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 ...

Wong Lee Bakery, on 738 Jackson, is just opposite the must busier and more famous House of Dimsum, and while they do serve some dimsum, WL should really be better known for its big baos and eggtarts.  The place is rather dark and there's often a line going in, and you have some time to look over the steam table / shelf of egg tarts (decently priced) and other items on the menu behind them.  They are probably more famous for frozen wontons and dumplings for sale by the dozens.  If you want to eat cheap, I recommend ordering a pound of chow fun (rice noodles) or chow mein (egg noodles). There's no meat in these, just scallions and soy sauce. As of March 2023, it's $3.70 a pound. And you should be more than half way full once you eat a pound of that.  The other item I recommend is the "dai-bao" (lit: big bao) which is mostly chicken, but also has chinese sausage (which is pork) plus portions of an boiled egg, for a mere $2.20. So One pound of starch, 2 die-bao, and i...