Foodnut.com Mini Reviews

Reviewer: Foodnut.com

During the Covid 19 Pandemic, we will post mini-reviews here and also on our Yelp account.

• We hope restaurants survive, its a very difficult time.
• We’ve already see favorites like The House close up.

New Discoveries

During the Pandemic we can recommend these spots we visited for the first time! Takeout makes it easy to support these fine establishments.

• Bahn Mi & Boba SF – Yelp
• Breadbelly – Yelp
• Cha-Ya – Yelp
• China Village Belmont – Yelp
• City View – Yelp
• Cuban Kitchen San Mateo – Yelp
• Daeho Kalbikjim – Yelp
  • During the Covid 19 Shelter in place in May 2019, we tried their take-out via Doordash.
    We were trying to support local restaurants, so they can survive. This place is busy, so it will make it. At least you avoid the 2hr waits!A neighbor suggested we had to try this popular Korean spot in San Franciso’s Japantown, known for the Kalbi or short ribs.
    They were right. We’ll go when they reopen! Also has a location in Milpitas.Safety Pluses – Order online
    Minuses – NoneFood Picks:
    Kalbijjim – Braised Beef Short Rib ($62, $72 with extra meat) comes with rice cakes (+$2) and cheese (+$5) on top. Sweet savory action made it tasty. Very tender fall off the bone meat.
    We got it non spicy, but you can kick it up a notch. The cheese was not as distracting as anticipated. Our 2nd time, we omitted it. Lovely purple rice and spicy kimchi. 8.5/10

    Beef Rib Soup ($18) with glass noodles – Kalbitang was superb. The meat was really flavorful and not some wet mess. Impressive. 8.5/10

    Beef Ribs Bibibab – Kalbi Stone pot ($21) was good but no make sure you get the Braised Beef Short Rib

    Food Pans:
    None

    Food – Very Good
    Value – Good

• Mamahuhu SF
  • Mamahuhu is Mister Jiu’s casual restaurant in the Inner Richmond district of SF. Their motto: “We envision a future in which delicious, affordable, sustainably-sourced food is the norm and Chinese-American cuisine plays a central role.”
    We are big Chinese food fans so we had to try it.During the Covid 19 Pandemic in 2021, we visited them for take out.
    We were trying to support local restaurants, so they can survive. All will get a 4 star review for being open.Safety Pluses – Online menu, Delivery services available, online ordering, social distancing.
    Minuses – NoneFood Picks:
    Sweet & Sour Chicken with Jasmine Rice and Wok’d Veg ($14) 9/10 Crisp chicken with non egg batter. Ample quantity. Lots of freshly cooked vegetables on a bed of rice. Better than expected. We look forward to trying other items.

    Mala YOLO Cucumber ($5) hit the mark. Don’t wait too long to eat it or else it will get watery.

    Just OK:
    None

    Would not reorder:
    None

    Overall – Very Good
    Food – Very Good
    Decor – Good
    Service – Good
    Value – Good

    Would we come back – Yes

• Nara Sushi SF
  • Nara Sushi has 2 locations in San Francisco, Haight or Polk. We got takeout from the Haight location. We were looking for some mid priced sushi and this hit the spot. No need to overspend at Pabu or Kusakabe.During the Covid 19 Pandemic in 2021, we visited them for take out.
    We were trying to support local restaurants, so they can survive. All will get a 4 star review for being open.Safety Pluses – Online menu, Delivery services available, online ordering, social distancing.
    Minuses – NoneFood Picks:
    Chirashi ($32) 7 different type of special fishes chef’s choice. Very fresh and cut well. Nice assortment of quality fish. 8/10

    7 Nigiri Tasting ($30) 7 different type of special fishes chef’s choice. Was also done well. 8/10

    Special K ($18) yellowtail and avocado topped with seared butterfish and pickled jalapenos with truffle ponzu sauce is a nice looking roll. 7.5/10

    Just OK:
    None

    Would not reorder:
    None

    Overall – Very Good
    Food – Very Good
    Decor – Good
    Service – Very Good
    Value – Very Good

    Would we come back – Yes

• Pan Fried Dumplings Newark and Cupertino – Yelp
  • Pan Fried Dumplings opened in late 2020 and specializes in guess what? Pretty crazy to open a restaurant in a Pandemic, but what the heck. They also have a location in Cupertino. We were getting some Von’s chicken next door and had to give this spot a try. This Asian focused strip mall also has a 85C, Ranch 99 and several boba shops.During the Covid 19 Pandemic in 2021, we visited them for take out.
    We were trying to support local restaurants, so they can survive. All will get a 4 star review for being open.Pan Fried Dumpling hits the spot for Sheng Jian Bao fans. Give it a try.Safety Pluses – Online menu, Delivery services available, online ordering, social distancing.
    Minuses – NoneFood Picks:
    Soupy Pan Fried Pork Buns ($9.99 for 6) were suprisingly good. Juicy, crispy with thin skin and lots of soup. Better than Dumpling Home in SF. Not as big as Shanghai Flavor Shop’s, but a much nicer menu and locale. Not bad the next day! 8.5/10

    Pine Nuts With Corn ($13.99) is a classic regional Chinese dish and done well. Lots of sweetness from the corn. 8/10

    Green Beans with eggplant ($13.99) is perfect for vegetarians. Lots of well cooked eggplant. 8/10

    Just OK:
    Steamed Bread ($2.50 for 3) are fine but seemingly a mechanism to just dip condensed milk. 6.5/10

    Would not reorder:
    None

    Overall – Very Good
    Food – Very Good
    Decor – Good
    Service – Very Good
    Value – Very Good

    Would we come back – Yes

• RT Rotisserie – Yelp
• Square Pie Guys – Yelp
  • Square Pie Guys serves Detroit Style Pizza. “A crispy, crackly caramelized cheese crust that
    comes from baking in rectangular blue steel pans originally used to ferry auto parts around Detroit
    automotive factories.” We’ve seen a lot written about them, so we finally gave it a try. Definitely will get pizza from them again.During the Covid 19 Pandemic in 2020, we visited Square Pie Guys for take out.
    We were trying to support local restaurants, so they can survive. All will get a 4 star review for being open.Safety Pluses – Online menu, Delivery services available, online ordering, social distancing.
    Minuses – Markup on delivery appsFood Picks:
    The 6×8 ($21) is their 8×10” red sauce pizza full of pepperoni, 48 pieces. Greasy, thick, crunchy even delivered. We patted it down and saw a nice orangish hue on the napkin. Surprisingly this pizza better than expected. Enough pizza for 2 people. We’ll be back to try more.
    Gluten free version available. Please note they respectfully decline add on requests, modifications, and swaps.

    Just OK:
    Fries ($5) are nothing special. Try a different side.

    Would not reorder:
    None

    Overall – Very Good
    Food – Very Good
    Value – Very Good

    Would we come back – Yes

• SSAL – Yelp
  • SSAL is a Competorary Korean Restaurant in San Francisco’s Polk Gulch Area. We’ve walked by it and finally got a chance to order take out via Doordash. Meadowood and French Laundry alums kick Korean cuisine up several notches. Note: Only a subset of their menu was available.Looking at their extensive menu, we can’t wait to give it a try when the Pandemic is over!During the Covid 19 Pandemic in 2020, we visited SSAL for take out.
    We were trying to support local restaurants, so they can survive. All will get a 4 star review for being open.Safety Pluses – Sealed packages, Online menu, Delivery services available, online ordering, social distancing.
    Minuses – None

    Food Picks:
    Galbi Chicken ($15) Crispy Korean fried chicken with soy garlic sauce was stellar. Eggless batter, cripsy, eat it fast! A must get.

    Grilled Beef Short Rib set for 2 ($75) with rice and banchan looks beautiful from the Yelp pictures. High quality meats cooked just right, but slightly under flavored. Use the lettuce and spicy sauce to kick it up a notch.

    Just OK:
    None

    Would not reorder:
    None

    Overall – Very Good
    Food – Very Good
    Value – Good

    Would we come back – Yes

• Stick & Steam – YelpStick & Steam is a small stylish Modern Asian eatery in Millbrae from the Koi Palace folks. It is next door to In and out burger and Panera. Have fun navigating the parking lot past their ever present drive in line.

  Unfortunately the pork belly was not available. Call ahead! Service tries to be good, but forgot an item on our first visit.

  $2 draft beer promotion!
  Picks:
  Hainan Chicken Rice Plate ($13.75) was good but not too big a portion. 3 types of dipping sauces. Chicken was fairly bland, needing the sauce, while the rice had good flavor. 8/10

  Chicken noodle soup ($13.75) basically substitues rice noodle soup for the rice. 8/10

  Beef Noodle Soup ($9.50) hit the mark with lots of beef brisket and thin noodles.

  Typhoon Ha Gao ($6.95) had 4 deep fried har gow shrimp dumplings. Crunchy and good. 9/10

  Pink Dreamer ($5.25) with Strawberry popping boba is a nice boba drink. Not too sweet, fun popping action. 8/10

  Strawberry Explosion ($5.50) was an excellent fruity drink. Almost like a sundae in a drink. 8.5/10

  Drunken Chicken Noodle Soup ($14.95) had Shanghai style wine chicken with tender noodles. 8/10

  NY Prime Steak Skewer ($4.50) had 2 nice cubes of medium rare beef. 8/10

  Lamb Skewer ($2.75) was tiny but flavored well. 8/10

  Just OK:
  None

  Would not reorder:
  None

  Overall – Good
  Food – Good
  Decor – Good
  Service – Good
  Value – Good

  Would we come back – Yes

• Taishoken – Yelp
• Wako -Wako Japanese Restaurant is a 4.5 star Yelp restaurant in San Francisco’s Inner Richmond district. It has always been on our hit list, but with limited seating, it needed reservations well in advance. The Pandemic made it easy to get take out!They are famous for their Kaisen don $75. Seasoned sushi rice filled with Sea Urchin, crab, marinated bluefin tuna, chopped bluefin tuna belly and house marinated salmon roe.

  During the Covid 19 Pandemic in 2021, we visited them for take out.
  We were trying to support local restaurants, so they can survive. All will get a 4 star review for being open.

  Safety Pluses – Online menu, Delivery services available, online ordering, social distancing.
  Minuses – No contactless payments. Crowding by the door.

  Wako does not disappoint. This is a serious Japanese restaurant slotting below a hardcore omakase place like Ju-Ni.

  Nearby are favorites Chapeau, Lily, Burma Superstar, and more
  Picks:
  Karaage ($10) Japanese-style fried chicken elevated. Eggless batter with crispy elements on the surface. Unlike most other places. Included a couple fried brussel sprouts. 9/10

  Abalone (Awabi, $10) was fresh and crunchy. Nice big cut. 8/10

  A5 Wagyu ($12) was overly vinegary. Hard to taste the meat 7/10

  Sea urchin ($14) was a nice sized piece. Fresh and silky. 8/10

  Sushi Rice ($5) lets you try their Seasoned sushi rice. Rice is the most important part of sushi right?

  Sweet Shrimp with Uni ($12) was tacky and chewy. 8/10

  Negi Toro Maki ($12) shows off their fresh fish and technique. 8/10

  Futomaki ($10) Assorted fish with vegetables roll is a nice hybrid sushi roll. Good balance of veggie/fish. 8/10

  Just OK:
  None

  Would not reorder:
  None

  Overall – Very Good
  Food – Very Good
  Decor – Very Good
  Service – Very Good
  Value – Good

  Would we come back – Yes

• Von’s Chicken Newark, Fremont, Redwood City, Cupertino- Yelp
  • Vons Chicken California opened in 2014 at the Sunnyvale location on El Camino Real and has branched out in the SF Bay Area. They are popular regional chain that serves excellent Korean Fried Chicken. (Fremont, San Jose, Redwood City and more) We were first introduced to it at a friends house and definitely wanted more when we encountered it again.During the Covid 19 Pandemic in 2021, we visited them for take out.
    We were trying to support local restaurants, so they can survive. All will get a 4 star review for being open.Vons Chicken served us many different variants of chicken from baked to fried, spicy to sweet. Give it a try if you are a ‘KFC’ fan. We’d also like to give a shout out to SSAL in SF for great friend chicken.Safety Pluses – Online menu, Delivery services available, online ordering, social distancing, contactless payments.
    Minuses – None

    Food Picks:
    Crispy Fried Chicken ($12.99 half) 8.5/10 made with 5 grain powder – no egg batter. Excellent tender chicken with a crunchy skin. You can pay $1 more for wings or Combo (Drums & Wings) Comes with a salty soy based sauce.

    Kimchi Fried Rice ($5.99) 8.5/10 is also legit. Must be filled with butter.

    Just OK:
    None

    Would not reorder:
    None

    Overall – Very Good
    Food – Very Good
    Decor – Good
    Service – Very Good
    Value – Very Good

    Would we come back – Yes

Old Favorites

• HL Peninsula – Yelp
• Hummus Mediterranean San Mateo – Yelp
• Little Shanghai San Mateo – Yelp
• Shizen Vegan Sushi Bar SF – Yelp

Restaurant Map: