Poleng for Dinner

In my last post I talked about the realization I had earlier this week when it occurred to me that I live on the perfect street, specifically because of the proximate location of Starbucks, Poleng, and Papalote, a restaurant/bar, and upscale taqueria, respectively.
All that blogging made me hungry and on my way home today I cruised into Poleng, scoring a reservation for later tonight; which word on the street says is hard to come by. Our meal was incredible, after reading about the restaurant’s star head chef in the SF Chronicle last week, I’ve been eager to go for a full on dinner (before I had only been for drinks and happy hour snacks). We were most defiantly not disappointed as plate after plate of delectable Asian infused cuisine graced our table. We stared off with the Lumpia Shanghai ($6), a classic Filipino dish, which is like a smaller, crunchier egg role. Next, we had the Balanese Lemongrass Satay Sampi ($6.5) , which we both later agreed was our favorite dish of the night. This tender meat comes with a spicy peanut dipping sauce. Our third course was the Buddha’s Treasures ($6.5), a Chinese dumpling stuffed with vegetables, served with a spicy dipping sauce. We both agreed that this dish was our least favorite of the night, I liked the texture, and freshness of ingredients, but the overall flavor wasn’t a big winner in our book. The last dish was incredible, when the waiter described the tender nature of this pan seared cod preparation, he was alluding to the melt in your mouth dream, know on the menu as Golden Gindara ($12). This dish was served with a side of coconut rice, which was so good it could have been the main course all by its self.
When it came time for the dessert round, we were both too full and had to pass, but I hear good things about the rice pudding. Poleng serves exclusively “nibble and share” plates, which is a great way to sample the variety and uniqueness of the menu offerings. Four courses, with a side of rice was the perfect amount of food for two people. Our total bill including tax and tip was lower than expected at about $50.
This restaurant is great; it has been one of my favorite dining experiences in the city, competing with the likes of much pricier, fancier restaurants in Russian Hill, Cole Valley, and the Mission. I was so impressed that after the meal, I sought out the owner, gave him my compliments, and set up an interview with the head chef for a San Francisco Foghorn feature to come out early next month.

Don’t take my word for it, see what people are saying on Yelp.