Would you eat at a place that looked like this:

I know Matt G. wouldn’t. He wouldn’t even walk down the alley it takes to get over to this place.

And seriously…is the name of this place really called “New Hong Kong Menu”??? ::shakes head:: oh those Hong Kongians. lol

Our team manager recommended it. He said it was good and it was a really good deal: the lunch specials were $5. I thought to myself….hmm…well, it’s in Chinatown, I guess cheap food is what you’re supposed to find in Chinatown. Little did I know that they really know how to stretch $5 in Chinatown.

When you order from the menu, you’re given a choice of about 6-8 items that you get over rice. Ok, I’ll go with the Beef curry over rice. Hopefully it’ll be enough.

After we ordered, we were all given a little bowl of soup. It was different. I’ve worked in a chinese restaurant and I’ve never had a soup like this. It was tasty, sort of a smoked pork flavor, with beans or something. You never know in chinatown. Who would’ve guessed we got served an amuse bouche course in a $5 Chinatown restaurant for lunch?

So next my curry came out. Nothing special. It was your typical beef curry, and the rice was a little dry.

But wait! Twenty seconds later, we get served this bowl of soup! ANOTHER BOWL OF SOUP!? This one had bok choy and wontons! WONTONS! Holy frogs legs in a blue canoe! The simple beef curry over rice just got a lot more interesting with its back-up support.

Our manager also ordered a dish of pork ribs for all of us to share. These were damn good. I don’t remember what they were called, but it was really, really good.

Ok this is when I really freaked out. WE GET DESSERT TOO?!?! ::faint:: What kind of Chinese restaurant is this?? Just giving away all this food for $5!!!! I’ve officially freaked out, I’m in shock. We got this lycee or something tapioca thingie, and it was the perfect dessert. It was light, refreshing, and cleansed the palate of the spicy and salty main entrees. We went back a few weeks ago, and they gave us a mango flavored one. It was yum!

I have to admit, I was really surprised by this lunch. We ended up paying slightly more than $5 since we ordered some extra plates and tipped as well, but it was still a great deal for what we got. If you’re ever wandering down Commercial Street in the City, hit up New Hong Kong Menu for lunch. It’s a good deal.

Well, back in May I felt like I wasn’t being kept busy enough, so I decided to go to The Crucible and check out their blacksmithing class.

It was really awesome. I had no idea what to expect from blacksmithing, except that there was going to be a lot of hot fires and lots of banging(that’s what she said).

The Crucible is really cool. It’s this huge warehouse, that’s segmented into different areas of speciality: blacksmithing, glassworking, mold-making, wood-working, etc. Everything that has to do with industrial arts and/or fire, you’ll find at the Crucible. They have welding classes and glass blowing. It’s really, really cool.

For our first class we got to make hooks. It’s a great project since it teaches you the basic techniques that you can use on a lot of other projects. Things like tapering, twisting, bending, punching, etc. Once you have a good handle on these basics, you’ll be using them a lot on other projects.

So that’s my anvil. Your standard blacksmith tools are, of course, the hammer, a pair of tongs to pull the metal from the furnace. The anvil of course as well, and a glove to wear on your tongs hand cuz i’m still a pansy, and the furnace is NO JOKE.

Speaking of the furnace, there it is. It’s gas powered, and it’s hot as hell. Having your arm close to the opening for more than 2-3 seconds and your hand starts to feel like it’s burning.

My anvil-neighbor grabbing her metal from the furnace.

Some of the knives we learned to make. Yes it’s rebar. Those things are pretty tough to work with. They’re dense, but kinda brittle too. It’s a nice little introduction to making knives. My plan is to take the “bladesmithing” class in the fall.

So if you’re at all interested in these kinds of art classes, check out the Crucible. It’s really fun, hands-on classes.

One of the best spots I’ve had a burger at in the City has been at Mo’s Grill in North Beach.

When you cook your burgers on one of these things, how can they NOT be good!?! Thank god for my professional training, otherwise, this was enough to make me drool.

Oh yah…that tasty, tasty center chuck.

Is that grass-fed, certified organic?? hmm…

So we got the impression that they had a really good salad on the menu. I’m sorry, let me clarify: A VERY good salad. lol

Mo’s grill makes all their burgers in house, and they serve all the typical burgers you’ll find anywhere else. Except they use really good, soft yet toasty buns. And they don’t skimp out on your toppings. They cook your burger exactly to how you want it, and they do it well.

Our burgers teasing us like an exotic dancer on a rotating grill of awesomeness.

I ordered the Alpine Burger – Imported Gruyere cheese and sauteed mushrooms, cooked to a perfect medium. I always order my steaks medium rare, but I order my burgers at a medium; I like the slight bite you get when it’s cooked a little longer, instead of the mushy softness when it’s rare/medium rare.

My god. It was really damn good. We also ordered the chili cheese fries….

But they weren’t nearly as good as the burger.

If you’re looking for a simple place, no frills, but a really damn good burger, go to Mo’s. NOW. You’re not going to get service that reminds you of home, but the prices are very reasonable, the ketchup bottles are always full, and they make sure you go home thinking: That was a really good burger.

One of my pet peeves lately is the haphazard labeling of restaurants as “fusion”, when in reality, there’s nothing fusion about a restaurant’s cuisine! A fusion restaurant would have either two or more different traditional cuisines ‘fused’ to create a new genre that is neither one or the other. Whereas, some restaurants take their cuisine more down a contemporary path. Contemporary would just mean taking old classics and giving them a fresh twist to please modern palates and trends.

The House restaurant in San Francisco(their pictures are way better than my camera phone ones!) does a great job of creating a unique fusion that’s full of energy and life in every dish. Everything we ordered had a jolt of flavor; prodding your taste buds with every bite. It’s a refreshing and excellent blend of mostly Japanese flavors with new American contemporary techniques.

We started our lunch of with a round of appetizers to share. Haha, we definitely decided to pig out. The steamed mussels with garlic infused shrimp broth was awesome. The broth definitely made this dish. It was flavorful and addictive, I wanted to just drink the whole bowl lol.

You can never go wrong with soft shell crab. Crispy outside, soft inside. I wasn’t sure if it was stuffed with something, but I vaguely remember it being a good contrast to the crispy texture. It was one of their specials, but if they still offer it, it’s definitely worth a try.

I wish this photo came out better! But it was the grilled calamari with tomato sauce. Another one of their specials for the day. The calamari was slightly overcooked, which made it a little tough. Calamari is one of those tricky ingredients where in order for it to stay tender, you have to either flash fry it really quick, or let it stew for a while. Anywhere in between and it’s usually a little tough to chew.

The fried tempura greenbeans were nothing exciting, however the presentation was nice, and the sauce served inside the ‘structure’ was tasty.

We also ordered Sesame Soy glazed salmon, which was cooked perfectly! The glaze was sweet and salty as expected, and the salmon cooked slightly underdone in the center. Also, the Grilled Sea Bass with garlic ginger soy was tasty.

By far the most favorite dish was the Warm Wasabi house noodles with Grilled Pork. If you’re a fan of the flavor of wasabi, this is a MUST have dish! It is an interesting blend of warm wasabi flavor, with the sweetness of the grilled pork. We also ordered the Udon soup with grilled chicken and nori, which wasn’t anything extraordinary, but had a wonderful, clean broth that was great in it’s simplicity.

It was too bad by the time dessert came around, my mind was too preoccupied with the meal that I didn’t even think about taking anymore pictures lol. However, the nectarine and blackberry pie was sooo good. As well as the coconut creme brulee with passionfruit glaze. Both were awesome desserts.

I can’t wait to go back and try out their dinner menu! Being as good as it was, I wasn’t too shocked with the rating The House got on yelp – 4.5 out of 5. What did shock me was the number of reviews! I had never seen a restaurant have 590 reviews and STILL receive such a near perfect rating!! The numbers don’t lie, this place is well worth it. And the price is very affordable for the quality of food they are offering.