greasepig reviews

Link: http://sanfrancisco.citysearch.com/profile/889370/san_francisco_ca/angkor_borei.html

Again it was the case that I didn't know what I wanted to eat. I was kind of leaning towards that "Fortune Cookie" restaurant on Mission, but didn't know for sure. So I took out the pedal bike this time and headed south on Mission. Fortune Cookie was closed, or at least looked closed, but Angkor Borei was open, so I walked in. It was dark, but nice and quiet except for some Cambodian gamelan (I have some CD's - this style of music is pleasant, but kind of boring compared to, say, Balinese gamelan) and there was no one else there (but still, it was about 1:30, so that shouldn't reflect on its popularity). Another party arrived about ten minutes later, though. Quick look at the menu, which had a brightly colored, easy-to-follow lunch page, a really confusing 'regular menu', and a big wine list, which I ignored completely. The lunch special, $6.50, gives you soup, rice, and two of the nine menu selections. Mostly variations on squid, pork, or chicken in a coconut or curry sauce, some appetizers, and a piece of barbecued chicken

I opted for the lunch special with spiced squid, specified "hot", and spring rolls. To drink, I got the lemongrass iced tea. I must say, the waitress was very polite and gracious, like a grandmother offering ice cream to her grandkids. "Here's your soup, enjoy!!!!!" I hope the exclamation marks add enough description, because I can't really think of the words right now.

The soup was your standard Thai-style Tom Ka Gai, only no meat - tofu instead. The lemongrass iced tea (first time I've tried this) was overly sweet, and for some reason reminded me of Froot Loops. The main course was well presented and elegantly served. It was obvious a lot of care went into its presentation. Problem was it was not spicy at all. Not a single pepper's worth. Again there was no chili sauce offered as a condiment. It tasted fine, but still, it was not at all what I was looking for. The spring rolls had a very unique, thick skin that still tasted good. Pretty troublesome, though, was a fishbone(!) inside the spring roll. The specified ingredients were pork and vegetables, so this was definitely a surprise. This kind of broke down the whole feeling I got that they took a lot of time and care making the food that I had gotten prior to finding this.

Overall, although I liked the ambience and the presentation, the food itself (and especially the non-spiciness of it) made me not want to come here again. But I do have a couple of friends who vouched for it, so perhaps it's just the dishes I chose.

Rating: 2 Godzillas