For my family, a trip to San Francisco is not complete without dining at Thanh Long.  Their Roast Crab, Royal Garlic Prawns and Garlic Noodles are so mouth-wateringly delicious.  It’s the kind of meal where you just have to dig in and dig through the crab shells for every single morsel of crab meat.  When we first started eating there in the mid-80’s, I’d actually have a whole crab to myself plus maybe 2 bowls of rice.  (now we know why I have a weight problem)

 

THE FAMOUS THANH LONG CRABS UP CLOSE

Back then, the crabs were less then $20 each.  These days, one crab can cost more than $50, so usually we just split one between two people. 

For the non-crab eaters like my brother, the garlic prawns served over a bed of garlic noodles were a tasty alternative.  

PRAWNS ON A BED OF GARLIC NOODLES

This last trip, I decided that, after 20 years, it was time to discover other items on the Thanh Long menu.  After all, even if my dad was footing the bill, I’d still like to stay on the Travel Poor Diet.  Plus, I knew that the My Fitness Pal app would judge me. So, on our two Thanh Long dinners (just 2 days apart) I decided to explore other items on the menu.  And I’m so glad I did.  On the first day, I ordered the Tempura Style Coconut Prawns and a plate of Garlic Noodles.  I figured that way, I’d at least have one of my staples. 

 

CRISPY AND DELICIOUS COCONUT PRAWNS

The plate of prawns arrived and they did look yummy.  One bite into the crispy prawns and I realized, “Hey they really do have other good dishes!”  The coconut prawns paired perfectly with the Garlic Noodles.  The family kept asking me why I didn’t just have the prawns but I said I was perfectly happy with my choice.

MUST-TRY GARLIC NOODLES!  

On the next visit, I decided to try a couple of other dishes on the menu.  My brother and I shared an order of the Dungeness Crab Puffs.  Or as described on the menu, minced Dungeness crab, peanuts & herb cheese wrapped in a light, crispy wonton shell, served with a peanut-mustard dipping sauce.  Sounds good right?  It was yet another good choice.  The creamy cheese was a perfect partner to the crab meat.  After all my two favorites inside crispy wonton? How can that ever go wrong?

ALMOST FORGOT TO TAKE A PHOTO OF THE CRAB PUFFS BEFORE THEY WERE GONE

Next up was an order of Chicken Satay.  This was a last minute decision.  And another great decision. It was the juiciest Chicken Satay I had ever tried.  It went great with the sweet-garlicky flavors of the Garlic Noodles.

BEST CHICKEN SATAY EVER! 

Thanh Long is a family-owned Vietnamese restaurant that has been in the same location since it opened.  It’s not the nicest neighborhood in SFO but people have been going there for years.  They now have valet parking, thank God! And have expanded into several restaurants including Crustacean in SFO and in Beverly Hills, Anqi in Costa Mesa and Tiato in Santa Monica.  Each restaurant has it’s own specialty dishes, but the crabs and prawns are always special guests. 

Many restaurants, even here in the Philippines, have claimed to serve Thanh Long crabs but I have yet to try anything that comes even close to the original.  I wish that people would just call them garlic crabs so that you can just enjoy the crabs for their flavors and not be disappointed that they are poor imitations. 

I am so glad I decided to live a little dangerously and try some new items on the Thanh Long menu.  Can’t wait for the next trip to the US to discover even more delicious options.

Hmmm all this food talk is making me hungry.  Is it dinner time yet?

That’s all for now….bow!