TheCultureBite

Entries tagged as ‘asian fusion’

SO - San Francisco

January 17, 2010 · 3 Comments

SO
Neighborhood: SOMA
1010 Bryant St
(between 8th St & Converse St)
San Francisco, CA 94103

Rated: ♣♣♣♣♣

Note: I apologize for the bad photos. My camera died so I had to use my phone. I promise to update the images when I go back.

SO is back! You don’t know how excited I am to see SO back in business. If you don’t know, SO’s the sister restaurant to San Tung in San Francisco. It’s original location was on Irving, but it closed down several years ago. SO has since reopened and is now located in SOMA near the Nordstrom Rack.

I’ve always preferred SO’s over San Tung because a) they make the famous dried-fried chicken wings as well as other dried-fried items such as mushrooms and fish, b) price is cheaper (although, smaller portions), and c) the restaurant is less crowded (hoping it stays this way).

I was pleased to find SO had the same ambiance as the SO’s I used to know. The menu, prices, even the tea cups are the same!

The food:

Total came to $34.50 for 3 people.

SO Wings - Wings that were battered, fried, then drenched in a sweet and spicy chili garlic sauce.

SO Mushrooms - Button mushrooms with the same fixings as the SO Wings

Fried Tofu - Soft tofu that’s lightly fried and topped with bonito flakes (dried fish). The bonito flakes rise and descend with the steam as if they’re alive. I always get a kick out of that.

Dry Sauteed String Beans - Crunchy string beans served in the same chili garlic sauce as the SO wings.

SO Black Bean Noodles - Chewy noodles that’s tossed in a spicy black bean sauce with egg, pork, paprika and cayenne. LOVED the noodles, but be careful, this is very spicy. I could be wrong, but I don’t remember this being on the menu at the old location.

Parking:

Tons of parking options at this location. There’s a lot to the right of the building you can park in after 6pm or you can park on the street. I saw someone on Yelp even say you can park in the Nordstrom Rack/Trader Joe’s parking lot as well.

I’m just SO happy SO is back open. And, I SO hope you enjoyed too!

Categories: Food
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The House - San Francisco

January 11, 2010 · 1 Comment

The House
1230 Grant Ave
San Francisco, CA
415-986-8612
Price range: $30-50 (depends on how much alcohol you consume)

Rated: ♣♣♣♣♣

Hello! Guest blogger here. I’d like to start with full disclosure: I don’t eat red meat. My posts will skew towards birds and ocean dwellers, but occasionally I’ll savor some Kalua pork or prosciutto and write about it. Enough about me; let’s get started.

The House is one of my favorite restaurants in the city. This Asian fusion gem hides in a side street in North Beach. The shop is small and reservation is highly recommended. Casual dress, no pretentiousness and a friendly staff.

Oysters on half shell with spicy cilantro mignonette - The sauce is not for the faint hearted. It’s a combo of diced chili peppers with Sriracha sauce and Tabasico. Delicious.

Deep-fried salmon roll with Chinese hot mustard - You can’t go wrong with deep-fried sushi rolls. You just can’t.

Grilled sea bass with garlic ginger soy - I believe this dish comes with garlic noodles (it’s been a while since I ordered this). The noodles are fluffy with a perfect balance of garlic. The sea bass is works superbly with the ginger soy sauce. This is a must order.

Chicken breast with roasted portabella white truffle oil sauce - Not a huge fan of the chicken, but the truffle oil mixed with mash potatoes is amazing.

Specials (good luck on catching these!)

Grill sole with mussels on pasta - The pasta taste like risotto. The soft pasta and butter sauce mask the typically overpowering mussel taste and create a creamy gooey gumbo. Yum! The sole is well seasoned and adds a bit of crispy contrast to the rest of the dish.

Slow-roasted pork shoulders with foie gras - This dish is probably 4000 calories, but what the heck. You can eat two of the most wondrous things in the world! The pork and foie gra sit in a zesty soup base, which is drenched in the fatty juice from the meats. A spoonful of the fatty pork, foie gra and butter sauce is out of this world. As you recall my disclaimer, I don’t eat red meat. However, I made an exception and tried a spoonful because I simply had to. There are some cabbage in soup; so there’s goes your veggie for the day.

I am no wine connoisaure (more of a beer drinker), but their Pinot Noir (esoterica) and Gewurztraminer (londer) were really good. The Pinot goes well with meats and Gewurztraminer with fish.

Categories: Food
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