The Hidden Chinatown of San Francisco

Most people know Imperial Palace  (818 Washington St) by its former name, Golden Dragon, mainly by the tragedy that happened there back in the 1970s . It does offer dimsum, but what most people fail to notice is just uphill from the main door, it actually has a "to go" door where you can buy steamed buns, and even lunch boxes. Unfortunately, neither turned out to be a good deal.  Updated August 6th, 2025: I tried going back in for a re-eval. Got a lunch box to go, and an order of siu-mai. She charged me $15! It should have been more like $12! And the food is bland and tasteless. (Pumpkin, tofu, and string beans). Even the siu-mai tastes a bit funny. I would NOT recommend this place ever again. ENDUPDATE When you go in, there are the buns in the window on the left, and a steam table on the right. I was there at 1:30PM, and there are only 4-5 items to choose from on the steam table. For comparison, Yummy Dim Sum (profiled elsewhere) has at least 10, plus chow mein and chow fun ...

Today Food, a small unassuming shop at the corner of Sacramento and Kearny, is a surprisingly good dumpling shop that's open for early brunch. Half of the store is taken up by the counter leaving only about 8 seats separated into 2 small tables and 1 medium table.  The menu is simple: dumpling can be served with soup, without soup, pan fried. Dumplings themselves can be had with various fillings, such as pork, chicken, shrimp, or veggie.  They have a couple other things, but dumplings are their primary offerings, so I ordered that.  It is interesting they serve everything in to-go containers and disposable utensils. Portion sizes are relatively small. The dumplings are size of a wonton, not jiaozhi, so a dozen of them would fit in a medium bowl.  On top are some bits of cilantro and seawood, but the seaweed needs to soak in the broth first. If you try to eat them dry they're too chewy. The soup is a bit savory and good, however, they give you those cheap shallow plas...

New Woey Loy Goey (NLG from now on) is one of three "basement" restaurants left in Chinatown (the other 2 are "Cloud and Spice" ex-Chef Hung's, and Kam Lok). This one is an old restaurant that still has the "bachelor bar" setup on the left as you enter, a lot like New Tin Lung Cafe (reviewed earlier).  Went in for lunch, asked the waitress to recommend a rice plate for lunch. She made an unusual choice: beef stir fried with winter melon, over rice. Winter melon, also known as bitter melon, is often stir-fried with beef and thick gravy so you can serve it over (or next to) rice, but it's an... Adventurous suggestion, something very... Oldskool. I accepted the choice, added a Diet Coke (which they don't have and I accepted the substitute, Coke Zero Sugar).  They served the house soup (low-fuo-tong) which actually came in a generous large bowl, not the normal rice bowl. It has lotus roots, daikon, and carrots, plus peanuts and pork bits. It is qui...

New Fortune is a bit of "hole in the wall" restaurant with a tiny kitchen turning out familiar plates for locals and a few adventurous tourists. There are only a dozen seats as you're sitting almost elbow to elbow with others. Most people order to go here, and just stand near the door to wait. And business is still brisk as they are next to the bus stop, being across the street from Cafe New Honolulu (previously reviewed).  Pretty average restaurant with slightly below average prices, IMHO. I've ordered the standard "beef chow fun" (gone-chow-au-haw) and it's pretty good, but again, not amazing.  3/5

Taqueria Mana is technically not in Chinatown, being on the OTHER side (the Union Square side) of the Stockton tunnel from Chinatown, at 439 Stockton (next to the Boba Guys). However, it is a proper Mexican restaurant, one of the few near Chinatown (which also includes Taqueria Zorro and El Farolito North Beach) Ordered tamales meal and horchata lunch combo to go. Price is over $20, as expected. It's pretty good, but not like amazing good. Tamales feels a little dry, and there's not quite enough salsa to offset that. Still it's pretty flavorful.  3.5/5

Right on the corner of Ross Alley and Washington, San Sun Restaurant is basically a "tea restaurant" that caters to everybody with a HUGE menu. However, it does have a few offering that are rather unique in Chinatown that could make it worth a visit.   I went in for lunch and was one of the few early birds (it's right at noon) and asked the waitress what she'd recommend. She said "Satay Beef Rice Noodles (with Chinese Brocolli), but it's spicy." I am not exactly a heat-eater, and my tolerance is pretty much Shin Ramen, but I'm willing to give it a try, so I said "make it medium spicy?"   After a few minutes, I got a plate that's almost uniformly dark. The beef is dark, the gai-lan (Chinese brocolli) was a dark leafy veg, and the rice noodle was darkened with soy sauce. So it's a dark mass (mess?). While the taste isn't bad, and the spice level is fine, Chines Brocolli is slightly bitter, and doesn't fit with the other tastes...