Best Fried Chicken at San Tung

Chinese restaurant San Tung in the Inner Sunset is often impossible to get into—unless you're willing to scribble your name on the white-board just inside and resign yourself to a long(ish) wait. And yet, you'll see throngs of people huddling outside on the sidewalk, more than willing to cool their heels until their name is called.

That's because they know what to expect: San Tung's cooks dish out lip-smacking goodies on a near daily basis. Addicting stuff like the dry sauteed string beans, dry black bean sauce noodles, hot braised bean curd ... and let's not forget the original dry fried chicken wings.

Fortunately, San Tung's got a newish cafe-cum-to-go spot right next door to its more traditional restaurant where you can pretty much get all of the same in-demand items (along with ice cream and bubble tea) sans the long wait. So, one night not too long ago, we strolled on in and ordered some of the black bean noodles along with a plate piled high with the best fried chicken in town.

Deep-fried to crispety perfection, the well-seasoned original dry fried chicken wings come spiked with a tongue-tingling dose of garlic, ginger and roasted chile peppers. 

Mmmmmmm. Finger-lickin' good.

Post-Camping Pig-Out at Shanghai Dumpling King

Something about spending time in the great outdoors really works up a big appetite. So on our way back from an overnight camping trip in Marin, we decided to make a detour to Shanghai Dumpling King in the outer Richmond to load up on the ethereal soup dumplings plus a couple other fave dishes.

 

A worthy detour indeed. Piping hot and juicy with the most perfect, near-transparent skins, these dainty little soldiers disappeared down our gullets in no time at all.

A Hankering for Shanghai Dumpling King

I decided to give Shanghai Dumpling King another go, and turns out, the 2nd time round was better than the 1st. The soup dumplings seemed fresher, juicier and springier. And the pork chives were delicious as usual. So, we went back a 3rd time and inhaled another load of dumplings, along with the Shanghai-style stir-fried noodles and the braised string beans. Mmmm ... tasty.

Welcome Wo Hing General Store

Welcome to the neighborhood, Wo Hing General Store. The much anticipated "reopening" of Charles Phan's first storefront on the Valencia corridor finally took place last month, but rather than go with his usual (and outstanding) Cal-Vietnamese fare (a la Out the Door), it seems Chinese street food was the way to go.

And heck, YH and I were more than happy with the results.


Maybe it's because we started with the oh-so-smooth 50/50 Split, lovely cocktails comprising Plymouth gin, Dolin vermouth, orange bitters with a lemon twist.


But no. It was probably because the 5-spice local squid, lightly fried in panko, along with thin slivers of lemon, were ever so tender, ever so fragrant and ever so good.


Add to that Wo Hing's rendition of mapo tofu, unrestrained in its hot spice quotient with a good amount of seasoning and sauciness, which felt very Chinese-Californian and exactly right in this lineup.


The kicker to this meal: a fab dessert of super fresh, glutinous mochi rolled in black sesame filled with vanilla custard. The server cautioned us about the texture of the little rolls—those not familiar with the gummy, springy texture are often put off by it; but most Asians absolutely adore it. We were no exception.

Black Bean Noodles

Pasta of a different kind and equally as good ... this one—the black bean noodles (aka jia-jiang-mein)—hailing from Eastern Paradise in Honolulu, Hawaii.


I love this dish, which is available at certain Chinese restaurants catering to Koreans—typically, there's even a second menu written in Korean. The umami-rich, soy-based sauce also includes chopped onions and zucchini along with diced beef and shrimp. Some versions have squid and sea cucumber or diced potatoes; this one didn't. The whole thing is then topped with a julienne of raw cucumbers. I like to spike my noodles with a good swig of vinegar to give it a tangy bite.

Eastern Paradise's version was pretty good. But I've gotta say that San Tung's (which makes its pasta in-house) in SF is better. Sadly, I avoid that place like the plague because it's mobbed day and night (and no wonder, the food is really that good). I guess I'll just have to suck it up and go back. Maybe if I go on the early side of lunch over the weekend, the wait, not to mention the din and roar, will be minimal? We'll see ...