Chinese Seafood Dinner for 8 for $48
Written: May 25 '00 (Updated Dec 03 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Delicious food, large portions, fast kitchen, CHEAP prices
Cons: no ambiance, inattentive service,
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| smiles33's Full Review: Golden Gate Park |
Yes, this restaurant is tucked on a side street, a veritable hole-in-the-wall, that leaves a lot to be desired in terms of service. But where else in San Francisco can you get a delicious dinner for 8 for only $48?
Szechuan Taste Restaurant, offering Hakka cuisine
Located at 917 Taraval St., near 19th Ave. (south of Golden Gate Park), Szechuan Taste is a hidden jewel. I would never have found this restaurant as it's located far from the well-known clusters of Chinese restaurants in Chinatown or on Clement. However, my aunt recommended it to my parents, who then promptly fell in love with the place. My dad has been raving about it for some time, but I never got around to trying it until this past weekend. Every time my parents leave the South Bay to drive up to San Francisco, my dad requests that they go to this restaurant. He's even made a trip specifically to eat here, which says a lot considering how bad traffic in the Bay Area is these days and his relatively low tolerance for inconvenience for the sake of a good meal.
Also, for those unfamiliar with Chinese culture/history/cuisine, the Hakkas are a minority group in China, known as the "guest people." I have a friend who is Hakka, and I can't say that he looks, speaks, or acts any different from the majority Han Chinese. And, having eaten Hakka food for the first time, I also can't distinguish it from other Chinese food. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask my parents to clarify this for me, so if any of you have ideas, please leave me a comment!
The restaurant has four key features that garner a "highly recommend" in my book: delicious food, large portions, fast kitchen, and CHEAP prices. However, before I gush and rave in much detail about the food, let me warn you of the disadvantages.
First, the bad news
This is not the place for a first date, nor is it suitable for "polite company." Let me put it this way, I would never have brought my boyfriend here in our early dating days, as I'd be embarrassed and a little uncomfortable with the tacky red decor (red lanterns and red wood beams stretching across the ceiling) and barely functional furnishings. This is the restaurant you go to with long-time significant others or large groups of friends. In my opinion, it's also suitable for flexible, open-minded family members who care more about food than ambiance.
The service, other than the speed at which the food arrived, was horrendous. The table was wet and we had to request basics like additional napkins and a "crab cracker." Frankly, when I first sat down, I had the "oh-man-why-did-I-let-Dad-talk-me-into-this" look on my face. I really felt uncomfortable and a little repulsed by the wet table. Was it dirty? Or was it just the result of a careless busboy who didn't wipe it dry?
As for the facilities, the restaurant is roomier than the typical "hole-in-the-wall." There are about 6 large round tables with lazy Susans, as well as another 6 rectangular tables that seat from 4-6. I also noticed 3 small tables in a narrow part of the back room that is on the way to the restrooms. The busboys were sitting here chatting, so I think it may be the "overflow" reserve. As for the restrooms, well, the women's was rundown and could use some remodeling, but it's clean. My brother tells me the men's was in similar condition. However, one thing women should take heed of, there was no more toilet paper when I entered the bathroom. Most likely this is related to the lack of women employees, because I never saw a female employee in the restaurant. Surprisingly, all the waiters were men.
Why I will return despite all these drawbacks!
On the Friday night we went, every table was packed, there was a steady turnover in the hour we were there, and 90% of the patrons were of Asian (presumably Chinese) descent. I always take this as a good sign of the quality of the food, but a less positive sign of the service/ambience, since that tends to scare off the non-Chinese.
As I mentioned earlier, when we sat down, I immediately started to regret agreeing to try the restaurant. But then, as I looked around at the other diners heartily eating their food, I quickly forgot my discomfort. The food was so gorgeous! Yes, I'm talking beautiful food, and not because of "presentation" but because of the familiar sight of lovingly prepared food!
You are reading an epinion by SMILES33. If it appears under a different name, it has been plagiarized! Please report it to Epinions and also let me know by sending email to smilesesq@yahoo.com. Thank you!
My family easily settled on the 8 person $48 seafood meal, even though there are only 4 of us. Why? We couldn't eliminate dishes, and this was one of the best deals. We figured, hey, we might as well order enough for leftovers and try all the delicious dishes we can! When I go back, I want to bring a larger group so we can try the dinner for 12! That dinner includes lobster as well as some other dishes!
The $48 Seafood Dinner for 8 Menu
* House special Seafood soup - My mom liked this soup because it was hot, as in temperature-wise. She said that many Chinese restaurants let their soups sit and cool down, losing much of the flavor. This simply prepared soup was piping hot and very flavorful, with a heavy hint of pepper, and ample portions of shrimp, tofu, fake crab, and mushrooms.
*Clams in Black Bean Sauce - This was one of my dad's favorites. The Black bean sauce wasn't too overdone, as it can be at some restaurants, and the clams were still tender, rather than chewy.
*Dried fried sanddab (some sort of flaky, white meat fish with very few, if any, bones) in soy sauce - This was my favorite dish. We finished the entire dish! It was perfectly light and flaky, and so delicious!
*Spicy, salted prawns (with shell) - I've never liked this dish, as I like my prawns de-shelled. But I did try one and it was tender and flavorful.
*Ginger and green onion crab - This could almost give Crustacean's a run for it money, but Crustacean's roasted garlic crab is still number one in my book. However, this dinner for 8 with a large crab cost almost as much 1 crab dinner at Crustacean! And it was lipsmacking good! I have to confess here, I licked my fingers because I really liked the sauce!
=)
* Spareribs in sweet orange sauce - This was one of my favorite dishes as a child, and I remembered why when I had this sweet dish. While the menu says "spareribs," don't picture the traditional American cut of spareribs! These are fried, breaded pork cutlets (with bone in) in a tangy yet sweet red sauce. It's probably the most appetizing dish to those only accustomed to American fare, as it outshines blander Chinese food with its strong, "full-frontal" flavor.
*Steamed, salted, baked chicken with ginger sauce - This was my second favorite dish of the night! The chicken is a pale, white color that is very moist and tender, yet rather than being a bland dish (as it sounds!), it is actually quite pungent when dipped in the ginger sauce. The chicken is infused with a gentle salty flavor that complements the zestfulness of the ginger. I loved it!
*Garlic mustard greens - Simple, well-cooked, and flavorful. You can tell when a chef knows how to use his/her wok to bring out the flavor while preserving the texture of the vegetables!
*Sliced pork with preserved mustard greens - This is a dish that probably will not appeal to most Americans. My dad LOVED it, as it's a traditional fatty pork dish that utilizes a delicious soy sauce-based marinade, but is almost entirely fat. I tried a small piece of the lean meat, but it was too dry without the fatty portion. My mom said, after I told her I was taking notes on my Palm for this review, "I doubt Americans will like it because the Chinese believe the more fat the better!" With that as the standard, this was a good dish, as there was PLENTY of fat!
*fruit - We had some slices of oranges.
*dessert - A traditional Chinese red bean dessert soup. I don't like red beans, so I didn't try it, but my mom and brother finished theirs and pronounced it good.
Ironically, we were actually charged extra for the 4 bowls of rice (which coincidentally, was moist and fresh, unlike some restaurants that serve free, but old and dry rice), so our total was around $60. Not that I'm complaining, as where can you beat this price for this quality of food?
We ended up with enough food for 2 additional meals, so that should be more than enough for an actual dinner for 8 people! And, as previously mentioned, the speed at which the dishes appeared on the table was amazing--especially if you consider the restaurant was at or near full capacity! I'm definitely heading back with my boyfriend and as large a group of friends as I can find! Hope to see you there!
P.S. My Palm V was not harmed in any way during this meal. Despite the ample sauce in many of the dishes and one instance of peeling shrimp, I managed to keep my fingers clean (by virtue of my brother's insistent requests for more napkins until we finally got some!) in-between eating and writing! Thanks for your concern. =)
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Szechuan Taste Restaurant
917 Taraval St.
San Francisco, CA 94116
415-681-8383
Visa and Mastercard accepted, minimum $20 charge
Hours: 11 am - 9:30 pm 7 days a week
Recommended:
Yes
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