Quick Review of Cafe New Honolulu (888 Stockton)

Cafe New Honolulu, at 888 Stockton, is practically at the "other" entrance of Chinatown, Stockton Tunnel, and is right at the bus stop.

The interior is bright and sunny, and reasonable cool due to them leaving the door open all the time, but it also means it is noisy all the time, and you can hear the Muni bus announcements from the inside. "30 Stockton, Sacramento street".

I returned from work one day and decided to give it a try. There were only a few seniors inside. The menu is nice and thick, and surprisingly, not laminated, but made of thick plastic matte material. There were many items on the menu, making it a tea restaurant.

Typically at a place like this I order something classic, either beef chow fun 乾炒牛河 or the version similar 滑蛋炒牛河 runny stir-fried egg and beef chow fun. The food was served relatively promptly (within a few minutes) and the Diet Coke I ordered came VERY promptly. The flavor is above average. I find it a bit heavy in spring onions, but it definitely made the whole thing flavorful and added a bit of texture to everything.

All in all with the drink it's $14 ($12 + $2 for the soda), plus tip, and they do take credit card.

Not a "budget" place, but decent food. I'll probably give them a slight edge over their competitor, G&Y, right around the corner on Clay.

3.5/5

Comments

Dragon Gate and its Surprising History

You can't come to SF Chinatown and leave out Dragon Gate, aka the Chinatown Gate, at the corner of Bush and Grant. But do you know its history? Chinatown Gate, aka Dragon Gate, San Francisco Dragon Gate (aka Chinatown Gate, aka Dragon's Gate) was designed by Clayton Lee and others in 1967 in response to a mayoral competition, and his was the winning entry. Originally two gates were proposed, but the other gate leading to Barbary Coast was dropped due to lack of funds, and cost overrun. The gate itself was designed after a Chinese "pailou 牌樓" or "paifang 牌坊", which were the "gates" that marked separate fang 坊, or "ward" within a city. However, later it evolved into a purely decorative element. As with tradition, the gate faces South, and is composed of a large gate with two smaller side gates. The gate has a lot of its materials donated by Taiwan (Republic of China) including artisanal tiles, roofing, and the two guardian lions. Despite...

Waverly Place: more than just a Chinatown Alley with a Sordid History

Waverly Pl was far more than just an alley in San Francisco. During the earliest days of San Francisco, it was apparently known as "Pike Street", at least until the 1906 Earthquake. I cannot find any historical references on when the name was changed. Many references imply state "Waverly Pl, (formerly Pike St.) while other references imply stated Pike St. Even from the earliest days in Chinatown, it was known as a place of brothels, and allegedly both Bella Cora and Ah Toy, the two most famous madams of Chinatown, have brothels at or very close to Pike St. (later Waverly Pl). For a while, the brothels co-existed with barbers on the same street, where sailors and miners can get a haircut and a shave for 5 cents, and later, 10 cents. So the area was also known as Five Cent Street or Ten Cent Street for a while. But the street remained mired with vices. A "crime map" prepared for SF City Supervisors in 1885, note the blue and red vices mapped. courtesy Cornell U...

What Is the Origin of "Chop Suey" or "Wonton" Font, Often Associated with Chinese Food?

I am sure you have seen this font before, on Chinese takeout boxes, in Chinatowns, on Chinese restaurant signs or menus, or something that was supposed to be "Asian". It goes by a variety of names, such as Wonton, Chop Suey, Kung-fu, and so on. But did you ever wonder HOW this font came to be? And how did it become the face of Chinatown? The first appearance of this font family was registered in 1883 by Henry H Thorp of the Cleveland Type Foundry as "Chinese", though later it was changed to " Mandarin ". However, it is unknown if he personally designed it, as there are many design patents filed in his name even when he was unlikely to be directly involved. This type of font was known in typography as an "ethnic font", trying to evoke a particular culture or ethnic group, and there are hundreds of them. Some are actually based somewhat on the language's original writing, like those pseudo-Greek or pseudo-Cyrillic fonts, then there are thes...

The Hidden Chinatown of San Francisco

Search This Blog