2021 December 2nd
Blog by: Maelynn Le
All photos were taken by me!
Golden Gate Bridge
Photo by: Maelynn Le
San Francisco is home to about 3 million residents and over 4 thousand restaurants. I currently have been living in SF for about 3 months now and SF is such a nice city. My favorite part about SF is the food and I’ve been to some of the greatest food places that not a lot of people know about that is so hidden. I found these hidden gems from other foodies posting about them on Instagram and on Yelp as well, so I figured, I want to try them out myself as well! Here are the top hidden food gems that I discovered in SF that are truly a must try! Hope this helps when you travel to San Francisco in the future!
Le Moon Thai Eatery
Photo: Kao Soy Tofu with egg noodles, Pumpkin Curry with tofu, and Veggie Summer Sprig Rolls
Located in the Marina District, Le Moon Thai serves the most prettiest Thai food I’ve ever seen! This has got to be my favorite Thai restaurant in SF! The flavors of each of the dishes are incredible! All of the dishes had such a bomb flavor! My favorite has to be that pumpkin curry because I love how mild it is and with the pumpkin, it gives the curry a bit of sweetness that is pleasing! I also recc the kao soy noodles becasue when you soak them in that curry, the egg noodles become soft and chewy. There is so much flavor on the noodles and I loved the spicy kick in them as well! Doesn’t everything look super pretty?!? Did you also know this restaurant is woman owned as well? Phawaree is the owner of this restaurant and is incredible with her flavors and her menu is fantastic! She’s also very sweet and very welcoming to her customers and really want to showcase Thai food to the next level! Please go and support her as her mission is to elevate Thai cuisine to the next level!
2. Toasty SF
Photo: Açaí bowl, Naked Avocado Toast, Unicorn Toast, Beet and Matcha Latte
Located 0.7 miles from Fort Mason, Toasty serves some bomb avocado toast and unicorn toast??? Have you guys ever had unicorn toast before? It’s basically cream cheese but that toast taste freaking good! Like legit, I didn’t know what to except from unicorn toast but that was pretty yummy! Have you ever had avocado toast before too? Squeeze lemon on the toast to bring up the acidity of the avocado! It taste more flavorful and yummy when you squeeze that lemon! It’s a party in your mouth at that point! A great lunch to have if you are ever hungry! An açaí bowl paired with toast and if you need something to drink too, they got you covered! I love this Instagramable place! I want to come back!
3. Lush Gelato
Photo: Ducle De Leche, Pumpkin Spice, Tiramisu, and Raspberry
Some of the greatest gelato I had in SF’s Little Italy! If you know me, I love anything with pumpkin and that top scoop of pumpkin gets me in the fall mood! The rest of the flavors were so creamy and lovely! I would also get their raspberry because it has a nice tart flavor that isn’t too sweet and the raspberry flavor comes out through the ice cream. The perfect sweet treat in the perfect SF weather! In the comments, name four flavors you would have on a scoop!
4. Mama Huhu
Photo: Sweet and sour Cauliflower, Kung Pao Tofu, Tofu with mushrooms, Broccoli and Mushrooms
This Chinese-American resturant located in the Outer Richmond District is super hidden and is a gem to SF! My god, okay so this is basically American-Chinese but it’s 10x’s better than Panda Express! Homecooked food that is authentic, flavorful, vibrant, and amazing is what this place brings to San Francisco! They do vegan, vegetarian, and regular orders and they are so accommodating to everyone’s needs in terms of food restrictions! My favorite dish I recommend is their sweet and sour cauliflower because the cauliflower is so crunchy and you get that sweet and sour sauce combination that you will love! This is the vegetarian version of sweet and sour chicken if you are vegetarian/vegan! Definitely, this place is a hidden gem that you can’t find anywhere else in SF so if you want authentic home cooked American- Chinese cuisine, this place is for you!
5. Bao SF
Photo: Red Bean Bao, Steamed Vegetarian Dumplings , Steamed Vegetarian Bao, Fried Spring Rolls, Salt and pepper veggies, Vegetarian XLB, Coconut bunnies, and String Beans
This legit small hidden gem dim sum place in Sf is located in the Mission District! This place is truly special for their handmade baos, dumplings, and food! I was so in love with everything especially with the vegetarian XLB! There are not many vegetarian XLB in the Bay Area and I do really think that these were amazing XLB that YOU MUST try! The soup of it was warm and the filling of them was amazing! If you want some vegetables, their salt and pepper vegetables are no joke when it comes to flavor! The flavor of those veggies are dynamite because of the amount of seasoning that was on! The breading was just right, it wasn’t too thick, and the batter was just crunchy! If you are a sweet tooth, get their sweet bao special of black sesame, egg custard, lava, and red bean! You should also get their coconut bunnies which were so cute and had that excellent coconut flavor you are looking for! More coconut flavor would of been better but loved this dessert!
6. Gram Pancakes
Photo: Classic Premium Pancakes
The gram has two locations: One of them is in Stonestown Galleria in SF and the other one is in Milpitas (I went to the one in SF). Legit, my favorite place to get fluffy pancakes in San Francisco! The business owners literally brought the best from Osaka Japan, and brought fluffy pancakes to San Francisco! This has to be the fluffiest pancakes in San Francisco and this beats normal pancakes! These pancakes are always fluffy, soft, and sweet! They just look amazing and delicious! I would literally be fired if I had to balance these delicate stacks! Don’t want to dine-in? They have premium pancakes to-go that you can get and they still taste fluffy and addicting! If you want life changing pancakes, this is the spot you need to check out!
7. Z and Y Restaurant
Photo: Egg plant with garlic sauce, Ma Po tofu, Bean jello red chili, Stir fried Chinese cabbage , Sesame bamboo shots, and Black truffle fried rice
This is probably one of the top restaurants in San Francisco I seriously recommend! Their fresh Szechuan cuisine is bomb! The flavors and the seasonings are on point and if you like spicy food, this place is the place to go! My favorite dish I recommend os their black truffle fried rice because this is fried rice to the next level! When I see black truffle, I’m thinking, it doesn’t typically go with fried rice. Turns out, I will be putting black truffle in my fried rice as well because it taste that delicious! Yes they also have mild dishes too but they still taste super yummy and delicious! This is a MUST comeback!
8. Chili House
Photo: Tan Tan Noodles
I took my parents here for lunch because I heard this is an award winning restaurant. This is the sister restaurant of Z and Y And they are located in the Outer Richmond District. My parents and I loved the food we tried and I think this is a great Chinese/Szechuan hidden gem not a lot of people know about. My personal favorite dish were the tan tan noodles because of the spicy kick and the chewy noodles that were perfect. I also recommend their braised eggplant because it’s the perfect combination between sweet and soup. I also loved how the eggplant wasn’t too mushy compared to other places I had this dish in the past. My dad recommended their roasted duck because he told me it was sliced so perfectly and the skin was so crunchy. He kept eating it because it tasted that delicious! My mom liked the XLB because it was juicy in the inside and the broth of the soup was flavorful. Check out Chili House in SF because this place is a true hidden gem in SF!
9. Palette Garden and Dim sum
Photo: Vegetarian fried rice, Vegetarian Chow mein, Vegetarian Spring rolls, and Boba cake
This is dim sum with a modern twist and they are located in SF In Ghrideli Square and San Mateo, CA at the Hillsdale Shopping Mall! I really have to say this is vegetarian dim sum heaven in my eyes! I loved all of the items I got and they all tasted so delicious, I can’t choose which one is the best lol! I will say that boba cake was absolutely delicious and satisfied my boba and cake cravings! I really really want to come back so badly and taste other items on the menu!
10. Glaziers Rolled Ice Cream
Photo: Wo-Mango, Matcha, and Purple Rain
Wow these ice creams do not disappoint at all! They use fresh quality ingredients in their ice creams to have these ice creams taste fresh! Their flavors do not disappoint at all and it’s just a nice sweet treat to have. My favorite that I recommend is their Wo-Mango! Their mango ice cream is just perfect! The perfect amount of mango flavor really hits you and it’s just super refreshinG. That ice cream was so perfect and had the perfect flavor combination for the perfect ice cream! What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream? Comment below!
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