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Permalink Reply by Debbie Purdy on February 12, 2011 at 12:41pm

Ate there last night for the first time. loved our servor. Food was tasty , but eveery special request was ignored. I think as you say, it's opening jitters. I'm sure the delay with the pipes cost them mucho. wait a couple of weeks and then go.

I as a vegetarian found it possible to eat, but not easy. It may have been just the overwhelm. One more Fringcrest thinker

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Permalink Reply by Nealos on February 12, 2011 at 7:47pm

I ate there last night. Was pretty packed at around 9pm. The food took rather long to arrive and it seemed rather chaotic. The waitress was pleasant and the cooks all were very friendly. The food was delicious and very filling. The creepy host guy was there at the door. Kind of like a Limbaugh/Rove cross. I'd go back after a few months. Hopefully it'll be a little better organised.

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Permalink Reply by hettie on February 12, 2011 at 11:21pm

we had dinner at street food asia tonight and had a pretty good experience overall. we were a party of 6 and my sweetie and I were led to our table and served drinks before the rest of our group arrived, so no weirdness there. the service continued to be good throughout the meal, with lots of attention when we wanted it. the place was packed and slow service was the thing we were most worried about, particularly given the reviews we've read. it just wasn't an issue for us though.

 

because we were 6--and because we all love to eat--we ordered a bunch of stuff. we especially liked the asian sampler (that might not be its exact name, but it's the first sampler on the tapas menu), as it gave us a chance to try the ribs--amazing!--as well as pork buns, egg rolls and satay pineapple. it was so good we ended up ordering another one.

we also had the crab & cream cheese wontons, which were my personal favorite. the portabello mushroom satay was also fantastic. we got the taro, sweet potato and potato chips basket, which were all house-made and came with peanut sauce. they were tasty, but sort of a filler when we could have tried something else. and oh! the peanut sauce! it came with a couple of different tapas and was exactly right.

the only disappointment from the tapas menu was the shrimp dumplings. the meat was weird enough that we think they might have brought us the wrong dumplings and they just weren't very tasty.

 

the entree menu is really small, which is pretty disappointing to those of us who took a look at a proposed menu they put out late last year. that one had chow fun, which my husband was looking forward to, and it was nowhere to be found on the current menu. maybe they'll be changing some dishes or adding to the menu? anyway, we ordered the curry laksa, which was a big hit all around. also deemed delicious was the korean style sandwich with kimchee relish. next time I'd like to try some fried rice and it'd be interesting to taste some of the other noodle dishes. it's easy to just stick with tapas though!

 

the only other disappointment was the sake menu. there are two flights available with three sakes each, at $11 and $14. but the individual servings of sake are veeery pricey. a couple of different servers made a big deal about the quality of their sake, but it kind of sucks that there weren't any less expensive choices. also, all the sake was served chilled, which is not my personal favorite. I know it's the equivalent of saying "I prefer bud light," but I really do prefer cheap, hot sake. I get that they're pushing the high end stuff, but the lack of a downscale option was disappointing.

 

the only part of our experience that aligns with some of the negative reviews was at the door. what's up that guy? why is he even there and why did him being there make us all feel sort of uncomfortable?

 

we'll definitely be going back to street food asia when we need the occasional treat. the bill for 6 gluttonous people--half of whom drank alcohol--came out to about $50/couple, which is really not bad for dinner with drinks in nob hill. I know there have been a number people who haven't had great meals, but I would certainly recommend giving them a shot yourself. 

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Permalink Reply by PatDub on March 28, 2011 at 10:04pm

Overall, the idea and atmosphere is nice, but this place is bogus!!

 

First the good:

 

Nice tea selection, great location, pleasant decor.

 

Next the bad:

 

Ridiculously sized menus with small print and distracting images - There two oversized menus and one tapas menu per person on the table. These are almost undecipherable and even our server laughed at how confusing ther are.

 

Tapas sampler - wings, ribs, fried tofu satay, and fried shrimp satay. This is like the asian sampler at Hooters. Please.

 

Chicken and Pork Buns - low on meat --- I miss Amerasia:(

 

Chef's Specials - these are the same ingredients with different stack/base/seasoning. Our lunch party of three had the Bejing Wonton, the Japanese (I forget the town named) Udon, and the Kuala Lumpur Curry. They all had the same assortment of shrimp, cuttle fish ball, baby boc choi, stuffed tofu, onion, and noodles. However, the Udon had barely any Udon, the Wonton had NO wontons, and the curry was watery. Cuttle fish ball was a nice touch.

 

Dessert - Banana spring roll was OK, the coconut ice cream had no milkfat and therefore icey and weak. Rice pudding was not ready by 1:45 when we ordered it. Once we got it, it tasted very strange.

 

In sum, this place seems to be ideal for those who want to dine on multiple asian styles in one restaurant without having to venture east of Carlisle. the Pho, Tom Yam, and other regional soups are way better at any Thai or Vietnamese place east of Carlisle. Otherwise, Street Food Asia would be better off narrowing their scope and refining a few good dishes. They are spread way too thin across a broad and diverse culinary map. Do yourselves a favor...go to the lunch counter at Ta Lin (or any nearby businesses) if you want the real deal.

 

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Permalink Reply by Phil_0 on March 28, 2011 at 10:27pm

Yo, you know Amerasia's still open downtown, right?

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Permalink Reply by PatDub on March 29, 2011 at 12:53pm

Yeah, thanks for the head's up. I liked having them in my neighborhood though.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Horrell on March 29, 2011 at 7:44pm

I'm in my sixties as are my wife and our two friends who went there with us Sunday night and it was really apparent that the oh-so-urban-trendy-late-20s waiter couldn't be bothered with us because we weren't his sort of clientele.

We intended to have a large number of small dishes so after several fruitless attempts to get basics such as napkins and plates, we asked for western silverware so we could cut up items and share them. This twerp brought us ONE DAMN KNIFE and then turned his back on us and walked off leaving us STILL without plates, napkins, etc. and with some food already arriving

I got up, cornered the manager and ticked off on my fingers the multiple requests for service that were being ignored, the extreme rudeness of the waiter as well as the items we still needed. It still took close to five minutes to get plates, napkins, water refills, etc. from the replacement waiter.

For several years I have run an oriental food group that hits the various Asian restaurants around town (there are a surprising number of good ones) and includes several well-known local food critics in its membership. You can be assured that I have filled them in on this utterly lousy experience and have done all I can to spread the word among my mailing list.

Good concept, lousy management and staff. We won't miss 'em..

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Permalink Reply by Ed Kuyper on March 30, 2011 at 10:31am

After going to SFA about 8 times now I need to defend the joint a bit. I am sure that some people have gotten snotty/bad service, but the food has been pretty consistently good for me. The menus are annoying and the sake is overpriced, but I have enjoyed all my meals there and not any complaints from my co-slurpers. I think the place is a good addition to the hood. Much better than a Blujeans lounge, Italian joint, Greek place, Little Anitas or another burger option. If you are reading this trying to determine if it is worth your time/money, I say yes.

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Permalink Reply by David Cameron on March 30, 2011 at 11:26am

Off the topic of SFA (I haven't been yet) but in response to Zuni1970 I have to say that I for one am happy to have Staples in the neighborhood.  They take up a large space that was otherwise vacant, they're not a restaurant (nothing against restaurants, but viva diversity) and they help make Nob Hill a "walkable" place providing products and services people need and can walk to without having to drive to a strip mall.  All the Nob Hill businesses need office products.  Yes, they're a national chain, but in the absence of a local business providing the same services, I say, "Welcome."

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Permalink Reply by jeff on March 30, 2011 at 12:41pm

i'm suspect of anyone that enjoys kelly's beer; but having to look at that daskalos project while getting drunk is simply torturous.

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Permalink Reply by Phil_0 on May 20, 2011 at 4:25pm

The new Il Vicino taproom has a nice mountain view...I'd imagine they're pretty visible from Chama too, though admittedly across a parking lot and the freeway. Turtle Mountain in RR has nice mountain views too. The drinkable beer made with care and attention to detail's got to be a bonus as well..

 

Anyone else noticed that Kelly's doesn't even show up in lists of local brewpubs anymore?  

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Permalink Reply by Mary Schmidt on March 30, 2011 at 1:08pm

Sadly, this appears to be a classic case of a group of well-meaning people, with a good idea, having problems with implementation. The menus alone speaks to this ("Creative" is all kinds of fun...and then there's reality. The design is cool, but...)   I hope for their and our community's sake (um, no pun intended), they get the bugs worked out.  And, yes, I'll probably try them, but won't order the sake.

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