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 ...
An exploration of San Francisco Chinatown typically NOT covered by tours