks!
sunday dinner in the delta? - moved from San Francisco board
Going to drive to Galt to walk in the Cosumnes River Preserve this Sunday. Any recommendations on a decent joint for dinner? Been to Al's Place in Locke, which was not good. Thanking you!
Slanted door tonight - need recs!
Cellophane noodles with crabmeat was the only truly transcendent dish I had there. Don't miss it.
Lunch near Legion of Honor?
I used to run the cafe a dozen years ago or so. Did a OK job of it if I do say so myself. Is it not good anymore?
We used to do special menus for big exhibits. Gussy up the old joint dontchaknow.
It was a pretty good gig.
Croll's Pizza in Alameda?
The above confusion may be because the NZ, when it moved in, kept the big Croll's sign up and only has their real name on the windows.
Dinner for 20 in Oakland Chinatown
New Oakland does indeed have a private room. It's upstairs.
As to the thread about it, all I can say is: that hasn't been my experience.
For my banquet for 8, I told the owner that I wanted to spend $300 including tip and we went from there. I requested geoduck two ways and live shrimp. The whole fish was not live, which was a good way to save some money. We didn't have Peking spareribs, as nobody really wanted them. We had chicken stuffed with sticky rice, which was pretty good.
The food at New Oakland is not often spectacular, but it is always been impeccably simple and fresh.
Oh yeah, my wife and I have had a dish there, twice, it's called crab with preserved egg or something. It's crab deepfried with an unbelievably savory batter that must contain not salted eggs but the other ones, can't remember the name. The batter adds an exotic overtone to the sweet crab. It's a dynamite dish.
Dinner for 20 in Oakland Chinatown
New Oakland Seafood Restaurant, at 10th and Harrison, is an overlooked gem. Their food is consistently clean-tasting and delicious. I have purchased a banquet there and was well pleased. The owner speaks English well enough for you to have a conversation with him. He is a nice guy. It's my favorite joint in Chinatown.
I figured out why In/Out fries suck
A friend and I have wondered, nay, obsessed on this topic for many of years now. Why are the fries at In/Out so damn tasteless? The potential for greatness is right there, they slice them right in front of you fer chrissake! They should rule and dominate like none other.
We order them almost every time because of this. We go there fully determined to not order fries, but when we get to the counter, seeing the fresh-cut potatoes flying around everywhere and all totally undermines our will and somehow they end up on the tray once again.
And they suck once again. But I have figured it out. I'm sure I'm not the first one, but I've never seen or heard anyone posit this idea, so here goes.
Their oil is too damn clean. As a franchise they seem obsessed with cleanliness. But any old short order cook (me, for example) knows that pure clear clean oil produces subpar fried items. The oil has to darken up with whatever debris and detritus darkens it up before things start to taste right, much as a cast iron pan has to blacken up. Some places even hold back a quart or so of old oil to add to the new stuff when they change the oil out.
I'll bet that In/Out not only changes the oil every day but, like, steam cleans the fryers or something so the oil never has a chance to blacken up good. I'll stake my next paycheck on this.
Had to share this with thems that might care about suchlike.
Best soup and noodles in Oakland Chinatown?
Went to Gum Wah. The wontons were good enough, the BBQ pork top-notch, lots of burnt overcooked chewy parts the way I like it, but the broth was... weird. Punched up flavor-wise in a highly artificial way, as if loaded with MSG and shrimp powder. Strange, it was. Disappointing as well. Not sure if I'd go back.
For thems that knows, a friend of my muvver-in-law's is from Hong Kong, and she says that a restaurant's wonton soup is sort of a test to tell how good the restaurant will be. Have anyone ever heard that before?
Best soup and noodles in Oakland Chinatown?
Thanks for all the suggestions. The thing about Gum Kuo was the broth. The broth was excellent. Profound, limpid, just perfect. Plus the wontons tasted of sesame oil and a pinch of Szechuan peppercorns. I'm still mad. What is it about that coffee shop stuff? I would love to know the history of it.
Vien Houng did not boat my boat the time I went. Chiu Chow you say?
Gold Medal's wonton rivaled Gum Kuo's before they closed/moved/reopened. I have to get back there to see about it.
I liked your post about Chef Lin's, singleguy. It made me hungry. I have made that pork belly with preserved mustard greens a time or two. Good eats.
