Hong Kong Lounge II is back as HK Lounge Bistro.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/article/hk-lounge-bistro-open-17781201.php
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Finally got around to trying it and with the possible exception of the long-gone Harbor Village it was the best dim sum I’ve had outside of Vancouver. They take and honor reservations. They even have a pretty big selection of dim sum on the dinner menu. Thanks to Bill Addison for reminding me. Detailed report coming soon.
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I’m not big on steamed bao, usually just take a bite if that, but I enjoyed one of these. Seemed less sweet and more porky than usual.
Different from the usual: beans were al dente, no blackening, and served with XO sauce, which they didn’t even mention on the menu. Excellent.
Duck and peanut: great. The wrappers were that sticky translucent kind. Also had some water chestnuts, nice mix of textures.
Great shrimp dumplings. Perfectly seasoned, don’t mindlessly splash soy sauce on these. I tried a drop of chile oil on one bite but they were better without.
Shrimp “toast” were great though I don’t think there was an actual slice of toast, just a good amount of breadcrumbs. Didn’t detect any truffle, which was fine. Fantastic and original.
Excellent siu mai.
Turnip cake was thicker and softer than usual. Great with the XO.
Beef chow fun was delicate and good. Reminded me of the venision chow fun at Yan’s place.
Pan-fried shrimp and chive were excellent.
Looking forward to going back and trying a bunch more things, maybe with some of the Abbazia di Novacella Kerner they have by the glass.
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Begoni Bistro in SF Chinatown. Almost everyone else was Chinese. Full at noon on Thursday, didn’t have to wait very long for a table for two.
salt & pepper wings: good
Pickled vegetable with shrimp & fish ball: delicate, good. Tasted like water rather than broth. Ate maybe four before remembering to take a picture.
XO sauce turnip cake: I thought these would be regular turnip cake but no. Kind of a mochi-like texture. Needed more XO sauce. Was better at home reheated with more XO sauce.
Taro cake: dry, too much taro.
BBQ pork noodle roll: very good.
Crispy green onion pancake: dry.
Sticky rice in lotus leaf: good.
Also had scallop and shrimp dumplings and egg tarts, both good, and chrysanthemum tea. Price seemed fair for the amount and quantity.
Harborview. Is this the same space where Harbor Village was years ago? Huge space. Pretty busy at noon on July 4 but got seated immediately. Warm day, sat outside.
Shrimp and pea shoot: really good but stuck to the paper and steamer.
Gai lan: excellent. Seemed like better than usual oyster sauce.
Siu mai: excellent.
Har gao: best I’ve had outside of Vancouver.
Turnip cake was as good as I’ve had. Taro dumplings almost as good as Yank Sing’s.
Glutinous rice and custard tarts were also excellent.
Surprisingly reasonable price given the quality’s on a par with Yank Sing and HK Lounge Bistro. Looking forward to going back soon.
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Went to Creek House in Walnut Creek because Luke Tsai enthused about it and compared it with Saigon Seafood Harbor (which I guess is not reopening?)
It was good and I’d go back if I were nearby and wanted dim sum, but it’s not worth a drive through the tunnel from Berkeley. I wouldn’t order the sugar-crusted buns again (anywhere) and the salt-and-pepper fried eggplant and green beans wasn’t very good (maybe the chef has changed since Tsai was there).
Solo lunch at HK Lounge Bistro.
Not what I’d call dan dan (beef was in big chunks) but a nice bowl of noodles.
Nice kang kung.
Turnip cake same as last time. Kerner was good.
Suggested tips on total with surcharge and tax. Nope.
Hacked Toto. Or do they sell them like this?
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Thanks for the intel on this spot. Was up in SF for the weekend and wanted to treat my hosts to dim sum a tad nicer than what they usually did. This was lovely. Really precise cooking and flavors, nice calm space.
Back to Harborview exactly a year later.
BBQ pork rice rolls were weird, if I was tasting blind I’d have thought it was taro rather than pork. Would not order again.
Otherwise all as good as last time. Maybe won’t order the shrimp and pea shoot dumplings again, they’re tasty but too sticky to eat without them falling apart.
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Finally made it to Ming’s Tasty. No wait at 3:00 on a Sunday. (I’ve seen lines at peak lunch hours.)
Daikon cakes were good, needed soy sauce.
Taro dumplings were bad, thick, dry, chewy wrapper, just wrong. Don’t order. To be fair, almost nobody makes these well.
Bao, didn’t taste, not my thing.
Har gao good.
Greens, rice roll, chrysanthemum tea all good.
Good sticky rice.
Good siu mai.
Excellent QPR. Nice that they serve until 6pm.
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Pearl Bay Manor in Dublin. Went because it’s next to a theater that was showing The Odyssey in 15/70 IMAX. Picture seemed kind of dark. I’d have gone to the Metreon if I could have gotten reservations for a decent seat.
Some of the best dim sum green beans I’ve had. Nice version of the dish.
Tarts were bland and the texture wasn’t great but I’m not a big fan of them.
Above-average taro dumplings but I wouldn’t order again.
Very good “turnip” cake.
Great har gao. Three whole high-quaity shrimp in each.
House specialty pork dumplings. Crunchy-chewy wrapper was kind of sweet and there was too much of it. Fun, definitely worth trying, but I wouldn’t order again.
Not worth a trip to Dublin but I’ll go back if I’m nearby for any reason around lunchtime.
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City View dim sum in SF. First visit at their new location (lost their lease on Commercial and moved three years ago). Nice dining room, all booths.
Pan-fried shrimp & chive dumplings, great dish, nice crunchy crust. Delicious.
Scallop siu mai, excellent, refined. Getting toward Vancouver quality here.
Excellent “turnip” cake.
Chili oil wonton, server recommended, kind of bland for my taste. Fine but wouldn’t order again.
Pretty good taro dumplings, for my taste I’d like more filling and less taro wrapper.
Pan-fried rice rolls with XO sauce, great crunchy-chewy-soft texture, tasty but I wish places would just charge $20 or whatever it would take to use plenty of XO. Took most home and will add more.
Very good green beans.
Very good coconut pudding.
I put City View in SF’s dim sum top tier with Harborview and HK Lounge Bistro. Friendly service. Looking forward to returning and trying more things.
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a dim sum staple (咸水角), actually available at most places. the glutinous flour is a little sweet. it’s an indulgence but it can be difficult to eat too many, especially do not try with soda…
or better yet mixed with chili sauce.
also definitely needs soy sauce
an acquaintance of mine supplied a lot of restaurants with tableware, and he said that City View was one of the best in SF for dim sum.
good to know they reopened elsewhere.
dim sum places, which are pretty much Cantonese, often serve these kinds of spicier dishes from other regions (often Sichuan) to varying success. e.g. fish-fragrant eggplant (鱼香茄子) or dry-fried green beans (干煸四季豆). their versions are certainly milder than the more original versions.
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The XO rice rolls did not need soy sauce, there was actually a lot sort of caramelized onto them.
Daikon cake almost always needs it. Personally I only want chili sauce when there’s not enough dried shrimp and pork.
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I was quoting these bbq pork rice rolls.
pan fried rice rolls yes certainly not!
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Saturday of Labor Day weekend. First time back to Yank Sing since the weird outdoor tail-end-of-Covid visit a few years ago. They’re back inside and mostly serving from carts, though you can order from the menu if you can snag a manager type. The atrium fountain is gone so there’s probably nothing wrong with sitting out there. More limited selection than they used to have.
There’s a separate section with some things available only via QR code (I presume you could ask a manager instead). You can’t order from the rest of the menu that way. Odd setup.
We got a two-top between two other two-tops, which was really bad for seeing what was on the carts. Next time I’d wait for a table in a better position.
“Hunan” eggplant was quite good though there was nothing very Hunanish about it. Forgot to photograph until we’d eaten more than half.
Solid har gao though the competition has gotten tougher.
Classic siu mai but again the competition …
Nice presentation of the gai lan, much easier to eat cut in half and even with the thick stalk parts split down the middle.
Mushroom (vegetarian) dumpling, fine but not as good as they used to be, not sure what changed.
Still my favorite taro dumplings, though they weren’t hot all the way through even though we ordered them rather than getting from a cart.
“Turnip” cake very good, though not as good as some years back when I think they used more dried shrimp and pork.
| 2 Chrysanthemum Tea (choose # of cup) | $7.00 |
|---|---|
| 1 Eggplant with Hunan Sauce | $9.50 |
| 1 Shrimp Dumpling | $9.50 |
| 1 Pork & Shrimp Siu Mye | $9.50 |
| 1 Egg Custard Tart | $15.00 |
| 1 Mushroom Dumpling | $7.50 |
| 1 Taro Dumpling | $7.50 |
| 1 Turnip Cake | $9.00 |
| Employee Health Plan Surcharge (5.00%) | $3.72 |
| Subtotal | $78.22 |
| Tax | $6.75 |
Sad to say Yank Sing is no longer in my top tier for dim sum. It’s still solid and a good choice if you want carts, Peking duck by the slice, or a vegetarian-friendly option, but Harborview is three blocks away and like Yank Sing it takes and honors reservations and validates parking in its underground garage.
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Thanks for all of your recent reports!
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Harborview. We were sitting outside under a red umbrella so the colors are kind of messed up.
Taro dumplings, piping hot, too much taro, otherwise pretty good but not quite what I want.
Har gao excellent as usual.
Ribs, didn’t try.
Siu mai, delicate, excellent.
Daikon cake, very good.
Gai lan, very good.
Glutinous rice, so sticky it was hard to eat but one of the best I’ve had.
Total was $102.16 with 18% service charge and tax. Place has >300 covers so as you might expect service is not very personal but it’s well-organized.
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Yank Sing at Rincon Center is closing next week (lease is up). Stevenson branch remains open.