29673 Fri Jun 04 17:10:30 -0700 2004 28 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 126098 Seeking some variety from all the Chinese food, the hounds lunched today on Vietnamese food at Golden King. We consumed the following (unfortunately I forgot to write down the Vietnamese names of these, but the #s are correct): #1 Pho with everything (beef ball, flank, tripe, tendon, and more) #11 Vietnamese beef stew #16 Chicken soup with rice noodles #22 Imperial rolls #23 Shrimp and pork salad rolls #26 Raw beef salad #38 BBQ pork rice plate #58 Lemongrass calamari (ordered w/o beef) Several drinks: salty lemonade, three colored bean drink, Vietnamese coffee, and Thai iced tea. For 14 people, we ordered 2 of each dish (3 of the beef salad), left a generous tip, and ended up paying $10 per person. All of you that attended: please share your opinions! And thank you to everyone for keeping the Lunch Series a success, and especially to Ruth for handling the logistics this week. -Nick Next week... dim sum, hosted by Cythnia! *----------------------------------------------------* About the SF Chinatown Chowdown Lunch Series Each week an ever changing group of hounds lunch at a Chinatown restaurant. We focus primarily but not exclusively on Chinese cuisines. All types of hounds are welcome to attend: veteran chowdowners or newcomers; experts in Chinese cuisines or those just starting to discover them. Seats for each lunch will be alloted on a first come, first serve basis to those on a mailing list being maintained especially for these lunches. Email njachow@yahoo.com if you would like to be added to that list for future lunches in this series The SFCCLS are private, volunteer assisted events. No agency relationship, express or implied exists between any parties and Chowhound, Inc. These are not Chowhound, Inc. sponsored events. *----------------------------------------------------* Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/29563#125712 Fri Jun 04 17:10:30 -0700 2004 0 nja 1 126104 Boy, that beef salad went fast! Everyone loved it, and we probably could have eaten another order of it! I grabbed a menu, so I'll add the Vietnamese names: #1 Pho with everything (beef ball, flank, tripe, tendon, and more) (Xe Lua) #11 Vietnamese beef stew (Hu Tieu Bo Kho) #16 Chicken soup with rice noodles (Pho Ga Dai) #22 Imperial rolls (Cha Gio) #23 Shrimp and pork salad rolls (Goi Cuon) #26 Raw beef salad (Bo Tai Chanh) #38 BBQ pork rice plate (Com Thit Heo Nuong) #58 Lemongrass calamari (ordered w/o beef) (Muc Xao Bo -- without the "Bo") I thought all three of the soups were excellent. As Melanie had noted in one of her reports, the rare beef was laid across the mound of noodles where it didn't over cook. The chicken had the chewy but flavorful qualities of the free-range Chinese chicken. The beef stew was rich and redolent of 5 spice but not overly anise-y (although the meat seemed to be mostly tendon, so if you're not a tendon fan you might want to skip it). The lemongrass calamari was a disappointment: the calamari was overly chewy and the whole dish was on the bland side. The salad rolls were tasted good, but the ratio of noodles to other ingredients was a little high, and the peanut sauce could have used more zing. I think I'd go back for the pho, but probably not for the other dishes. Service was extremely quick -- we were out of there in an hour and a quarter, and could easily have been out sooner -- they clearly try to turn the tables as quickly as possible during the lunch rush. The downside was that all the dishes came pretty much at once, which I think led to less savoring and discussion of each dish. Since Vietnamese dishes are usually not served family style, we also kept them hopping bringing us extra plates, bowls, etc., which they handled good naturedly -- the hostess/manager in particular was very friendly and helpful. Golden King Vietnamese Restaurant 757 Clay Street (across from Portsmouth Square) 415-217-6888 Fri Jun 04 18:06:03 -0700 2004 126098 0 Ruth Lafler 2 126131 Another fun group lunch...welcome Max! I thought the food was about average with a couple of standouts for me and a couple of disappointments. Average were the Imperial rolls,.. The beef soups were so laden with anise that I was totally unable to discern any beef flavor at all! The chicken soup, however, without any additional spice was a rich golden extremely flavorful broth with silken chicken...I would definitely return for this!... I thought the pork with rice was good..nicely seared to a crunch... The calamari came out with a decidedly Chinese-American "gloppy sauce" not bad tasting, but boring and probably could have used the beef just for an additional depth of flavor and texture. The raw beef salad was excellent...I could have eaten the whole thing by myself, but I felt compelled to share like the Good Chowhound I am!! The meat of the beef stew was beautifully braised and had an unctuous texture from the almost liquified layer of fat surrounding it. The raw noodle roll thing was tasteless. The salty lemon soda tasted like Alka-Seltzer, but I liked the gummy worms in that Halo Halo. Drinking and chewing at the same time..is like patting your head and rubbing your stomach!! This is the mark of a superior Chowhound. Thanks to Nick for organizing and to the Yimster for taking us for peanut-coconut mochi....And the chewiest strangest "cookie" I have ever had...think salty-sweet roast pork fat in a layer in a cookie wafer..I didn't think I really liked it, but the texture guaranteed that I would finish it! I would return to Golden King for Chicken Pho, raw beef salad, and the pork with rice...these were the most satisfying for me. Sat Jun 05 02:12:00 -0700 2004 126104 0 ChowFun (derek) 3 126138 Chowfun, Where can I get the peanut-coconut mochi and the strange "cookie"? Sat Jun 05 09:31:27 -0700 2004 126131 0 Arlene 4 126222 The Mochi..strange cookie place is : "Dim Sum Nice Food" 1039 Stockton (mid-block, west side) 415 397 2688 Sun Jun 06 20:49:32 -0700 2004 126138 0 ChowFun (derek) 5 126309 Thanks for the info! Tue Jun 08 00:19:51 -0700 2004 126222 0 Arlene 2 126154 another chowhound adventure......this one complete with serious shopping and trekking for sweet, salty, dead and alive items afterwards. Thanks Yimster! I found this meal to be pretty darn underwhelming. I thought that the chicken soup stock tasted canned. I have to agree with derek about the bland roll thing. what I usually like about these is the sharp freshness of the raw greens. I think that Pho is not my thing because the flavours don't really call out to me. But THE RAW BEEF SALAD------- can you say Zow?! I would go back to eat this alone. It was fabulous. Bright, smooth, tender. It comes to the table composed but Yimster skillfully mixed it with his chopsticks. the sauce was all those wondrous flavours with no one particularly needing to be the star; fresh herbs and peanuts. mmmmmmmmm. Thank you to the last minute co-collaborators. it is always an adventure. Max has some incredible photos from the trip to the frog/turtle/fish shop. I have asked him to post them but you can always write to me and I will send them forth. Sat Jun 05 18:42:14 -0700 2004 126104 0 sailorbuoys 3 126282 I always leave too early to catch the good stuff. I want to see the pictures of what I missed! Mon Jun 07 17:41:21 -0700 2004 126154 0 Meredith 1 126119 A great lunch with even better people to eat with. Everything was good expect for the squid dish that Ruth already stated and I was not care for the BBQ pork dish because that I got was kind of dry. I really like the No. 1 Pho which came with beef meat ball which you normally would have to pay extra for. But I miss the bean spourts, basil leaves, lemon and hot peppers that in normally served with the soups. Maybe they forgot. Thanks RWCFoodie for reminding me. The food came so fast I forgot to asked for the dressing items. I nice place but I am not sure that they knew how to handle a large group like us. Service was really good and they really want to please us. The first time a Chinatown even bother to tell us that the kitchen was backed up when we added a dish. Fri Jun 04 21:09:08 -0700 2004 126098 0 yimster 1 126128 Golden King has a sister restaurant (literally), Golden Star, across the street in Walter U. Lum Place. Pop fronted Golden King for his son, and Golden Star for his daughter, and keeps a watchful eye on both places. They have identical menus. I still prefer Golden Flower, though. Sat Jun 05 01:18:20 -0700 2004 126098 0 Gary Soup 2 126134 Interesting. Is "Pop" the older gentleman who is frequently at the register at Golden King? If so, he is wonderful. I usually go there about once a week for the excellent chicken pho and have gotten several of my (non-food-oriented) co-workers addicted. I don't know his name, but I should. The kind service is part of what keeps me going back there. Sat Jun 05 02:23:30 -0700 2004 126128 0 Missy P. 3 126135 If he gets to touch the money, he's gotta be the owner or a member of the family. (g) Interesting that the two places are related. While the menus may offer the same dishes, the cooking style is quite different for the beef and the chicken phos between the two restaurants. Sat Jun 05 02:36:59 -0700 2004 126134 0 Melanie Wong 1 126137 I will be visiting SF in July. Can you recommend a sichuan or hunan restaurant for lunch? Thank you! Sat Jun 05 09:24:26 -0700 2004 126098 0 JEH 2 126247 Sichuan: Sam Lok. http://www.chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco/messages/84474.html Hunan: Hunan Home's http://www.chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco/messages/79873.html or Henry's Hunan. http://www.chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco/messages/86452.html Mon Jun 07 12:57:08 -0700 2004 126137 0 nja 1 126216 Hello! I know that a certain detail-oriented chowhound took notes about the places we stopped on the informal tour of Yimster's fave spots for different sweet & savory items. Mochi, fish, meat offal etc. I think that I could find it again but it would be spectacular to know the exact names and addresses, thanks!! Sun Jun 06 20:01:41 -0700 2004 126098 0 sailorbuoys 2 126226 Sorry to say that I only know where they are. Never write down names and addresses. I am glad Derek came accross with the name and address. Sun Jun 06 21:10:21 -0700 2004 126216 0 yimster 3 126232 The information was thanks to? R.C. Foodie Sun Jun 06 23:37:59 -0700 2004 126226 0 ChowFun (derek) 4 126234 I must learn to hide these stores or soon I will not be able to get the goodies. vbg. Sun Jun 06 23:42:29 -0700 2004 126232 0 yimster 5 126471 you are gonna get The Goodies......... shuna Wed Jun 09 18:10:18 -0700 2004 126234 0 sailorbuoys 1 126246 The beef pho was unusual on this visit. It was very heavily flavored with anise this time, overwhelming the other flavors as somebody else mentioned. Hope it was just a bad batch, not the beginning of a trend. Our table asked for condiments and got one small plate to share (like yimster said, they're not used to serving large groups). A bit of lemon and sprouts made the dish much better. The stewed beef dish also had a lot of anise, but in this case I thought it worked well. That was my second favorite dish. I also really like the chicken soup, with the not-Foster-Farms-dry-and-bland chicken but rather the flavorful-Chinatown-free-range chicken. Yum. The rolls weren't so great: imperial had a stale taste and the salad had too much bitter mint. The lemongrass calamari was also uninteresting; what's strange is that it's listed under "fried rice" on the menu, but it's really just a stir fry with a side of steamed rice. The BBQ pork was good. In fact, I often get either BBQ pork or BBQ pork chops over bun here. Very satisfying. The best dish was definitely the raw beef salad. How did I miss this on the menu before? Bright red beef, tangy dressing, and fresh herbs and peanuts. The mochi place was called "Dim Sum Nice Food." Or at least that's what looked like the name; it was the only English on the exterior. I didn't get the exact address, but it was on the 1000 block of Stockton on the west side of the street. -Nick Mon Jun 07 12:53:55 -0700 2004 126098 0 nja 2 126249 How odd that both you and Chowfun thought there was too much anise. I'm not fond of anise, so I'm rather sensitive to excess anise in my pho, and I didn't taste much anise at all. I mostly got clove -- one of the other ingredients in five-spice seasoning -- which I found quite pleasant. Mon Jun 07 13:10:22 -0700 2004 126246 0 Ruth Lafler 2 126254 How does the raw beef salad compare to the one at Lotus Garden on Mission? Mon Jun 07 13:38:21 -0700 2004 126246 0 felice 3 126256 I'd say they're even, but very different. LG's beef was very flavorful and tender yet somewhat mushy and fatty. GK's beef--good but not quite as flavorful--were oval slices of firm, bright red, lean meat (it almost looked like slices from a huge raw sausage). When I went to PPQ for lunch the other day, they served raw meat in their pho that looked exactly like the meat in GK's salad. GK used much less herbs and peanuts; I found LG's to be a little overwhelmed by the greens. Both had good doses of lemon juice, but GK also had some oil in their dressing. The presentation at GK is far and away better: perfectly arranges slices of meat with a pile of herbs and peanuts in the middle. LG covers the meat in a layer of herbs so you can't even see the beef! -Nick Mon Jun 07 13:51:20 -0700 2004 126254 0 nja 4 126276 Thanks for the info. I'll have to try the GK beef then. I had the LG raw beef salad last night for the second time and thought it was still great. I've had the PPQ raw beef salad also. Both PPQ locations (dungeness island and irving street) have the same beef salad, and it is similar to the one at lotus garden, except perhaps the serving is slightly larger. PPQ does not serve it with shrimp chips however. Mon Jun 07 16:50:10 -0700 2004 126256 0 felice 5 126281 I was going to mention that one of the things I missed were the shrimp chips to put something crunchy into the mix of flavors. I do admit that I missed them much more in my head than in my mouth once I tasted the beef salad. The taste was excellent and I liked that the meat, which someone pointed out was of a slightly cheaper cut, stood up so well to the acid and didn't get mushy at all. Mon Jun 07 17:40:24 -0700 2004 126276 0 Meredith 3 126264 I agree with Nick in they are both very good. Golden King looks bigger but that could be the arrangement of the beef. Lotus Gardoen mixes therr raw beef salad on a smaller plate. You have to mix Golden King's and Lotus Garden mixes these for you. I like both expect I could eat two or three salad by myself. I think the only way I will be happy is to make my own so that I can get all I want. Mon Jun 07 14:53:28 -0700 2004 126254 0 yimster 4 126277 I agree about the small serving sizes...I could eat a few plates of it. My main problem with trying to make this at home is: 1) slicing the meat super thing and 2) finding meat of such high quality. Mon Jun 07 16:52:21 -0700 2004 126264 0 felice 5 126314 You will need to freeze the meat before slicing and if you do the slicing right you can use a cut called eye of round I think that is the right name. The thinnest helps out the cut of meat. Good Luck. A power slice helps a lot. Tue Jun 08 01:08:29 -0700 2004 126277 0 yimster 6 126336 Eye of round, yes, that was the cut. Link: http://www.askthemeatman.com/eye_of_round_roast_or_steak.htm Tue Jun 08 13:33:19 -0700 2004 126314 0 nja