Food review blog from San Francisco.

Restaurant: House of Chen (San Francisco)
Food description: Chinese soup made with pork, black mushrooms, tofu, egg, and bamboo shoots in a spicy tangy broth
Food rating: 8.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 10+

House of Chen is an eat-in Chinese restaurant, not a fast food takeout joint. I've tried many things on the menu and so far, the hot and sour soup is the best thing here. It also ranks pretty high against other hot and sour soup I've had. I order delivery from here practically once a week just for this soup (and maybe the fried rice). My boyfriend had it twice this week! So what's so good about it? The bold tangy flavor and spiciness is smoothed out by the sesame oil, egg, and tofu, creating the right balance of spicy, sour, and salty. The crispness of the fresh bamboo shoots and black mushrooms adds the missing texture, and the consistency is just right-not too watery, not too thick. The pork is cooked just right and there's a nice balance of ingredients within the broth. I've noticed the soup has gotten less spicy over the past few months, which is great because it was slightly too spicy for me before. Now I have nothing bad to say about it!