Crustacean: roasted crab and garlic noodles to die for
Written: Apr 05 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Mouth-watering roasted crab and garlic noodles
Cons: Impossible street parking
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| tanster's Full Review: Crustacean |
Have you ever gone out to dinner and ordered an entrée so delicious that you had to order another one at the end of your meal? No, neither have I. But my Beau, bless his little gourmet heart, well, that’s an entirely different situation.
THE QUICK STORY
• Pricey, but the roasted crab and garlic noodles are simply to die for. Everything else is superfluous.
• A people-dense "Hong Kong style" atmosphere.
• If you dare wear a t-shirt, you will be politely turned away (or re-attired by the host).
CUISINE
Crustacean serves upscale Vietnamese cuisine.
- Appetizer
• Crab puffs ($7.95): minced Dungeness crab meat marinated with a creamy cheese sauce wrapped in a won ton shell, served with a peanut-mustard sauce. The filling was light-as-a-feather airy and the sauce was a mild mustard with no trace of peanut.
• Jumbo prawn wontons ($8.25): wrapped with pancetta, onions, and served with a tangy tamarind sauce. Didn't care for the sweet sauce, and thought the wontons were too greasy.
Skip the appetizers; go straight to the crab and noodles!
- Entree
• Beau ordered the Royal Tiger Prawns (~ $30, a.q.), butterflied and charbroiled, served with An's garlic noodles -- egg noodles infused with An's famous garlic sauce. The prawns were unremarkable, but the noodles, ah the noodles! They're like thicker, chewier homemade spaghetti that’s been marinating in garlic sauce, then stir-fried with a little bit more! I don’t know how else to describe it. We should’ve just ordered the noodles alone!
• I had the Roast Crab (~ $30, a.q.), an entire Dungeness crab roasted with garlic, butter, and spices. After a few horrifying attempts with the nutcracker to extract the meat (let’s just say the people dining next to us should have been wearing bibs as well), I became quite adept at cracking a crab leg with just the right amount of pressure, gently twisting both ends until the sweet, succulent meat came loose, and dipping it in the flavorful butter sauce. Mmmmmmm.
After a few too many “aahhhhs” of bliss being voiced from my direction, the Beau was clearly feeling left out. He promptly finished his own shrimp entrée and declared, “I’m going to order a crab now, too.” I’ve never seen a person order two entrees before, but who was I to argue? -– I stole a leg from his plate when he wasn’t looking. (Hey, he owed me!)
By evidence of all the other people I noticed wearing those silly plastic bibs, I can tell you that at least one person from every table around us that night also ordered the crab and noodles. It was almost a religious thing; you could just feel the contentment in the room!
- Dessert
• Banana bread pudding ($5.50): served with mango sauce. This was the sorriest looking bread pudding I've ever seen -- a small slice laid on the plate like an order of pate, studded with slices of unripe banana. Heck, anything that followed the crab and noodles would've been a disappointment!
- Wine/Spirits
• 15 wines are offered by the glass, at $5.50-$12.
• 16 wines are offered by the half bottle, hailing from France, Italy, and Napa.
• Over 100 red and white wines are offered by the bottle, mainly in the $30-$50 range, and originating mainly from Napa and France.
• We chose one of Beau's favorite whites, a 1997 Pouilly Fuisee ($39) -- very dry, almost like champagne without the bubbles. I didn't care for it very much, but Beau loved it.
• Beer and cider are also offered.
• Corkage fee is $15.
HOW LONG THE MEAL LASTED
About two hours, given that Beau ordered a second entree halfway through the meal!
SERVICE
• The service was adequate and laconic. Hey, they know that the crab is the star here!
DÉCOR/ATMOSPHERE
• Crustacean is located on the top floor of the plaza at the corner of Polk and California. You can take the stairs, or the ponderously slow glass elevator (if you're not the queasy type).
• The restaurant is multi-level and very angular. The seats by the window overlook Polk Street -- not exactly picturesque, but nonetheless entertaining.
• This is the first restaurant I've reviewed that explicitly states its dress code right outside the front door: collared and dress shirts only, no t-shirts, no sports caps, no athletic wear (sweatsuits).
• The atmosphere is very Hong Kong -- lots of tables jammed in every nook and cranny, people getting down to the serious business of eating, the bare minimum decorations (with the requisitely tacky “do not touch” signs).
• Nutcrackers are included with every place setting.
CLIENTELE
• I didn’t see any children or single diners here.
• The dress code was strictly enforced, but note that blue jeans are allowed.
• This is not a “dress to impress” crowd; it’s more of a “what’s okay to wear while eating crab and getting it all over myself” group.
COST OF DINNER FOR TWO
Two appetizers, three (I can't believe we had three) entrees, one bottle of wine, and one dessert: $150.
RESERVATIONS
• We called on Friday to make a 7pm Sunday dinner reservation without any problem. For Friday and Saturday dining, I would make reservations at least three days in advance.
ALL IN ALL
Even though we were there only a few days ago, I am already craving the crab and garlic noodles again! Forget the appetizers, forget the dessert, aim straight for the crab and noodles, and do not pass go until you've finished licking all the butter sauce from your fingers. :)
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Crustacean
1475 Polk St. (at California)
San Francisco, CA
415-776-CRAB
Valet parking ($8, on California St.) or very difficult street parking
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
tanster
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 - Top 500 |
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Location: Palo Alto, CA
Reviews written: 111
Trusted by: 331 members
About Me:
Happily reviewing cool gadgets and SF Bay Area restaurants since 1999. Pass the gravy, please.
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