Slanted Door

1 Ferry Bldg
San Francisco, CA 94111

Occasion: Ella's Birthday Dinner. August 30, 2009

Chue farm japanese eggplant

with green onions and coconut milk

This was my favorite dish of the night. I love eggplants and the balance of the sweet coconut milk flavor with the natural flavor of the eggplant went very well together. The eggplants were not too mush and not too hard. The flavor of the coconut milk also added sweetness to the onions, which I enjoyed a lot.

Niman Ranch Shaking Beef

cubed filet mignon, sausalito springs' watercress, red onions and lime sauce

This was one of my favorite dishes, even though I don't usually like beef. It was well seasoned and full of flavor. The meat wasn't too cooked, nor was it undercooked. I liked it a lot. It is #7 on the SF BIG EATS 2009: 100 things you must eat and drink befor eyou die.

Cellophane noodles

with fresh dungeness crab meat

This was my least favorite dish. This dish did not stand out at all and I barely touched the portion I served myself. It lacked in flavor as well as presentation. I felt like I could make this myself at home. It really wasn't anything special, come to think of it, I don't think any of us touched it much at all. If you're asian, it's not worth a try at all. In my opinion I don't think it's worth a spot as #7 on SF's Big Eat: 100 things to eat and drink before you die

Whole Tai Snapper

The fact that they made it whole, really gives it an asian feel, as this is how a lot of chinese and vietnamese people cook fish. I love fish and I eat a lot of fish, especially ones that are cooked whole. I was expecting the fish to be fresh, since this restaurant is located by the dock and it came out in a whole fish form, but when I tasted it I was a bit disappointed not in the taste of it, but the freshness. It wasn't fresh at all. I was intrigued by the sauce they provided, as it was a little bit tart and sweet. Not bad.

Hodo soy beanery organic tofu

with lemongrass, shiitake mushrooms and roasted chili

I love tofu and this would have been a favorite of mine, if it weren't so spicy. I can't really eat spicy, therefore I didn't really enjoy it as much as I should and could have.

Chicken claypot

with caramel sauce, chilies and fresh ginger

Not too bad, but it was a bit on the spicy side for me.

Prather Ranch Beef Carpaccio

with roasted peanuts, rau ram and fresh lime juice

I was really excited to give this dish a try, but I was somewhat disappointed when I tried it. The meat wasn't sliced as thin as I hoped for it to be. I wished that it was thinner and they actually cut the meat to a size that is actually easy to eat. We had a group of 6 people trying to share all the dishes. This dish made it difficult to share, because we found ourselves carving away at the meat trying to cut out portions that were eatable. I didn't think the lemon juice dressing was authentic enough. It was too citrusy. I wished that there were more chopped basils because the vietnamese use it a lot. The shrimp chips with sesame that topped the carpaccio was actually pretty good though.

Spring rolls

with shrimp, pork, mint and peanut sauce

There was nothing spectacular or special about this roll. I feel like I could have gotten a better one for half the price at a vietnamese restaurant in TL or Chinatown.