For some unknown reason, I have the habit of taking food photos way before I started this food blog. People who know me well are used to my behaviour, but those whom I am not close to sometimes seem surprised that I take snapshots of my meals (but why?). I can think of a few reasons why I do it – I love to remincese over the delicious foods I have eaten, especially those overseas (for it won’t be easy to revisit to taste them), and this is a good way to point the direction back to the eatery if I ever go back. Perhaps, this is also a way of preserving the fond foodie memories, or, maybe … I have a 6th sense that I will have the chance to feature them on my future food blog, ha ha …
The food photos which I took during my holiday to San Francisco in August 2007 (exactly a year now!) definitely come in handy now for a much-belated food diary/review. Hope you enjoy my travel food piccies as much as I enjoy … eating the food, haa! Ah, the sweet memories … more food reviews to come, I promise …
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Golden Flower Vietnamese Restaurant
Neighbourhood: Nob Hill, Chinatown
667 Jackson Street
(between Beckett St & Grant Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94133
Food Diary:
Tucked away in a corner street of San Francisco’s famous Chinatown, lies an unexpected find – I mean, who expects to find a nice Vietnamese eatery in San Francisco? Newspapers and magazines articles adore the glass walls of this little eatery, but the true testimony of its popularity lies in the packed house during peak hours. Despite its humble setting and simple decor, hungry foodies (there are as many, if not more, Caucasians as there are Asians & tourists) gather here to eat authentic Vietnamese cuisine at ultra-affordable prices (the bill comes up to about US$20 for two persons). The eatery is run by a Vietnamese family who gave good and prompt service while I was there.
Vietnamese Beef Noodles (Pho Bo) at Golden Flower, San Francisco
Lovely garnishes for Vietnamese Beef Noodles (Pho Bo)
Their bowl of Pho Bo comes in a few sizes – If memory do not fail me, I think I ordered the small. The thinly sliced beef complements well with the hearty broth… but, you know what really delivers the final kick?
What really adds the extra oomph to the lovely beef noodles, is this wonderful, spicy Sriracha chilli. While we were at the restaurant, we saw them filling up the empty bottles with this chilli sauce. I subsequently found a bottle (same packaging) at Whole Foods Markets … it tasted similar but definitely not as hot as the one in the restaurant … so I wonder if they added any secret ingredients to this chilli sauce to make it so potent? I observed a Caucasian lady chatting happily with her friend and dipping her spring rolls with unsuspecting gung-ho into this potent sauce, and the next minute, I heard her screaming “OH MY GOD, THIS IS SO HOT!” … Well, I didn’t fare any better. I unbashfully considered myself as a person with “above-average threshold for chili” (meaning I think I can take the heat quite well), and yet the first mouthful of this chili set me ablaze with the searing heat.
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Thank you for reading Noob Cook’s first food review 
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I love viet food and that looks like a fantastic place at SA. =)
Any luck in locating the sauce??
Wow these photos are beautiful even those of the teapot and condiments…JUST BEAUTIFUL. Thanks for sharing.
We love Pho, almost eat it every weekend.
By the way I also find it strange that the Sriracha chili sauce served in the restaurant is hotter than the one I bought from the store. I even recheck the brand name and it’s exactly the same. I’m thinking perhaps it’s the season thing, something the chillies that they harvest were spicier and thus produce a more spicy chili sauce. Normally it’s not as spicy.
The pho looks really delicious. Good luck on your quest for your chilli sauce!
i think some fancy pants supermarkets might stock this?
There are a lot of good Viet eateries in California! Yes..and I MISS THEM SO MUCH
You can find Sriracha in any Asian grocery store. The big bottle should cost somewhere around $3-$4. It probably tastes hotter in the restaurant because you’re seeing everyone squirting it on their food like it’s ketchup – but it *ain’t* ketchup…
I find the sauce seems a lot hotter when I’m eating it with soup or something with a high liquid content. The chili probably diffuses in the liquid and spreads it around more. But I like the fact that although sriracha is hot, it’s not SO hot that it takes the top of your head off and you can actually still TASTE the food!
I have not tired pho bo yet but it always looks so fresh and good!
Yes, that was me in the photo. Thanks for the compliment!
I have never tried Vietnamese food before, but it sounds delicious. It is a very intriguing cuisine.
i love pho!
everytime we go somewhere nice to eat i bring my camera along, then the food arrives and i promptly forget. sad, huh.
daphne: no luck yet
noblepig, didally, kevin: thanks!
LCOM: heh, thanks for confirming my suspicion too … btw I saw them re-bottling the chilli at the restaurant, so I wonder if they added any extra spice to the chilli ….
rita: no luck so far from searching the fancy pants stores in Singapore, sigh
tigerfish: heh … at least u have eaten for a good many years
Mary: thank you so much! However I stay in Singapore, and I can’t find them in the vietnamese grocery stores … I shall perserve, heh…
Katie: You’re welcome! Ah, u should try it some day
Dee: Haa! that happens to me lots of times too. We have must been overcome with hunger (or greed), heh
I’m not sure if this is a joke or not about vietnamese food in San Francisco…considering how many good pho restaurants there are in the area…..
Haha! On my last trip to LA and San Francisco, I stopped by here since me and my family were craving for some good old Pho xD. I eat it a lot since we make it at home (Chinese/Vietnamese hehe xDD). But yes this place is very good.
Highly recommended!