The maximum rating is 5 stars.
5 stars = Excellent, Can’t Miss
4 stars = Very Good
3 stars = Good
2 stars = Fair
1 star = Mediocre
0 stars = Forget it

327 Balboa Street, San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 221-8498
Parking: limited street parking

Last Visited: March 19, 2006

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 2 to 3 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $ to $$$

Turns out that this Bay Fung Tong restaurant has an affiliation with Best Panda a number of blocks down the street.  However, Bay Fung Tong is quite a bit more spacious, and offers dim sum at lunch time.

Many of the same items at Best Panda can be found at Bay Fung Tong – large portions and fresh ingredients are trademarks of both restaurants.  The atmosphere is extremely casual with lots of fluorescent colored papers listing specials posted on the wall.  Nothing fancy, but good food at a great value is available.

This evening’s set menu for four available for $36 consisted of the following:

- Seafood soup with tofu – Hot soup is presented in plentiful portion with shrimp, fish, tofu cubes, and yellow chives.  It’s lightly thick and quite filling.  For four people, it’s more than enough to have a second helping.  Good.

- Vegetables with squid, prawns, and scallops – Snap peas or other seasonal vegetables are sautéed with squid, prawns, and scallops.  On cool evenings, this dish cools down super fast, but it’s fine on a warm night.  The seafood is fresh and the vegetables are crispy.  Good.

- Deep fried quail (3) – Three quail are deep fried and halved.  A half of lemon is served with the quail along with dry dipping seasoning.  The quail has a lot of flavor from the marinade and the dipping seasoning adds a touch of saltiness.  Today’s quail was light brown in color, and due to the size, the meat tends to taste dry around the areas where there is less flesh.  Okay.

- Ginger and green onion sautéed crab – If you’re willing to get your hands messy, this is an excellent dish with crab sautéed in a sauce that contains ginger and green onion that flavors the cooking oil and the crab.  Again, more fresh seafood and good wok air, but on a cool evening, this dish also cools down quickly.  Good.

- Clams with black bean sauce – This is one of my favorite dishes.  Black bean sauce is used to sauté a mix of clams, onions, green onions, and peppers to give the clams just a hint of heat.  Very good.

- Dessert of the day: Tapioca in coconut soup with ginger – Today’s tapioca was a little on the thick side for the soup, so the consistency tasted a little less light on the palate, but the ginger gave the dessert distinctiveness.  Okay.

- Steamed Rice $0.80 per person

The overall experience was similar to that found at Best Panda.  Great value and fresh food, but I prefer this location to the other; however, note that parking is quite difficult at Bay Fung Tong and be willing to walk a few blocks to the car.  At both Best Panda and Bay Fung Tong, the turnover rate of the food is high due to the quantity of patrons, so the food is consistently fresh, even if the presentation looks like home cooking.  I would like to check out dim sum at Bay Fung Tong sometime soon.

 

 

Best Panda - Chinese - CLOSED

4046 Balboa Street, San Francisco, CA 94121
(415) 876-3298
Parking: street parking

Last Visited: March 20, 2005

Food: 4 stars
Atmosphere: 2 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $ to $$$

Best Panda is located away from the popular Chinatown or Chinese streets (i.e. Clement, Irving). It’s a bit out of the way in the Richmond district, but the food is very good and the prices are extremely reasonable. Brenda first recommended that we try this place.

The restaurant atmosphere leaves a lot to be desired. There is little formal decoration. In fact, the place looks like it’s been wall papered with the Chinese menu – computer printouts of specials in Chinese and English with their respective prices are taped next to one another along most of the walls. The tables are family style with rows of rectangular tables together in the center of the room and large circular tables along the walls. The bathrooms could use a makeover – they’re not pretty. If you’re going for the food, this is the place to be. If you’re going for the setting, this restaurant needs to be dismissed from you list.

Around meal times, the restaurant is packed, so arrive early if you have a small party and make sure to make a reservation if you have a large party. There are two dining areas. The doors open immediately to the first dining area, and Best Panda has their second dining area in the unit next door, just a couple steps up from the main room.

The price is incredibly reasonable. Best Panda could be called Best Value. In Chinese, Best Panda has chosen the name that literally translates to ‘very good flavor’, and they live up to the name. Presentation of the food is average, but the focus is on the flavor.

I have tried numerous dishes, so I will only list a sampling.

- Geoduck soup – Fresh geoduck is cooked to perfection in a lovely soup. The flavors of the soup contents marry to create an impeccable seafood soup, sweet with the flavors from the sea. We ordered the soup which is sold based on the weight of the conch, and the portion was good enough for six to eight people.

- Minced Beef and Tofu Soup – Small pieces of beef are cooked in soup with tofu cubes and green peas and cilantro.  The ingredients have great color and freshness.  The soup has a light consistency – just enough to coat the back of a spoon.  Very good.

- Sauteed seasonal vegetables – Interestingly enough, you can make mistakes with the simplest food, like cooking Chinese gai lan (aka Chinese broccoli), Ong choy, gai choy, and even green beans. Best Panda pairs these vegetables with their common seasonings and does an excellent job and serving tender greens that come out green and holding intense flavor.

- Deep Fried Sandab with Soy sauce – A large fish is deep fried and served with soy sauce and chopped green onions. The fish is fried to a lovely golden brown, and the fish is hot and cooked to retain its juices.  It’s crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, and absolutely fresh.  Note that the head and tail are still on this fish.  It’s not boneless, but the bones are easy to pick out.

- Clams with black bean sauce – I have tried the large clams where you have only one clam, but it’s a huge clam chopped into small chuncks. I have also tried the typical small clams. Both were very good. They do an excellent job of sautéing to perfection– the clams remain tender and are not overcooked.  The black bean sauce flavor envelops the clam for great flavor and the jalapenos give it a little kick.

Standard dishes such as beef with greens are also available and they do a great job with those as well.  My most recent visit included a wide variety of dishes in the family set meal.  Portions are huge for these.  Everything was served steaming hot and was extremely fresh.

- Chicken and Pork Shark Fin Soup – Slivers of Chicken and pork are cooked with the shark fin in a thick broth.  Good.

- Seafood with Vegetables – Shrimp, squid, and scallops are cooked with broccoli.  Carrots are also added for color.  The sauce is a translucent white and slightly creamy.  Good.

- Spareribs in Sweet Orange Sauce  - These spare ribs are more like small pork chops.  The meat is deep fried and then stir fried in a sweet and sour dark orange sauce.  The deep fried breading keeps the meat juicy and the tangy sauce works well with the pork.  Good.

- Ginger and Green Onion Crab – Crab is cut into small pieces and sautéed with ginger slices and green onion.  The sauce infuses into the crab.  It takes a good effort to dig the crab out of its shell, but it’s worth it.  Very good.

- Green Onion Flavored Chicken – Chicken is cooked in a salt broth and chopped into small pieces.  Green onion slivers top the chicken, and the chicken is accompanied with a boil of chopped ginger in oil.  The green onion nicely accents the chicken, and the ginger adds a nice blend of flavor to both.  The chicken is tender and not overcooked.  Very good.

- Two kinds of Mushrooms with Vegetables – Straw mushrooms and Chinese black mushrooms are served on top of mustard greens in a thick sauce.  The mushrooms were tender, and the mustard greens were tender, but still crunchy.  Good.

- Yangchow Fried Rice – Rice is fried with tiny shrimp, diced barbecued pork, peas, diced carrots, and egg.  The rice grains remain separate, and the mixture was fresh and flavorful.  It’s light in color and the flavors blend well.  Very good.

- Spicy Salted Prawns – Prawns with their head, tail, and shell still on them are coated with a light batter and deep fried.  The prawns are then tossed with sliced jalapeno peppers until they are just a little bit spicy.  The prawns are fresh, but since they aren’t deveined, some may find them a little powdery.  The light batter makes them slightly crispy, and the combination of flavors is great. 

- Green Bean Dessert – Dried green beans are boiled in water until the concoction reaches a soup-like consistency.  Sugar is added to the mix and the liquid with beans is served hot.  This is a typical Chinese dessert, but rather than red beans, they have used green beans. 

The upside and downside is that after the soup is served, all the dishes from the set menu come at once.  It doesn’t leave much room at the table, but it is certainly an appetizing feast.  Another down side is that they don’t change your plates, so when eating these large meals, you’ll have a huge pileup of bones.  You get more food than you can eat, but as for service, there are definitely areas for improvement.

Also, beware of the slippery floor.  With its fast pace, the staff sometimes spills here and there unintentionally, and the floor can be a bit slippery.  If you don’t have to use the bathroom, don’t.  It also has slippery floors and isn’t particularly neat. 

Since there are so many people frequenting Best Panda, the food turnover is incredible. Everything must be fresh since everything is getting served. There isn’t enough left over to keep beyond shelf life. That’s another great aspect of Best Panda – freshness. The downside of the numerous patrons is that there is a certain feeling of being rushed. Food doesn’t always come in the order of appetizer then main dish then soup, though they will do that when they can. When you have finished your meal, if you stay too long to chat, your start getting signals that it’s time to go. This is common courtesy at these types of restaurants that have long lines outside. If you can dismiss the setting, you’ll love the food. It’s hot, fresh, and flavorful.

Bocce Cafe - Italian

478 Green St, San Francisco CA 94133
(415) 981-2044
Parking: street parking
Hours: Sun – Thurs 11am to 9:30pm (closed 3:30 to 5pm), Fri-Sat 11am to 10pm (closed 4 to 5 pm)

Last Visited: June 19, 2008

Food: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

We visited Bocce for a group dinner, so we had a limited selection of dishes to choose from, but it was a full three course meal.  There is a large bar area and indoor seating as well as a covered outside patio in the rear.  Upon our arrival, we were brought glasses of ice water and seated at two long tables covered with a white tablecloth.  Olive oil and balsamic vinegar are placed on the table and bread is served in a basket.

- House Salad – Mixed greens are lightly dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette.  It’s a sweet dressing and the greens are fresh.  Good, but not special.  $4.50

- Meat Lasagna – A sweet tomato sauce is placed in and over lasagna noodles layered with meat and cheese in an individual dish.  The noodles were soft and the flavors were great.  The cheese was browned nicely on top without being too dry.  My only concerns about the lasagna were that it could have had more meat and there was a piece of sausage that had not been broken up well, leaving casing over sausage within my lasagna.  Without that, I would have increased the food rating by half a star.  $10.95

- Tiramisu – The tiramisu was served as a square cut from a pan of a larger tiramisu.  Dusted with cocoa, the layers of ladyfingers were delicate.  Although the presentation was simple and the texture was light, the flavors were bland and I only ate about half of the dessert.  This is extremely rare for me so it shows my disappointment in the dish.

Restroom stalls are crowded and small so you may wish to leave all personal belongings at the table before visiting the restroom.

Considering the warm day, the water needed to be refilled more frequently. Also, since we had a limited menu, there shouldn’t have been as much of a wait, but several of our dining companions had to wait at least an additional 10 minutes after everyone else had received food before getting theirs.  This was a bit disappointing.  However, the flavors are okay, and I would be willing to return to order a la carte from the menu.  The restaurant is a good place for group gatherings on warm days since the patio is comfortable and spacious.
 

Burma Superstar - Burmese

309 Clement St, San Francisco CA 94118
(415) 387-2147
Parking: street parking
Hours: Sun – Thurs 11am to 9:30pm (closed 3:30 to 5pm), Fri-Sat 11am to 10pm (closed 4 to 5 pm)

Last Visited: December 30, 2005

Food: 4 stars
Atmosphere: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 4 to 5 stars
Price: $ to $$$

Burma Superstar is a very popular hangout in the Richmond.  It’s a cozy place with great aromas of warm spices.  On any given weekend evening, you’ll find the place packed with a growing waiting list.  In winter, if you’re not there right when it opens, you’ll wait about an hour and fifteen minutes before the next set of tables will become available.  There’s a park bench outside and a few precious cushioned seats inside, but otherwise, you’ll be standing around.  Toby and Uncle J suggested Burma Superstar as a great place to try.

Burma Superstar has been open since 1992.  The windows in the front bring in some natural light.  One wall has bench seating and the colors of the room are green, white, and rich burgundy.  The back wall is painted burgundy and there are mirrors that make the room appear larger.  The columns in the room are covered with cloth and beads.  There are also interesting lanterns with bright blues that look like jewels in the room.  Some of the other decorations displayed include Burmese wood figures, funky vases, tapestries, masks, framed pictures, and fans.  There are also fresh orchids and potted plants around the room. 

As you enter the restaurant, the fragrant spices wrap around you.  When seated, water is served.  The tables are covered with a white tablecloth and a glass tabletop.  Chopsticks, forks, and white plates are set on the table.

On weekdays, Burma Superstar offer lunch specials around $7 to $10 each plate.  For $1.50 more, you can add a Thai iced tea or ginger lemonade to your lunch.  Many of the dishes are served on white square and rectangular plates adding a feeling of clean lines to the presentation.

- Tea Leaf Salad – A bed of chopped romaine is placed over extra virgin olive oil.  On top of the romaine are diced red tomatoes and fermented Burmese tea leaves.  In small piles surrounding the lettuce are peanuts (sometimes these are replaced with sunflower seeds), dried shrimp powder, chopped jalapenos, fried garlic slices, lentils, and sesame seeds.  A wedge of lemon is squeezed over the tea leaves and the server mixes the salad in front of you.  For newcomers, the server reviews the list of ingredients indicating each one on the plate.  After all of the ingredients have been mixed, the server leaves the table.  This salad has a very refreshing and nutty flavor.  It’s a signature dish at Burma Superstar and almost every table can be seen ordering it.  Each item offers richness to the flavor combination and the salad has a great mouth feel.  The lemon lightens and brightens the mixture.  5 stars – A must try.  $7.75

- Burmese Samusas (with chicken or vegetarian) – Triangular shaped pastries are filled with potatoes, curry, and spices.  The menu describes them as raviolis.  The filling is wrapped in an eggroll wrapper and deep fried until golden brown.  The pastry is served with a sweet and sour sauce.  After eating the tea leaf salad, my palate had been overwhelmed, so though the filling looked well seasoned, it was very mild.  The wrapper is very crisp and light.  I would recommend eating this before the tea leaf salad or ahead of other dishes to get the full effect. 
The samusas are also available with chicken.  Good. $7.75

- On Noh Kauswer (Coconut Chicken Noodle Soup) – Noodles are cooked with chicken and sliced onions in a coconut soup.  Right before the soup is served, fried wonton skins are mixed in with the noodles to give extra texture and thickness.  By the time they have reached the table, the wonton skins are softened.  Fresh lemon juice is squeezed into the bowl to lighten the richness of the coconut milk.  This was very filling, but also very unique.  The soup is thick and rich with the coconut soup coating each noodle.  Without the lemon, this would be too much, but the lemon juice adds just the right balance.  Good.  $8.75

- Nan Gyi Dok (Mild Coconut Chicken Rice Noodle Curry) – Thick rice noodles are tossed with chicken, softened fried wonton skins, sliced onions, and a mild coconut curry sauce.  Unlike the on noh kauswer soup, this is a much lighter sauce (with a flavor similar to the soup) that gently coats the noodles.  The nan gyi dok is presented on a square white dish.  You can eat an extra serving of this dish without feeling too full.  Good. $8.50

- Tofu Vegetable Kebat – Tofu is stir fried with onions, yellow squash, carrots, string beans, tomatoes, and green chilis.  The sauce is a bit red in color.  Although I couldn’t find the green chilis, I did notice some Thai basil.  This was a colorful assortment, but I didn’t care for the way the tofu was cooked.  Much better dishes can be found elsewhere.  $8.75

- Burmese Style Curry (Beef or Mutton available) – This evening, I selected beef.  Large pieces of beef are stewed in curry until absorbing lots of the spices.  It’s a rich brown color with great flavor.  Tender and delicious.  Good.  $10.75 beef/$11.75 mutton

During my evening visit, they were training one of the servers.  Their efforts were very detailed and it reflects their dedication to quality in service.  Service for my lunch visit was good.  They’re friendly folks, but waiting for the check can often require flagging down someone.

Overall, my two experiences at Burma Superstar (once for lunch and once for dinner) were very good.  The service is friendly and not intrusive.  The wait can be long, but the fare is unique.  The tea leaf salad is a must try.  A terrific place to check out.

Capp's Corner - Italian/Sports Bar

1600 Powell Street, San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 989-2589
Parking: street parking

Last Visited: June 5, 2004

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 4 stars
Service: 4 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

Capp’s Corner is a neat place. When you walk in, you can just soak in the atmosphere. The place is dimly lit. The bar is on your immediate left. Note that it’s a sports bar, so if a game is on, it’s pretty noisy. That’s part of the charm. It’s conveniently located next to Beach Blanket Babylon.

All around, you’ll see brown wood paneling, and in the back, in red letters it says Capp’s with white lights all through the letters. All around the room are photos of Italian boxers, local sports icons, and movie stars. The tables are laminated with red and white checkers, and there is a definite feeling of San Francisco in the establishment. If you ever visited New Pisa, you will now be directed to Capp’s Corner just a block and a half away.

Long ago in Oakland, I loved dining at Bertola’s for the family style dinners, and a friend recommended we try New Pisa which is how we found Capp’s. Dinner here is available family-style. Most dinners are $14.50 or $16.50. Also included with dinner is a tureen of hearty soup and green salad with beans and creamy italian dressing.

Bread arrives at the table after ordering. The only thing that could make it better would be having it warm from the oven.

- Soup – The soup is always minestrone served in a tureen family style. Very hearty and flavorful, it hits the spot on a cold evening. The vegetables are tender but not overcooked and the green beans have a bright color to them. I could eat this soup anytime.

- Salad - Green salad with garbanzo and kidney beans, dressed with creamy italian dressing and topped with beets are served in a stainless steel bowl. Presentation isn’t important on this one. All the vegetables were very fresh.

I like to order what people often feel is the most simple food. It's a great test for a restaurant. If they can't cook something simple, how can they go beyond that?

- Spaghetti and meatballs - Two large meatballs are topped with spaghetti and meat sauce to create a heaping plateful of hearty flavor. The meatballs are large. They are not overly dense or overly flimsy. The spaghetti, though appearing to be cooked too soft is actually al dente. Even on the first bite, it seems to have gotten too soft, but start to chew, and you'll notice the al dente texture. The sauce is hearty and complex. The flavors have married and the overall dish is great. It's not perfect, but it is really good. And considering the overall cost of the dinner, you'll find the value exceptional.

- Fettucine with prawns - Al dente fettucine is served with eight prawns in a butter garlic sauce. A fresh lemon wedge tops the entire dish. It’s simple and oh so good. The prawns have a lobster like texture and are very meaty. What more can you ask for?

Upon my second visit, as opposed to the first one made in January 2004, I found that the prices had increased 50 cents. Not too bad compared to many of its counterparts. The pasta dishes are now $15 and the meat entrees are $17. New York Steak is available for $19.

- Herbed Leg of Lamb – Three slices of lamb cut from the bone and cooked medium rare are topped with luscious gravy and served with pasta marinara (tonight was penne) and herbed mixed vegetables (zucchini, yellow squash, and carrots). Even the vegetables were delicious. The scent of the lamb was fragrant as it arrived at the table and tasted just as heavenly. It’s tender texture and great flavoring makes it a must try. Don’t worry about the medium rare – after the gravy tops the lamb, it’s perfect.

- Fish of the day – This evening, the catch was snapper with a lemon butter caper sauce. This fish was to die for. A generous filet of snapper is lightly floured and browned until golden brown. The fish is then topped with a light but creamy lemon butter caper sauce. It was heavenly. The edge of the fish was browned just right leaving a perfect texture that was slightly crisp while the center remained moist and flaky. Very fresh and delicious. The fish was also served with a vegetable medley (see above) and pasta marinara. Excellent!

I bumped up the food rating from 3 to 4 stars to simply 4 stars. I was most impressed with how the restaurant handled food quality. Despite a full house at the tables and the bar, our dishes were top quality and better than my initial visit. Pasta dishes are good, but the meat entrees are awesome. The chef was right on the money the night of my second visit, and I would highly recommend this place, especially if you are willing to try the fish of the day.

Capp’s is a bargain and a great place to go. There were a few large parties that evening, and it didn’t feel too loud or too crowded. It’s great Italian food, and it’s a cozy spot for great family style Italian dinners with a taste of San Francisco. Check it out.

China First - Chinese

336 Clement St, San Francisco CA 94118
(415) 387-8370
Open Daily: 11am to 11:30 pm
Parking: street parking, pay parking lots nearby

Last Visited: June 20, 2004

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: $ to $$$

China First has been open for quite some time. Despite the changes of ownership at restaurants nearby, China First contains to maintain its clientele. It calls itself a seafood restaurant, and they do have a wide selection of seafood, but most people go for its extremely reasonable prices and good food.

Upon entering the restaurant, you’ll see the wood paneling covering the entirety of the walls. In the back of the restaurant is a large seafood tank, divided to house live shrimp, fish, geoduck, crab, lobster, and whatever else is in season. Also on the walls are white boards listing specialties in both Chinese and English. These specials include the various seafood dishes, clay pots, and seasonal vegetables. The décor is not upscale, but it’s clean and to some, the selection of specials alone may seem overwhelming.

An example of its excellent prices include the all day specials list where each item is priced at $3.85. There are more than 35 dishes to choose from.

- Geoduck two ways – Geoduck is prepared in two ways – soup and stir fried/sauteed with vegetables. The geoduck is prepared in soup with thinly sliced ginger, preserved duck egg, soft tofu cubes, and straw mushrooms and finished with fresh cilantro. The soup was very good, succulent and flavorful; the geoduck is infused in the broth. The sautéed geoduck is thinly sliced and stir fried with snow peas, carrots, straw mushrooms, celery, and onions. This geoduck was very good also. Presentation is average, but the preparation is very typical and the crispness of the geoduck definitely came through. You can also tell the chef’s skills by how thinly sliced the geoduck is, and here it was very thinly sliced. If you like seafood, you’ll enjoy these dishes. $15 per lb (seasonal prices)

- Broccoli with Deep Fried Tofu – Tofu blocks are deep fried until golden brown and sauteed. Then the tofu is placed atop broccoli flowerettes and the sauce from the tofu sauté is drizzled over the tofu and broccoli. Nice, especially considering the price. $3.95

- Dried Beef Chow Fun – Rice noodle strips (chow fun) is pan fried with soy sauce, slices of beef, bean sprouts, onions, and green onions. Good. $3.95

The food at China First is extremely reasonably priced. It’s good food for an excellent value. Service and atmosphere are average, but you can’t beat the value. Give China First a try if you want good food at a great price.

Cheung Hing - Hong Kong Style BBQ, San Francisco

2339 Noriega St, San Francisco CA 94122
(415) 665-3271
Parking: street parking
Hours: Open Daily 9am to 9pm

Last Visited: March 11, 2006

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 2 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $

Cheung Hing seems to have a line out the door no matter the time of day. It’s a small place with dark gray industrial tiles on the floor, a meat and Chinese deli counter to the right, and a few tables for diners to the left. The big glass window in the front displays the roasted barbeque ducks and running chicken hanging in the window. On display on the counter is the many varieties of cooked dishes from chow mein to fried rice to beef with broccoli and more.

The ongoing line is waiting for the fresh Hong Kong style barbecue that Cheung Hing delivers. This type of food is difficult to cook at home since the equipment isn’t available and it’s a lot of work to roast an entire pig. People typically purchase the items by weight or box depending on the item and take them home to enjoy. They’re also great for taking to parties.

The few tables in the room are very cozy to its neighbors. The room has gotten a new coat of paint and the décor is now blue and peach.  The tablecloths are gone and we’re back to the plastic table top, but that’s probably better than the picnic style tablecloths previously.

Cheung Hing doesn’t specialize in ambiance. It’s about excellent food at extremely reasonable prices. A delicious and enjoyable meal for anyone willing to give it a chance.

- Shrimp Won Ton Noodles – Available with thick or thin noodles, six shrimp wontons arrive over noodles in a flavorful broth. A few chopped scallions top the bowl of soup noodles. The noodles themselves aren’t actually thick so much as wide, but in Chinese, thick and wide is pretty much synonymous when it comes to noodle description. Everyone just knows what it means. We usually get the thin noodles, since thin noodles are more traditional style. The won tons are filled with a mixture shrimp and pork and are good even on their own without the noodles. The noodles are al dente and the broth is great. Excellent in 2004 and 2005.  My most recent 2006 visit seemed to find only good tasting noodles – not as al dente as I have become accustomed to and somehow not as flavorful, but still good, especially at this price. $3.55

All barbecue items are available on their own as an entree, over rice, or by weight. You can also put two items over rice if you prefer, but then the portion of meat will be adjusted accordingly.

- Roast Pork over Rice – A portion of the roasted pig is cut into pieces and placed over rice. You can see the entire roasted pig hanging over the counter, and they cut each piece as it is sold for takeout at the deli or for your entrée. Today’s roast pork was certainly in one of my top ten. The skin of the roast pork was golden brown and very crisp. The meat was tender, juicy, and succulent with superb flavor. There is a little bit of fat between the skin and meat, so you just need to know that since they serve it as it without doctoring it, you’ll need to remove it yourself. Some people like roasted young suckling pig, but when you can have roast pork like this, you won’t even need to try roasted suckling pig. Excellent! $4.35

- Roast Duck over Rice – A quarter of a roasted duck is placed over rice and cooked cabbage (or lettuce depending on when you go). The cabbage has been cooked such that it has soaked up the flavor of the meat, so it’s just delicious. The roast duck was also excellent. It had been cooked to take on a beautiful rich cherry color. Much like the roast pork, you’ll find that there are a few pieces that may be fatty, but it’s just how this dish is served – part of the culture. Most pieces are meaty, but there are those few where you’ll just be able to enjoy only the roast duck skin. The rice soaks in the juice of the roast duck and is also enjoyable. Excellent flavor. $3.95

- Beef Chow Mein over Hong Kong Style Crispy Noodles - Slices of beef are sautéed with straw mushrooms, carrots, and baby bok choy in a sauce and placed over crispy noodles. Unlike regular chow mein, Hong Kong Style Crispy Noodles are typically deep fried or pan fried to a golden brown making them crispy. The flavor of the chow mein is different and also thin chow mein noodles are used rather than thicker noodles. There was a bit more sauce than desirable in this dish, but overall, it was still very good. $4.45

- Beef Chow Fun – Chow fun is pan fried with slices of beef in a light soy sauce. Bean sprouts, onions, and green onions accompany the chow fun. The flavor is good and the food arrives with good heat from the wok that stays with the dish. Good. $3.95

- Stuffed Deep Fried Tofu – Seven large triangles of firm tofu with a bit of meat stuffing in the base of the triangle are deep fried until golden brown. The triangles are then plated and served with a slightly spicy thick sauce. The tofu was fried well, but there was little stuffing. The flavor of the starch based sauce was lacking, and this dish alone would only receive 2 to 3 stars despite the value. Skip this dish unless you just happen to have tofu on your must eat list. $5.65

- Vegetables – We ordered Chinese broccoli during my 2006 visit and found the greens to be fresh and flavorful.  It’s a simple cooking method of boiling in the noodle broth and topping with oyster sauce.  However, it’s the broth that makes the vegetables good.  They cut the broccoli neatly and place it on a plate.  At dim sum restaurants, the same quantity and quality would run you about 1.5 times the price of what it is here.  Great. $4.30

Any of the barbecued items or even deli items for that matter are terrific (although once in a while, the cut is a bit fatty which was true this last visit, so I dropped the food rating from four stars to the three to four range). Presentation of food isn’t as neat as it could be, but considering the excellent value, this shouldn’t deter you. Be adventurous. If you can get past the atmosphere (think of it as a hole in the wall), you’re sure to enjoy Cheung Hing. It’s one of the best places in town for this style of food!

407 Clement St, San Francisco CA 94118
(415) 668-7882
702 Webster St, Oakland CA 94607
(510) 839-6223
Parking: street parking

Last Visited: April 30, 2005

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Atmosphere: 1 to 2 stars
Price: $ to $$

D&A Café is a busy place, no matter the time of day. The main attraction at D&A is good food at even better prices. It’s an excellent value that really can’t be beat. D&A specializes in Chinese food and Chinese food American style. Examples of food that is Chinese, but prepared American style include deep fried French toast, macaroni with ham in broth, and Russian borscht. Think American food made to Asian tastes.

The most excellent bargain is food offered between 3pm to 6pm. At already incredible prices, the food is a bargain, but between 3pm and 6pm, D&A has Happy Hour prices where certain dishes are discounted. You can get a bowl of soup noodles for only $2, a dish of gai-lan for $3.50 and other similar items. There are even a selection of drinks available for only $1 each.

There are so many dishes, it’s difficult to highlight them. There are noodle dishes – both in soup or pan fried, seafood, and so much more. It’s virtually impossible to list everything I have tried. They have great oysters in a clay pot, excellent deep fried food (from chicken to calamari to bananas), and lots of drink selections (tapioca, red bean ice, milk tea etc). On my most recent visit, I did find that the gai lan was not as tender as it could be, but for the most part, since there are so many customers, their food turnover rate is very high, so the majority of the food is typically very fresh.

- Field snails – This is a seasonal item. I was lucky enough to find them available. A bowl is filled with snails in their shell served in a rich spicy sauce. The flavor is very good, especially if after you remove the snails from the shell, you dip the meat into the sauce – that’s the best way to eat them. The dish is served with a lot of toothpicks (for removing the meat from the shells) and a lot of napkins. $5.50 (Happy Hour price: $2.80 - incredible!)

- Fried Chicken Wings – Five chicken wings are lightly coated in a seasoned batter and deep fried. The wings are then accompanied by a scoop of potato salad. The chicken wings taste great. The quality of the potato salad varies. The first time I tried this dish, the potato salad wasn’t very good, but the second time, it was creamy and average. The focus really is on the wings themselves. Good.

- Iced Honey Lemon Tea – This is one of my favorite drinks. Iced Tea is served with about 5 slices of lemon with honey as a sweetener. The lemon flavor is very strong, but not overly acidic. Great. If you’ve never tried one, it’s very refreshing, and different from American style iced tea.

- Boil Chicken Lai-Fun Soup – Lai-Fun is a rice noodle that is much like spaghetti in shape, but with different consistency. It’s softer and served less al dente than spaghetti. This noodle also tends to be shorter in length. The lai-fun is served in chicken broth with a seasonal vegetable, (in today’s case, it was lettuce). A dish of chicken accompanies the lai-fun. Finely chopped ginger and green onions are blended with oil and salt to create a dipping sauce. It’s an incredible bargain, and if you like breast meat, the chicken served will suit you perfectly. I prefer dark meat, and there are few pieces of dark meat. Good. $4.75

Another incredible bargain is the menu that allows you to select three items for $15.99. Individually, these dishes are $5.50 each, still an incredible bargain. Here’s an example of what you might find.

- Deep Fried Flounder – An entire flounder is breaded and deep fried and served with sweetened light soy sauce and chopped green onions. It’s incredibly fresh. The breading is light and though the fish is not particularly thick, it’s still quite meaty. With minimal bones, it’s easy to eat. After trying this dish on multiple occasions, I have found D&A to be quite consistent in freshness and quality of the flounder.  Very good.

- Dry braised green beans – These green beans have had their ends trimmed and are braised in oil with pork and preserved mustard green.  A lot of chili sauce is used to give the dish a kick.  They’re not the best dry braised green beans that I’ve tried, but the ingredients are fresh, and the flavor is almost duplicated.  However, the texture of the beans aren’t quite right.  Average.

- Braised tofu – Tofu bricks are braised and served with baby bok choy and black mushrooms.   The portion of the dish is huge.  It comes with a lot of sauce and isn’t served as neatly as it could be, but there is a lot of value in the dish.  The contents come out steaming hot, but the quality could be improved.

I have visited D&A multiple times. Some words of warning. The atmosphere is far from one of ambiance. In fact, if you’re lucky, it will be that of a fast food restaurant. The hustle and bustle atmosphere fills the room. At the San Francisco location, you’ll find more small tables and booths, and televisions show the latest Chinese pop star. In the Oakland location, you’ll find several more large tables available, but still limited seating. Also, if you can help it, don’t look in the kitchen and don’t go to the bathroom. The San Francisco bathrooms are slightly more hygienic (though not much more) than the Oakland bathrooms, but don’t go if you don’t have to; it might spoil your meal. As for the kitchen, be grateful that everything is cooked under high heat or deep fried.

Service is typically not very attentive. It’s not always the most polite, but typically it’s bearable. They give you your food, and if you need something, flag someone down. These people are overworked, but they’re fast and efficient.

Great food for excellent prices – D&A is the place to go for both.

Empress of China - Chinese

838 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 434-1345
Hours: Open Daily 11:00am-10:00pm
Parking: street parking and pay parking lot in basement

Last Visited: January 31, 2004

Food: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

Empress of China is the only roof top Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. The décor features Han dynasty architecture and ornaments. This evening, we dined banquet-style in the ballroom. The ballroom is large and seats hundreds. The large room features a view of the city from the large windows. From the ceiling hangs red lanterns like those seen in movies, and even larger lanterns are displayed in the front of the room.

Service seemed to be dependent on the server here. This evening, the service was about two stars. The quantity of food wasted was incredible, however, I noticed that this was done for efficiency this evening. However, other servers seemed to give better service both in attitude and the handling of the banquet-style service. For those who don’t typically dine banquet-style, the difficulty for the server is that there are numerous plates on the lazy susan, and in order to make room for more plates, something must be done with the dishes already on the table. At upper class restaurants, the server typically will remove dishes that are half eaten and place the food onto smaller plates, then return the smaller plate to the table. Our server seemed a bit lazy this evening and didn’t seem happy about our request for this to be done. I’ve decided to give service a range of 2 to 3 stars since other servers were observed to be more efficient and kind.

- Minced Chicken and Chinese Sausage with Lettuce Cup – Chicken, Chinese sausage, preserved cabbage, and other vegetables are minced and served with lettuce cups. Lettuce is peeled to retain its cup formation, and the edges are cut with a zig-zag patterned scissor. On the side is a hoisin sauce based sauce. The presentation of the lettuce is great and the lettuce was very fresh. The flavors are nicely blended, but I prefer my minced meat to have more water chestnuts giving that extra crunch.

- Golden Chives and Dry Scallop Soup – The soup was nicely done with a good consistency to the broth. There were a lot of dry scallops and the flavor was mild, but appropriate.

- Szechwan Style Prawns – Prawns are sautéed with red pepper flakes and other spices and scattered amongst the shrimp are colorful bell peppers. The flavor is nice with a little spiciness from the red pepper flakes.

- Roasted Chicken with Special Bean Curd Sauce – Chicken is roasted to golden brown. The chicken is served with a red bean curd sauce on the side. The sauce was a bit watered down. The chicken was a bit dry, and since it had been covered to retain its heat, the parsley garnish had wilted. The color of the chicken was nice, but the meat could be more moist.

- Sauteed Vegetarian Delight – Mustard greens are served under a multitude of shitake mushrooms and straw mushrooms. This dish was nicely done, but the name seems to imply more than what was served. Perhaps my expectations were different, and the two just didn’t line up.

- Wok Fried Fresh Flounder – A whole flounder is deep fried and served whole with soy sauce for seafood. The fish was good, but not the best. The crunchiness of the fish could be improved.

- Seafood Delicacies Stuffed in Winter Melon – Pieces of shrimp, mushrooms, and other delights are served in a sauce under braised winter melon. The delicacies aren’t really stuffed, but more hidden beneath the melon. The delicacies themselves aren’t as exciting as the melon. A portion of giant wintermelon is braised until the entire piece is soft, but not falling apart. The consistency was lovely and since the melon is served whole, you see a large circle of melon on the dish. The melon is then cut like a pie into wedges. It’s excellent.

- Braised Westlake Duck – Another excellent dish. Duck is braised until the meat falls off the bone. The duck is served with barley and lettuce in a sauce. The duck is done very nicely as well and certainly a specialty in itself.

- Almond Tofu – The dessert this evening was almond tofu, but it’s the kind from the box, which has a bit of a fake flavor. It was equivalent to that from the box. Nothing special.

The main improvement to the evening would be the changing of plates. Since a number of dishes had a lot of sauce, the flavors were beginning to be mingled together, resulting in their lost distinctness. This was especially noticeable after the shrimp was served. Everything seemed to have a bit of spiciness to it after that. Since an appetizer plate was provided, an alternative would be to remove the appetizer plate later after more courses had been served. Not every dish is number one, but some dishes are definitely special and worth a try.

 

Fat Wong's Kitchen - Chinese

1780 El Camino Real, San Bruno CA 94066
(650) 872-6682
Parking: street parking and parking lot
Hours: Daily 11:30 am to Midnight

Last Visited: October 18, 2007

Food: 4 to 5 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Price: $ to $$

Fat Wong’s Kitchen is reminiscent of a former Taco Bell. Think of the brick façade, the window arches, and the large counter. They’ve done a good job converting the place though. The room is painted a cream color, and the brick around the window arches are white. On the walls are fun framed drawings of cartoon chefs and Chinese characters. The tables are a dark cherry, and the matching chairs have a black cushioned seat. The front counter is now walled in with a granite face. There is a window to allow you to see what is happening in the kitchen. The floors are brown tile. Recessed lights bring light to the room along with the large windows.

There is a lot of hustle and bustle at this restaurant. It’s not a good place if you’re looking for a quiet atmosphere with a lot of atmosphere. It’s a great place to go for inexpensive eats that are high quality. They also have an interesting clientele – mostly all Asian, but still fun for people watching.

Rumor has it that the chef formerly came from Flower Lounge to open up this restaurant.

The table has a drink and dessert menu. Drinks are extremely inexpensive ranging at or a little over a dollar. There are also a lot of homemade desserts available. As you walk in, it will be immediately clear what their specialties are – congee (aka porridge) and wonton noodles of various types. The other specials are steamed rice wrapped in lotus leaves (jong) and rice noodle rolls.

- Rice Noodle Roll with Fish Paste – Fish paste is wrapped in a rice noodle roll and steamed. This is a unique dish because most restaurants stick to the basics of shrimp, beef, barbecued pork, or fried donut (which they also have available except for the donut version. The portion is good, but I found the rice noodle roll to be a little bit too moist, meaning that the roll itself is a bit on the soft almost soggy side, though still intact. The fish paste was good though. Okay. $3.00

- Sampan Porridge – Rice is cooked to a porridge – thick, but not overly so. The sampan version comes with peanuts, fish meatballs, and pork skins. You also receive a small plate of chopped green onions and fried crispy twists.  The porridge is nicely flavored and rich and creamy in texture. The meatballs are soft and also have the right texture. You know it’s good because you don’t have to add salt to the porridge. Very Good. $5.25

- Pork and Preserved Egg Porridge – The same porridge base for the sampan porridge is used. Slices of pork and pieces of preserved egg are added to this porridge. Another very good porridge. It’s served with a side dish of green onion and crispy twists that can be added to the porridge for extra texture and flavor. $4.80

- Pan Fried Noodle with Beef and Seasonal Vegetables – This is an incredible deal for the price. Noodles are pan fried until crispy and topped with slices of beef and bok choy cooked in a light brown sauce. The crispiness of the noodles gives extra texture this dish. Very good. It’s often hard to find a place where the crispy noodles aren’t burnt. It might be something different for you to have noodles this crispy, but it tastes great with of course a good crunch. $6.25

- Braised Fish Ball, Pork Skin, and Turnip – Fish balls are braised and tender pork skins and turnip in the same sauce are placed in a soup bowl. The pork skins are so soft they melt in your mouth and the turnip chunks maintain their form. All have been infused with great flavor. The sauce has a slight hint of five spice powder. Good. $4.25

- Fried Rice with Minced Beef – Beef is cooked with lettuce, fried rice, and egg to create a great fried rice dish. The individual grains of rice are separated, and the color is a light golden brown. The rice isn’t too oily, and they actually have minced beef, not ground beef. The flavor is light and delicate, but certainly flavorful. Good. $5.95

- Steamed Rice with Meat Wrapped Lotus Leaf - Rice, dried shrimp, lotus nuts, duck, a preserved egg, yellow peas, and dried black mushrooms are wrapped in a lotus leaf. The whole thing is then steamed or boiled for many hours and served with a small dish of soy sauce and a small dish of sugar. The flavor of the lotus leaf becomes infused into the rice. There were a lot of ingredients stuffed into the block of rice, but I found the texture of the rice a little mushy. In general, similar dishes I have tried are cooked so that the individual grains of rice can still be seen. This one had been cooked until it all has melted together. It was good, but not quite to my taste because of the texture. However, the amount of duck (the duck is still on the bone) and the general quantity of ingredients was very good. You’ll have to try it out and decide for yourself. $7.25 dine in/$8 take out

- Chow Fun with Beef & Soy Sauce – Beef is sautéed with chow fun, green onions, and bean sprouts. The slices of beef are tender, and the chow fun is nicely separated and browned by the soy sauce. What is difficult about this dish is that the chow fun usually gets burned, and the flavor becomes tainted. This is not a problem at Fat Wong’s. Very good. $5.95

- Tofu with Five Spice Seasoning – A full block of tofu is cut in half and deep fried.  Then the tofu is sliced and placed in five spice seasoned sauce.  The sauce is like water in consistency and has a light light brown coloring.  It’s flavor is light but marries well with the fried tofu skin.  Very good.  $3.80

During lunches on weekdays, the restaurant has a lot less people, so you won’t feel as rushed eating.  When they aren’t as busy, the servers tend to watch the crowd, which can get a little uncomfortable so there is room for improvement, but overall, the staff is quick to turnaround tables and efficient.

I heartily recommend Fat Wong’s Kitchen. There is a lot of variety available and certainly all the ingredients are fresh and good. And for some, the food will bring back warm memories.

   

2253 Irving St, San Francisco, CA 94122
(415) 661-1226
Parking: street parking

Last Visited: October 19, 2003

Food: 2 stars
Atmosphere: 2 stars
Service: 2 stars
Price: $ to $$

When you walk into Golden City, you first notice the wood paneling. It’s like walking back into the early 80s – a time warp with the mirrors above the wood panels. Golden City is owned by Chinese and Korean people. It’s clean and neat, and they offer typical Shanghai dumplings. A bowl of kim chee is served as an appetizer.

- Pork dumplings – These pork dumplings deserve four stars. The handmade dumpling wrapper is thin and the meat is tender and juicy. If they were a tad bit hotter in temperature, they would be perfect. If you get nothing else, try these or the shrimp dumplings. There are twelve dumplings to an order. $4.75

- Pan fried Dried spiced tofu – The dried tofu is served with small pieces of pork and green onion. The more authentic way to serve this dish would be with yellow chives to give it that extra crunch. The flavor was okay, but I prefer the tofu to be sliced finer into strips.

- Beef chow fun (dry style) – This dish was average. Nothing wonderful about it, but nothing bad either. Fairly standard in my book.

The tea lacks flavor. The service is okay, but not fully attentive. It’s probably better to stick to this place for lunch. I’ve had a better experience then.

5287 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94121
(415) 668-5105
Parking: street parking

Last Visited: January 10, 2004

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 2 to 3 stars
Service: 2 stars
Price: $ for lunch

I visited Golden River for dim sum during lunch. The building is far from fancy, with one well lit dining area. Tables vary from four person tables to large, round, family dining tables. These are covered in table cloths which are then covered with paper placemats.

The service was fairly inattentive. Since the dining room was very crowded at lunch, with only three main servers, we were lost in the crowd. If you want service, don’t even bother. If you want excellent shrimp noodle roll dim sum, this is a great place to try out.

Located a couple of doors from Ton Kiang, which seems to now have a very different clientele from several years back, you’ll find Golden River is filled with Chinese people. They probably began developing their reputation from those spilling over from the wait at Ton Kiang.

The most incredible attraction at Golden River is the price. All dim sum dishes are available for $1.95, no matter the size (most dim sum places charge accordingly based on a system of small, medium, large, and special dishes). Chef’s special plates are available for $3.80. There is no tea charge.

The best:
- Shrimp Noodle Roll – This is one of the best shrimp noodle rolls you can get in the city. It’s five star for sure! Large prawns are rolled in a thin rice noodle fun, and it is served with sweet light soy sauce. Not only is it better than a lot of other dim sum restaurants, there’s really not much you could do to improve on this roll – it has perfect consistency and flavor, and at $1.95, it can’t be beat! It’s the best of the best!

The good:
- Stuffed Eggplant – Fresh large pieces of Japanese eggplant are stuffed with shrimp paste and deep fried. Black bean sauce is served over the eggplant and shrimp paste. It was hot and the outer coating of the shrimp paste was a beautiful golden brown. Very nicely done.

- Deep Fried Turnover with Minced Meat – Pork and some vegetables are placed in a sweet rice dumpling and deep fried. The consistency of the dumpling was perfect, and the filling tasted as it should.

- Shrimp Wrapped in Tofu Skin Deep Fried – An unusual combination of ingredients in this roll. Typically, only shrimp is folded into tofu skin and deep fried. Golden River likes to add carrots and other vegetables which seem to work for them. It makes the roll juicier and allows for the contents to get hotter when deep fried. A bit unconventional, but still good.

The average:
- Spare ribs with black bean sauce – Spare ribs are steamed with jalapeno peppers and black bean sauce. Some spare ribs were spicier than others, thus it appeared the spices and meat had not been thoroughly mixed. Also, the fat content in the ribs was somewhat low, which creates a tough texture amongst the meat. This dish was so-so.

- Har gao – Shrimp dumpling – The presentation of the steamed shrimp dumpling in a rice wrapper is nice, but the wrapper is a bit on the thick side. Flavor is okay. I would go for another shrimp noodle roll rather than get the har gao.

- Pork dumpling – The presentation of the pork dumpling is a bit unusual in that they use pink shrimp roe rather than the typical orange. The portion of each dumpling is larger than typical, and flavor is okay, but the wrapper is darker in color than usual. It could just be a case of unexpected presentation, but I didn’t care for these pork dumplings.

Considering the prices for these dishes, it’s a great deal. It’s not top quality, with the exception of the shrimp rolls, but it’s worth a try. If you’ve never had good shrimp noodle rolls, it’s definitely worth a stop to help you set your standards for what good ones should be like. Have low expectations about the service and atmosphere, and you’ll be prepared.

236 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 668-6121
Parking: street parking

Last Visited: December 2005

Food: 4 stars
Atmosphere: 4 stars
Service: 4 stars
Price: $$

Grand D’or has such a fresh and crisp look about it.  The wood floors and the wood tables are all maple and light in color.  The flowers are arranged with lots of clean lines.  The sunlight streams in from the front windows, and the display cases are lit to show many fanciful delights.  The smell of fresh bread drifts through the room, and loaves of bread are placed in baskets above the counters.  The women behind the counter in the

- Éclair – The éclair was delicious.  Custard filled and light puff pastry – it melts in your mouth.  Not too sweet, the flavor is wonderful.

I was stuffed from lunch, but I couldn’t resist passing up this delectable opportunity.  I’m definitely going to need to go back again.

Grand Palace - Chinese

415 Grand Ave, South San Francisco, CA 94080
(650) 872-1000
Parking: street parking

Last Visited: February 17, 2008

Food: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 4 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

Grand Palace opened a new location nearby their previous location on the 300 block. 

I tried the new one and found it to be even better than the first. The new location is a large two story unit that has been newly remodeled. All the colors are warm with warm light peach walls and beautiful wood crown moulding trim. The carpet is dark green with a beautiful pattern with beautifully upholstered chairs in a regal green with gold patterns. It all goes together very well. The tables are spaciously set in the living room and the table cloths are also a lovely green. The atmosphere is fine and the high ceilings give the room a grand feel.

Service is good. We visited the new Grand Palace for a dim sum lunch.

Unfortunately, during my 2008 visit, I downgraded all of their ratings at least half to a whole star.  Although the setting remains upscale, Grand Palace has gotten a lot busier and their prices have gone up.  In their efforts to serve all of their new customers, service and food quality have dropped quite a bit.

Sizes follow the item listed when available. 

 Pork congee with duck egg – Out of all the dishes that I tried out this afternoon, it seemed that this one would rank the lowest. The consistency was too watered down, and though I’m sure the flavor was fine, congee (rice porridge) should be thicker with more rice. Two stars. (Medium)

- Beef Noodle Roll – Nicely, though it seemed lacking of something. Perhaps it could be hotter, or a little bit more cilantro, but the consistency of the noodle was right.  During my most recent visit, I found the roll nice and thin, so I’m bumping this up from the 2 to 3 star range to just 3 stars.  

- Steamed Tofu pockets stuffed with shrimp paste – The tofu is deep fried to create a golden brown skin, then stuffed with shrimp paste and steamed. Three pieces per dish. The flavor was okay. Two to three stars. (Special)

- Shrimp dumplings – The flavor was good. Four dumplings filled with shrimp. The skin could be slightly thinner and then it would be perfect. During my 2008 visit, the skin had broken a bit, but otherwise flavor was still okay. Three stars. (Medium)

- Deep fried taro dumplings – Deep fried with a nice taro consistency and filled with meat and vegetable. The outer layer is deep fried golden brown and the flavors blend together well. Three dumplings per dish. Four stars. (Medium)

- Char Siu Bao/BBQ Pork buns – Three pork buns filled with barbeque pork. Good flavor and soft bun. Four stars. (Small)

- Button Mushrooms stuffed with shrimp paste – Four mushrooms are filled to overflow with shrimp paste. A brown sauce lightly covers the mushroom. Hot in temperature and juicy, these burst with flavor. Four stars. (Special)

- Eggplant stuffed with shrimp paste – Four pieces of Japanese eggplant are stuffed with shrimp paste.  The eggplant is then rolled in a light batter and deep fried.  The same sauce used to top the mushrooms top the eggplant.  Excellent!  Four stars. (Special)

- Pork dumpling – Four pork dumplings are served in a small steamer.  The flavor is just right, and the presentation of the dumplings is great.  Three to four stars.  These were also okay in 2008. (Small)

- Deep fried pork dumpling – I have referred to this dim sum by other names, but this is basically an oval shaped dumpling that is puffed up after deep fried.  Inside is ground pork and a little bit of vegetable.  The outside is slightly sticky and sweet using sweet rice flour as the basis of the mixture.  Very good.  Three to four stars. (Small)

- Sweet soft tofu – Soft tofu is served in a bowl with sweet syrup as a topping.  The tofu is infused with ginger flavor.  The tofu was pretty good, but not the best I’ve had.  I think I also didn’t get the top of the bowl, but the bottom instead since the pieces of tofu were sometimes on the small said.  Two to three stars.

- Deep fried sesame ball dessert – Lotus paste fills a ball that puffs up when deep fried.  The outer shell was crispy and golden brown.  The sweet paste gives it a delicate flavor and the deep fried shell makes the texture a great match.  The inside of the shell is just a little gooey making it soft and crispy in the same bite.  Still good in 2008.  Three to four stars. 

- Deep fried stuffed tofu – Tofu bricks are topped with shrimp paste and deep fried until golden brown.  A light brown sauce is served on top of the crispy tofu.  Since it’s made with soft tofu, the inside texture is smooth while the outside is crispy.  Good.  Three to four stars.

- Cold octopus – Baby octopus is marinated, cooked, and served cold.  Each piece is crispy and refreshing, and certainly an interesting sight.  About 15 or so pieces are served on top of soybeans that have a bit of sweetness to them.  Good.  Three to four stars.

- Shrimp stuffed bell peppers – The shrimp is fried until golden brown and the bell pepper squares look gorgeous.  However, once you’ve bitten into it, the bell peppers still taste great, but the shrimp is a combination of too many other items.  There seems to be some fish paste, which normally would be ok depending on the type of fish paste used, that leaves the texture too chewy.  The extra ingredient actually detracts from the flavor of the stuffing and left me wanting more.  (Special)

- Steamed chicken feet with black bean sauce – Three chicken feet are braised then steamed with black bean sauce.  Although they were very tender, they too lacked a little something in how the texture of the chicken feet held up – it seemed it had been a little over steamed.  (Small)

- Golden Chives Beef Chow Fun – Although the name says golden chives, you’ll find very few golden chives included in this beef chow fun.  The chow fun came on a chipped white plate and had beef, green onions, bean sprouts, and chow fun.  There were some yellow chives, but very few.  The chow fun was broken into smaller pieces rather than whole strips as they should be.  The flavor was okay, but needed just a touch more salt.  I had to ask the waiter to provide us with some soy sauce to get the flavor just right.  Not worth the price considering the quantity and quality.  Just okay. $10

2008 prices for dim sum are as follows: Small $2.45, Medium $2.90, Large $3.90, Special $4.80.  Tea is complimentary during dim sum hours.

Our most recent dinner visit was in 2005.

- Combination Cold Cut Platter – This appetizer contains warm barbecued pork, seasoned jellyfish, cold seasoned duck wings, sliced beef, and another cold cut.  The plate is small, but it’s packed with goodies.  There is enough to serve between four and six people.  The pork was warm and juicy, and heating it makes all the difference.  The sweetness of the barbecue sauce gives it a great flavor.  The duck wings are boiled in a seasoned broth, removed from the broth, and refrigerated. The duck has an almost crisp texture which is just right for this dish.  The jellyfish is crunchy and al dente in texture.  Great.   $18

- Braised Tofu with Green Veggies – The braised tofu bricks were cooked to perfection.  The outside of the tofu is golden brown, forming a skin to hold the soft tofu inside which is heated through making it hot and tender.  It bursts with juice.  The tofu is accompanied by baby bok choy neatly placed in a row.  Great presentation and excellent quality.  Their braised tofu is excellent.  $9

- Braised Dry String Beans with Pork – The braised dry string beans weren’t braised dry enough.  True braised dry beans cause the beans to lose more of its moisture so that the beans are extra crispy.  This dish was more like stir fried green beans rather than braised dry.  Fair.  They would have been good if the name had been stir fried or just green beans. $10

- Sauteed Sliced Lamb with Leek and X.O. Chili Sauce – Lamb is sliced into pieces and cooked with sliced leeks and red chili peppers in X.O. chili sauce.  The X.O. sauce gives the lamb just enough kick that it tastes a touch spicy, but not spicy enough to burn your mouth.  The leeks are crisp in texture and complement the lamb wonderfully.  The lamb was tender and had just absorbed the flavor of the X.O. sauce.  Excellent. $12

- Pan Fried Whole Flounder – A large flounder is lightly battered and deep fried until crispy.  It’s served with head and tail and topped with sliced green onions.  A little bit of soy sauce is placed on the plate prior to placing the fish on top.  The fish was fresh, and the batter fried until lightly brown.  Good$14

- Yang Chow Fried Rice – Rice is pan fried with egg, diced barbecued pork, carrots, and green peas.  Each rice granule was separated from one another, but still retained its moisture.  The flavor was very good – not too salty, but still flavorful.  Great.  $9

During the 2005 visit, I found service to be fair.  In reality, it was just two people, but it dropped service from the 3 to 4 range to just 3 stars.  One person was taking the dim sum around.  Her attitude just wasn’t pleasant and was barely offset by one of the happier folks doing the same job.  One of the headwaiters was also quite unpleasant.  She had taken our last dim sum order but seemed dissatisfied by what we had selected and even though she entered in the order, more than fifteen minutes passed before we received it.  Being that there were few tables in her area, she should have checked back with us at the ten minute mark when she saw that we hadn’t received our order.  The service rating would have dropped further, but there was a nicer headwaiter that offset her behavior.  My last visit seemed to confirm that it was just two specific people that made service fair.  Sitting downstairs this most recent time, I only encountered one of the people mentioned above, and overall, I had a much better experience.

A lot of the dishes that I didn’t try out had wonderful presentation, from the plates to the food itself. Grand Palace has done a great job of improving their level of atmosphere and food presentation rising to compete amongst some of the Bay Area’s finest. Food quality is good, and the atmosphere just makes it all the better. Grand Palace is definitely worth a stop.

However, in 2008, I found that presentation had gone downhill significantly.  The plates were no longer beautiful as they had been two to three years before.  Most plates were now white and chipped.  My teapot was chipped and the elegance lies only in the surroundings.  Service as mentioned above was disappointing.  What was probably the most appalling was the dim sum service.  It seems it started as a mistake.  The people occupying our table had ordered the deep fried sesame balls, but likely due to the wait, had given up, so by the time the waitress brought the order to our table, she was quite disturbed that we didn’t have a tag on our receipt associated with the order.  However, it’s important to have flexibility and to know what to do in this situation.  Since our party wanted to have the sesame balls, and she had already taken them from her tray and put them on our table, but had not stamped our order check yet, she should have just completed the transaction with the stamp and moved on.  However, she went back to the host station and started to get upset at the waiter.  Meanwhile, we’re staring at the sesame balls not wanting to start eating them yet until this was cleared up.  Another waiter came by and realizing the situation, told her to proceed with the remaining orders she had to fill.  She then took our sesame balls away and went upstairs.  Gasp.  If you’ve gone to have dim sum, once the plate is on the table, you just don’t take it away, especially if the patron wants to order it and you have more on the tray.  Nevertheless, this was only the first faux pas with this woman.  After she had filled all of the pre-ordered sesame ball requests, she then passed our table and didn’t offer us the remaining ones.  After making a full round in the restaurant, and much to our chagrin, allowing the sesame balls to cool, she came back asking if we wanted any.  Faux pas number 2.  The afternoon progressed with yet another step back when it came to service.  Another waitstaff member came and took our soy sauce and condiments plate away for refills.  Considering patrons are still using the items and eating, you just shouldn’t do this.  It wasn’t just us though, every table proceeded to have their condiments removed.  They didn’t return for another 20 minutes.  Finally, our specially ordered items took about 20 minutes to arrive after ordering – an unusually long time considering the typical turnaround on dim sum orders, even when made fresh. 

Given the number of choices in the Bay area, the lack of competition in the immediate vicinity has allowed Grand Palace to lower its standards.  Service could be improved greatly and refined to eliminate some of these procedural faux pas experiences.

815 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 387-4011
Parking: street parking

Last Visited: June 4, 2005

Food: 2 to 3 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Atmosphere: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $$

Happy Garden has had the grand opening sign outside their door for about a year now. Having been there for dim sum, I found the overall quality of dim sum to be fair. There are some dishes that were fine and others that didn’t meet an average rating. My original rating was three stars for service and atmosphere, with the food rating at 2 to 3 stars.

Upon entering the restaurant, there is a counter to your immediate right, and the rest of the restaurant is filled with tables. The large circular tables are in the center of the room and far right. The staircase in back leads to the women’s restroom and another private room currently used for storage. There is a fish tank in the rear of the restaurant and the kitchen is also in the back. The atmoshphere is neat and the walls are fairly newly painted.

My most recent visit was for dinner. For their dinner for two to three people, the value is incredible. For $18.80, you get a complete meal including soup, two meat dishes, a vegetable dish, and dessert. It’s pretty hard to beat. Food quality for dinner is about three stars, but service could have used improvement. Knowing that you get better service from the family members that own the restaurant than the people who are hired to work there, you’ll easily recognize the owners.

Service this evening was toward the two star rating. When service is given by the family members, it’s about three stars. You’ll also find one other hard working gentleman that is not related to the family. They’re not particularly friendly, but they’re efficient in the hustle and bustle. What was bad about the atmosphere this evening was the yelling. Apparently there was someone calling the wrong number and reaching the restaurant multiple times either asking for the wrong person or not saying anything at all. The two waitresses were yelling loudly despite the presence of the patrons, and they went on and on about how they weren’t going to answer the phone. The appearance of the restaurant is reasonable, but the yelling really reduced my impression of the atmosphere.

- Winter melon soup – Chunks of winter melon and pork are boiled over a slow fire for several hours to create a clear succulent broth. The soup was good, and though the presentation isn’t pretty – it arrives in a big bowl with pork bones, it is typical of this type of home style soup.

- Pork spare ribs with spicy salt – These aren’t typical pork spare ribs. They would probably be considered small pork chops, but Chinese people refer to them as ribs. Pork ribs are lightly battered with spicy salt batter and deep fried with onions and chili peppers. The batter is seasoned well and not too salty. Very good - although there is a little bit of MSG, so if you are concerned about MSG, be wary of this dish.

- Salted Baked Chicken – The name is a bit deceiving in English, but in Chinese, when you translate it literally, the chicken is actually cooked in a salted broth. Half a chicken is served for two to three people and it’s accompanied with a ginger dipping sauce. The sauce is simple and made from grated ginger, oil, and salt. The chicken still has the skin on it and is chopped into manageable pieces with the bones still intact. Very good.

- Mustard greens – Whole mustard greens are pan fried with garlic cloves that are pan fried/oil fried until golden brown. The mustard greens take on the flavor of the cooked garlic and chopped garlic is added to the dish. The garlic flavor isn’t overwhelming, but it nicely seasons the greens which are a very nice light green. Very fresh. Good.

Several points of improvement for service were needed during dinner. The soup was just given to us. Good servers will pour the soup out into individual bowls and serve the bowls to each person. This soup was basically plopped in front of us. As for the chicken, the plate holding the dipping sauce was directly on top of the chicken and should have been put on the table. These small touches would improve their service greatly.

One of the special meal sets available during our last visit was a Seafood Meal for $28.80.  It serves four to five people.

- Salty Spicy Shrimp – Shrimp in its shell is lightly battered and deep fried, then pan fried with onion slices and jalapeno pepper slices.  The combination is shrimp that is slightly crispy with lots of flavor on the outside.  The shrimp seemed to be sprinkled with salt and possibly MSG, though the latter is not confirmed.  I didn’t like the additional sprinkling because the shrimp was too salty, and your mouth can’t taste the shrimp flavor because it’s overpowered by the salt.  Fair.

- Soup with Fish balls – Spinach, tofu, and meatballs made with fish are cooked in a light broth.  The broth becomes sweet with the flavor of the fish.  Good.  The fish balls were also just the right texture, not too dense, and not coming apart. 

- Crab with ginger and green onion – Crab is sautéed with ginger and green onions.  A slightly thick sauce coats the crab.  Good.  Nice flavor, although the sauce seemed to be lacking just a little extra something in the flavor.  Okay.