SFO - To Eat18Jul2015(Coco Bang, Pearl's Deluxe Burgers, Pho Tan Hoa Vietnamese & Chinese Cuisine, Chutney)

San Francisco - To Stay
San Francisco - To Do
San Francisco - To Eat

SFO - To Eat

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CoCo Bang Korean Cuisine
(550m from Parc 55 Hotel)

Enough of Thai Food when looking for a meal late in the night. This Korean joint is popular amongst pre/post party people, popping in here for decent Korean eats and drinks. 

Click here for ABBA location of CoCoBang, 550 Taylor Street, San Francisco, CA 94102, United States

 Ordered On:
04July2015
Spicy Chicken with Cheese and Glass Noodles Appetizer

 *They had originally suggested the boulbougi chicken but we opted for something a little bit spicier. Be warned, it is high on the spice level and even Malaysians find it so. The glass noodles were served warm, and great sweet flavorto it. Great as a rice substitute*
Same half and half Fried Chicken

 *Just as good as the last time. Juicy fry with no dry breast meat in the order. Always good with their ice cold beer.*
Spicy Seafood Tofu Soup

 *Actually meant for Single portion servings, this is still good for sharing between two gents or three ladies. Not that spicy at all and really warmed us up with their decent supply of fresh seafood. A great compliment to the meal!*
Fed5 at about 23USD each with tip

Ordered on:
18July2015

OB Pitcher 1.6L USD12.95

*A nice light beer that's very easy to drink*  
Beef Short Rib USD15.95

*Superb. Served atop sweet white onion, the beef short ribs, a Korean staple have got a great char and sweet after taste.*

Fried Spicy Chicken w/rice Cake USD14.95

*Don't take their chili spice rating lightly. This one is spicy, but there's nothing really special about the dish. It does taste similar to Kung Pow Chicken, or chicken you'd might order at Zhi-Cha Stalls (Found in Singapore, local made to order, family styled dishes)* 
Whole Fried Chicken USD16.95 Sweet and spicy flavored were ordered.

*The best pairing with beer. No dry breast meat here, but all tender juicy morsels fried perfectly. The sweet flavor was good, but the chili one turned out more sweet than chili, falling slightly short of expectations. Undoubtedly, a good chicken fry but the chili flavored ones left others thinking it was sweet.*

USD68.30 Total Fed4.

About the same as you would pay eating out late at any of the Thai Joints, Bangkok or King of Thai Noodles.
Free Wifi available on site.

Click here for ABBA location of CoCoBang, 550 Taylor Street, San Francisco, CA 94102, United States

Pearl's Deluxe Burgers 
(750m from Parc 55 Hotel)

 

Horhay and gang serving up the magic behind!

 

Pearl's Deluxe Burgers is a ghetto-like ,diner joint, producing the most amazing burgers I've tasted in all of my travels as of July2015. Opens till 12midnight on Fridays and Saturdays! Worth even a late night visit for a meal!

Popular choices by others who've tried and tested from the menu are:

- Phat Bob

- Pearls Delux (Their signature classic)

- Bula Burger

Click here for ABBA location of Pearl's Deluxe Burgers, 708 Post Street, San Francisco, CA 94109, United States

Currently most popular burger is the
Bula Burger - Bacon, spicy pineapple, BBQ Sauce, Jack cheese & Mayo USD8.99

Ordered On

05April2016

Bula Burger

*A split vote. But still won over Superduper after having tried both on the same day!*
Spicey Sly

*A nice warm spice and balances really quite nicely with the sweet peppers.*
Mushroom Burger

 *Definitely overflowing with mushrooms from all ends. Undeniably for mushroom lovers. It does need a little bit more salt but else, as always, Pearl's Deluxe burgers still delivers.
Fed3

USD12 each with tip

Ordered On
07March2016

*I totally forgot to bring out my camera on this meal! Pictured From right to left, the mild tasting burger to the most bold flavored ones.
Avocado Burger: Avocado, Tomato, Jack and Ranch Dressing
*The avocado really brings that lovely creaminess and richness to probably the healthiest burger of the lot.*
Bula Burger USD8.99 
 - Bacon, spicy pineapple, BBQ Sauce, Jack cheese & Mayo (reviewed further below)
BBQ Burger: Bacon, grilled onion, bbq sauce, cheddar cheese and Mayo.
Bula Burger: Bacon, Spicy Pineapple, BBQ Sauce Jack Cheese Mayo*The Clear winner out of the four*
 Prized Pearl: Bacon, Blue Cheese, Grilled Onion and Mayo
*The blue cheese flavors are definately there. From a scale of 1-10, 10 being the strongest, the cheese here would stand at about a 6. If strong, bold flavors like these don't suit your taste buds, its best to give this a miss.*

Fed 4. USD12 each.
Ordered On:

12Oct2015

Prized Pearl - Bacon Blue Cheese, Grilled Onion and Mayo USD8.99

*Ordered On17Aug2016*
*Burger Patties are still the bomb! Great caramelization and a little crunch just around the rims, cooked to an excellent medium rare. The blue cheese could have been a little more generous, but that's personal preference. Blue cheese and steak pairing does give it that unique saltiness. Huge grilled onion chunks were amazing and this was the wining order between the two burgers. A home run and will definitely recommend it.*

Pesto Burger - Basil Pesto, Tomato, Jack Cheese and Mayo USD8.99

*Patties are to Pearl's Deluxe Burger standard. Although the pesto was definitely fresh, what let this burger down was that the pesto was cold! It did take away from the warmth of a flat grilled beef patty, but does bring that little freshness to the already greasy burger. For Pesto lovers for sure*

1/2 Fries and 1/2 Onion Rings USD5.48

*Personally I'd pass up on the fries. Pretty standard, good and crispy but nothing really to shout about, Onion rings were ok too.*

Total USD25.52 Fed3

Even as I am typing this, I am longing for one more burger on this trip. Must resist.

  Ordered On:

19July2015

Pearls Delux Burgers USD7.99 + USD5.99 for Kobe beef.

*You can really taste the meat, but I must admit it needs a little more salt to draw out the Beefs full flavor. But how can you ever go wrong with Kobe?*

Bula Burger USD8.99
- Bacon, spicy pineapple,
BBQ Sauce, Jack cheese & Mayo x2orders

*Unbelievably juicy burger, but made even more juicy with their flavorful sauce.*

This place offers the real deal Mexican Fanta and Coca Cola made with real sugar.

A speciality burger here goes for just under USD10. A meal with sides and drink probably USD15-18 range each.

ABBAtip:

Ask them to slice the burgers in half, its much easier to down em and for sharing.

Now for the review. I've never thought that the old favorite, Super Duper could ever be out-staged. But man or man! This place is phenomenal! It even gets me looking at their late night opening times to see if it's available for a late night meal and it is! Only on Fridays and Saturdays till midnight. The rest of the days till 10pm except Sunday (9pm).

When a place asks how'd you'd like your doneness of these home made burger patties, you know instantly you're in good hands. I mean really thick, juicy meat patties with whatever combination of the specials you'd like.

We didn't get to try the sides but their pickles (tried) and garlic fries (for the garlic fries, reportedly) looses hands down to Super Dupers. I still go to Super Duper for my garlic fries and their superior pickles.

Though price point for a complete meal, it maybe a little more expensive here in Pearl's Deluxe Burgers, but the size and serving of the meat patty is justifiable pound for pound. To match, a double patty at Super Duper would work out to be at about the same pricing.

A must try ghetto like diner. See if Pearl's Deluxe Burgers can knock out your current, best burger standing. I will definitely return to try the other flavor combinations.

Click here for ABBA location of Pearl's Deluxe Burgers, 708 Post Street, San Francisco, CA 94109, United States

Pho Tan Hoa

Vietnamese & Chinese Cuisine
(500m from Parc 55 Hotel)

An oldie but a goodie. Have yet to come to this all time favorite, wash basin sized noodles joint. Some have commented that the dried version of the noodles was also very good and popular amongst regulars.

Click here for ABBA location of Pho Tan Hoa, 431 Jones Street, San Francisco, CA 94102, United States 

16Aug2016

Ordered On:
08March2016 
The LARGE VS The Normal Order
40cents difference

 *I've never seen the large order before. But its pretty much arguably the same amount of ingredients but with more noodles!*

 *Finally trying the Meepok version! Which I thought was the version everyone has, but aparently not. Its the one picutred just below this with the spring rolls and the pork. Its pretty much the same as the soup variety. The upside is that mixing it with the sweet and chillli sauce is awsome. A little D.I.Y involved but  it really nice and you still get the soup at the side. Really nice and a variation of the classic soup version. The down side of course is probably the has to be cooked through and not pink on the inside! However with that said, its a toss up and preference between the two. I don't mind going for this version or the soup version.
ABBATip: You can have the beef served separately at the side and cooked in a separate soup bowl so your meat can be 'shabu-shabued (cooked with just hot stock)' just right*

*The 'meepok' dry that most people order. The star here is really the sweet pork. Its done very similar to how they prepare it in the Philippines. Probably flat ironed cooked with some sugar to really get that nice caramelization. We weren't sure if the sweet chili sauce was a dipping or the sauce to pour over the dry and pretty much served cold dish. Very similar to Bim Bim Bap (Korean hot rice served with raw vegetables, but in this instance with cold noodles.) However it definately needed the sweet sauce to 'wet' the noodles. The mix was nice and probably more suited to have during summer. Personal preference would be the dry/wet pho over this. The stars here are the sweet pork and the spring rolls hands down. The peanut is a nice addition and starting to be a little similar to Pad Thai.*
4 Black Drip Coffee
Fed 4 USD16 Each

Ordered On:
20thJuly2015

3 Bowls of Pho Noodles (Medium sized)

ABBA Tips:

- You can ask to have your beef served separately so that you can have them a little rarer if you'd like.

- Ask for more hot water to extract more coffee out of drip coffee.

*Pho Noodles comes with raw Beef, with option to have it served on the side, beef briskest and beef balls. Served along side are fresh, crunchy bean sprouts and fragrant basil. Kafir limes gives that freshness to elevate the entire dish.

Because you are cooking your own raw beef, it can come out super tender and sweet. It goes perfectly well with their mild chili and black bean paste.

Their beef ball have a great bite to them and are delicious.*

Ca Phe Su A Da USD3Iced and Condensed Milk Coffee

*I've had drip coffees at other Vietnamese joints, but by far this is hands down, the best drip coffee I've ever had! Where others have failed, at Pho Tan Hoa, one can really taste the unique, sweet, dark chocolaty, roasted nutty flavors and aromatics from the drip coffee. A very distinct flavor profile that comes at you boldly, and strongly. As a personal preference, its best enjoyed cold and a great way to start of the day. A definite MUST Order!*

Total 44.06USD Fed3

The best tasting Vietnam noodles had as of July2015. Noodles cooked to perfection, and their soup not leaving you with an over does of MSG or grease. Quality beef parts with support condiments make a killer combination meal. A definite revisit in future!

Click here for ABBA location of Pho Tan Hoa, 431 Jones Street, San Francisco, CA 94102, United States

Chutney
- Indian Pakistani Gourmet Curries
 (550m from Parc 55 Hotel)

Amongst where the good food lay, Chutney, to some wins over Shalimar for traditional Indian Pakistani foods.

Click here for ABBA Location of Chutney Restaurant, 511 Jones Street, San Francisco, CA 94102, United States

Ordered On:
 20July2015

Palak Tikka Masala USD7.49Blended Spinach Cooked with Homemade cheese.

 *Although it's has a little unappetizing color to it, flavor wise, more of a over boiled spinach with flavorful home made cheese. Taste wise it is nice.

Tandori Chicken USD3.99 per piece

I personally feel that the Tandori here are is done more tender and
 juicier as compared to Shalimar,

Daal Gosht USD8.99

Combination of lentils and lamb.

*Lamb was really tender.*

Garlic Naan

Rice

Mango Lasi

*Really thick and probably good for sharing amongst two people*

Total USD38.59 Fed2.

Overall, fairly decent meal, with pretty good curries. Naan was light and fluffy, as was their rice. A contender to Shalimar across the street. A decent Indian food joint.

Click here for ABBA Location of Chutney Restaurant, 511 Jones Street, San Francisco, CA 94102, United States