Feasting on Northern Chinese Street food prepared in a semi-fancy manner sounds great, right? Well we thought so too, so Chris, ViLO and I made our way over to Heaven's Dog for a nicer-than-usual lunch South of Market (SOMA). Nestled in the bottom of The SOMA Grand, Heaven's Dog is an inviting spot from the moment you walk in: nice host, nice staff, and a gorgeous bar erected out of a 30ft long piece of a Cypress tree that begs to draw you deeper into the main dining room. The space was designed by Lundberg Design, coincidentally the same architecture firm that designed the new luxurious first floor of Astro Studios.

We were seated instantly without prior reservations. I was wearing my “confuse them every time” Groucho glasses disguise, so I'm sure they didn't recognize me as the famous food critic restaurants all over the SOMA area have come to fear and love. We checked out the menu and ordered. I had an elderflower spritzer, and my buddies drank some Concubine oolong tea. Elderflower is delicious and makes a naturally sweet and light soda. The starters came, and we commenced to grind. The shanghai dumplings (xiaolongbao) were filled with pork, rice vinegar and ginger. These flavor vessels were delicate and scrumptious, the soup-like mixture of the ginger and vinegar softly explode into your gullet. The organic brussels sprouts came sauteed in ginger and were accompanied by thin slices of Chinese lap xuong sausage. I love brussels sprouts; I always have, I always will. The braised pork belly in steamed clam-shell bun is the dish of love. An upscale version of the best pork bun from a Chinese bakery you could ever hope to face. I could eat 15 of these and be good, but that wouldn't be a very balanced meal, now would it?

Something started to slightly annoy me before the main dishes came, and I quickly pinpointed it: overplayed classic rock. Now I don't have a huge grudge against CCR like most of my friends do, but "Proud Mary" started to clash with the modern-yet-authentic Asian cuisine, and I sadly wondered how many more times would I have to hear that song in my lifetime. Some old Bowie came next; of course it was the over-aired song "Changes," but it's at least that leaned more to my musical taste. Regardless, it was still annoying in that room at that time.

The main dishes came, Chris received Timmy’s Beef, which was flavored with ginger, scallion, jalapeno and served atop egg noodles. Chris liked the dish, but thought the jalapeños could be hotter and he gave a little shrug. Vincent ordered the pan-fried crispy noodles with scallop, ling cod, shrimp, squid and baby shiitakes. Vincent can't deny this dish is pretty bitchin', and believes it almost ties Tu Lan's #20. Good for you Heaven's Dog, that isn't easy. My chicken noodle soup came: free-range chicken, fried shallots, and wide rice noodles. Wow, what a vacant bowl of soup. My guess is that it was fat-free and sodium light because it tasted like it. Good for my heart, not so much for my taste buds.

Overall the food is superb at Heaven's Dog, but I believe during lunch the smaller dishes slay the larger ones. Go check it out, and maybe if you’re lucky "Old Time Rock and Roll" by Bob Seger won’t be your munching soundtrack.

Recap: Cool-looking and feeling bar, good oolong tea, great pork belly bun, bad soundtrack.