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SPiCES! II
By Aiyin Chen
A restaurant named SPiCES! II raises all sorts of questions. Does it serve only spicy food? What kind of food? And what happened to "SPiCES! II?" Born and raised in a Taiwanese family, I have been to countless Chinese and Taiwanese restaurants. But even I was not prepared for one like SPiCES! II.
Stepping into the door, I was greeted by the sound of a cheerful, high-pitched teenage girl's voice calling out, "Thank you! Huan-ying-guang-ling." It was a sensor at the door that announced its greeting every two minutes or so. Not that the place suffered from lack of audio or visual stimulation. With dance-dance revolution music in the background, the restaurant was packed with local people from the Richmond, the young, hip version of Chinatown. The long windows were framed by blue neon light, and star-shaped lanterns hung from above. On the red walls, paintings and small sculptures, including several wooden giraffes, peaked through plastic grass.
Following the waiter to our seats under the draping crystal balls, I felt like I was in an art piece that jumped straight out of the SFMOMA, live.
The menu is no less exciting than the ambiance. You can order anything from Mongolian grill to Taiwanese noodles to the hot pot of Szechuan -- the spice capital of China. If you are well-versed in Chinese, you'll recognize that their house specialties refer to famous characters and secret training grounds in kung-fu novels.
The food is a fusion of Chinese cuisines from various regions, including Taiwan, Chen-Du, Chung-ching, and Shanghai. Every dish on the menu has symbols indicating whether it is spicy, very spicy, or extremely spicy. I have a low tolerance for spices, so I had everything mild and it was fine. The food was authentic. It was a bit greasy like that of most Chinese restaurants, but it was definitely worth it for the taste.
The dishes are on average $6 to $7 dollars. The four of us had a family meal (three big dishes of your choice for $18 dollars) and a fruit drink literally the size of my head. You can easily stuff your stomach with good Chinese food for $10 dollars or less. With the eccentric decorations, this is not the place for a candle-lit, romantic dinner to whisper "I love you" into your significant other's ear. But if you want to have some fun with Chinese food, SPiCES! II is not to be missed.
SPiCES! II is located at 291 6th Ave. at Clement Street. 752-8885.
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