Perilla Vietnamese Cuisine
20160622:
Looking for food before heading to the San Francisco Botanical Garden, we walked east along Irving Street (from Funston) and ended up at Perilla (between 10th and 9th). Prior to choosing Perilla, we had gone into Irving Subs and Cheese Shop, but moved on after taking a quick glance at their menu.
In any case, we first decided to split a bowl of chicken noodle soup. That was then followed by choosing a starter, from which I decided on the papaya salad with shrimp (I banked on the salad being tastier than the spring rolls).
Menu Description:
Papaya Salad with Poached Shrimp (Goi Du Du Tom) Julienne papaya, basil, carrots, peanuts, and fried shallots.
When the salad arrived, I was a bit surprised that the papaya was raw and not cooked. However, I should have fully expected the papaya would be raw (standard Vietnamese/Asian salad). In any case, it wasn't bad and I thought it was a good supplement to the pho.
As a side note, there was plenty of salad leftover which I took home in a container (and forgot in the fridge for a week before tossing it out).
Menu Description:
Chicken Pho (Pho Ga) Shredded free range chicken with chicken broth noodle soup.
The broth of pho left a clean palate, but the amount of chicken felt sparse. On a positive note, at least the chicken tasted good (I'd rather have quality over quantity). Then again, perhaps it only seemed like there wasn't a lot of chicken, because the strips were thin and probably portions of the dark meat as opposed thick and dry as one might get if eating a portion of the breast.
I'm not sure if it's a Northern California trend, or coincidental, but I noticed the restaurant had served us slices of lemon instead of slices of lime.
Finally, at some point I stopped and commented on how the cucumber water clashed with the meals. While cucumber water is tasty, I don't want to be drinking cucumber water with my bowl of pho. My friend, however, was under the impression that we were just served regular water. To be sure, I tried her glass of water, but it tasted the same as mine. Just then the waiter was passing by and, out of curiosity, I asked him if something was in the water, specifically cucumber. With a smile the waiter nodded and replied affirmatively; at the same time, I could see cucumber slices floating in the pitcher of water he carried.
I couldn't help but laugh, because for a moment I began to believe I was just imagining the water was anything but plain.
Perilla Vietnamese Cuisine
Relevant Links:
Perilla Vietnamese Cuisine (Irving) Website
Perilla Vietnamese Cuisine - Inner Sunset - San Francisco, CA (Yelp.com)
Looking for food before heading to the San Francisco Botanical Garden, we walked east along Irving Street (from Funston) and ended up at Perilla (between 10th and 9th). Prior to choosing Perilla, we had gone into Irving Subs and Cheese Shop, but moved on after taking a quick glance at their menu.
In any case, we first decided to split a bowl of chicken noodle soup. That was then followed by choosing a starter, from which I decided on the papaya salad with shrimp (I banked on the salad being tastier than the spring rolls).
Menu Description:
Papaya Salad with Poached Shrimp (Goi Du Du Tom) Julienne papaya, basil, carrots, peanuts, and fried shallots.
 |
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When the salad arrived, I was a bit surprised that the papaya was raw and not cooked. However, I should have fully expected the papaya would be raw (standard Vietnamese/Asian salad). In any case, it wasn't bad and I thought it was a good supplement to the pho.
As a side note, there was plenty of salad leftover which I took home in a container (and forgot in the fridge for a week before tossing it out).
Menu Description:
Chicken Pho (Pho Ga) Shredded free range chicken with chicken broth noodle soup.
The broth of pho left a clean palate, but the amount of chicken felt sparse. On a positive note, at least the chicken tasted good (I'd rather have quality over quantity). Then again, perhaps it only seemed like there wasn't a lot of chicken, because the strips were thin and probably portions of the dark meat as opposed thick and dry as one might get if eating a portion of the breast.
 |
| Puya Venusta (Chagualillo) @ SF Botanical Garden |
I'm not sure if it's a Northern California trend, or coincidental, but I noticed the restaurant had served us slices of lemon instead of slices of lime.
Finally, at some point I stopped and commented on how the cucumber water clashed with the meals. While cucumber water is tasty, I don't want to be drinking cucumber water with my bowl of pho. My friend, however, was under the impression that we were just served regular water. To be sure, I tried her glass of water, but it tasted the same as mine. Just then the waiter was passing by and, out of curiosity, I asked him if something was in the water, specifically cucumber. With a smile the waiter nodded and replied affirmatively; at the same time, I could see cucumber slices floating in the pitcher of water he carried.
I couldn't help but laugh, because for a moment I began to believe I was just imagining the water was anything but plain.
Perilla Vietnamese Cuisine
 |
| Anigozanthos @ SF Botanical Garden |
Relevant Links:
Perilla Vietnamese Cuisine (Irving) Website
Perilla Vietnamese Cuisine - Inner Sunset - San Francisco, CA (Yelp.com)
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