SOMA
At this sexed-up South of Market restaurant the sound system throbs with techno music and speakers in the men’s room broadcast Berlitz-style recordings of ham-fisted Vietnamese pickup lines. In a dining room decorated with bosomy fertility carvings, servers deliver modern Vietnamese dishes with plucky dipping sauces, like shrimp cupcakes (rice-flour crisps stuffed with baby prawns and scallions) and shredded five-spice duck with mango and cucumber, wrapped in spicy mustard greens. Presentations are as pretty as the people at the bar. Tammy Huynh and Anne Le, of Tamarine in Palo Alto, have worked this formula before, and it all adds up to an energized evening of eye candy and (mostly) good things to eat. The triumphs, such as lemongrass bass and pan-seared scallops with taro, zucchini, and kabocha squash in a fiery green curry, outweigh the occasional misses, like chewy, gooey rice-flour crepes with ground veal and wood ear mushrooms. With all the atmospheric touches, you pay more than you would elsewhere for a bowl of rice noodles or a chicken clay pot. Bong Su’s saving grace is that someone also pays attention to the food. 311 Third St. (at folsom st.), 415-536-5800. $$$ DRW **