Classic Tables: Betelnut

Lettuce cups with minced chicken, firecracker shrimp, Szechuan green beans: If you think you know Betelnut's food, you haven't been intrepid enough.

Yes, the lettuce leaves ($11.50), sprightly shrimp ($11.50) and blackened beans ($9.50) are all deserving fixtures. But the wisest approach at the 15-year-old restaurant involves straying from the path.

Since his arrival in 2001, chef Alexander Ong has been dappling the menu of beer-friendly small plates with dishes from his youth and his continuing travels across Asia.

The effect is startling. Goat belly ($12) is marinated in turmeric and chile before a four-hour braise. The meat is then seared and finished with a sweet-sour vinaigrette, fried shallots and a lime wedge. Mouth, prepare for a rude awakening.

Ong honors his father with a Maylasian take on carnitas ($13), inspired by Don Pisto's and made with wild boar.

Betelnut's Beggar's Chicken ($25) is edible performance art. Whole chickens are stuffed with pork and mushrooms. Then the birds are wrapped in lotus leaves and bound with clay before being baked. Tableside, a server shatters the crust with a wooden mallet.

Further evidence of the restaurant's dedication: Chef de cuisine Michael Siegel spent over a year perfecting his superb house-made mochi ($8), each filled with one of three types of chocolate.

Now what was that about lettuce cups?

Betelnut, 2030 Union St. (at Buchanan St.); 415-929-8855 or betelnutrestaurant.com