Mike C.
Yelp
It's been on my list for over five years. Why didn't I come here earlier? Circumstances, priorities, it just plain forgetfulness.
A friend who lives in Palo Alto told me this was his "late night snack (siu yeh in Cantonese)" back then. Being only ten minutes from home, this Sunset District eatery is only ten minutes from home (non-rush hour times).
My recent cuisine craving has been Hong style foods ranging from drinks like milk tea and to lemon tea to snacks like curry fish balls and fried egg pudding; from meals like baked pork chop with tomato sauce and beef brisket and tendon noodle soup to desserts like sesame sweet soup with dumpling to pomelo mango sago soup. Heck, their menu is 24 pages long.
Studying photos, reviews, and their menu, I knew what I would order the moment I sat down. Being a rainy Friday late afternoon, I parked in a metered space right in front ten minutes before they opened. As I saw people intermittently going in, I peeked in and asked whether they were open at 4:58 pm. The man raising the window blinds offered me a corner table on the right. The waitress offered me a cup of hot tea as I took pics of the menu. I started with a hot Hong Kong style milk tea (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q&start=24&select=ZuXUFy8GJnqYtaK5yn1ylA). It was served hot and smelled soothing as I waited for it to cool. The 1st half of the drink was okay as it remained temperature hot for quite a while. For my main meal, I ordered the Teppan sliced beef with rice (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q&start=0&select=IFdDXHtvGuWIt25lrSI5FQ) (photo taken after a quick stir); this was how it looked when it arrived the table, lower right (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q&start=0&select=r-x2sNkdu39qi18B9EkNiQ). This is how it looked after fully mixed (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q&start=0&select=nfpCeafY1JfUJGPH6__vAQ). It was delicious and a very complex dish with such simple ingredients. I loved that the beef came rare, giving me the option of deciding the degree of cooking I preferred. The waitress warned me to mix the ingredients so all of the ingredients (rice, corn, beef, and sauce) cook evenly on the sizzling iron platter. When it came to eating it, I was in a panic mode from the urgency of the waitress' voice in mixing my food so I mixed and ate while listening to my food sizzle on that platter. When it finally cooled, I was in a relaxed mood end enjoyed my food. The bottom pieces of rice were crispy and chewy from the heat as I tried to keep my beef pieces on top to keep some of them at least medium temperature wise. I will get this again on another visit. Back to the milk tea, as it cooled, the flavors from the tea shined more. It was not a typical teabag variety tea and I forgot to ask the waitress what variety tea they used.
As I waited for my meal, a group of four diners and another with two came in to eat. By the time I finished my meal about 30 minutes later, the dining room was half full. The menu reads like a dictionary which makes a future visit likely after I study the choices more carefully. There were a number of reviews on the baked pork chop over rice or spaghetti but the reviews are mixed on it. I look forward to coming in again.