The Hidden Chinatown of San Francisco

Utopia Cafe was an old restaurant in Chinatown... Only by name. It's been sold multiple times but kept the English name. It's current incarnation goes by the Chinese name 牛麵王 King of Beef Noodles.  I ordered their standard beef stew and egg  noodle soup,but they have a lot of variations in noodle, protein, and combinations thereof. With or without soup, with or without wonton, with egg noodles or rice noodles, beef stew over rice... etc. etc.  The prices are below average at between 10 to 12 bucks, but it reflects the reduced portion size. I checked the prices as it had risen 25% just in the past 2 years, according old menus via Google search. Still, the portion size is decent.  All in all, I'd give this place 4 out of 5 for good but not great price for quality and quantity of food. I may go back to try some of their other stuff.  Trivia: the entire Waverly Pl including a previous incarnation of this restaurant appeared in a Jet Li video game. 

Contestants In a battle between two "beef stew noodle" shops that are across the street in Chinatown, which one will come out ahead?   Utopia Cafe, 139 Waverly Pl ( Google Map )  Spicy Shimp, 150 Waverly Pl ( Google Map ) Category Beef Stew Noodle and variations Background Despite the simple name, it's actually not easy to make a decent bowl of beef stew noodle soup. The beef must not be too chewy, the noodle must be al dente yet not mushy, and the soup must be flavorful.  Utopia Cafe's Chinese name is 牛緬王, or "beef noodle king", so this is their supposed house specialty.  Spicy Shrimp, on the other hand, sound like a seafood place. But if you read their menu (in Chinese) their specialty seems to be brunch hand-made rice rolls where you can order them to add eggs, vegetables, and different types of meat or seafood.  When it comes to beef stew noodles, the advantage would appear to be in favor of the Utopia Cafe.  Results at Utopia Cafe Went in,...