Spicy Element

This place is closed-​Someone needs to update the Unilocal listing.
We walked back and forth in the rain looking for this place. just so I can get my fill of Taiwanese eats… I even called the number listed. turns out the business has been changed to some japanese place – same number. same owner… lame.

Decided to come here for a try since I always see their commercials on TV. Walked in and got seated right away. I realized I did not bring that much cash and asked the waitress if they accept credit card. $ 15 min which is pretty typical. I counted the change in my wallet and realize I have just enough for their lunch special. I ordered the szechuan chicken over rice. I felt like I was eating popcorn chicken. Not to mention their rice was leftover rice! I HATE HARD RICE. I been eating rice all my life, so I seriously hate it when places give you leftover rice from the night before.
I really thought my meal also came with soup because their «popcorn chicken» was making me quite thirsty. So I finally asked the waitress and she said I had to add $ 1. I didn’t even bother looking at their menu again for clarification. Pack most of my meal to go and didn’t even bother eating it later.

Apparently probably the owner or somebody related to the restaurant is talking sh*t to everyone who left a one star review because I got this message on Unilocal from Chia W. (
):
«cheap bastard, complain too much and check your spelling, principle not pricipal»
It’s kind of amusing when somebody calls you out for spelling mistakes when they clearly have forgot the «N» in «PRINCIPAL».
Nice try my friend!
If you check this guy’s review (Chia W.) it seems like the sole purpose of this account is to flag other restaurants as 1 stars as part of some kind of grandiose grudge this Chia W. fellow (who probably owns Spicy Element or has some interest in it) to get back at other people.
Hey Chia, how about just running an honest business? I see plenty of rices with things like «stale rice». I mean WOW.
You know what a good restaurant does when there’s a terrible review? They make it right. I turned plenty of 1 star reviews to 3 or 4 just because the owner sent me a nice message explaining what went wrong, and possibly finding a way to resolve it. That’s called «taking the high road».
You’ve decided to take the low road, and to this day I think I’ve told everybody I know you got a terrible operation out there.
I’d recommend you be a little nicer? So you got a 1 star review. Suck it up and improve your restaurant, you BIG BABY lol

Been here twice and the food is pretty consistent.
XLB: In spite of other reviewers, were quite good. The skin was a little thicker, but it lend a nice chew while still remaining delicate. While some places tend to trend toward near liquick center, their filling was deliciously meaty, but still tender and wonderfully juicy. The broth had a beautiful balance of flavor. Loved it.
Shrimp and Garlic Chive Dumplings: These were disappointing. While the pork and garlic chives were fresh, we didn’t taste the shrimp at all. The skin was also a bit doughy.
Green Beans: The spicy bean paste, soy sauce and pickled turnips packed a lot of flavor into these crispy, yet tender veggies.
Green Onion Pancakes: They make them thin… just the way I like them, but they tasted a bit greasy.
Hand Shaved Noodles: My friend ordered this, but she assures me that they were really good. Gonna have to try this next time.
The place is a bit more modern than your typical chinese restaurant, but the prices were reasonable. 2 baskets of XLB, 1 plate of green onion pancakes, 1 generous plate of greenbeans and a bowl fo hand shaved noodles was $ 40 (including tax).
I work in SOMA, but it’s worth the drive for lunch.

Went to Daly City recently and hit up this restaurant with a friend since we both eat spicy food.
Cold Noodles. With Cucumber, Sesame Seeds and Spicy Peanut Sauce. Spicy? Not so much. The noodles were nice and al dente though. The sauce was definitely more peanuty than spicy, it was alright, I wish it was more spicy though.
Cumin Lamb. Personally, I think it tasted more like beef than lamb because it didn’t have the gamey taste to it. The spiciness was good though, gave it a kick, but they didn’t put enough cumin in it and the beef was cut too thick, should have been like hot pot meat thickness not beef & broccoli thick. I guess I’m also more picky about it since I think I make this dish better.
Stinky Tofu. This was pretty good, it was surprisingly stinky since 1) we’re in America, not China and 2) the restaurant didn’t really stink so I wonder where they made it. The sauces that came with it were pretty good too. One critique, however, I think they made it from soft tofu and not firm tofu since once I bit into it, it felt WAAAAAYYY too soft, it was kind of mushy rather than firm.
Steamed Soup Dumplings. OM NOM NOM! ALMOST reminded me of Shanghai. The soup inside the soup dumplings were pretty good and the dumplings themselves were yums. I’d come back for these!!!
Would have given 4 stars for the soup dumplings but everything else was just alright, so 3 stars total.

The Prince of Taiwan did not know that this place served the holy food of his country. Based on some reviews, evidently this place serves stinky tofu, among other Taiwanese delicacies. I was just given the usual menu, so maybe next time I will politely ask the server for the special menu. If not, I will have no choice but to unsheath my blade, and it can not be put back until it has tasted blood. or MSG.
Anyhoo.what did we get. the pan Fried Gyoza. Six pieces, six bucks, six bites of pure bliss. the only way it would have been better would be to serve it on a nekkid Maggie Q, but that aint gonna happen.
The «XLB» as it is commonly referred to around Unilocal,was pretty good. True to those that posted these dumplings had minimal soup inside, but the skin and filling was still top dog. You gotta go to my country’s Din Tai Fong if you want the best XLB, but for daly city, this wasn’t bad.
The other stuff we had from the chow mein and chow fun stuff was good and cheap. I would go back to this place, because i live so close to there. AND. they take credit cards, which helps.

mmm where do I start?
So the bf and I came here one afternoon by default. We wanted phở, but somehow ended up here. Wise decision? no.
We ordered the XLBs, green onion pancake, fried chicken wings, fried fish fillet and a bowl of tomato egg flower soup. (We came her during their happy hours so they had a bunch of snack menus for $ 3.95-$ 4.95.)
Verdict:
XLBs = ehhhh, skin was too thick for me. The minimal soup they had in them weren’t too bad, but I have to definitely say this would get a 2 star rating from me. Kinda sad.
Green onion pancakes = no no no no! omg it tasted full of butter! wtf? all bad to me because green onion pancakes should NEVER taste like butter!
Fried chicken wings = the bf was disappointed because they came out looking like salt and peppered chicken wings, which he didn’t want. Taste-​wise I guess it was mediocre.
Fried fish fillet = Gag me… they were NOT fillets. they were tiny medium sized deep fried fishes with their heads and tails! yuck! FAIL
Tomato egg flower soup = the only thing we ordered that I actually enjoyed. It wasn’t too salty or too thick. Some places put so much cornstarch in these soups, it’s gross! The bf however commented that he didn’t care for the tofu they had in it. Instead he rather have had more tomato flavors in the broth.
I think I won’t need to come back here again. Thanks though.

Dinner for two since it’s just the mom and me and she says anything but Chinese food. However, she asks if I like XLBs (Xiao Lung Baos), and of course, who doesn’t?! Apparently Spicy Element doesn’t count when she refers to Chinese food.
* 201. Shanghai Style Steamed Pork Dumpling (8/​$ 6.95) — They steam them on a piece of paper (and in the steamer) and I notice that they tend to stick more when they are steamed on paper versus on cabbage. Therefore, we only got a few that were still complete with the soup in them. They were piping hot, the ones with soup, and meaty inside. Served with red vinegar and sliced ginger.
* 204. Homemade Green Onion Pancake ($ 4.95) — Two pancakes, so it’s rather generous for just two people. Nice texture and light too.
* 610. Bean Curd Sheet, Preserved Vegetable, and Soy Bean ($ 7.95) — My mom asked for this in Chinese and I think this is the English translation of it. But it’s reminisce of something I see served at dim sum. The bean curd is crispy since it just left the deep fryer, and the inside has ‘jai’ in it.
* 614. Preserved Vegetable with Shredded Bean Jelly ($ 7.95) — We saw the picture of it and looked different, so we gave it go. Ours actually had fresh green vegetables as opposed to the advertised preserved veggies in it. As a result, it has a fresher taste to it and I think the preserved veggies would have made the whole dish taste different.
Service was fine. This place was steadily busy on a Saturday night. The hot ticket item we saw was the deep fried intestines. It looked like everyone was getting it that night. I guess Spicy Element doesn’t count as your typical Chinese restaurant since we ordered things we normally wouldn’t have gotten if Dad was around.

I can’t believe I still haven’t written a review for this place. Spicy Element is possibility my favorite casual dining restaurant. I love suggest this place for friends and families here. I wouldn’t come here on first date though. Anyways, one reviewer wrote that different dishes deserves different ratings… DUH! So here I’m, giving you a guide to what’s good and what’s pass-​able.
Likes:
Stinky Tofu: Only served on the weekend if I remember correctly. My love for stinky tofu is comparing to my hate for durain. It’s not for everyone, but I bet you would order it if you were a fan. It’s basically deep fried tofu cubes served with hotsauce on the side. I asked them for mustard but they didn’t have any. Bummer.
Pot Sticker: I love dumplings with juice coming out when you bite into it. This place never fails in that element and the skin is crispy when they serve it.
Shanghai dumplings: Good enough. If I can only choose one appetitizer, I would go for the pot stickers. But this is second.
Cold Spicy Chicken: Another tasty app for spicy-​lovers. Must-​try.
Szechun cold noodle: This dish is guranteed to wake up your taste buds. It’s best when it’s icy cold and spicy. Imagine eating the japanese soba with a huge kick. Man I love this dish. I can’t find this anywhere else. However, I had it when it wasn’t as cold and I had to send it back. So whenever I ordered it, I would remind them to make sure it’s really cold because that’s where the magic is at.
Vegetable rice with pork belly: This is as common to shanghai cuisine as fried rice to cantonese, but it’s done extremely well. The dish is cooked in a stone pot and the rice is infused with the «pok choi» flavors. It’s topped with about 10 slices of pork belly for some saltiness. Must order for big parties. You can forget the fried rice now.
: I can’t find the english name for this. It’s a combination for pork blood cubes, intestines, and chiles. You may be turned off by the ingredients, but it’s another one of those stinky tofu dish. I personally love it alot. It’s super spicy and flavorful. Yes it’s different, but why eat out and order ordianary food when you can try something different. But if you aren’t a fan or spice and organs, you should just skip it.
Lunch Menu: Their lunch menu are riceplates/​noodles that cost less than $ 6. It would take you awhile to try everything. But sweet and sour pork is very good. Who doesn’t love deep fried pork with the sauce? And if you order to-​go, it’s less than $ 6 for a good meal. Their sauteed green beans with beef is really tasty too, especially for health conscious peeps.
Steam Rice: Their chef has mastered their rice cooker and ratio of water/​rice. It’s consistently good. It’s never too hard or too pasty. Ever had the experience where you know something is good the moment you stick an utensil in it? I have this all the time when I pick up the rice with my chopsticks. I love their rice.
I love bold flavors and the above dishes are definitely grabs your attention.
Things you can skip:
Shanghai chow mein/​thick noodle: It’s not bad but not good either. Maybe I’m just calloused by fried rice/​chow mein. Unless it’s cooked with magic dust, I am gonna skip this.
I wish I can view their menus so I can name stuff that’s missable. I’ll update once I visit again.
I wish I live a bit closer cuz every chinese restaurants on Ocean Avenue sucks. I wouldn’t say this place is $$ because it feels closer to $. For the quality of food and its price, it is definitely one of my go-​to place for casual dining.
I love this place.

Spicy Element reminds me of my friend Amber from Cal. Call me a spicy Asian dish and I will love you forever.
Back to Spicy Element where nothing I’ve had was really all that spicy. I’ve been there a few times and while the first time I loved everything, the next couple of visits left something to be desired. In the end, like anywhere else, it all comes down to what you order.
I really like the green beans, with our without the bacon, and the Yubei boiled fish. The Shanghai style noodles were good when not burned and the pork dumplings were decent too. The 3 cup desktop chicken (I still don’t understand the name) and the Chongquing chicken were both dry, too salty and almost inedible.
The portions are large, the prices are decent and the service is good but dealing with the parking lot for this shopping center during peak hours is a nightmare. Luckily, I don’t eat until late.

One of my college girlfriends suggested a Shanghainese restaurant for our get-​together dinner. When the rest of us arrived and saw the location (inside the Skyline Plaza) and the name (Spicy Element), we were quite skeptical.
On the inside, it looked more like a trendy Asian dessert place than a restaurant. Clean. Modern. Glowing lights. Since my girlfriend is more knowledgeable with the cuisine, we let her handle the ordering.
Us 4 girls shared:
Westlake Watercress Beef Soup (
): I’ve never been a fan of this soup in general, but the one here is on par. Nice consistency and array of ingredients. Dash of white pepper to finish. Solid soup.
Shanghai Soup Dumplings (
): The skin was dry. And although the filling was moist on the inside, there was not enough broth to make them taste like soup dumplings.
Spicy Chicken (
): The dish may look intimidating with all the chili flakes and chili peppers, but it was only mild in spiciness. Nice chewy bites of chicken. Tasty!
Pork Belly Clay Pot Rice (
): My favorite of the night! It reminded me of my Sichuan dining experience in Hong Kong where they serve pork fat in bottles and you are to mix it in your rice along with soy sauce. It’s a bit greasy but the fat makes the rice so fragrant and delicious! This clay pot, although served differently, brought me back to that wonderful experience.
Preserved Greens with Mung Bean Sheets (
): These sheets are made from mung bean starch. Formed into thin layers, the cooked sheets are translucent and chewy in texture. It’s an uncommon dish to find, and when you do it is often listed as a specialty in various restaurants. To stir-​fry the bean sheets with preserved greens is a simple common dish. However, the one here was quite dry, bland and uninspired.
The good thing? Their portions. The claypot was especially big. Barely got through half of it. Tons of leftovers.
3.5 stars. Would consider my return if I’m ever in the area.

Came here yesterday with my boyfriend for dinner and the place was practically empty when we got there at 6:30pm, however there were a few more tables by the time we left. After reading that so many people liked their Xiao Long Baos (Shanghai Dumplings) and Spicy Wontons, we of course ordered that. A few people mentioned that their fried rice is good so we tried the Grandma’s Fried Rice as well and added the Be for Good Chicken Wings, which is a chef’s special.
The spicy wontons were my favorite dish and I would give them a ⁴⁄₅. The xiao long baos were decent… pretty moist and juicy. The fried rice and the chicken wings were really ordinary dishes. Neither had much taste to it so I ended up dipping everything in the spicy wonton sauce and adding lots of chili to it… meh.
Our bill came to about $ 32 before tip, which is a little expensive for mediocre Chinese food. For that, they get 2.5 stars.
P. S. They do have lunch specials and happy hour specials for $ 3.95-$ 4.95 but nothing on the menu caught my eye.

I wish I came onto Unilocal before coming here.
My mom and I went anticipating cheap, good food, but we didn’t get that. We walked knowing that they have a special with 3 dishes for $ 19.95, so we sat down and looked at the menu. We didn’t see any menu for this special and had to ask the waitress to have that «Specials Menu.» The menu had a split between Szechuan and Shanghainese cuisine (like everyone else has said) and we couldn’t decide on what to eat. I’ve heard some good things about the Ma Po Tofu, so we decided to get that. We also order salt and pepper rock cod and sweet and sour pork.
The meal started with soup that tasted really good. Too bad the waitress took away the big bowl a soup before actually finishing all the soup in it.
The Salt and Pepper Rock Cod came out and we were puzzled at the appearance. The dish looked like fish and chips with a few peppers. Very interesting.
The Sweet and Sour Pork came out and looked like Sweet and Sour Pork. It tasted pretty decent. This dish a A-​okay until packing it up home when we found a piece that was just fat. Very gross!
The Ma Po Tofu came out. I expected Tofu cooked in an almost gravy-​like sauce, but my expectations were shot down. If there is one word that can describe this dish, it would be ‘OIL’. Chinese have this type of spiciness called «Numbingly spicy» and that’s exactly what this tofu dish was like. It was oily and numbingly spicy. Nothing like I’ve ever eaten except when I have the numbingly spicy soup base for hot pot.
I felt bad for my mom who cannot eat too spicy and they didn’t even have any warning on the menu about how spicy the dishes were. The waitresses were rather rude and were not helpful what-​so-​ever.
Overall, this restaurant has some positives, but the negatives drag it too far down.
**I want to add that the portions are small and they charge $ 1.50 for a bowl of rice. **

i’m moving to Shanghai in a month and I’m now starting to think that my stomach has subconsciously convinced my brain to make this decision. Shanghainese food is amazing… noodle soups and dumplings galore. My whole family loves Spicy Element and we always end up ordering way too much.
My personal favorites are the spicy wontons and xiaolongbaos! perfectly wrapped dumplings oozing with flavor and hot soup. We also order the noodles with deep fried pork chops and the fried rice in a stone pot with spinach and ham.
i also brought my boyfriend who has never tried Shanghainese food here and he loved it. In fact, he wrote the review right below this one. haha don’t make fun of us and our cheesy couple coordinated reviews!

I went here with my girlfriend and her family. It was my first time eating Shanghai-​nese foods. It was fantastic.
Lion head — i basically got this dish because i was curious to try it and it was pretty good.
spicy won-​ton — These are the best appetizer I have ever had ever, if you go here get them! Perfect amount of spice and flavor.
shanghai dumplings — Delicious
spicy chicken wings — These wings were better than any of the wings I have had at Buffalo bell. Perfect amount of spice to get my nose to perspire.
noodles with deep fried pork chop — This was a really good starter dish the pork chop was cooked to perfection and this broth and the broth from the lion head meat balls should be put on tap and added to the menu alone.

It was a cold unfoggy day in Daly City, (surprisingly) when we decided to give Spicy Element a try. The place was pretty busy on a Sunday afternoon at 1:00pm but we only waited 5 minutes before getting a table.
Lots of Sichuan and Shanghainese dishes here although the wait staff spoke Cantonese and they served HK style milk tea (go figure).
We ordered the green onion pancakes (very thin and small portionand not worth the $ 3), the shao lung bao (it comes in 6 or 8 and they steam it to order) which was decent but certainly not the best I’ve had. We also had their spicy fish and beef soup and that was the kicker of the meal! Wow, it was spicy and flavorful! I felt like I was burning a slight hole in my stomach but it tasted so good especially since it was cold. It doesn’t come with rice (the waiter says you can eat it as is but I say don’t try it).
The hot and cold milk teas were only so-​so. Skip the drinks and go next door for that after your meal.
Definitely interested in trying the rest of their menu the next time we are in Daly City!

Sushi Tani had a line ten people deep and so we decided to try Spicy Element instead, really based on the name alone.
The menu at Spicy Element is split between Sichuan and Shanghainese food. Didn’t bother with xiao long bao, since I’m picky about the quality of my dumplings and didn’t want to chance disappointment. Instead we shared the Sichuan style water boiled beef and fish and ginger paste fried rice with chicken.
Water boiled beef/​fish were clay pot style, with tender chunks of meat covered in chili oil. The flavored seemed a little diluted, but still really nice and spicy. The rice was nothing short of awesome– it had an smokiness that I associate with the fried rice I’ve eaten in asia. The two types of homemade chili sauce on the table went well with the rice too. Huge portions and we had plenty of leftovers– not bad for about $ 12 pp.
I really wanted tan tan noodles but couldn’t seem to find them on the menu. Then after we’d ordered, I noticed a separate lunch menu with a host of tasty looking items, including said noodles. Wonder why they don’t serve them for dinner too?

Had I walked around the mall and realized there are more promising options, I would not have come here… but I was with my brother and sister and this was the place my sister suggested.
Spicy Element — I had high hope… I love spicy food. When we walked in, I didn’t like the décor — it just feel like a fusion modern place, not a place for authentic good Sichuan or Shanghai food.
What we ordered:
2 cold sweet soy milk — they are serve in glasses, not bowls — $ 1.95/each — it was pretty good
couple beef — $ 6.95 — this is a cold appetizer of thinly sliced beef stomach and shank tossed in spicy oil — it’s ok, the shank was like preserved meat
sliced bacon cut pork — $ 6.95 — another cold appetizer of thinly sliced fatty pork drenched in garlic, soy sauce and hot oil — not bad
steamed pork dumpling (XLB) — $ 6.95 — you get 8 in a steamed basket served with a side of vinegar with sliced ginger — ok
cabbage pork dumpling — $ 5.95 — the filling is the same as the XLB
green onion pancake — $ 2.95 — super thin and oily, not enough green onion flavor
shanghai style steep rice — $ 7.25 — rice in soup, very salty
stir fried hand cut homemade noodle — $ 7.95 — this was the best dish of the meal — the hand cut noodle was thick and chewy
deep fried fermented tofu (stinky tofu) — $ 5.95 — not bad, not stinky enough but better than many places

Chem 101 –The Periodic Table.
Elements are broken down into three known categories: Metals, Nonmetals, and Metalloids.
Recently I’ve discovered a new category through numerous tests and countless hours of research: it’s called Spicy.
Please, please. Keep your applause to a minimum.
I don’t expect my name to be uttered in the same breath as Mendeleev or to be nominated for the Nobel, but for the sake of science and all my hard work, I do ask you to continue reading.
All kidding aside, I had hoped this place had better food.
The couple times I passed by, it was bustling and when I saw the menu on window, there was potential for interesting eats.
Alas, my visit yielded nada.
We ordered the Shanghai noodles, sweet and sour short ribs, and the eggplant and basil dish. I just have one word to describe the food: Spicy. I’m kidding. It was all Meh.
The noodles were especially bad. They weren’t fresh at all. I mean how long have they’ve been storing it in the fridge? And did they have to add an extra sprinkling of Meh?
For a second, I thought about bringing folks who may know what to order but I would never want to subject anyone’s taste buds to this level of blandness.
Overall, I don’t doubt the existence of the legendary Spicy Element, but it most certainly doesn’t exist here.

7.19.08: Now this is what I’m talking about. Something different from the same old Chinese Food. Shanghai type restaurant. We ordered the frog legs, I knew everything weird would taste like chicken so it didn’t hurt to try it. It was cold so soup was a must. We also ordered chicken and a cucumber dish.
I would say if there wasn’t that many bones to the frog legs it would have been excellent. I really liked the chicken dish alot and the soup was not too shabby as well. I was looking at all the other dishes and lets just say I would need to come back here and try some more.
Good flavoring!