LAX to SFO, no. 12
I might get lynched for this.
Oh, I will get lynched for this.
*inhales*
DimSuminSanFranciscoisbetterthaninLA.
*exhales*
It's not really a fair statement, since my dim sum experiences in LA are limited. I went to Empress Pavilion in Chinatown once; to two places in the real Chinatown (San Gabriel Valley), both of which I cannot recall because at the time, I was a princess and thought dim sum was unsanitary; less than a half-dozen places in Chinatown, Jr. (Rowland Heights), all of which were good, but it's just way too far to drive when you're hungover on Sunday afternoon; and of course, everyone's westside favorites, Royal Star Seafood, which was recently shut down permanently because I guess that's what happens when your food is that fookin' rawkin'!!!11!, and VIP Harbor Seafood, which is such an embarrassment to Chinese food that it makes me want to call up Bai Ling and go to P.F. Chang's. Ooops. That's an exaggeration, or what we wanna-be writers would call... Hy...Hyp...? Hypocritical, because i have never hesitated about eating there, and only hated myself afterward for being soft-core.
It's not that I have expert knowledge in the dim sum offerings of San Francisco, either. However, I might go so far as to say that I was introduced to dim sum while I was in college, which means my virgin voyage on the clanging metal carts happened while I was in the Bay Area. I went to dim sum a couple of times with a *coughcough* boy when I was in Berkeley (are you reading this? yes, you! lol!) and neither of those experiences were in the city, C-town (as he called it) or otherwise. We had dim sum at a restaurant on the water with a view of the Bay, though I don't remember the exact name. Something, I'm sure, with this formula: Ocean/Sea/Royal/Anything that Sounds Like Water + Star/Empress/Princess/Anything that Sounds like Young Female Royalty + Seafood. It was fancy. Impressive. I shan't go into detals, but dim sum with him was always "the morning after. " ;)
back in the day, i yanked. i singed.
I did, yes, go to Yank Sing in the City a couple of times, but those were occasions long after college, when I was on travel assignments in the Bay area. That meant I was working. That meant I was wearing blouses and slacks. Not "clothes," but slacks. Creased-cuffed-dry-clean-only-conservative-charcoal-grey-or-black slacks. That meant I was on my best corporate fucking badass professional behavior so that I could impress my bazillion bosses - team leader, project manager, program director, operations manager, managing director, and who knows, maybe even the CEO was looking at my utilization rates!!!! - all in hopes of earning a whopping 1% pay increase and an invitation to the summer golf classic with the Partners. I don't remember anything about Yank Sing because all things associated with that time of my life, I have selectively obliterated from my memory.
I also burned all my slacks. (I don't know why I have to emphasize "slacks." I just have to. Slacks.)
Yank Sing is kind of like that. It's "corporate." It's big and famous and it's a place you'd take your project team when you're the only Asian-looking person and every one else is from Idaho and wants a complete "San Francisco Experience." That's not to say that Yank Sing is bad, but that's what you have to expect. If you're wearing slacks at Yank Sing, you won't feel out of place. But you don't have to wear slacks. Thank God. I wore jeans.
We were going to Yank Sing to meet Jason. Yes, Jason again. Jason, to whom you casually mentioned that "we should do dim sum, sum time, dis weekend." Jason, whom, when you finally wake up on Sunday "Holy-shit!-oops-it's-Sunday-I-meant-'crap!'-it's-already-after-1:00!" afternoon, then drag your sorry, but very swollen body out of the aftermath, you call because you sort of recall mentioning dim sum to him. Jason, who, when you do call, already made a reservation. Three days ago when you mentioned it. At Yank Sing.
Every girl should be so lucky as to have a Jason in her life. Get back! He's mine! Go find your own Jason! Alhtough I'd be willing to share him, for a good cupcake. ;)
silver. sleek. corporate.
make a run for the (chinese) border
Yank Sing has two locations. The main location on Stevenson Street is closer to Chinatown, where they re-built themselves after their original location burned to a crisp (but don't quote me on that). We went to the restaurant located at 101 Spear, inside the Rincon Center, which looks like an office-retail hybri-lding. Seven days a week, Yank Sing serves dim sum in their enormous dining room, and even has a small Yank Sing 2 Go sideshow that slings dim sum to people who just wanna grab their goods and go. I am guessing that Yank Sing 2 Go does quite a bit of take-it-back-to-my-cubicle-and-snort-dumplings-while-grinding-out-spreadsheet-macros business during the week. They've probably got a loyal office audience during the week, but it is on the weekends when Yank Sing really shines. It is so crowded that the entire operation spills out from their already fairly enormous dining room into the atrium of the Rincon Center and takes over the entire space. According to their website, this space has the capacity for 1,000 people. Keep that in mind for your next Wedding Banquet.
how do say mojito in chinese? delicious.
everything for sale!
ease into it now. eggroll
naughty little things
p.f.? is that you, p.f.?
it's like a blowpop. like a chickenpop.
lotus operandi
now that's an onion ring
juicy dumpling couture
lick it, slam it, suck it
that's almost obscene. almost.
bao down
for the diamond bar crowd.
atkins would be proud
better than mango pudding
is this authentic?
Yank Sing
101 Spear Street (@ Mission)
San Francisco, CA 94105
415.957.9300
49 Stevenson Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
415.541.4949
www.yanksing.com
** a year ago today, patience was not a virtue with a lemon tart **
tags :: food : and drink : chinese : dim sum : restaurants : reviews : san francisco
jackt says
Yank Sing is very good for dim sum- that was the first SF place I went to for dim sum. Mayflower and Hong Kong Flower Lounge up there are very good for dim sum also.
The dim sum place I think most Bay Area people really like is Koi Palace. Giant place with an enormous variety of very unique dishes. In Daly City just south of SF.
jackt says
Yank Sing is very good for dim sum- that was the first SF place I went to for dim sum. Mayflower and Hong Kong Flower Lounge up there are very good for dim sum also.
The dim sum place I think most Bay Area people really like is Koi Palace. Giant place with an enormous variety of very unique dishes. In Daly City just south of SF.
Anonymous says
Yank Sing was the most expensive dim sum I've ever had, but the quality and selection were excellent. There were a number of items I've never eaten before. JP.
JR says
Slacks?! SLACKS! We eat 400 things at dim sum and your post is about slacks! Well, at least I can be satisfied that you posted a pic of the divine snow pea (shoot) dumplings.
Slacks! The very idea. . .
santos. says
i have decided, through your formula, to name my chinese dim sum house Aquatic Amidala Seafood Hut.
santos. says
i have decided, through your formula, to name my chinese dim sum house Aquatic Amidala Seafood Hut.
Anonymous says
good one, sarah. you pulled me out of the woodwork and actually got me to post a comment here. nice to see that you're doing well after all these years.
the restaurant you can't remember is called East Ocean in the Berkeley marina.
there are plenty of really good dim sum houses down in the peninsula...hong kong flower lounge, hong kong pavilion, fook yuen, and the kitchen...just to name a few in millbrae alone.
chinese food up in the city or even c-town really isn't that great...it's really shifted down to the peninsula and even the south bay for taiwanese-influenced cuisine.
like i said back in college though, the BEST chinese food is in Hong Kong. you have to make the trip one day...worth it even if you don't like flying. :)
JW
sarah says
jackt: crap! you just reminded me about "flower" being part of the dim sum restaurant naming formula!
jp: you mean like...chicken in avocado?!?!
jr: work with me, here. this is therapy. i burned them all, but haven't gotten over it. i have to keep talking about them until i get it out of my system. SLACKS.
santos: i like the "hut" addition. it definitely adds a casual-ness. and makes me think of jessica simpson. weird.
jw: good grief. you really ARE reading, aren't you?!? this means i can't write any snarky mean things about you, even if i refer to you as "mr. c-town," or mr. on-the-way-to-industry-captain" and how college boys totally traumatized me. damn.
and isn't it j D w?!?! ;)
Anonymous says
of course i'm reading...love hearing about and keeping up with folks who've played big parts in my life.
wait, so you would write snarky mean things about me? i'm hurt. now that would be *real* trauma. ;)
JW
KT says
Next time you are in the bay area, make your way out to the Richmond district (I know! But you can do it! It's only one bus!) and go to Ton Kiang. Any place that always has about 50,862 chinese people standing outside waiting to eat HAS to be good.
Oh, and also, it is good.
Plus, no one ever goes there for corporate lunches, so no slacks!
KT says
Next time you are in the bay area, make your way out to the Richmond district (I know! But you can do it! It's only one bus!) and go to Ton Kiang. Any place that always has about 50,862 chinese people standing outside waiting to eat HAS to be good.
Oh, and also, it is good.
Plus, no one ever goes there for corporate lunches, so no slacks!
sarah says
j-dub: i would never write mean, snarky things about you! ;)
actually, i think i may have to write an entire post dedicated wholly to you and explain how eating at stars and other places in the city with you changed my gastronomic outlook :)
l.a.c.: in rowland heights for dim sum, i think i have been to a couple of sam woos, another restaurant that didn't have an english name, and a place called hong kong palace.
kt: ah yes, ton kiang was the other alternative, but at the time, the idea of hopping onto a bus after the previous night's antics was just out of the question. LOL!
sarah says
j-dub: i would never write mean, snarky things about you! ;)
actually, i think i may have to write an entire post dedicated wholly to you and explain how eating at stars and other places in the city with you changed my gastronomic outlook :)
l.a.c.: in rowland heights for dim sum, i think i have been to a couple of sam woos, another restaurant that didn't have an english name, and a place called hong kong palace.
kt: ah yes, ton kiang was the other alternative, but at the time, the idea of hopping onto a bus after the previous night's antics was just out of the question. LOL!
LACheesemonger says
Ruth 'reckless' Reichl on egullet, re:
'authentic' ;)
"I think the authenticity thing is really overdone. Food changes. It always has, it always will. I think we're now at the point where we're able to say Italian-American food is an authentic cuisine. It's not Italian food, but it's its own thing and wonderful in its own right. Purity is a silly thing to strive for at a time when what's wonderful about our food is that we have an incredible clash of cultures, a collision where we're all tasting each other's food and it's changing our tastes and changing what we eat"... and in many instances for the worse, IMHO. Calif olive oil made 3wks ago? Well sure if it tastes better, but that's the key. Many times the 'new wave' is not as good as the original. RR can keep her authentic spicy tuna rolls and California rolls, if she likes ;)... I'll pass on that and other NON-traditional, or classically prepared. If it's great to begin with, don't f**k it up, making newer renditions that fail to impress or improve on the original. Anything that says, chili sauce, like in the picture above, is a dead give away that it's not (generally, there is a small regional area where they do spice up a little, but nothing like the Shezciuan style of the north) traditional Cantonese cooking, certainly not from the roots of dim sum service. Definitely 'new wave' desserts in that photo Sarah, no Cantonese person outside of HK, or fancy upscale high-end restaurant would ever recognize them a few decades or more ago...who knows what's being served in metropolitan Guangzhou these days, I shudder to think. Hmm, after I get Sarah drunk and on the plane to Seoul, how about a more stressful, nerve wrecking trip continuation to So. China then...that's what fun vacations are for, yes?
RR on Chinese cuisine in New York
"CAntonese cuisine has a lot to do with texture - shark's fin, fish maw, bird's nest - which is not something most Americans like very much." uh huh, Ms RR, please tell us about your experiences with modern bird's nest dessert soup preparations in HK style restuarants, which is completely different from the traditional/old-fashioned (much, much better and wholy different tasting experience) hot soup bird's nest preparations of decades gone by. :rolls eyes: damned n00b restaurant critics, who don't know sheeeet.
Ok, so with more pictures Sarah's qualified what the SF vs LA debate is in her mind then. hehe. She meant who has the best non-traditional, new wave HK evovling ever more away from what Cantonese cooking was, into the melding of all flavors of Chinese/world cooking... and that's a good thing??? Call me a purist is you want to insult, I'll just say, when done well 'classic' can be very fulfilling, and it's a tragedy that this kind of cooking is going to die out in favor of more "prettier" silly concoctions, IMHO. Where do I go to get the real deal dim sum service of old when, all the old timer chefs now no longer pass on the traditions/teaching to the new upstar celebrity chefs, and their modernized Westernized Chinese clientele.
Really sad (insert political editorial): look as the pervasive influence not only of Westernized cooking, but culture of the USA in general, how it affects the thinking everywhere else.
New housing developments in China with names like "The OC", for fox ache! I think I'm going to be ill :(
A Capitalist Paradise
The Urban Middle Class Has a Lifestyle That Looks Familiar
Really sad, Christopher Reeves widow, dies 7 months after her husband's death, from lung cancer at an early age, even though she never smoked, grew up in an area of relatively smog free environment. Now we have Chinese youth watching stupid American crap like Sex in the City and taking up smoking, makes me sick.
Pg. 4 of this article:
Spending Spree,They're young. They have money to burn. And the race is on to win them as customers
"A college student says she started smoking because she thought Sarah Jessica Parker looked so cool with cigarettes on Sex and the City. "
Hmm, I see nothing approaching 'obscense' in the photo of Char Siu Bao...but it does look too smooth and fancy for the steamed version I usually buy from out local dim sum service restaurants (Empress Harbor Seafood @Garver & Atlantic in MP has a good filling and nice doughy bun). Too perfectly smooth, so full, supple, pert; almost unreal, like it was 'enhanced', lol. I'm glad I beat Sarah to the draw in using the 'obscene' word though ;). I'm thinking it's more like a nice lacivious, lustful, luciousness...dont' you think?
Here's one of my picks for those warm, incontrollably squeezably yummy, soft bao hand cupping size pillows.
Oops, wrong picture, now how did that happen??? Mongoloid, nose and all ;).
Well here's the "correct" one then :). From Sea Harbour Seafood (more 'new wave', but not as bad as Mission 261), the green colored baked bao in the lower left in no longer on the menu, which keeps changing from season to season, unlike most dim sum service of old which rarely changes)
Note: hit reload button, if the photobucket jpg images stall in loading, photobucket can be slow at certain times of the day.
Dolores says
My bet is that if your college era Sunday morning dim sum was in the east bay (ie: Emeryville), it was probably Hong Kong East Ocean. Water reference... check. Asian reference... check. royalty reference missing, but the food's pretty good...