Bargain Bites Indeed: Shanghai Dumpling King

Posted on 1/28/2007 by grubgirl

Shanghai Dumpling King
3319 Balboa Street
(between 34th Ave & 35th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94121
(415) 387-2088

One of the Chronicle’s listed bargain bites, I had to go check this out for myself, since not all of those items on the list are cheap enough for my tastes. Conclusion? Very darn good. Four people, 5-6 dishes, $10 each.

We ordered their signature steamed dumplings, some special potsticker-shaped dumpling in hot oil, a lion’s head meatball soup, some fried sweet bread with evaporated milk dip, a fried rice cake dish, and then another type of ball (looked like cooked mochi) in spicy oil.

Read the full post here...
Posted in Budget, China, Meals under $5 per main course, Richmond | Leave a comment

Expiration Dates for Food

Posted on 1/27/2007 by grubgirl

Ever wonder about the expiration date or shelf-life of food that’s not really…fresh? I mean, processed foods. Sure, a lot of things have the date marked on them, and fresh foods have an expiration date (plus you can use the smell test). Look at your cupboard or inside your refridgerator and think about how old that mustard or ketchup is, or that chocolate, or the peanuts?

GrubGirl found a good site that tells you about expiration dates for food and other household items like unused motor oil or laundry detergent. Who knew that peanuts in an open jar only last a few weeks?? Now I know not to buy all my non-perishables in Costco-sized quantities…

Full link to this post...
Posted in Budget, Kitchen, Other Food Stuff | Leave a comment

Saigon City in San Mateo: Good Pho, Weak Vietnamese Sandwiches

Posted on 1/22/2007 by grubgirl

Saigon City is a great place to go for some cheap, fast pho. Well, at lunch today we decided to try out its Vietnamese sandwiches. We were told they were $3.25 a piece…about right, given my experience with Wrap Delight in San Francisco. Well, the meat in the sandwich was good, but we were quite disappointed with what we got.

– Bread: not a French baguette. It was a French -roll-, like the type that comes 6 in a plastic bag in the bread aisle.

– Size: if you know banh mi, you know that the baguette is about 6-8″ long. Alas, a French roll is not.

Read the full post here...
Posted in Budget, Meals under $5 per main course, Vietnam | Leave a comment

Cheap Restaurant Recipes: Eat Chain Restaurant Food at Home!

Posted on 1/21/2007 by grubgirl

Ok, so eating at chain restaurants may not be every reader’s ideal dining experience. But, you’ve gotta hand it to those food scientist types that are hired by major chain restaurants to come up with recipes that will work for tastebuds across the US.

If you’re traveling to Nowhere, USA, if you can find a PF Chang’s, you can hopefully expect their dishes to taste the same like they do in your California suburb.

Well if you’re not traveling but still want to taste that wonderful dish from Chili’s or Applebee’s, look no further. Those chain restaurant recipes are revealed at Top Secret Recipes.

Read the full post here...
Posted in Budget, Recipes, Meals from $5-15 per main course | 1 Comment