Another great dinner at Z&Y Restaurant
I recently went back to Z&Y Restaurant with a friend and had another great dining experience at one of my favorite restaurants in Chinatown (I'm addicted to the numbing qualities of the Sichuan pepper that is ubiquituous in the dishes I've ordered from here). The two of us ordered an appetizer of "chive boxes" (not on the regular menu, it's on the breakfast menu underneath the glass on the tables), chicken with explosive chilli pepper, whole fish with bean chili, tan tan noodle and dry sauteed green beans.
The chive boxes really hit the spot. They came two to a plate, and were filled with chives, egg, and clear rice noodles. A blast from my childhood and were very good, although a tad oily.
The chicken with explosive chili peppers was recommended by the very nice waitress. We had the option of getting the chicken boneless (breast) or bone-in (wing). We opted for the bone-in chicken. The dish was covered with chili peppers, the chicken was lightly fried, with a healthy smattering of the Sichuan pepper. Not much chicken, but it was tasty.
I was in the mood for fried fish of some sort, so got the recommendation for the whole fish with bean chili. The fish was fried whole then covered with a sweet/vinegary sauce that I found addictive.
The dried sauteed green beans were good, although I think I'll order the spicy eggplant dish next time.
I love the tan tan noodles as the chef is very liberal with their use of the Sichuan pepper. It might be a bit on the oily side for some, but I didn't mind it.
I love the one waitress their though, as she lets me practice my mostly forgotten Mandarin and has proven very helpful with the menu.
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Z & Y
655 Jackson St, San Francisco, CA 94133
By luckytomato
on Apr 2, 2009 01:07 PM
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What are the "boxes" made of?
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Hmm, good question. I think it was similar in texture to what you would get in the green onion pancakes. I'd say a regular flour-based dough.
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So it's something like a crepe, wrapped up in a rectangular shape?
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Google says:
http://www.google.com/search?q=chive+...
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All I can say is, "looks yummy"!
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It was more moon shaped, almost like a empanada.
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Chive boxes are oily from Old Mandarin Islamic as well. We like the version from Beijing Restaurant.
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I'm definitely going to have to stop by Beijing restaurant. How's the neighborhood? I noticed that it's walking distance from the Balboa BART station. I'd like to stop by there for dinner one day after work.
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The location is a bit random. It's probably a 10 minute walk to Balboa Park BART, but also very close to Mission St (14 and 49 buses).
They also have their own parking lot, if coming by car.
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Thanks, I'll have to make a point of stopping there for dinner next week.
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FWIT, Kingdom of Dumpling (Asian American Foods) on Noriega sells them as well. Never tried myself, any CH experience? http://www.kingofchinesedumpling.com/...
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King of Chinese Dumpling
1426 Noriega St, San Francisco, CA
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