Seconds on Han Il Kwan. We went there around New Years Day, and really enjoyed the panchan (although they didn’t have the little fishies that day) and the meat, but was particularly impressed with the tofu stew, which I’d never experienced before. My previous Korean experiences always brought that odd thin dishwatery soup. I’d go back just for that.
Welcome Jiaozi to the forum! Who do you think serves the best sichuan dishes in the Bay Area?
And btw, how did you find us?
The best I’ve had so far are at Royal Feast. Their mapo tofu revitalized my faith in Bay Area Chinese food.
I found y’all through some articles about the Chowhound diaspora, which I used for restaurant recommendations for about ten years. This seems like a fun, unpretentious community that cares about food, so I figured I’d start actively participating. Thanks for the welcome!
4 Likes
I live in Noe Valley, SF.
My favorite dishes to order are wheat-based noodles, pasta, and dumplings. Two favorites are pierogies, which I’m very picky about, and Hong Kong style chow mein, which I’m not very discriminating about and will order once a year when the mood fits.
I’d like to learn more about Chinese cuisine, which is one of the main draws for me to the knowledgeable HO community. I’m a new parent, so will have to look from afar on that and general restauranting, especially in restaurants outside of SF, at least for a while. On that note, I’m interested in hearing more about quick and simple preparations of the amazing variety of produce we have available to us in the SFBA.
My wife and I plan to walk the entire California coastline so ask me about, and tell me about, coastal eats in California. We’ve completed 25% of the coastline so far, and have been more successful than not at avoiding the tourist traps.
1 Like
Do you have any favorite Ethiopia/Eritrean places in SF, and do you have any tips (or desires to find out about) specific dishes? I can’t recall specifics, but my general impression was that Moya was better quality than others I’ve tried.
It is probably an acquired taste, but most beloved for some folks. Thin, cracker-like crust, sweet thick sauce, and that special processed cheese known as provel, only found in St. Louis. Always cut in squares. So hard to find authentic outside of St. Louis (because of the cheese issue), but Tony’s in North Beach has a great version. Serious Eats has a great discussion of it - http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/01/in-defense-of-st-louis-style-pizza.html.
1 Like
I should probably ask, given your user name, any recs for jiaozi’s in the city?
I should probably ask, given your user name, any recs for jiaozi’s in the city?
Haven’t found any worth mentioning yet but haven’t explored much, so I am very open to suggestions.
Should we actually split the thread into two? I think the discussion about the board activity itself got overshadowed by the get to know you survey. There are some good ideas that other cities boards are doing that we can discuss if we should do something similar…
What part of the SF/Bay Area do you live in?
Mid-Peninsula
What’s your favorite thing to order in a restaurant (of any type)?
It varies over time. I tend to get obsessed with a particular dish or category and eat it repeatedly until I move on to something else. In the past few years my obsessions have included dim sum, SE Asian dishes with fish cooked in banana leaf such as Mok Pa, Amok and Pepes Ikan, XLB (which I rarely order now), banh khot (which I still will order any chance I get), gourmet ice cream (ditto), Tom Kha Gai, any spicy SE Asian soup (but I still haven’t found a Khao Soi I really love yet—please advise if you can recommend one).
Except for the ice cream those are all Asian, indicative of my strong interest in Asian cuisine. I’m also a fan of Afghan cuisine, especially Kadu and Aushak. Recently I’ve really enjoyed soups. Noodle Talk in Los Altos has some great ones. The lentil soup at Kabul Afghan in San Carlos is fabulous.
What do you want to learn more about, food-wise?
I’d love to take an Indian or SE Asian cooking class if I could find something on the level of Kasma’s Thai cooking classes. She would have us sample a dish we were working on before and after we added ingredients to show how each one affected the final result. It was a revelation.
I’ve been trying unsuccessfully to make great sourdough bread. I’ve read all the books and websites, taken a couple of Sour Flour workshops, bought a steam convection oven, modifed my recipes and techniques, and still can’t get the crumb right while maintaining complexity and sourness. If someone could teach me how I’d be their BFF.
I’d like an experienced cook in some interesting cuisine (especially Asian) to take me into local markets with funny smells and strange looking items and explain them to me as we shopped, followed by a cooking lesson using what we had picked up.
Things people should ask me about?
I’ve been to 60-65 countries and am fascinated by cultural differences. I’ve been taking courses at TechShop and am interested in any maker projects you’re working on, such as Arduino or Raspberry Pi projects, or CNC etched or cut items for homes. Landscape design and gardening. Ceramics. Home remodel experiences. Oh yeah—food! Let’s talk about food.
2 Likes
BTW, have you sampled the Afghan scene around Fremont? How do you like it compared to e.g. Kabul Afghan?
I’ve only been to one Afghan place in Fremont and it was nothing special. It was a pretty modest place that just happened to be nearby when we needed a place to eat. I’ve heard goods things about De Afghanan (I think there’s more than one) but haven’t tried it.
There’s another Kabul Afghan (in Sunnyvale) which is unrelated to the Kabul Afghan in San Carlos, with a similar menu. My first time there I didn’t think it was as good as the San Carlos one, my second time I thought it was pretty equivalent.
I’ve also enjoyed Helmand Palace in San Francisco, which has many of the same dishes, though I haven’t been there in at least 5 years so I have no recent comparisons. I thought the food was as good as, possibly even a little better than, Kabul in San Carlos, but I liked it less because it’s not near me and they didn’t offer anything like the vegetarian platter at Kabul, one of favorite options. It comes as a full meal (salad, rice, bread and entree) with a choice of 3 out of 4 of spinach, eggplant, cauliflower and pumpkin (kadu). I ate at Kabul last Saturday with a friend and we got one vegetarian platter and one aushak, which along with the lentil soup covered all my favorites.
3 Likes
Hi Everyone! I’m new here. I split my time between the Peninsula and Lake Tahoe.
I’m vegetarian, so that’s my favorite thing to order at every restaurant.
I love cooking and experiencing great food. I’d love to get to know everyone more and learn about great places to eat, buy quality ingredients, and cool cooking/baking techniques.
Things people should ask me about? Good food, vegetarian, cooking, baking, sewing, technology, and entrepreneurship.
4 Likes
I’m sure you have Tartine’s bread book. Have you tried their dutch oven method? It’s by far the best method in my own experience of lots of failed loaves. It’s the closest way to get professional artisan baker level bread at home. To eat fresh bread from your own oven is divine.
Welcome, Connie! Nice to meet you! How did you hear about HO?
Hi Maria! Nice to meet you too! I heard about HO while searching for CH alternatives. I find CH unusable. 
1 Like
that’s how most of us ended up here. what was your handle on CH, if you don’t mind my asking? was it the same?
I’m actually new to foodie forums, though I’ve been a foodie all my life. I never actually registered a CH account. I knew from browsing CH that I couldn’t use it long term, something about its design turned me off. Hope that helps!
1 Like
too funny, really, that the same thing that brought you here from CH brought most of us here. we all used to love that site. they effed it up, majorly. ah well, at least we’ve got HO.
3 Likes
