Betelnut

2030 Union Street

San Francisco, CA 94123

Occasion: Dinner with Drew! 07.09.10

Glazed pork shortribs, garlic and thai basil

I really wanted to try it, so we ordered it. I guess the waitress either forgot to write it down or the servers forgot to bring it to our table, so after all our dishes came out and we asked about it. Because of their lack of service in getting this dish to us in a timely manner, they comped this dish. Thank goodness they did because it was too salty.  It was overly seasoned for my liking.  Not to sound racist or anything, but it's made for non oriental people who probably have never had authentic asian food.  It was decent, but definitely not the best! I'd rather order this similar dish at a hole in the wall restaurant in ghetto chinatown!

Cecelia's minced chicken, lup cheong, lettuce cups

I had to try it because it's on SF's BIG EATS 2010 #89.  In my opinion, it was comparable to those at an authentic chinese restaurant.  I thought it was pretty good. It might have been a tad bit too salty for my liking, but I still enjoyed it.  It wasn't the best I've had, but it wasn't the worst either.  Best eaten when it is still nice and warm.

String beans

Drew's request.  String beans were pretty good. It was a good balance between all the other dishes we had. Yay, at least one veggie dish! It made me feel healthier with at least one veggie dish!  It was pretty good and garlicy! Since I love garlic, I could have done with more garlic! Overall, a decent veggie dish. No complaints.

Oven smoked seabass with ginger cucumber namasu

It was delicious! My favorite dish of the night.  I absolutely love seabass, so I was tempted to order it and I did.  It had a sweet teriyaki like flavor to it. The meat was soft and tender and the meat was full of its natural sweetness.  I also really enjoyed the sliced cucumbers on the side. yummo.

Miyabi Sushi

393 Bay St

(between Powell St & Mason St)

San Francisco, CA 94133

Occasion: Dinner in my hood! Some time in July!



Tamago and Salmon

Tamago ordered by Ella and Salmon by me.Both of which we enjoyed. Ella doesn't eat raw, so she didn't eat it, but I did get to try the tamago, which was good! Semi sweet and soft, delicious!

Hamachi Kama

We were really disappointed the first time we came here because they were sold out of the hamachi kama. Fortunately, they had it for us to try this second time around. Definitely what we were craving for. Yummo!

One of their sushi rolls

Don't really remember which one nor do I remember what was in it. I just remember thinking that this sushi place was pretty decent,freshness of the fish wise as well as location wise. It's hard to find a decent sushi place in my area that is so reasonably priced.

Panta Rei

431 Columbus Ave

San Francisco, CA 94133

Occasion: Wednesday night dinner. 7/7/10.

FETTUCCINE CON ABBACCHIO

Fettuccine w/ Lamb Shank Meat in Tomato Sauce

I can eat lamb,  I don't love it, but I don't hate it either. In all honesty, the gaminess of the meat did get to me. I wouldn't recommend getting it unless you like your pasta with the classic tomato sauce and lamb.

MOZZARELLA CON BRUSCHETTA
Fresh Mozzarella served with tomato Bruschetta
I love the softness of the mozzarella, the freshness of the chopped tomatoes and the basil. Can't forget the tart goodness of the sun-dried tomatoes. Some of my favorite things altogether. Seriously a mouthful of deliciousness with each bite!

PAPPARDELLE VERDI ALL'ANATRA

Green Fettuccine w/Duck meat in Brandy Pink Sauce

Recommended and absolutely delicious!! Flavor of the pink sauce was absolutely divine. Duck meat was juicy and full of flavor.  The fettuccine was green colored and very wide, not what I am usually used to, but still very enjoyable. I would definitely recommend this dish to others!

Brothers Pizza

3627 Taraval St
San Francisco, CA 94116 

Occasion: While waiting for AAA to come fix Ella's flat tire, we got hungry so we wandered into this pizza place.



Combination

It was pretty decent. The portion was generous and there were a lot of toppings on it. Not only that, the staff were nice and let us use the bathroom too. yee!

Straits

845 Market St

San Francisco, CA 94103

Occasion: Friday night dinner with old and new friends 6.25.10  (I know I'm a few months behind on my posts, my apologies)

Samosas
Vegetarian Curried Savories with Chili-Garlic Dip
I love samosas as appetizers. Crispy golden brown skin filled with curried flavored potatoes and other goodies. Love the combination of spices, but not the best I've had.  It did its job in satisfying my taste buds and my growling stomach.

Vietnamese Beef Carpaccio

Pepper Seared Filet Mignon, Frisee, Sweet Chili Vinaigrette, Truffle Oil
Ella always has to order beef carpaccio, but too bad they only give you seriously 4 slices of beef. They kind of skimp you on the amount of beef you should get.  It looks like there's a lot, but it's really just a lot of the useless veggies that we all don't care too much for.

Lemongrass Beef

Garlic noodles with Chicken

Really nothing to rave about. It was just mediocre.

Lemongrass Chicken

“Ayam Kalasan”

Crispy Chicken Breast with Spicy Lemongrass Kaffir Lime Sauce

Straits Risotto

Abalone, Tiger Prawns, Clams, Mussels with a Laksa Spiced Coconut Curry

Whole Striped Bass

“Ikan Goreng”
Crisped Whole Striped Bass, Wok Fired Chinese Broccoli, Thai Basil Chili Sauce

I did not expect the fish to really come as a whole.  It would have been a lot more convenient to eat if it were prepared differently.  Besides that, I loved the thai basil chili sauce.  I usually have fish prepared differently.  It's good to have a change in taste and preparation style.