28 Jan Z & Y Featured on ‘Check Please! Bay Area’

Check, Please! Bay Area is a beloved Bay Area television program featuring guests and eateries as diverse the local region itself. During each episode of this Emmy Award-winning program, three local diners are cast as restaurant critics and share their favorite spots.

As the Bay Area’s top Sichuan restaurant, and one of the top overall Chinese restaurants in the region, Z & Y Restaurant has the honor of being featured on a recent episode. Below is the video and and a partial transcript of the program (from the portion that features Z & Y with minor edits for brevity and clarity):

‘Check Please!’ Z & Y Segment Transcript

Leslie Sbrocco: (02:09)
But first, retired attorney and fulltime mom of three boys and Amber Brumfiel recommends one of the hottest Sichuan restaurants in the city known for catering to tourists, locals, presidents, and foreign ministers alike. This is Z & Y Restaurant.

Michelle Zhang: (02:33)
Hi, I’m Michelle. Welcome to Z & Y Restaurant. Z and Y are my initials. Z is from my last name. Y is from my Chinese name. Chen Han had been working for a five star hotel in Beijing. So after 10 years he began working for the Chinese Consulate and cooked for two Chinese presidents. We met when he was working for the Chinese Consulate.

I love the Kung Pao chicken because it’s a very authentic Sichuan dish, very flavorful and just a perfect balance of a little sweet and spicy. I love this dish. I like to talk to the customers. We have a lot of local customers and tourists because the food is very authentic and very good.

Amber Brumfiel: (03:54)
I always, always start with the numbing beef tendon. They take cooked tendon and they shave it thinly and they put it in red oil. The red oil is a term of art. And it’s flavored with Sichuan peppercorns and five spices, those warm flavors. But it’s just this plate of ribbons of tendon, but the texture is amazing. And you taste one and you can have a friend there that says they won’t do texture things and they love it.

I always also get the innocuously named Sichuan-style chicken. Chicken with skin on, but you can tell it’s a high quality chicken because the skin’s yellow. Hacked, put in the oil, the red oil, and it’s outrageous. The chicken tastes marinated and then of course the red oil is really, really flavorful as well.

David Tsai: (04:45)
I had the the house cold noodles, and the noodles, the flavors were very light. Even if it was spicy, I felt like there’s a lightness to it and a brightness to it. I wish it was bigger though. Right? It was one of my favorites.

Stephanie: (05:06)
Yeah, so we got the scallion pancake, which I really… I love getting scallion pancakes and I liked that it wasn’t super greasy and there were a lot of layers, so it was really flaky and crispy on the outside. It was nice.

David Tsai: (05:23)
Well what my favorite main dish was the crab with spicy sauce. That was absolutely like crack. The spices, the fullness of the crab, just big chunks of meat. Even though it was a little bit pricey, but I felt like it was totally worth it for me. For the portions it was great.

Amber Brumfiel: (06:33)
So I start with a cold appetizer, then I move into hot, and then I have the wontons with spicy peanut sauce. Basically it’s wontons. So the skin is thinner, but the inside, the filling’s divine and with the red oil again, it’s amazing.

Leslie Sbrocco: (06:47)
is that your only hot appetizer before you move on?

Amber Brumfiel: (06:49)
Yes, because I order two orders.

Leslie Sbrocco: (06:52)
For yourself or are you usually with a group?

Amber Brumfiel: (06:54)
This is the thing. When I have a favorite thing, I always like to make sure that it’s clear that we’ll have to get enough that I can basically have my own order so I don’t get sad.

Stephanie: (07:13)
We got the eggplant with basil, which was really nice. It was sweet. There’s a little spice, salty, garlicky which was really good. It just melted in your mouth. And that’s another go-to of mine when I go to Chinese restaurants. So I really liked it there.

Leslie Sbrocco: (07:34)
What about the Kung Fu Tea service?

Amber Brumfiel: (07:36)
It’s awesome. It’s this tea pot but with a really, really long spout. And they come around and they whip around and from far away pour the tea into the tea pot on the table. It’s quite elaborate. It’s a new thing.

Amber Brumfiel: (07:58)
You haven’t asked about the chicken.

Leslie Sbrocco: (08:01)
The chicken and explosive chili pepper. Now there is a name.

Amber Brumfiel: (08:05)
Yes. So that’s the dish. It’s just so good. It comes out in this big tray and it’s just chili peppers everywhere. And then you just dig in with your chopsticks to pull out pieces of chicken.

David Tsai: (08:18)
It’s like a treasure hunt.

Amber Brumfiel: (08:18)
It is a treasure hunt. And you’re rewarded until it’s over and you’re literally digging for the last little tiny piece, which my husband and I do. The chicken is marinated and then it’s rolled in some flour. I don’t know if it’s a rice flour to make it crunchier. But they fry it just for you. So you get the crunchiest, hottest, best chicken in this style I’ve ever had. And that’s why I think this restaurant is so outstanding. Everything else is delicious as well, but that’s just the star.

Leslie Sbrocco: (08:43)
And is it explosive? Did you guys get them?

Amber Brumfiel: (08:45)
I did order it, yeah. The chicken was tender. The batter was super crispy. I just wished it had a little bit more seasoning besides the chili peppers, but the quality was there. Just a little bit more flavor for me.

Leslie Sbrocco: (08:59)
All right, this is your restaurant. Wrap it up for us.

Amber Brumfiel: (09:01)
If you are into Sichuan food or if you think you know someone who is, I would say get down to Z & Y Restaurant and prepare to have your mind blown.

David Tsai: (09:18)
If you like Sichuan food and you’re craving some crab, I’d say check out Z & Y Restaurant because you’ll be coming back for more.