Address: | 655 Jackson St, San Francisco, CA 94133, USA |
Phone: | +1 415-981-8988 |
Site: | zandyrestaurant.com |
Rating: | 4 |
Working: | 11AM–9:30PM 11AM–9:30PM 11AM–9:30PM 11AM–9:30PM 11AM–10:30PM 11AM–10:30PM 11AM–9:30PM |
NE
Nei Ng
With a city full of Cantonese people, finding good food from other Chinese regions can be a challenge. Heck, finding good Cantonese food is already hard enough, and sometimes having something different is a nice change of pace. I think one of the main reasons why I like Szechuan food is because its the absolute polar opposite of Cantonese food. The principles of Cantonese cooking are very similar to that of Japanese cuisine. You take very fresh high quality ingredients and try to emphasize the natural flavors. Szechuan food, on the other hand, bombards everything with hot chilies and heavy duty spices. Szechuan peppercorns add a lemony zestiness and a tingly numbing sensation which makes their cuisine very distinct and unique. Its something I think everyone should experience. Im guessing youre on Yelp to find out more about this restaurant. BE SURE TO PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT OTHER REVIEWERS ORDERED. If they mention stuff like Sweet and Sour Pork, Chicken Fried Rice, Broccoli Beef, etc., theyre probably not familiar with Szechuan cuisine. Eating that kind of food here would be like ordering falafel with hummus at House of Prime Rib. That said, Z&Y is probably my favorite Szechuan place in the city and my favorite restaurant in Chinatown. I think they do a good job of showcasing the flavors of their cuisine. Heres some things I recommend ordering. Spicy Beef Tendons - I love the slight firm chewiness of the thinly sliced tendons. The sauce isnt that spicy, but the citrusy highlight from the Szechuan peppercorns is very noticeable. I dont believe Szechuan food has to be suicidally spicy. As long as I can taste the peppercorns, Ill be happy. Garlic Pork Belly - One of the things that surprises me is they way Z&Y presents this dish. Theres folded cucumber slices flanking the perimeter of thinly slice pork belly, and it looks nicer than what youd expect from a divey Chinese restaurant. Presentation doesnt usually matter to me, but its appreciated as long as the food itself is tasty. The pork belly has a tender and smooth texture. Lots of places cook the pork weirdly, and the resulting texture becomes rough and sinewy. Z&Ys sauce is on the sweeter side, but still has a good dose of garlickiness. In San Mateo, theres a place called Little Sichuan that also makes a good Garlic Pork Belly, but their sauce has more of a soy sauce savoriness. In my opinion theyre both damn delicious. If theres any leftovers, I love putting this stuff in sandwiches. Its miles ahead of what youd get at Chairman Barf. Dan Dan Mein - The noodles are just slightly on the mushy side, but the bean paste sauce is really good. Its rich, nutty, savory, and everything is tied together by the finishing citrusy notes and tingly sensation of the peppercorns. A few leaves of pea sprouts are a nice touch and add a contrasting freshness to the savoriness of the noodles. I dont think anyone in the city makes a better Dan Dan Mein. On their website, theres a video where a lady says that a chef at Saison told them Z&Y is his favorite restaurant. That has to be worth something, right?
A
A Private User
I was in Z & Y restaurant for dinner. I looked at the menu and could not find what I wanted so I asked the waitress if they had fried fish. She pointed us to a chicken dish. She said that you can substitute chicken with fish. The price for the dish was close to $11. The waitress never told us that there is a price change for fish. The dish came in a plate full of fried red chilli peppers with Sole fish. Incidently I have found Sole fish to be the cheapest available fish in the grocery stores. When I got the bill I was charged $18 for the fish, I immediately asked the waiter for the menu to double check, surprisingly he said that they only had the lunch menu and not the dinner menu. I insisted that I can see the menu stacked up by the window from which I has just ordered. So he got the menu. I pointed out the price to be around $11, he said that fish costs more so they have to charge more. Anyway he agreed to correct the price. He spoke to the lady behind the counter and she and him got very agitated and started to speak in an animated fashion with each other. By this time the original waitress returned and came right up to our table and said that I must pay the $18, since fish costs more. I wondered that if fish costs more should I have not been informed at the very outset, as I am the one paying for it. Anyway I paid the amount and left. I also told the waitress that she is a liar, and this is my worst eating-out experience. I also asked her if this is how you treat a guest when they come to your home, basically trying to cheat them. I spoke to a Chinese AMerican friend at work about it and he said that the CHinatown experience is like a tourist trap. Even he gets treated like a tourist, basically one-shot-deal, and rude behaviour. He suggested that I visit the Milpitas area near Ranch 99, and that there were many good Chinese restaurants there, and avoid the SF Chinatown. I called the SF Chinatown chamber of commerce and the lady there informed me that this restaurant is not in their membership, so she cannot do anything. She might try to call and speak to them. She also asked me to get recommendations from their office for future visits (to Chinatown). Since I wrote my review, I also reported this matter to my credit card company and they have spoken to this establishment and refunded me $7. Just for this gesture I am upping the rating by 2 stars. If they had shown this same feeling on the day of my concern they would have had a happy customer.
JO
Jo Deng
HUGE disappointment! I am originally from Sichuan and have a love for spicy food. My conclusion from my visit: avoid this tourist trap! Food - I ordered two traditional dishes, Dry Stir Fried Pork Intestine 干锅肥肠 and Hot Pot Intestine and Pig Blood 五更肠旺 (these may look exotic to Americans but are two well-known and representative dishes for anyone who eats real Sichuan good). First dish was alright but second dish was much too bland, lacking flavor and spice. Thats not the worst about the dishes! The intestines were not cleaned properly - Ive eaten similar dishes all over America in many restaurants, pork intestines should have their internal fat removed, so just the intestine skins are cooked. This heightens the texture and flavor, and gets rid of the rawness (腥味) of the material. This restaurant apparently skipped this important step and cooked intestine wih all the fatty content intact. This obviously 1. saves them manpower to clean, 2. bulks up the dish volume because intestines look more plumped, 3. saves material in such dishes. I was very surprised and frankly appalled! Customer Service - I complained this to our waitress, later another waiter, and asked them to relay this to their manager. Their reaction was classic - pretended to be surprised by my complaint and did absolutely nothing about it! Its rare for me to complain about dishes vocally in a restaurant, its even rarer when restaurants choose to do nothing about it!! Advertisement - The menu taped on their front window had lower prices than the actual menus inside. The explanation: the menus outside are old. I dont believe a famous restaurant such as this would forget to replace their advertisement on their front window. You judge! One of my dishes also had a significant lower advertised price on their website! I was shocked by this type of shady practice! I dont like to slam restaurants, especially one specializing in my native cuisine. But I was very disappointed and upset by this visit and think this is a tourist trap. They have such excellent business from fresh foot traffic from San Fran tourists, so they choose to ignore customer service and find ways to overcharge and under-serve! Shame! I dont doubt some of their dishes could be tasty, but AVOID because they have no conscience!