[SFBA] Yee Foo Won Ton? Noodle?

I just heard of this dish Hung Tao Yee Foo Wonton soup from @Google_Gourmet in this thread

I am so intrigued by this dish and have been trying to research it. Seems like it is a regional dish from SF. Does anyone know its history or if it is a modification of an already existing dish? It looks like there’s different renditions - a duck soup and an egg drop soup sometimes with seafood / char siu / chicken.

What does its name mean? A search of “yee foo” mostly comes up as noodles. Is it related to yee-fu, e-fu, yi fu noodles?

From Melanie Wong:
“Yee fu won ton has been a must for every order – the stock is very good and the plump won ton dumplings pinched in purse-style are freshly fried and will stay partially crunchy in the broth. They’re generously filled with juicy ground pork. Lee Hou makes two kinds: Hung tao yee fu won ton ($5) made with beaten egg whites, copious amounts of cilantro leaves and small cubes of char siu and Virginia ham; and Op gung yee fu won ton ($6) made with roast duck and rich duck broth. I favor the deeper flavors of the duck version, but my mother seems to be addicted to the fragrant and lighter hung tao. When our relatives took her to lunch here, I think she liked being about to recommend the hung tao yee fu won ton with authority.”

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Golden Peacock Restaurant in Oakland Chinatown has Duck Yee Foo Wonton Soup at the top of its "Chef’s Specialities’ section of its menu. I haven’t tried it yet.

“Fried wontons in special broth, topped with minced duck mushrooms, green peas, green onions, and cilantro.”

Golden Peacock Restaurant
825 Webster St
Oakland, CA 94607
(510) 763-0338

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Also the fifth one down looks to be the Hung tao yee fu won ton that Melanie also mentions.

Yee Fu is a term used when a item is deep fried prior to be cooked again normally in soup. Uncooked won ton or noodles are deep fried before being cooked in broth. My favorite is Duck Soup won ton. The now closed Four Sea did a great one. Now there is only Hung Tao Yee Fu now where you can find it.

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Thank you. That makes sense and now I understand how the term also applies to noodles.

One of my hangouts in the 1960s had a shrimp yee foo wonton on the menu which was one of my favorite bites.

Golden Peacock in Oakland apparently still has the duck version.

Do you know if there is anything similar done any where in China? Do they even have fried won ton there?

Melanie, which restaurant are you referring to? Is it, I hope, in SF?

The two restaurants mentioned in these threads, Golden Peacock and Golden Horse were mentioned in threads about Yee Fu Won Ton from the prior decade on the predecessor board, which also mentioned several other area restaurants having the dish. So those restaurants should be checked to see if they’re still around, and if so, if they still have the dish.

Lee Hou is gone. A number of places in SF have the hung tao yee foo wonton sopu; Gourmet Carousel in SF and Golden Peacock in Oakland may still have the duck version.

Sorry for the confusion. I was quoting Melanie from an old thread from a different forum. I don’t think she’s on this forum. You can read the old thread here:

From Melanie Wong:

Thank you. I found some other restaurants that might also serve the dish. I’m mostly curious to the history or background of the dish. I’m curious as to whether there are/were fried won tons in China and if there exists fried won tons braised in soup.

For those interested, here are some other restaurants:

Hung Tao Yee Foo won ton soup
Capital Restaurant
Ly Luck
Sun Kwong
Kirin
Eight Immortals
Riverside Seafood Restaurant
Andy’s Chinese Restaurant
Jade Dragon
Yan Yan Seafood
Hang Ah Tea Room
Sam’s Chinese Kitchen - Pacifica

Golden Wok - “minced duck yee foo won ton”
King Wah Daly City - Roast Duck Yee Foo - I’m not sure if this one still exists

I find it interesting that this dish is almost exclusively SF Chinatown (with some spread to Oakland and down to Daly City) but I can’t find it anywhere in Milpitas, Sunnyvale, Fremont, San Jose…anywhere south of Daly City.

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Good work!

The most common YF wontons we ate growing up was Sam See (3 ingredients) and Sup gum (10 ingredients). These were usually in a thick, almost gravy-like soup.

We last had Sup Gum Yee Foo wonton at Jade Dragon in Daly City. A good (not great) rendition, large portion.

Address: 2368 Junipero Serra Blvd, Daly City, CA 94015

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This dish dates back to a time when the only Chinese in the US were Toishanese/Cantonese, and would only be expected to be found in areas with that demographic. Indeed, Los Angeles Chinatown (like all historic Chinatowns in the US) was Toshanese/Cantonese but I don’t think this dish ever made it to LA, certainly not within my memory going back a few decades.

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Tai Wu - Duck Yee Foo - Foster City

Tai Wu has Hung Tao not Duck soup, at least it was true the last time I was there.

Fried wontons are a popular street food in Shanghai, but they are pan fried rather than deep fried. I’ve certainly not seen them in soups, especially in Shanghai with its own proud wonton soup traditions.
friedwon

Melanie Wong saw this discussion, and linked to an origin story provided by her uncle in 2005

Doesn’t a deep fried won ton in a soup gets all soggy?