Happy Birthday at Spices I - Part 2
San Francisco, CA
(March 25, 2006)
On a wet and windy Friday night, my family went out to celebrate my mom's birthday again since my brother was home for spring break. My mom had been wanting to try one of the Spices/Szechuan Trenz restaurants so we headed to Spices I.
We were seated against the back wall (watch out for the low shelf - my mom and I whacked ourheads on it). The decor is really colorful and kinda crazy - but not as dark as Spices II. As a note, the menus at Spices I differs a bit from that of Spices II. I was fortunate that the table in front of us had finished their stinky tofu - I'm not a fan of this pungent dish. My mom had been jonesing for some hot pot so we ordered the seafood casserole hot pot ($16.95). I was hoping to try the lamb, but my normally ovine-loving dad wasn't feeling it. My picky teenaged brother seemed to dislike everything on the menu - damn. He did pick out the salt and pepper calamari off the snacks/special menu ($5.95?). I've been dying to try something spicy and/or something these restaurants are known for so I selected the braised pork shoulder with spicy garlic sauce ($14.95). To round out the meal with some veggies, we also ordered the dry braised string beans ($7.95). Sadly, after we had placed our order, I noticed the ground pork with pickled long bean ($7.95) - I LOOOOVE the version at Little Sichuan in San Mateo and wanted a comparison. Salty, sour, savory, and spicy - I daydream about this Little Sichuan dish. Sigh, next time. And BIG sigh, bro and dad can't handle spiciness so no real spicy food tonight. =(
Anyhoo, onto the photos.
Chockfull of whole shrimp, squid, some sort of white fish, silken tofu, and bok choy, this was the perfect dish on a cold and wet night. This was so hot temperature-wise, we didn't really need the gas burner on - it was still rather hot when we had finished our meal. The seafood-based broth was clear-tasting and "sweet." Mom noted that the chefs made the broth from tiny dried shrimp, which lent for the clean, sweet flavor. I scooped some rice into my soup bowl and YUM! I have to note, there was definitely some MSG in something we had ordered, but I could not tell if it was from the stock.
The photo does not do justice to the size of the pot - this would easily feed at least 3 people by itself.
Here's a shot of the calamari and string beans. The pieces of squid were scored and very tender. The calamari was coated with a flour, salt and pepper mixture and lightly fried with jalapenos and Thai basil. Very tasty but my brother was rather disappointed with the serving size. This kid can devour a whole styrofoam 8"x8"-ish box of good fried calamari. (Mom, dad, and I had to grab pieces quickly before he inhaled the basket - damn human vacuum cleaner/teenager.)
The string beans were flash fried to get that membrane-y/wrinkly-skinned texture then stir fried with black beans. This dish was okay to me, but I know my dad loved it. He really enjoys string beans prepared this way. Don't get me wrong, I liked the dish, but the black beans weren't pungent enough for me. When I order things with black beans, I expect beaniness.
The pork shoulder dish came last. At this point, we realized we ordered too much for 4 people. That hot pot was ginormous! The rich deep-red colored pork was meltingly tender. The top layer was all fat, but the meat beneath was moist and fork-tender. Both mom and dad thought this dish was pretty spicy (dad was sweating), but I thought it wasn't really spicy (1 dot spiciness rating!). Then again, for spice tolerance: me>mom>brother>dad. Hehehe...we packed most of the pork and beans to go (and tossed the leftovers with some cooked (from dry) udon noodles today and YUM!).
Total wallet damage after tax and before tip: ~$48 with enough for a family meal the next day. I definitely need to come back and try some 3-dot spiciness and the ground pork with pickled long bean dish.
(March 25, 2006)
On a wet and windy Friday night, my family went out to celebrate my mom's birthday again since my brother was home for spring break. My mom had been wanting to try one of the Spices/Szechuan Trenz restaurants so we headed to Spices I.
We were seated against the back wall (watch out for the low shelf - my mom and I whacked ourheads on it). The decor is really colorful and kinda crazy - but not as dark as Spices II. As a note, the menus at Spices I differs a bit from that of Spices II. I was fortunate that the table in front of us had finished their stinky tofu - I'm not a fan of this pungent dish. My mom had been jonesing for some hot pot so we ordered the seafood casserole hot pot ($16.95). I was hoping to try the lamb, but my normally ovine-loving dad wasn't feeling it. My picky teenaged brother seemed to dislike everything on the menu - damn. He did pick out the salt and pepper calamari off the snacks/special menu ($5.95?). I've been dying to try something spicy and/or something these restaurants are known for so I selected the braised pork shoulder with spicy garlic sauce ($14.95). To round out the meal with some veggies, we also ordered the dry braised string beans ($7.95). Sadly, after we had placed our order, I noticed the ground pork with pickled long bean ($7.95) - I LOOOOVE the version at Little Sichuan in San Mateo and wanted a comparison. Salty, sour, savory, and spicy - I daydream about this Little Sichuan dish. Sigh, next time. And BIG sigh, bro and dad can't handle spiciness so no real spicy food tonight. =(
Anyhoo, onto the photos.
Chockfull of whole shrimp, squid, some sort of white fish, silken tofu, and bok choy, this was the perfect dish on a cold and wet night. This was so hot temperature-wise, we didn't really need the gas burner on - it was still rather hot when we had finished our meal. The seafood-based broth was clear-tasting and "sweet." Mom noted that the chefs made the broth from tiny dried shrimp, which lent for the clean, sweet flavor. I scooped some rice into my soup bowl and YUM! I have to note, there was definitely some MSG in something we had ordered, but I could not tell if it was from the stock.
The photo does not do justice to the size of the pot - this would easily feed at least 3 people by itself.
Here's a shot of the calamari and string beans. The pieces of squid were scored and very tender. The calamari was coated with a flour, salt and pepper mixture and lightly fried with jalapenos and Thai basil. Very tasty but my brother was rather disappointed with the serving size. This kid can devour a whole styrofoam 8"x8"-ish box of good fried calamari. (Mom, dad, and I had to grab pieces quickly before he inhaled the basket - damn human vacuum cleaner/teenager.)
The string beans were flash fried to get that membrane-y/wrinkly-skinned texture then stir fried with black beans. This dish was okay to me, but I know my dad loved it. He really enjoys string beans prepared this way. Don't get me wrong, I liked the dish, but the black beans weren't pungent enough for me. When I order things with black beans, I expect beaniness.
The pork shoulder dish came last. At this point, we realized we ordered too much for 4 people. That hot pot was ginormous! The rich deep-red colored pork was meltingly tender. The top layer was all fat, but the meat beneath was moist and fork-tender. Both mom and dad thought this dish was pretty spicy (dad was sweating), but I thought it wasn't really spicy (1 dot spiciness rating!). Then again, for spice tolerance: me>mom>brother>dad. Hehehe...we packed most of the pork and beans to go (and tossed the leftovers with some cooked (from dry) udon noodles today and YUM!).
Total wallet damage after tax and before tip: ~$48 with enough for a family meal the next day. I definitely need to come back and try some 3-dot spiciness and the ground pork with pickled long bean dish.
posted by Manda at
3/25/2006 07:33:00 PM
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