Betelnut

The past two times I have visited San Francisco my cousin has taken me to Asian fusion places. Last time it was Eos in Cole Valley and this time it was Betelnut in Cow Hollow. Next time I come visit I am going to try for some more variation, but the both places she took me to were excellent so I can’t really complain that much.

We started things off with a few drinks at the bar. I got a guava, tequila, & lime concoction that was pretty fruity and tasty, but a little light on the tequila. As with many things, that can be good or bad depending on your point of view. In this case, it was a bad thing because I really like tequila. But at least it actually tasted like fresh fruit rather than artificially flavored sugary nonsense. My friend got a green tea martini that was nice, and my other friend enjoyed his dark and stormy. My cousin and her husband got a ginger beer. I can’t remember the brand off hand, but they did say it was not as overwhelmingly sweet like some other ones. So far, so good…

When we finally got seated (there was a party of 16 ahead of us) we went to town on the menu and ordered a bunch of small plates to share. Most of them were pretty solid.

Crispy tofu cakes with doc ong’s chili sauce: My vegetarian friend really liked this, but in my mind these were pretty unmemorable. The only thing I really liked was the spicy sauce it came with which I kept on my plate for anything else that I felt needed a little heat.

Cecilia’s minced chicken & lup cheong with lettuce cups: After tasting this I can never believe I actually used to like the lettuce wraps at P.F. Chang’s. I am almost embarrassed to admit it. Anyhow, these were fantastic. Lots of spices, herbs, all mixed together.

Curried potato & sweet pea samosas with mango chutney: Once again… Another vegetarian dish I was a bit disappointed by. I was alone on this one though so it might have been just me.

Kona kampachi tartare, crispy wonton, fried shallots & thai basil oil: This was another solid dish. Great kampachi, great accompaniments, and great chips to scoop out the rest of the deliciousness. You can’t really go wrong.

“Shui jiao” pork dumplings & szechuan-peppercorn broth: This was a really interesting combination of fillings and very tasty. I thoroughly enjoyed this without any complaints.

Scallion hotcake: I am not sure if it was because this just wasn’t that good or if I had scallian cakes 3 times in a week, but I just don’t even remember tasting this. I know we ordered it, but I just can’t even recall eating it.

Eggplan nanking: That was ok. I wouldn’t suggest it outright if I was going there again with other people, but if someone in the group really liked eggplant I would mention it. It wasn’t bad, but it just wasn’t that good or interesing either.

Szechuan green beans: This brings me to the last dish we got, which was also my favorite vegetarian dish and one of my favorites of the night. Stir fried green beans in a szechuan style sauce. This is one the signature dishes of the restaurant and definitely something I would order again.

The highlights, in no particular order, were definitely the green beans, kampachi tartare, minced chicken, and shui jaio. Also, being used to new york prices I was surprised when we found out the bill was only $20 a person for the food. It was all around great food at a great value. I would definitely go here again and recommend it to anyone that was in the mood for asian fusion.

Betelnut
2030 Union St
San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 929-8855