Soup's On: What's Popular in Town

The cold weather is definitely upon us and what better way to warm-up than to have a nice bowl of soup. And why not go out for some in town?

Here local restaurants reveal their most popular soups:

Steamed Pork Bun, also known as Xiao Long Bao, at Bamboo Garden Chinese Restaurant,  Located at 108 N. Rengstorff Ave. (650-967-7334), in and of itself, is not a soup, but contains the soup inside the bun along with a pork mixture.

In the bustling new Mandarin and Shanghai Chinese restaurant, owner, Yang Guo, provides swift service to customers. Cousin of Guo, Peter Wu, helps out with the fast-paced activity, as he talks about their most ordered item.

“The Xiao Long Bao is made with pork, green onions and chicken broth, all hand-made here,” Wu said.  The woman assembling the Xiao Long Bao is visibly working diligently behind the counter.  It doesn’t appear on their menu’s soup list but under the dim sum list. In addition to the Steamed Pork Bun, there are 13 other soups on the menu.

Spicy Chao Ma Noodle Soup at , is among 13 fresh homemade noodles dishes of Northern Chinese preparation that use wheat flour and no eggs, said Robert Pei, son of Miya Pei, owner of the Mandarin & Szechuan dining establishment of nine years.

The soup consists of stir fried assorted seafood, mixed vegetables and beef atop the noodles in a rich chicken broth–a dish that looks as good as it tastes!

The gracious opportunity arose to also taste the other soups that widely requested by customers–the Hot & Sour, Wonton, Sizzling Rice and Egg Flower. The Hot & Sour was well balanced in the amount of vinegar and other ingredients; Sizzling Rice was very tasty, filling and comforting; Wonton had a nice balance of flavors with the fresh mouth-watering wontons and delicate broth; Egg Flower was delicate and light with seaweed to add a nice dimension. These soups were a testament to Pei's ability to create satisfyingly delicious authentic Chinese food. Located at 743 W. Dana St. Telephone: 650-960-1677.

The Tomato Basil Bisque at , is a vegetarian soup made with tomato, cream, Italian basil that is pureed to a smooth consistency and is perfect with any one of their enticing fresh-made deli sandwiches.

Manuel Ortiz, owner, said they offered six soups and the next most popular is the New England Clam Chowder. The other soups include Chicken Vegetable Rice, Vegetarian Vegetable and Beef Stew and Texas Jailhouse Chili.  There is an option to have your soup of choice served in a sourdough round, for added goodness. Located at 1350 Grant Rd.  650-962-9191.

Chicken Tortilla Soup at , is made with chicken breast, tomato, onion, guajillo chiles, oregano, cumin, black pepper, bay leaves, corn, cilantro jack cheese, corn tortilla and sour cream.  A customer who had just finished enjoying this soup raved about how good it was and that he regularly came to have it.

Gabriel Cervantes, manager of the Seafood & Mexican restaurant, promptly put together an attractive ensemble of accompaniments – tortilla chips, three signature salsas and, of course, a refreshing margarita, which may have to be passed up in order to stay warm. Located at 735 Villa St. Telephone: 650-967-3525.

15-Bean Soup at is the Thursday, “Soup of the Day” and has been one of the top sellers since its introduction two to three years ago, according to soup creator, chef and district manager Maurice Hart.

Inspired by a family recipe, Hart tweaked it to include wine, tomatoes, Italian beef sausage, beef demi glaze, which is a rich brown sauce created from cooking beef for a long time. The wine Hart pairs the soup with is a Nozzole Chianti, a medium-bodied traditional classic chianti from Italy. Other well-enjoyed soups are the Clam Chower and Minestrone. Every day, the restaurant features a different “Soup of the Day.”  Located at 939 W. El Camino Real. Telephone: 650-967-5384.

The Corn and Tofu Chowder at , has a healthy mixture of carrots, peas, tofu and corn kernels in vegetable broth topped with cilantro. It can be enjoyed alone but is generally served as a compliment to dinner.

Robert Liang, owner of the Vegan/Vegetarian Chinese restaurant, graciously offered a taste of one of the entrees, the Orange Vegetarian Steak, to try along with the Corn and Tofu Chowder. The chowder is delicate and light and the broth is richer than expected since it's made from vegetables. It does the job of a nice winter warm-up. It is a great match with the “steak” dish, a surprisingly meat-like texture created with the shiitake mushroom sautéed with a special mouth-watering orange-flavored sauce atop broccoli which was steamed perfectly.

It was hard to believe that the sampling consisted of nothing but vegetables and it was satisfyingly flavorful and filling and no doubt, healthy.  Located at 1245 W. El Camino Real. Telephone: 650-254-1688.

Five-Spice Chicken Noodle Soup at Pho Garden, has proven to be very popular since its recent introduction, according to Vanthao Huynh, a waitress at the Vietnamese restaurant home of the “Pho Challenge.”

The savory and delicious chicken is specially prepared in five spice seasoning, grilled and served in a separate dish alongside the bowl of pho (pronounced "fah"). The chicken is meant to be sliced and placed atop the pho. In addition, as with all the other pho’s, the Asian basil, jalapenos, and bean sprouts are included. The sweet and savory charred flavors of the tender chicken coupled with the hot noodle soup hit the spot.

The beef noodle soups are the next most popularity. The rare steak is favorite among the Americans and the rare steak with soft tendon a favorite of Asians. It takes ten hours to prepare the broth for the pho.

The “Pho Challenge” requires the challenger to consume 2 pounds of noodles and 2 pounds of beef in one hour.  If successful, the win a free meal and you keep the bowl. Located at  246 Castro St. Telephone: 650-968-4183.

Ryowa Ramen, at , is made with sesame paste, bean sprouts, chashu, which is specially prepared tender pork, egg, green onion, nori, a seawood also used in sushi preparations; all in chicken broth. Rinaldi Surya, server, said that it is ideally accompanied with their green chive spices.

The broth was unexpectedly thick due to the sesame paste, but nicely balanced with the chicken stock. It was rich and smooth and went well with the contrasting ingredients especially the chashu and green onion chive spice and the intermittent Kim chee. There are 4 other ramen choices on the menu of the Japanese Noodle House. Located at 859 Villa St. Telephone: 650-965-8829.

Caldo 7 Mares at , is made with green shell mussels, black shell clam, scallops, shrimps, octopus, fish in seafood broth, some vegetables and takes about 20 minutes to prepare, said Jose Raya, new owner for 6 months old restaurant. There are five soups on the menu with Caldo de Res being the next popular.  The Caldo de Res is a beef stew which takes three hours to make. Mexican and Salvadorean food is served at the casual and family style restaurant.  Located at 122 N. Rengstorff Ave. Telephone: 650-968-3990.

Butternut Squash at Scratch, the seasonal soup of the new American Comfort Cuisine restaurant on Castro St., and according to manager, Markus Schnabel, has had many positive reviews that include “breath-taking” and “delicious.”

Autumn hues and creamy toasted pumpkin are well represented with tasteful contrasting splashes of arugula pesto and bacon bits. The complex flavors offer a velvety smooth texture with a hint of citrus. A chenin blanc and their amazing homemade sour dough bread, which served fresh, sliced with soft butter, suited it well. Pureed with the butternut squash were chicken stock,  cinnamon, cloves, star anise and a touch of lemon juice. The staff here were very attentive and pleasant. Located at 401 Castro St. Telephone: 650-237-3132.

If you plan to cook soup at home and would like to try something different, this Tom Yum Goong recipe is one of my husband’s favorites and can be put together within 30 minutes.  Tom Yum Goong, a traditional soup from Thailand, is a satisfying clear soup made with Southeast Asian spices along with shrimp and some fish, lime and chili flavoring garnished with cilantro.

Quick & Easy Tom Yum Goong

Ingredients

Water, 2 quarts
Fish Sauce, 4 to 8 tablespoons, according to taste – it is salty
Tom Yum Goong Paste, 3 tablespoons
Kaffir Lime Leaves, 4 single lobe
Lemongrass, 3 stalks, cut into 3 to 4 inch pieces, slightly smashed with a mallet
Straw Mushrooms, 1 15-ounce can  or substitute with 1 cup of sliced white mushrooms
Galanga, 4  1/8-inch thick slices
Thai chilis, 6 cut in half for a spicier broth
Large shrimp, 16 pieces
Juice of 2 limes
Cilantro

In a soup or stock pot, bring water to boil.  Include all ingredients but set aside the shrimp, lime juice and cilantro.

After 15 minutes of boiling the water with ingredients, add shrimp and cook until they turn to a peach pink color which is how they look when cooked through. The original fresh shrimp color is gray and white. Turn off heat. Add the lime juice. Stir well and taste, adding more fish sauce for more salt flavor. Makes 4 servings.

Serve and garnish with cilantro and enjoy.

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