Mystery Critic

Overall
Food
Service
Ambience
Value

The restaurant took the City By the Bay by storm a few years ago. Within a few short year it appeared in newspapers and magazines like it's the French Laundry of San Francisco.  Well, it's no French Laundry, got no Michelin stars, but it's a restaurant offering decent food with a good view (well, how about the most exquisite piece of real estate in the city). Adjust your expectations and proceed with caution.

FOOD

I almost gave this place four stars but decided to take one off at the last minute. The reason is simple - the cuisine is too simple. I am not Vietnamese but I bet I can make many of the dishes as well as they can. It's like good home cooking on a nicer plate, coupled with a fancy bar and modern paintings.

Nevertheless, I actually liked the food there. Shaking beef is as good as most reviews , and the daikon rice cakes are pretty interesting. The seafood dishes we had were nicely done too. You can tell that the chef did put his heart into the food.

SERVICE

Excellent service for an Asian restaurant - subpar compared to any equally priced continental or Californian restaurants. Maybe because it's Asian, the waiters must make sure the table looks chaotic at any given time. They are professional and efficient, but somehow many haven't figure out how to serve Asian food properly (YES, people DO share the dishes!).

AMBIENCE

Frankly, I haven't even eaten at the new location, but judging from where it's at. the pictures I have seen and also how it was decorated in its original location, I think the view alone deserves four stars. After all, its food definitely beats those Fisherman's Wharf establishments that don't even make a salad right because it offers a nice view of an empty prison.

VALUE

To an average Californian diner, this place is reasonably priced; but if you know how the food is prepared, you'd realize that it takes a lot more time and energy to prepare the dishes at Fluer de Lys than Slanted Door, and the price should reflect the difference accordingly. Of course eating here is not going to break your bank either - considering the innovative cuisine at a very nice setting, it's not a bad deal.

BOTTOMLINE

Maybe I'm Asian so my tastebud is genetically different, but I just don't understand why people would make reservation one month ahead of time to eat at this place where the food tastes marginally better than what comes out from my dad's kitchen. Maybe it's the combination of the cuisine, the location, and the crowd (guess what kind of people would hang out in the Ferry building after work). Maybe it's just California - anyone and anything can turn into gold.

BTW

I've heard words about inconsistent cooking, but I'm not sure whether it's because they just moved to the new location (back in Mar 2005) or what. Maybe you can try it twice and let me know....