Right next to Foster City’s lagoon, Spices! offers unique dishes that send a punch of flavor to the mouth.

I ordered the Stinky Tofu, the A Vegetables, the Minced Beef with Tofu Soup, and the Szechuan Beef Noodle Soup.

The stinky tofu is a Chinese dish that lives up to its name of being extremely stinky and this dish nailed the stinky part. Their tofu was cooked until the outside had a perfect brown crust around it. The sweet sauce with the pungent taste was perfect. The dish would normally turn people away because of its smell, but you have to try this dish before you dismiss it.

Next, the A Vegetables was a really standard vegetable dish for a Chinese dinner. They were cooked right to the point where when I bit into them, they sent a refreshing burst of water into my mouth. This was a perfectly executed staple dish.

Third, the Minced Beef with Tofu Soup had an airy lightness in its taste. The dish came with bok choy, a soy sauce hard boiled egg, tofu, and beef. The bok choy’s refreshing crunch with the salty soy sauce, mixed with the rich tasting tofu and beef made a group of flavors that just complimented each other. They all worked together to bring out the flavors in the other.

Last, the Szechuan Beef Noodle Soup was like eating a chili pepper. The dish was so spicy that I am pretty sure that I began to sweat when I got halfway through my bowl. The beef was really tender and the soup was flaming hot. Even though it burned my tongue, my mouth, and my lips, I had to keep eating because it just tasted so good.

The great food was supported with good service. The waiters were nice and friendly, but it took them about twenty minutes for them to refill my cup of water after I asked. Other than that, the service did their job and performed well.

The ambiance was casual and the view of the lagoon gave the restaurant a very soothing feeling.

The bottom line: This is a great restaurant for people that like something different or something really spicy.

Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $$
Food: 5
Service: 4