Yuet Lee Seafood Restaurant - Kung Pao Kosher Comedy

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Yuet Lee Seafood Restaurant. (1300 Stockton at Broadway) Christmas night. Tim Yu, boyish, bulbous chef founder incessantly churns out hundreds of superior seafood meals daily (until 3:00 a.m.). Many nocturnal high-brows, wannabee chefs & recruiters chow down, so if you're fixin' to hang with the best & brightest in SF, plop your buddha butt, light an imaginary candle & don't be downhearted, because you've come to the right place. Gayle & Ralph Bernstein, MD (she's a coordinator at the Oakland Art Museum & he a hands-on stomach specialist at Highland Hospital) have been trekking here for 30 years. They ordered the tried-and-true sauteed clams steamed in black bean sauce, pepper & salt roasted prawns, spinach & garlic: superlative! Zontar, my friend, ordered beef with broccali. Me? I got sucker-punched with the so-called "fresh squids". Fresh? HELL NO! A deep-fried flop, in my opinion. Why do Chinese restaurants always deliver this sucker-punch? Heads up, Tim! An hour later, we raced out the door past the hungry, boisterous mob to Kung Pao Kosher Comedy. The good doctor shouted out a cheery "Have fun and I hope you laugh tonight."
Random Encounter #2 at New Asia Restaurant after the Kung Pao show. Headliner Cathy Ladman was fiddling with her videocamera. He had given us a sidesplitting show. "Comedy", she said, "is timing and luck." Fadeout into San Francisco fog.
Jewish comics at Chinese Restaurant on Christmas Day: Guaranteed to chase away the blues if you've got 'em!