Slurp du Jour: Beef Hand Pulled Noodles at San Dong House

It's hard to believe a new restaurant in San Francisco featuring hand-pulled noodles existed for a full two weeks without me knowing about it, but I was clueless until a gourmand buddy, Al Cheng, posted a mini-review on Facebook of San Dong House in the Inner Richmond District. Needless to say, I was on it by the time of my next meal, which was lunch today.

San Dong House's menu presents a roster of 18 hand-pulled noodle dishes leading off a very ambitious bill of fare that lists over 160 items exclusive of drinks including (naturally), eight kinds of shui jiao dumplings and a staggering 22 "skewer sticks." The restaurant's dedication to the noodles is evidenced, however, by the noodle-making station in full view of the dining area, manned by a cheerful and enthusiastic noodle chef, and I was not to be deterred from my mission of vetting the la mian.

I selected the simply-named "beef noodles soup" for benchmarking purposes, niu rou la mian being the default offering in many parts of the Chinese hand-pulled noodle world. The noodles themselves were perfection, just the right thickness, bite, and chewiness for my tastes. The broth was beefy, well toward the Taiwan beef noodle soup end of the broth spectrum and away from the clear broth at the Lanzhou la mian end. It lacked the complex spicing of the Taiwan style broths, however, and I found it monochromatic and a bit too salty; it benefited from a dash of chili paste. The beef was an ample serving of lean cubes, a little on the chewy side. I'd choose a fattier topping or one with more textures the next time. Overall, it was a very satisfying bowl, credit going to the noodles themselves, and I'll certainly be back to try more noodle dishes whenever that I can fend off the small eats attractions calling to me from other sections of the menu.

Where slurped: San Dong House BBQ, 3741 Geary Blvd., Richmond District, San Francisco.

Slurp du Jour: Ajisen Ramen rides into town

Ajisen Ramen is a fast food noodle chain which originated in Kumamoto, Japan and is growing rapidly, especially in Asia. In Shanghai, where I had my only previous Ajisen experiences, there are at last count 189 outlets, by way of example. Today the first Ajisen Ramen shop in San Francisco opened in the basement food court of the Westfield San Francisco Centre, leaving us only 188 behind Shanghai. Despite being somewhat olfactorally challenged, thanks to a head cold resulting from our endless non-summer of 2010, I decided to check out Ajisen SF on its first day.

I arrived at Ajisen in late afternoon (4:00) in order to avoid the hectic first-day lunch period and found the dining area still about 75 percent full. I pondered ordering the Spicy Beef Noodle option from the laminated picture menu to see if it corresponded to the honestly spicy "Volcano" noodle dish on Ajisen's Asian menus; my condition, however, combined with the absence of cold beer from the menu, steered me to blander fare. My choice, the "Supreme" Pork Ramen, appeared to be Ajsen's tonkotsu broth option, though the two servers I queried could only confirm that it was a pork broth. This broth was almost offensively unctuous and creamy, though blessedly not overly salty. It went well with my cold, though I doubt I would choose this option while in full health. The razor-thin pork slices were surprisingly dry, reminiscent of the shavings of beef found in Lanzhou lamian soups in China, functioning more as condiments than as protein sources. I know nothing of the provenance of the noodles used by Ajisen, but they were the most satisfying component of my bowl, having been cooked to just the right degree of al dente goodness.

Ajisen's noodle bowls range from $6.50 for the eponymous "Ajisen Ramen" bowl to $9.25 for the seafood bowl. There are also appetizers like gyoza, fried tofu and edamame. A separate laminated menu is offered for drinks, which include bubble teas. They offer an unsweetened cold green tea beverage, but I was told they were out of it when I ordered it. I'll most likely return to vet the Spicy Beef noodle option, and perhaps some of the other more demure broth-based bowls.

Where slurped: Westfield San Francisco Centre, 865 Market St. (food court below Nordstroms), San Francisco

Slurp du Jour: Tempura Udon at Not-Quite-the-Same Kui Shin Bo

At the Nihonmachi Street Festival yesterday the charcoal-grilled meats were enticing, but my visit followed upon my eighth straight Friday night at Off the Grid, so I decided to forego street food for the quietude of a former favorite noodlery, Kui Shin Bo. Kui Shin Bo is in a forlorn second-floor corner of the equally forlorn Miyako Mall (which is overshadowed by the bustling Kintetsu Mall); on arrival I noticed changes, not the least of which was a friendly server for a change. Subsequent research confirmed that the place had indeed The changed hands since my last visit.

The chashu udon which I had a sudden craving for was not to be had on that visit, so I opted for the shrimp tempura udon. I liked the spartan presentation, just the udon noodles and onions in a clear broth with the tempura on the side (it has not always been that way). The soup had a refreshingly clean, if salty, taste, and the noodles were perhaps a bit too soft. Portions of both the udon and the tempura were generous, though less batter and more shrimpmeat and vegetables would have been nice. As always, the price was right, $7 for a decent sized lunch.

Would I return? Perhaps, for another shot at the chashu udon, though the consistency of the noodles seemed off, and I DO miss that cranky waitress of yore.

Where slurped: Kui Shin Bo, 22 Peace Plaza (in Miyako Mall), San Francisco.