The Slanted Door
crispy imperial rolls, gulf shrimp, pork shoulder, glass noodle, roasted peanut
daikon rice cakes, shiitake mushroom, shallot, sweet chili soy
cellophane noodles, green onion, dungeness crab, sesame
doughnuts – butterscotch dipping sauce
strawberry & pistachio tart – vanilla fromage Fraiche
Always bustling but garnering mixed praise from the persons I trust I hadn’t planned to visit The Slanted Door until I was once again thwarted in my attempt to visit Mission Chinese Food – an unannounced ‘vacation’ closing its doors and leading me to the Charles Phan’s Ferry Building bastion of contemporary Vietnamese fusion cuisine. A large space with every table filled during the lunch peak and beautiful weather on the Bay my seating options on arrival were a thirty minute wait or a seat at the bar and opting for the later my meal was guided by the bartender, Vincent, who offered a few suggestions and informed me that many dishes could be ordered in half portions so that I could try more things – a fact unannounced on the menu but for which I was grateful as I subsequently opted for two half-appetizers, a half-main, and two desserts with each round more impressive than the last. Beginning first with the imperial rolls alongside the rice cakes both dishes were crisp on the outside and smooth within, a light bit of heat on the ricecakes while the rolls instead balanced the savory pork with the intrinsic sweetness of the shrimp admirably and moving next to the celebrated cellophane noodles there is undoubtedly a reason these have become the restaurant’s signature as the springy noodles are lightly decorated with tender crab and sesame – a different taste and texture in nearly every bite. Finishing with dessert and finding no help from my server (or neighbor, a regular) as to which was best I opted to go with the two dishes that sounded most appealing, the end result impossibly light doughnuts with sweet yet almost boozy butterscotch sauce and the pistachio crusted tart with a tangy cheesecake filling topped with fresh strawberries – both delicious and leaving me too undecided as to which I preferred.
