Quick Review of Yee's Restaurant (1131 Grant)

Yee's Restaurant, or 文仔記 in Chinese, is a BBQ meat vendor in addition to being a "tea restaurant" with a pretty extensive menu of most Hong Kong style entrees. The portions are pretty generous, and of decent quality. I haven't compared it against Kim Po (which is at corner of Powell and Broadway, another restaurant I'll post a review later).

Went in for lunch today, and ordered a pretty simple dish: cha-siu pork and loose eggs over rice 叉燒滑蛋飯 (Number 73 on the menu). It's not bad. You get PLENTY of rice. The eggs are a bit too loose to my liking, and the cha-siu is quite salty instead of flavorful, but there is a lot of the meat. So maybe 3.5 out of 5.

Their menu is online, but the version on their website is old, and prices have risen quite a bit. It was $7.00, it's now $12.00. In the terms and conditions, it's clear the website was NOT affiliated with the restaurant itself... Huh?

Still, not a bad place to eat, in a "greasy spoon cafe" sorta vibe.

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...

So What Exactly Are the Tongs of Chinatown?

The Tongs of Chinatown started off as an attempt to do good, but ended up corrupted by greed and turned into a term of evil. But what are they really? Tong 堂 literally means the main room or a hall. It could be termed an "association", and they still exist today in San Francisco Chinatown. Hop Sing Tong, or 合勝縂堂 (lit: united victory main hall) photo courtesy of Wikipedia / Wikicommons The Tongs started as immigrant associations serving people with common former residency, common dialect, or common ancestry. The tongs will help people fresh off the boast to adapt to the new culture. If you can find a tong that is affiliated with your village or your clan or speak your dialect, you will be welcomed. You will be given a bed for the night, then help to find a job, and find proper housing. The tongs also offered both physical and legal protection. By 1854, the Chinese have been ruled to have no right to participate in the court system . In People vs. Hall, a Chinese witnes...

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...

The Hidden Chinatown of San Francisco

Search This Blog