Asian Food and Cooking

Rice Paper Scissors: Vietnamese Food Pops Up on Divisadero

Pop-up Report: Rice Paper Scissors at Mojo Bicycle Cafe

The pop-up is the latest in a long tradition of trends which attempt to subvert the tropes of the restaurant system. Following in the footsteps of revolutionaries like gourmet food trucks and frozen dinners, the goal is to provide restaurant-worthy dishes outside the standard rubric of the restauran ... More >>

Bay Area Ramen: Sampling Local Chefs' New Styles

M.Y. China: High-End Cuisine Finds a Niche in a Busy Mall

Eiji: Finding New Year's Solace in Homey Japanese Cooking

YakiniQ BBQ: Seoul Food for San Francisco

Food Truck Bite of the Week: Tandoori Wrapper's Delight

Our weekly bite explores the city's food trucks, one at a time, highlighting our favorite mobile dishes and snacks. The Truck: Tandoori Chicken USA The Cuisine: Indian-style tandoori sandwiches Specialty Items: Paneer or tandoori chicken sandwich Worth the Wait in Line? At peak lunchtime, it was a ... More >>

Braving Brunch: Refreshing Japanese Breakfast at Cassava Bakery Cafe

Notorious for long lines, brunching in the city can easily turn into a whole-day affair. From wait times and signature dishes to ambiance and drink selections, Braving Brunch is your go-to resource for navigating mid-morning meals. The Spot: Cassava Bakery Cafe The Neighborhood: Outer Richmond Th ... More >>

Food Truck Bite of the Week: Building a Meal with the Deconstructed Samosa

Our weekly bite explores the city's food trucks, one at a time, highlighting our favorite mobile dishes and snacks. The Truck: Curry Up Now The Cuisine: Indian chaat meets American street food Specialty Items: Tiki masla burritos and samosas Worth the Wait in Line? At peak lunchtime, it was a total ... More >>

Out the Door: Admire the Cookbook, Eat at the Restaurant

First Bite at Mau: Two Inventive Takes on the Bahn Mi

We stopped in Mau last week to snag our first bite from the new joint by former Slow Club chef, Sante Salvoni. Salvoni gave us a full rundown of what's in store for the restaurant, fresh off of its soft opening last week, while we stuffed our cheeks with a few of his playful takes on banh mi. The fi ... More >>

In Praise of Sushi Zone's Baked Sea Bass

Sushi Zone is one of San Francisco's hidden gems. Located on an alley off Market Street on the edge of Hayes Valley, the tiny restaurant holds only two booths and eight bar stools. The owner, who goes by "Ao," mans the raw sushi bar six nights a week, rolling up some of the freshest sushi and maki r ... More >>

Food Truck Bite of the Week: Pad Thai at Phat Thai

Our weekly bite explores the city's food trucks, one at a time, highlighting our favorite mobile dishes and snacks. The Truck: Phat Thai The Cuisine: Thai Cuisine Specialty Items: Pad Thai Worth the Wait in Line? Definitely A big serving of stir-fried noodles is classic street fare, but it's somet ... More >>

Top Chef Masters: Cosentino Watch, Episode 6

Welcome to Cosentino Watch, where we recap the moves of San Francisco chef Chris Cosentino as he competes in Top Chef Masters. Warning: Spoilers ahead. Episode 6 is called "Thai One On," but thankfully it's not a full hour of puns. It's the first time all season we get to see host Curtis Stone turn ... More >>

Japanese Import Men Oh Opens Second U.S. Location in San Francisco

Men Oh Tokushima Ramen has been softly open since July 20 and had an official grand opening the weekend before last. It's the second American location of a Japanese-based ramen restaurant; the first thrives in Union City in the East Bay. The current menu is focused around two styles of ramen ($7.95 ... More >>

Gajalee: Indian Cuisine from a Different Coast

Rice Paper Scissors Throws Dim Sum Warehouse Party

Rice Paper Scissors Dim Sum Brunch Where: Mission location revealed to ticket buyers on the day of event When: Sunday, June 24, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2-5 p.m. seatings Cost: $10 reservation ticket; menu items $5-8 Rundown: Katie Kwan and Valerie Luu typically focus on Vietnamese fare but thi ... More >>

Boat Noodles and the Secret Menu at Zen Yai

The menu at Zen Yai Thai Restaurant has a long menu of noodles and curries with careful English translations, but no one is ordering off it. Recently, we walked in for a late lunch, leaving the streets of Little Saigon and entering a room filled with Thai chatter and people slurping from l ... More >>

Namu Gaji: Reincarnation Fits Nicely into New Mission Home

Hecho: Sushi and Tequila Make Strange Bedfellows

Sachio Kojima: Pretty Much the Best Thing About Hecho

​You know how you can be beset with a feverish curiosity about a place and still can't bring yourself to go there? Exhibit one: the Audium. Exhibit two: Hecho, Joseph Manzare's year-old sushi and tequila restaurant. I'd been trying to piece together in my head how sushi and tequila would pair ... More >>

Sushi Confidential

Number 47: ICHI Sushi's Tai Nigiri

​SFoodie's countdown of our favorite 50 things to eat and drink, 2012 edition ​No one -- certainly not in San Francisco, possibly in the country -- is making sushi quite like Tim Archuleta at ICHI Sushi. For the past two decades, the American approach to sushi has been moreish -- rolls with mo ... More >>

Is American Sushi on the Decline? Some Say Yes.

​It's no surprise that when the Washington Post brings a storied, Japan-trained sushi chef to a neighborhood, fusion-happy sushi restaurant, he doesn't like what he's eating. What is interesting, though, are the reasons why. It's not necessarily the fact that most of the sushi rolls are covered in ... More >>

Nombe's New Lunch Special: Beef Ramen

Luis ChongBeef Ramen lunch special at Nombe on Mission Street.​ Last week, Nombe Restaurant added lunch service, featuring a unique beef ramen from their new chef Noriyuki Sugie. This ramen is also the star of Nombe's Dine About Town lunch offer -- beef ramen, mini donburi and choice of drink: J ... More >>

The New Lers Ros: Twice as Stylish, Just as Spicy

Kimberly SandieLers Ros's quail with fried garlic and black pepper: Goes with ganache.​ Despite our proximity to Los Angeles, whose Thai restaurants are the best in the Americas, San Francisco's history with Thai restaurants is a spotty one. Little restaurants spring up, impress the locals, then g ... More >>

Fresh Eats: New Indian: Preeti Mistry Relaunches Juhu Beach Club as Popup

Good Luck is Hard Work

Nick Balla's 2011 Find: Great Skewers and a New (Old) Herb

Chad RobertsonNick Balla of Bar Tartine.​SFoodie is calling up food types around the city to ask them about their favorite discovery of the past year, whether it's new or ancient, an ingredient or a person. We'll be running their responses over the course of the next 10 days. This year, Nick Ball ... More >>

Golden Flower's Southern-Style Pho Is as Good as We Get in San Francisco

Jonathan KauffmanGolden Flower's house special pho.Rice Plate Journal is a yearlong project to canvas Chinatown, block by block, discovering the good, the bad, and the hopelessly mediocre. Maximum entrée price: $10. It is impossible to feel isolated, or adrift, at Golden Flower, Chinatown's best V ... More >>

Jang Soo BBQ: Rethinking Korean Barbecue in Style and Substance

Jang Soo BBQ's New Owners Are Swankifying Up Korean

Lara HataBarbecuing kalbi at Jang Soo.​A couple of months ago, Jang Soo BBQ -- the subject of this week's full-length restaurant review in the paper -- closed for a short spell to change owners and make a few radical changes, which are only visible to those who pass through the front door. Now it' ... More >>

Ramen Parlor Adds to San Mateo's Ramen Empire

Luis ChongPork broth ramen with lobster oil.​While the city's ramen culture is just beginning to flourish, San Mateo's ramen scene is leaping ahead with a modern variant of ramen. One-month old Ramen Parlor is the latest ramen venture from chef-owner Kazunori Kobayashi, whose San Mateo ramen ... More >>

Five Best Thai Restaurants in San Francisco

Kimberly SandieChabaa's gaeng som, or sour orange curry. ​Thai restaurants began popping up all over San Francisco in the 1980s, and within a decade, Thai food had become a staple for first dates and Thursday-night takeouts. San Franciscan children eat almost as much pad Thai as they do organic ba ... More >>

Fresh Eats: Lers Ros: Tom Silargorn Talks on Authentic Thai

Q&A With Tom Silargorn, Part 3: Recipe for Lers Ros's Tom Yum Koong

As part of SFoodie's interview with Tom Silargorn, chef-owner of Lers Ros -- part 1 and part 2 were published earlier this week -- we asked Silargorn for his recipe for tom yum koong. The soup gets ordered daily at Lers Ros, no matter what the weather or the time of day, he says. It's worth tackling ... More >>

2G Brasserie's Sushi Chef Doesn't Believe in Lazy Nigiri

Q&A With Lers Ros's Chef, Tom Silargorn, Talking About Real Thai Food

Alanna HaleLers Ros chef-owner Tom Silargorn.​Born in Chon Buri, a coastal province about 45 minutes southeast of Bangkok, chef Tom Silargorn learned to cook by his mother's side. Three years ago, he opened Lers Ros in the Tenderloin and quickly earned a devout following of locals, chefs and food ... More >>

Q&A With Lers Ros's Tom Silargorn, Part 2: About That New Restaurant...

Tom Silargorn, owner of the three-year-old Lers Ros, generally regarded as one of San Francisco's best Thai restaurants, initially came to San Francisco to pursue an education in art. But the lack of what he deems "real Thai food" in the city inspired him to show San Francisco what it was missing. I ... More >>

San Francisco's Top Five Indian or Pakistani Restaurants

Courtesy dosasf.comThe paper dosa from Dosa on Valencia.​Before the Tenderloin became the Tandoorloin a decade ago, Indian food in San Francisco was a restrained, almost elegant affair. Linens and goblets, muted sauces, rather doctrinaire menus of tandoori chicken and mixed vegetable sabzi. A wave ... More >>

Kyo-ya Makes Its Sushi Affordable for Takeout Lunch

Kyo-yaThe 20 for $20 box: can you count 20?​When we have somebody else's credit card, we enjoy dining at Kyo-ya. The sushi and sashimi are generally fresh and delicious, but the price is set for the business-expense crowd, and that's more than we want to spend for lunch. But obviously somebod ... More >>

Shabu Pub and G Cube Cafe: Japanese Hot Pots Go Chinese

Tadashi Ono, Japanese Hot Pot Expert, Describes the Real Shabu Shabu

Melissa BarnesShabu shabu at Shabu Pub, which is not traditionally Japanese​While researching this week's review of Chinese-American shabu shabu restaurants in the Richmond and Sunset, I called Tadashi Ono, the chef of Matsuri in New York and co-author of Japanese Hot Pots. I wanted to get a sense ... More >>

Pho Vung Tau: Nice Space, Functional Noodles

Jonathan KauffmanBun with grilled pork and shrimp at Pho Vung Tau, $6.25.​ Last month, SF Weekly moved offices to within a mile of Chinatown, allowing me to embark on a new project: systematically visiting a different Chinatown restaurant each week, starting at Powell and Vallejo and moving sout ... More >>

Cafe Grill Bar: Nice Digs, Good Vietnamese Food, Ignore the Name

Jonathan KauffmanCafe Grill Bar's rice plate with pork, egg cake, and pork skin, $7.50.​You may forgive Cafe Grill Bar for the absence of personality in its name when you walk into the place. The cafe/grill/bar looks like the VIP lounge for Virgin Airlines, or possibly a location shoot for the fal ... More >>

When Donuts Aren't Enough: Will Cops Keep the New Turtle Tower in Business?

Luis ChongA Peek Inside Turtle Tower #3.​This week location #3 of the famous Turtle Tower Restaurant offered a glimpse of their food with a limited menu. A sort of test run before the June 1 official grand opening. SFoodie was lucky enough to take a peek while the employees were enjoying their ... More >>

More Ramen Week: Kasumi's Revisited

Luis ChongHeaven in a Bowl.​It's been a few months since our initial visit to Kasumi ("Mist" in Japanese), a ramen and yakitori shop hidden in the quiet Lakeside area. We're happy to report that you no longer have to choose between a ramen only lunch or a yakitori only dinner -- both dishes ar ... More >>

Ramen Week Continued: Chotto's Rare Miso-Tonkotsu Hybrid

Luis ChongChotto's Miso-Tonkotsu Ramen Hybrid.​There's no place SFoodie won't go to sample a good bowl of ramen -- even if it means mingling with dudes wearing Ralph Lauren cargo shorts and flip-flops in 45 degree weather. Knowing this, we headed to popular Cow Hollow izakaya, Chotto. On our f ... More >>

Ramen Doraku's a Nice Addition to the City's Noodle Shops

Luis ChongNewly opened Ramen Doraku looks nice, has reasonable prices, and food that's good, if not great.​We slipped into brand-new Ramen Doraku in the Outer Sunset the other day, slurping noodles and chowing on curry. Our bowl of tonkotsu ramen ($7.95) included fish cake (naruto), green onio ... More >>

Fresh Eats: Getting Skewered at Halu, Hot Pockets at Anda Piroshki