San Francisco - Chinese in San Francisco?

Do any FTers out there have recommendations for a top chinese restaurant in SFO?

Many thanks.

Don't bother in the airport...or are you asking in the city itself?

Don't bother in the airport...or are you asking in the city itself?

City itself. Sorry for the lack of clarity.

For dim sum, I would recommend Yank Sing (downtown) or Ton Kiang (Geary Blvd. in the avenues). For traditional Chinese/Seafood, R&G Lounge or Jai Yun in Chinatown. There are several others with different styles - do you have a particular region in mind?

I used to go to the House of Nanking. Line out the door every night of the week. Sadly have not been back since I moved away.

I used to go to the House of Nanking. Line out the door every night of the week. Sadly have not been back since I moved away.

Don't bother with this place. I remember the first time I went there more than 10 years ago and it was great. Went back last year and it was really disappointing. The food now reminds me of something a little better than PF Changs (a chain americanized restaurant). And steamed rice doesn't automatically come with the meal. You have to order it separately.

For dim sum, I would recommend Yank Sing (downtown) or Ton Kiang (Geary Blvd. in the avenues). For traditional Chinese/Seafood, R&G Lounge or Jai Yun in Chinatown. There are several others with different styles - do you have a particular region in mind?

Although I like spicy food, my colleagues aren't huge fans. I'm trying for a dinner with clients, so probably not dim sum (though I might try Yank Sing myself during the day). I was recommended Tommy Toy's or Eliza's if that's any help?

I like Eliza's, but many dishes can be spicy. Tommy Toy's is quite good, but for Chinese food, imo, very pricey. However, if price is not an issue, you won't be disappointed. Also, Yank Sing is pricey for dim sum. If you have transportation, I would suggest Koi Palace in Daly City, or take the Muni 38 Geary out to Ton Kiang (between 22nd & 23rd aves) for dim sum.

It depends on what you want. If you want "tourist" Chinese, where most of the patrons are not chinese and the food is made more for a western palate, then go to:

House of Nanking,
Brandy Ho's,
Tommy Toy's

If you want true authentic chinese, where most of the patrons are chinese and you're getting truly authentic chinese-style food, then go to:

R & G Lounge
Mayflower
Hong Kong Lounge in SF
Hong Kong Flower Lounge in Millbrae

Yank Sing is very good, and it is fairly authentic. However, it's incredibly expensive, and not worth the money. But Yank Sing is a good "hybrid" place. It's quite authentic, but it caters to a Western palate. It's not a total tourist trap, but in my book, I'd consider it a "rip-off" because of the exorbitant prices.

Koi palace is great for dim sum, but the line can be 2 hours or more. Besides dim sum, Koi palace is not known for the rest of its food. You can virtually just walk in anytime to eat there as long as it's not dim sum.

Sister resto to House of Nanking i think...couple of friends said it was quite good, and nice ambiance (for a client type dinner0

It depends on what you want. If you want "tourist" Chinese, where most of the patrons are not chinese and the food is made more for a western palate, then go to:

House of Nanking,
Brandy Ho's,
Tommy Toy's

If you want true authentic chinese, where most of the patrons are chinese and you're getting truly authentic chinese-style food, then go to:

R & G Lounge
Mayflower
Hong Kong Lounge in SF
Hong Kong Flower Lounge in Millbrae


Thanks for that, it's very helpful. Of the authentic four restaurants you have quoted, are any considered "fine dining"? Although I'm Chinese, I expect some non-Asian colleagues may not want the true HK experience... If none of them are "fine dining", I am thinking Tommy Toy's the way to go!

Don't bother with this place. I remember the first time I went there more than 10 years ago and it was great. Went back last year and it was really disappointing. The food now reminds me of something a little better than PF Changs (a chain americanized restaurant). And steamed rice doesn't automatically come with the meal. You have to order it separately.

Sad to hear this. I used to go there in the early 90's and it was great!

Thanks for that, it's very helpful. Of the authentic four restaurants you have quoted, are any considered "fine dining"? Although I'm Chinese, I expect some non-Asian colleagues may not want the true HK experience... If none of them are "fine dining", I am thinking Tommy Toy's the way to go!

Hong Kong Flower Lounge and Yank Sing are very much "fine dining" by Chinese restaurant standards. Mayflower is "very nice", but not fine.

My suggestion is that if you have western colleagues and you want good chinese food, go to Yank Sing. It's very expensive, but it's a very nice place with good chinese food.

As others have posted, I like Yank Sing for Dim Sum and R & G Lounge for regular Chinese. Both happen to be near the hotel I stay at so they are convenient. Yank Sing is expensive for dim sum.

Thank you all. I'll let you all know how we go next month.

whatever you do.. DON'T go to Koi Palace. Like others said, the wait can last up to 2 hours, and they don't honor reservations.

2 times I reserved there, both times we were put on the regular line after I got there. Their food is good... but not THAT good.. it's also expensive.

I personally love R & G lounge. They have good crabs there.

Also if you want to try something unique, go to Thanh Long for their roasted king crabs and garlic noodle. I know it's not chinese (it's Vietnamese) but it's worth a try.

After all this, we went to Tommy Toi's for dinner on our first night in SF.

Tommy's looks like an institution in SF. There are various photos on the wall with famous people and the food was relatively good. We had many of their signature dishes, including a bisque with a puff pastry cover, eye fillet and others. Overall, the place was good, service was good, but I wasn't blown away by their food.

Although not Chinese cuisine, I also went to Boulevard (FANTASTIC) and the sister restaurant down the road (can't remember the name), Michael Mina's on California St which was good, but pricey and Tadich Grill (quite nice and recommended by a SFians).

Thanks for everyone's help.^ SF certainly has some great restaurants. :D

whatever you do.. DON'T go to Koi Palace. Like others said, the wait can last up to 2 hours, and they don't honor reservations.

2 times I reserved there, both times we were put on the regular line after I got there. Their food is good... but not THAT good.. it's also expensive.

I personally love R & G lounge. They have good crabs there.

Also if you want to try something unique, go to Thanh Long for their roasted king crabs and garlic noodle. I know it's not chinese (it's Vietnamese) but it's worth a try.

I agree with this 100%. It is right on the m oney. Koi palace can be okay if you go in the "off" hours for dim sum, like 2-3pm.

Tommy's looks like an institution in SF. There are various photos on the wall with famous people and the food was relatively good. We had many of their signature dishes, including a bisque with a puff pastry cover, eye fillet and others. Overall, the place was good, service was good, but I wasn't blown away by their food.

Good to hear that you were able to try out Tommy's. Sounds like the dinner was okay.

Just to put it in perspective. As a native San Franciscan--born and raised here my entire life--I have never set foot into Tommy's. Nor have most of my friends and colleagues.

And I eat out about 1 to 2 times per week.

Good to hear that you were able to try out Tommy's. Sounds like the dinner was okay.

Just to put it in perspective. As a native San Franciscan--born and raised here my entire life--I have never set foot into Tommy's. Nor have most of my friends and colleagues.

And I eat out about 1 to 2 times per week.

I've also never been, and I have been here for nearly 13 years now. But now I want to go check it out!

my 2 cents -

for dim sum try yank sing (pricey) or canton dim sum and seafood house (slightly cheaper).

For amazing regional food head to z&y in china town.

Although not Chinese cuisine, I also went to Boulevard (FANTASTIC) and the sister restaurant down the road (can't remember the name),

The sister restaurant would be Prospect.

I would recommend San Tung in the Richmond district, the chicken wings are legendary.

If you want truly authentic go to Stockton Blvd. in Chinatown and go to one of the dim sum vendors there. They'll slap your dim sum on a plate and you go sit down at the one of the tables. You'll get stuffed for less than $10.00 and the dim sum can be fantastic.

I don't think the dim sum at Koi Palace is worth waiting hours for and the pricing is not reasonable. --In SF there are several dim sum restaurants in the Richmond district area (Clement St) that have under $2/plate dimsum. I prefer Mayflower on Geary St over Tonkiang. Friends will go to the HK Flower Lounge restaurant also on Geary.

Tommy Toy's -- we were dinner guests: OK lots of Chinese antique furnishings. Western style presentation of food...not family style. Tried lunch, OK. Friends like wine pairing with food. Nice atmosphere.

addendum: The under $2/plate dimsum specials are for Monday to Friday excluding holidays. My fav spot no longer will take credit card for payment during the day (after 3 PM, OK) very slim profit margin.

Tommy Toy's is participating in the SF Dine About Town line up of restaurants. Lunch menu.

Hello all,

So we will have 24 hours in SF, and we are staying at the Hilton Financial District near Chinatown.

Looking for Authentic Chinese, preferably Cantonese and looking to take up some of your suggestions for one dinner and one dim sum:

For dinner: R & G Lounge
Any alternative suggestions in Chinatown?

For dim sum: Golden Mountain

Criteria:
1) Authentic! ^
2) Atmosphere is irrelevant (I prefer hole in the wall kind of places as long as they serve top notch food :)).

If it matters, we grew up in Asia and looking to knock ourselves out with SF's best (within Chinatown at least). We just got back from Vancouver B.C., and meals there were excellent. Hoping SF can beat or match!

Thanks in advance.

Hello all,

So we will have 24 hours in SF, and we are staying at the Hilton Financial District near Chinatown.

Looking for Authentic Chinese, preferably Cantonese and looking to take up some of your suggestions for one dinner and one dim sum:

For dinner: R & G Lounge
Any alternative suggestions in Chinatown?

For dim sum: Golden Mountain

Criteria:
1) Authentic! ^
2) Atmosphere is irrelevant (I prefer hole in the wall kind of places as long as they serve top notch food :)).

If it matters, we grew up in Asia and looking to knock ourselves out with SF's best (within Chinatown at least). We just got back from Vancouver B.C., and meals there were excellent. Hoping SF can beat or match!

Thanks in advance.

For R&G Lounge, I'd seriously recommend that you peruse the Chowhound boards regardin what to order. If you don't order correctly, you will have wasted your time (as I once did, where I really didn't have much say in what was ordered).

Jai Yun is interesting and quite different from most Chinese restaurants. Several Flyertalks dined together there a couple of years ago. This was in response to the book "The Last Chinese Chef." We had a great time but there were varying opinions about the food. I really suggest going to Chowhound.com (San Francisco Board) and doing a search for Jai Yun Well worth reading some of the comments.

Hello all,

So we will have 24 hours in SF, and we are staying at the Hilton Financial District near Chinatown.

Looking for Authentic Chinese, preferably Cantonese and looking to take up some of your suggestions for one dinner and one dim sum:

For dinner: R & G Lounge
Any alternative suggestions in Chinatown?

For dim sum: Golden Mountain

Criteria:
1) Authentic! ^
2) Atmosphere is irrelevant (I prefer hole in the wall kind of places as long as they serve top notch food :)).

If it matters, we grew up in Asia and looking to knock ourselves out with SF's best (within Chinatown at least). We just got back from Vancouver B.C., and meals there were excellent. Hoping SF can beat or match!

Thanks in advance.

I would stick with your two places. They are excellent, especially from where you're staying. When you go to R & G, make sure you order the crab. It is their signature dish, and its' quite good. You may want to get two of the crabs (whole dungeoness crabs) if you've a large party.

I would also advise you not go get your hopes up of SF versus Vancouver. Vancouver has chefs that recently migrated over from Hong Kong, and many of these chefs were pretty high-end guys. The SF experience tends to be Hong kong immigrants from much longer ago, who really were not the Hong kong "elite" chefs.

Vancouver, in my opinion and in the opinion of many others, blows SF out of the water when it comes to Hong kong style chinese food. SF does, however, have a pretty good Shanghai style and northern Beijing style, Taiwanese style, and even Chinese Muslim Xian style food, which I don't know if Vancouver has. So it may be more diverse.

I am from San Francisco and I think SF's Chinese food is fantastic, but when I went to Vancouver, I said to myself: "Wow, the Chinese food here just blows SF's out of the water."

I agree with this 100%. It is right on the m oney. Koi palace can be okay if you go in the "off" hours for dim sum, like 2-3pm.

Koi Palace is great if you 'tip' the guys in suits. The restaurant typically doesn't allow its servers/hostesses/staff to keep the tips so if you want a table or special service, hand cash directly to the person.

There is a seperate 'line' through the back way that so many of the regulars use to get a table for dim sum. Instead of a 2+ hour wait, you're looking 10 minutes max. They hold tables just for that reason which is why you'll sometimes see a few tables empty despite the long waits.

We didn't know this until we were signing the tip on the cc slip and a guy in a suit came over and said we needn't tip so much on the bill ($100+), but directly tipping is the standard these days.

I know this happens in alot of places if you slip the hostess something to get a table sooner but to have it happen so out in the open with so many people doing it is odd.

One of our favorite SFO stopover (especially when we get a 4+ hours layover) for a great Chinese meal is at the Hong Kong Flower Lounge in Millbrae, which is a quick 10 minute cab ride away, for dim sum & lunch specials - some served steaming hot from the carts & others cook-to-order. Nothing served in-flight these days (not even back in the 1980's & 90's when doing UA routes JFK-SFO-HKG) come close to what we get. Sometimes, our SFO friends or relatives will pick us up & ride over, chat & have a great meal and drop us off to catch our connection, with a nice "takeout" order en route. Free parking on-site and in a 2nd. lot across the street, but wait time can be long with a line on weekends @ peak lunch hours. (A bit pricer than the avg. Chinese meals by Bay area standard, but it's truely good food - beat those in J anytime)

http://www.crusa.biz/mayflower/HKFL/2316012.html

There are a number of good home style Chinese restaurants in Millbrae, easy to get to from the airport (usually stay in nearby hotels) and either free off-street or on-street parking. Going to "old" Chinatown is out for us nowadays as one can find great places to eat everywhere - otherwise, the Mayflower Lounge on Geary Blvd (in the so called "new" Chinatown districts nearby) is our other popular stop for home style meals, and usually easy to find street parking (unless it's weekend night) - it's been around also like FL for 20+ years.

Koi Palace is great if you 'tip' the guys in suits. The restaurant typically doesn't allow its servers/hostesses/staff to keep the tips so if you want a table or special service, hand cash directly to the person.

Wow, good to know! I never knew this.

One of our favorite SFO stopover (especially when we get a 4+ hours layover) for a great Chinese meal is at the Hong Kong Flower Lounge in Millbrae

I agree. Hong Kong Flower lounge (now owned by the Mayflower restaurant group), is excellent. I remember a few years ago, the quality diminished. However, I went recently, and the quality has returned to outstanding. It may be that the Mayflower group replaced the chef or brought in new chefs, but it is simply outstanding now.