Jai Yun now on Restaurant.com

[abstractpoet]

So I just snagged a $50 gift certificate (which I'd paid about $4 for) to Jai Yun, good on a purchase of $100 or more. They also have $10, $25, $75, and $100 certificates.

I was kind of surprised to see them on there. Is the restaurant not doing well?

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Jai Yun
680 Clay St, San Francisco, CA 94111

[82vinoman]

i bought a $100 cert (80% off) and used it for 2 $100 dinners for two people. There were a total of 12 people there when i was there. The table next to us was a couple who purchased the $80 pp dinner (no coupon), and their dinner was identical to ours. So, I guess the chef adjusted for the fact that we used a coupon. No dessert either. Lots of tea and water though. If i had gone with the $80 pp selecton and used the $75 coupon which i considered, i would have saved $30, but who knows if the chef would not have skimped also on the coupon $80 pp selections. Transparency is a definite problem, but it is what it is.

Anyway, food was very good, service was good enough, causal and cordial. We had 11 appetizers and either 6 or 7 hot entrees. Based on these and other pages, i was sorta expecting a couple more dishes. I agree with another poster that the use of sesame oil as a flavoring was predominant, tho not overwhelming as he said. I also got the frozen corn and green peas in a dish, but it was not detracting, The standout dishes among the apps were the drunken chicken, the faux duck made from wheat gluten, and the jellyfish. The app of thin slices of cucumbers was artful but pedestrian. the standout entrees were the grilled egg plant, the orange peel beef, and the pork with taro balls. Abalone with egg whites was fairly good too. Shrimp and kao pow chicken dishes were good enough but not out of the extraordinary. No lobster or fish entree for the $100 pp. We did get a shark fin with enoki mushroom app that was good, but i suspect the shark fin was really the imitation kind making the rounds. With the use of the coupon, it came to about $82 pp with tax and tip included, but not counting beverages. That is a fair to very good price for what we got -- refined primariy northern chinese fare. If, however, it was $132 pp, which is what it would be without the coupon, then I have to say that the pre-fixes at places like Redds in Yountville or La Folie in SF are better deals. Still, it is a worthy experience and particularly if price is not a consideration. I will definitely go back for the lunch and, with another coupon, for the dinners.

[vulber]

Am I applying the discount correctly?

For the $100, you have to spend $200 (and unlike the $25 certificate, it does not say it has to be on food). So if 3 people go for dinner and get the $55 dinner, that's $165 * 1.2775 (18% gratuity, 9.75% tax) = $210.79-100=$110.79 = $37 per person?

[wolfe]

I would assume, I know me assuming, that since it says "Valid with a minimum purchase of $200" that one would have to run up a bill of $200 before tax and tip.

[tatertot]

Gratuity is not included in the minimum you have to spend. The restaurant usually adds 18% + tax to the pre-discount rate.

There's an 80% off code right now - INDULGE, expires today, 1/19/10. You can easily find coupons by doing a google search ("restaurant.com" + "coupon code").

[Ruth Lafler]

Whether or not it's permissible under the terms of the certificate, I wouldn't do it. The restaurant has to pay the full amount of the tax to the State, and you're already getting a deal.

[vulber]

Has anyone figured out the exact pattern of their discounts?

I want to buy a $100 gift certificate to eat at Jai Yun in late March and obviously want to buy it for the cheapest amount possible, which right now is $20 (50% off $40), and while I have a feeling there will be bigger discounts available before late March, I don't to get stuck
)

[lexdevil]

The discount always increases as the month goes on, generally peaking at 80%. By that time, many that you want will be sold out, but I did get a $100 certificate for Jai Yun at 80% off last month. I've read that you can purchase a gift certificate at the high discount late in the month and then turn it in for the certificate of your choice early in the following month when inventory is replenished. Never done this myself, however.

[sugartoof]

There really is no pattern to the discounts, but the restaurant availability is cycled through the month, and some promo codes are more publicized than others. You can check sites like Dealnews/Dealcoupon, or just google for other coupon sites, and there is almost always a promotion going. The bigger issue is finding the 80% off at the same time the coupon you want is available. The other issue is the uncertainty if beverages are included in the minimum you need to spend. I don't recall the complete restrictions are viewable until after the purchase, and usually it's are the restaurants discretion.

[abstractpoet]

As mentioned in other threads, the best thing to do is just buy general Restaurant.com gift certificates (starting at the $25 value) when the discount is 80%. Then you can just trade those in for actual restaurant certificates at the beginning of the month, when all the restaurants start the new cycle.

Generally speaking, the 80% deal is never available at the very beginning of the month, when the more popular restaurant certificates get snatched up.

[abstractpoet]

Incidentally, we went for our first time tonight, $50 certificate in hand--and the hostess actually asked us if we had one as soon as we were seated, so I expect that they've seen a spike in their business since they've started this promotion (as was the intended effect, of course). The restaurant was pretty full, though maybe it usually is anyhow on a Saturday night?

The food was great--we had the $65 pp option, and standouts included the assorted cold plates, the warm gluten dish (kao fu; a unique preparation, the best I've ever had), the spare ribs with these awesome fried taro balls (like taro tater tots, but better than that), the crispy beef, and the complimentary fried eggplant dish they brought out at the very end.

But really everything was very, very good. Subtle flavors, and everything was somehow very delicate--even the fried stuff. Quite possibly the best Chinese food I've had in the U.S., though obviously it's hard to compare different regional styles, etc.

I can't imagine they'll stay on restaurant.com for too long--I guess they're just trying to shake things up a bit during this down economy. So my advice would be to take advantage of the offer while it's still available...

[TerriL]

Does anyone know if there's a current restaurant.com promo code? TIA

[abstractpoet]

SHARE (for 80% off)

[toitoi]

Don't mean to dispute your claim, but when I just looked, they were as follows:
$10 gift certificaate for $4
$25 for $10
$50 for $20
$75 for $30
$100 for $40

[kc72]

OP probably used one of the promo codes that comes out every week or 2

[Ruth Lafler]

There's always a promo code of some kind -- they cycle through 50, 60, 70 and 80 percent off, with the biggest discounts usually toward the end of the month.

[wolfe]

Example.
http://www.restaurant.com/consumer-pr...

[toitoi]

Thanks, everyone, for your help in setting me straight about discounts. Today, I only checked the San Francisco restaurants, and, since I live in Los Angeles, but am visiting your city during the Christmas holidays, when I went through the list of 127 eateries, the only place of interest was Jai Yun. Am I wrong? Are there others there that are undiscovered gems?

[abstractpoet]

Here are some earlier discussions:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/664127
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/651326

Note that restaurants sometimes opt out of the program eventually (if they do, you just exchange that coupon for another).

[mariacarmen]

i ate there at lunch about 2 months ago, and i was one of three patrons there, so maybe nott . . . never been for dinner. . . .