I've only been to the Slanted Door once before and I was excited to return. I had made reservations 2 months in advance as a surprise birthday dinner for my dad. I knew it would be the perfect setting and perfect menu for him. We arrived 30 minutes early, because I wanted a few minutes to get a cocktail and go outside to enjoy the view. It was a perfectly clear evening, about an hour before sunset, and the bay bridge was beautiful and the Oakland Hills were sparkling (I know that sounds cheesy, but they really were). I ordered a ginger limeade (which is my favorite drink that I've had there, and my dad got a french 75--- Molly and my mom had sparkling water).
We got seated and were soon asked to move tables so they could accommodate a large party-- not a great start. I was feeling a little nervous since I really wanted my dad to have a great dining experience. We were moved to a new table by the windows that, besides being under the air conditioning vents, had a better view and a better waiter. We started with a round of appetizers; live baked spot prawns, abalone w/ black chantrelles & peas, daikon rice cakes, green papaya salad (this was delicious---so thinly julienned with a delicious light dressing). Because they made us move tables the waiter brought us the fried salt & pepper wax beans with fried garlic and cherry tomatoes-- a very yummy dish. We took our time eating our appetizers and eventually put in our dinner order.
We waited for quite a while and our waiter came to the table and apologized that our order hadn't gone through. He felt badly and even though we had been waiting for quite some time, we were glad to finally know what was going on. The entrees finally appeared and everything was delicious. We had sweet corn with chantrelles & green onions, yellow snow peas with fresh baby corn & torpedo onions, caramelized tiger prawns with garlic, onions & chili sauce and cellophane noodles with dungeonous crab. The corn was some of the sweetest I've ever had, though I'm not sure the dish really needed the chantrelles. The snow peas were ok, but not my favorite dish. They had fine flavor, but the fresh baby corn were pretty fibrous {side-note: I ate the leftovers of this dish a couple days later and the baby corn were delicious. I think they just needed a little time to absorb more liquid}. The tiger prawns were plentiful and absolutely delicious. They were cooked perfectly and had a delicious sweet flavor. I loved the dungeness crab & cellophane noodle dish. There were huge pieces of crab and very light seasoning. A light and perfect dish for summer. ....then our waiter, Robert, brought us ANOTHER complimentary dish because our entrees had taken so long. The dish was butterflied shrimp with Shishito peppers & chilies. I think this might have been my favorite dish of the entire night. The shrimp were perfectly cooked and the peppers were amazing. Apparently, Slanted Door has a local farmer who grows and harvests these peppers just for them. They are small and green and wrinkly with a mild but punchy pepper taste. I loved this dish.
In the end, our great service redeemed any mistakes that were made and we had a great experience at The Slanted Door. As usual, the food is local, fresh and simply prepared to retain the integrity of the ingredients. I will definitely go back to The Slanted Door.
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