Epic Meal at Poleng Lounge

[PulledPork]

My foodie buddies and I decided we wanted to do something special for my bachelor party dinner in SF. After toying with a few different ideas (the Chef's Table at Quince, Coi, Murray Circle), I instead decided to call one of my favorite chefs in town and ask what special tricks he may have up his sleeve. I got on the phone and called Tim Luym, head chef and co-owner at Poleng Lounge, and asked him what he could do for us (I called about a month in advance). The result was the most amazing meal of my entire life and is summarized below. This meal showcased Tim's incredibly unique South East Asian culinary sensibilities and really epitomized what makes him one of the most innovative, underrated, and successful chefs in the Bay Area, in my humble opinion.

ARRIVAL

Homemade Chicharron with Tamarind Sinigang Spice and sili (Filipino chili) Cane Vinegar

OYSTERS 2 WAYS

Blue Point Oyster Shot with Quail Egg Yolk, Yuzu Tobiko, Ankimo, and Sudachi Ponzu with Fresh Grated Wasabi & Daikon Sprout

Grilled BBQ Blue Point Oyster with Bacon Scallion Oil

SALMON 2 WAYS

Salmon Three Ways Salad with Crispy Smoked Salmon Skin, Salmon Roe, and Grilled Salmon Belly

Hojicha Dashi Tea Pot Salmon Soup

EGG & OCEAN

Quail Egg Sashimi with Wasabi Furikake

Royal Sweet Scallop Katsu with Honey Panko, Yuzu Marmalade, Shichimi Pepper on a bed of White Buttercorn and Fava Beans

Hiramasa (Kingfish) Kama with Grated Daikon and a Soy Mirin Dip

Organic Red Miso Marinated Gindara (Black Cod)

FROM THE GRILL

Grilled Beef Tongue with Grilled Shishito Peppers, Philippine Hand Harvested Sea Salt & Yuzu

Short-ribs Yakiniku with Golden Enoki Mushrooms and Tokyo Negi on a Sizzling Iron Skillet.

Cebuano Street Style Pork Belly with Salted Duck Egg and Toybox Tomato Salad

POULTRY

5 Spice Bacon Wrapped Squab on Turnip Cake with Roasted Duck Reduction topped with Micro-Peppercress

BEEFY

Beef Salpicao with Toasted Coconut Bread and Bone Marrow Canoes with Smoked Salt

Braised Ox-tail Curry with King Mushroom Fettucine

PORKY

Crispy Pata – Thrice Cooked Pigs Trotter (Braised, Baked & Flash Fried) with a Garlic Soy Vinegar Dip

REFRESHMENT

Fresh Mangosteen with Calamansi Sorbet

FINAL

Coconut Bread Pudding with Ube tapioca & Basil Seeds

[Cynsa]

Now serving Lunch! 11 am to 4 pm
http://polenglounge.com/lunch.html
Today's Free Lunch was the 5-spice pork chop on vermicelli noodles or rice (free for the first 50 lunches of the day) - yes, it was delicious! subtle spicing, moist and tender.
Friday's Free Lunch will be the Imperial Curry Rice
Fifty Free Lunches until September 15. At 11:10 am today, there was a line outside the door.

[rworange]

Sounds like a wonderful way to usher in the next phase of your life. Congrats on your marriage. I assume you are now an old married man by now.

it all seems amazing. Where there some dishes that stood out above the others?

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Poleng Lounge
1751 Fulton Street, San Francisco, CA 94117

[PulledPork]

Hey there, RW... Not married quite yet. Next weekend up in Yountville.

The meal was next level good and people at the table disagreed forcefully about the "Top 3" favorite dishes list but I would have to say that my Top 3 stand-out dishes were the following:

3) Royal Sweet Scallop Katsu with Honey Panko, Yuzu Marmalade, Shichimi Pepper on a bed of White Buttercorn and Fava Beans. This is on their regular menu right now so people should get in there and give it a look while ou can. The fava beans and buttercorn paired incredibly well with the lightly fried scallop. I was scooping up th remains from my plate and other plates around me.

2) Salmon Three Ways Salad with Crispy Smoked Salmon Skin, Salmon Roe, and Grilled Salmon Belly. This dish was a textural masterpiece, and I'm not usually a huge salmon eater. Something about the combination of the the crispy salmon skin and the texture of the salmon roe was so novel to me.

1) 5 Spice Bacon Wrapped Squab on Turnip Cake with Roasted Duck Reduction topped with Micro-Peppercress. The duck reduction sauce had been made specifically for this dish and was out-of-this world good. This wasn't a full squab breast - they were individually prepared "poppers" of de-boned squab with this incredibly flavorful bacon wrap. Once you popped, you could not stop.

Other favorites at the table were the Pig's hoof (pata) which was incredible and the beef tongue dish. Both oyster preparations were also out of this world. I know this was a special occasion dinner but it reminded me just how wonderful Tim Luym's cooking is on an every day basis. I don't want this restaurant to get lostin the conversation. Poleng is really pumping out some incredible dishes and it should be on everyone's list.

[SteveG]

Nice report, and great to know that they can do special events. Were you in the back room, or did they just partition off part of the front? This is a good reminder that the Michael Bauer-induced 3 star chasing crowds have surely thinned, and the restaurant should be back on an even keel since it's obviously still in business.

[mlutsky]

Sounds like an awesome meal. Thanks for sharing the special menu with us. I've been wanting to go to Poleng Lounge ever since reading a short article with recipes from Tim Luym in a recent issue of Sunset magazine. I'm addicted to his Bacon and Kale Adobo. Here is the recipe:

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/rec...