Brunch in the City - The Slanted Door

I don't remember whether this brunch at The Slanted Door was planned by my good friend Dinah or was it something spontaneous? 

What I can recall though is meeting up with Dinah and Karen at the Saturday Farmer's Market in the Ferry Building and the sumptous dishes we ordered at The Slanted Door for lunch. Absolutely yummerz!

Mijo was still out of the country when Dinah, Karen and I met up on a Saturday morning. I can't remember the last time the three of us saw each other. It may have been a long time judging by the way we were talking that morning. The weather couldn't be any better that day.

I mentioned earlier that our brunch may have been a spontaneous one because I didnt' think we had a reservation plus we waited for the restaurant to open its doors at 11am. We were probably the first 15 guests. I am just glad that Dinah is extremely knowledgeable with the city's food scene including the time the door opens and whether reservation is required or first-come-first-serve basis.

The dining hall was filled right away with foodie-looking folks. It seemed like everyone knows the rules at The Slanted Door and they came here prepared to order. Although not visible in the picture, the restaurant has a great view of the San Francisco Bay and the Bay Bridge.

Here's what we ordered.

First, we ordered this wild yellow chrysanthemum herbal tea. It is acutally several whole dried flowers. This tea is fragrant and has a sweet aftertaste. It also has a hint of rose water. We had our pot refilled with hot water five times.

For our appertizer, we ordered this tasty Vietnamese Crêpe with fillings made of gulf shrimp, pork shoulder, bean sprout, yellow onion. 

I was not sure how this is traditionally eaten. It took pieces of the lettuce and rolled it with the crepe and mint leaves. Lots of flavors and textures in this dish.

Another appetizer we enjoyed was this barbecued Willis Ranch pork spareribs with scallion, cilantro, and honey-hoisin sauce.

At first we were wondering why we weren't given a knife to cut the meats. Only after sampling the dish that we realized that the ribs were so tender that meats separate from the bones easily. The hoisin sauce is balanced with some sweetness from the honey.

Next, we ordered this cellophane noodles with green onion, dungeness crab and sesame. This noodles smells so good and of course it tastes even better. The flavor of the crab was evenly distributed in the dish.

Here's what it looks like upclose.

The next and last dish is this caramelized catfish claypot with cilantro, ginger and thai chili. It reminds of a Filipino sweet and sour fish dish called Escabeche with a Thai twist. This one was perfect with the steamed jasmine rice we ordered.

To wash down all the savory flavors, we decided to share this dark chocolate torte. 

Mijo and I have been to The Slanted Door for a special dinner and we both liked it. It was my first time to eat lunch here and it was equally good. Thanks Dinah and Karen for this great idea for a Saturday lunch! :)

The Slanted Door is located in San Francisco's Ferry Building on Embarcadero St.

~rl