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Shanghai Dumpling King’s original, Balboa St, location has closed according to Yelp. The Monterey Ave location remains. Also closed:
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Spicy Town (Fremont) has closed
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Sizzling Pot King has opened a Fremont location
They opened up a Venus Cafe (HK Cha Chan Chang chain) in the Richmond district in SF (700 Clement St
San Francisco, CA 94118). Soft opening technically, so things are still a little chaotic.
Thought they did a good job on their baked pork chop dish even if the chop was on the thinner end.
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If you or anyone tries their wonton noodle, please report back. Years ago I had it at their Cupertino branch. It was terrible. I wrote the entire restaurant off based on that plus one other mediocre dish.
At Venus Cafe? I’ll try to remember to order a bowl, but to be honest, I rarely ever get wonton noodles at cha chan tangs. Typically the baked pork chop or black pepper sauce chicken over rice with a glass of lemon tea.
The XLB at SDK was never the same after the original owner/chef decamped for his wife’s shop in Millbrae,
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Thanks for linking! Jonathan Kauffman also wrote up Yuanbao-Jiaozi, and added both restaurants and Dragon Beaux to the Chronicle’s Many Chinas, Many Tables project, bringing the curated regional Chinese guide’s scope to 39 restaurants, 18 regions/ethnicities. All of the original February 2018 guide’s recommendations are still open, but note that Noodle Shanghai (San Mateo) was undergoing renovations as of two weeks ago
Openings
- Nanking Bistro (Danville) is Chinese American, but lists some dumplings maybe Shanghai sounding.
- Küsan Uyghur Cuisine (San Jose)
- House of Banquet on Clement has been replaced with Paramount Superstars (not in scope of this list, but why not announce here)
I’m not sure if Canto-western foods called cha chaan teng fit in this thread but here’s an article from yesterday’s Berkeleyside Nosh on Shooting Star Café, Gum Kuo, Duck Duck Chicken and others. There’s also Saint Anna Coffee Shop, 326 8th St, Oakland. The only Oakland places that I’ve been able to find borscht are at these hybrid shops.
I’m glad they mentioned HK Kitchen on San Pablo in El Cerrito, the latest venture from the Jac’s/Mac’s people. I’ve eaten there a few times now, and it’s still good. But I haven’t tried the Western-influenced dishes yet, just the Cantonese.
I do wonder whether they’ve reduced the MSG, though. The sauce on the fried noodles with seafood has a little less umami now. I peeked into the kitchen in one of the old places, and there was literally a bucket of MSG on the counter.
- @hhc told me that Sama Uyghur moved a few doors down to a larger space in the same shopping center, Din Ding will soon open a second spot in that shopping center, and Yang’s Beef Noodles (Union City), the Bay Area’s first Guizhou restaurant, has soft-opened in the former Sama Uyghur spot.
- Bun Bao a Fremont-based bao delivery place has opened, but their delivery perimeter is rather limited
- Just so I don’t lose track of it, I’ve added Lai Young (Hayward) . The Taiwanese-owned business sells frozen dumplings only, which puts it in good company with other businesses in the Northern dumpling section.
- Fondue Chinoise on Broadway in North Beach, a Chongqing style hot pot restaurant, has risen back to life after a two year slumber.
- I’ve learned that chef at General Tso Kitchen (SF Inner Richmond) is from Chongqing
- Eden Silk Road (San Mateo) and Little Sheep (Union City) have also re-opened.
- Xu’s Home Taste is a Shanghainese caterer based in Fremont (they’ll be at the Chihuo Night Market)
The whole restaurant based on just the noodle and a few related side dishes? Interesting.
- Tang Collection (Parkside, SF) has closed as per yelp. Could be a false alarm-- liquor license active until December
I give up. Even in India it’s now Indo-Chinese (but show me some Chop Suey Dosas in the Bay Area). I’m so old I still think of Bangla Desh as East Pakistan.
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Kumino reopening as Kumino.China in Cupertino!
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I honestly have no idea how to classify this restaurant. It is called Hang Out Spot on 2445 Noriega St, San Francisco, CA 94122.
Here’s the eclectic menu which seems to be a HK style cafe with intermixed Taiwanese, and dessert place. Note, restaurant’s take out menu has their named spelled incorrectly…
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How interesting! Signage and elements of the decor in yelp pics signify Hong Kong. Keep us posted if you learn more
Speaking of Noriega:
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Cafe Bakery now has pineapple baked pork buns. They were sold out by noon, but their regular baked pork buns are still great.
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Underground grill kings now has daytime hours, and in addition to skewers, has a broader menu including Teochew noodles. The latter had better be good with Thai nghiep ky mi gia close by.
Wow, didn’t really look inside, just grabbed the menu and left. I’m bemused they have Old Master Q on the wall. Looking on the yelp pictures, the sti-down menu seems to have even more items.
Their uh main sit down restaurant, or the bakery next door?
The bakery.
The takeout menu cover clearly identifies it as “Hong Kong Xiao Chi” and a wall sign in one of the Yelp photos proclaims “All things Hong Kong” so I guess it’s a HK cafe. I don’t recall anything quite so eclectic in HK, but then I haven’t been in 20 years.
Brett Kavanaugh woiuld love the “Beer Tower.”
