- Famous Bao’s two Berkeley locations (Shattuck & Telegraph) have both re-opened
- Two Shanghainese places, Su Hong (Palo Alto) and Bamboo Garden (Millbrae) have closed
- Chili Pot (Cupertino) has closed
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It’s no surprise that the major action is happening outside of SF, but I think SF is in a particular period of stagnation for mom-and-pop non-Cantonese Chinese restaurants. Looking over openings since the beginning of 2018, the major places of interest in SF have been Cantonese, higher end places with more chef-inspired menus, or hybrids of Cantonese or Sichuan and something else (e.g., Z & Y Bistro with Japanese items). Is this a fair assessment, or am I becoming too out of touch? As far as I can tell, the only new places pertaining to this list that didn’t have an existing SF equal have been DNM Hotpot (Inner Mongolia) and Hodala (Taiwanese).
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Halal Chinese Indian Fusion (SF Tenderloin) has closed
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Brothers Kitchen in San Ramon, which describes itself as “Korean Soul Food” is in soft-opening mode. Of note for this list, they have jjajang myeon, jjamppong, and brisket jjamppong. Does anyplace else in the Bay Area have brisket jjamppong?
Eden Silk Road in Oakland Chinatown at 366 8th Street is scheduled to open tomorrow, Friday Nov 1.
Here are some photos taken today
https://photos.app.goo.gl/x8mWdrh3ZPPMn3LR8
It has about 10 tables, a mix of 2- and 4-tops.
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24-second animated gif of Eden Silk
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Goldthread:
This is the first episode in a 13-part series on Chinese food (we know, it’s a lot). Stay tuned for our deep dive into regional Chinese cuisine.
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Just catching up on things here, and couldn’t resist registering my surprise that Mama Ji’s now has fern root noodles ([蕨根粉], jue gen fen )., which I sought out in Shanghai a few years back. Few people in Shanghai that I know have heard of them, and The Castro is probably the last place I’d expect to find them in the US. Here was my reaction to them:
Thank you! i’m curious if Mama Ji’s version is discernible from the Hot and sour glass noodles 酸辣粉 suān là fěn ("“soup”" is a sauce, not for drinking)" or "Intestine glass noodles 肥腸粉 féicháng fěn elsewhere available locally.
Speaking of Shanghai, Alley House at 2nd and Geary was closed for vacation when I tried to eat there a few weeks ago, and, still closed when I drove by yesterday, it appears the sign has changed to a restaurant called Wei Guo House.
By FUCHSIA DUNLOP
NOV. 7, 2019
5 AM
Excerpt:
In his 1937 novel “The Great Wave,” the acclaimed Chengdu writer Li Jieren mentioned Ding’s penchant for chicken and suggested his favorite recipe was an adaptation of a dish from his home province, Guizhou: “While he was in Sichuan … the Sichuan governor Ding Baozhen, a native of Guizhou, liked to eat the stir-fried chicken with chiles cooked by people in his hometown.” This, perhaps, is the best clue as to the true origins of the dish.
Shandong stir-fried chicken with walnuts.
(Yuki Sugiura / For The Times)
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This thread is so long I can’t tell if it was already reported, but the Sushi Raw on the corner of 19th and Taraval in SF is now Guilin Rice Noodles House. Not surprising it turned over, that sushi was terrible.
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Great article with accurate historical research. And it confirms with my talks with a historian on Shandong cuisine. There is credible evidence that the Kung Pao chicken has its influences deep from the Shandong dishes, using one of the famous Shandong specialty cooking methods baochao ( “explosive” stir-frying) named in the article. Other important Shandong cooking methods include “GanPeng” (Dry-stir-frying in high heat) which is the basis of the famous Gan Peng Chicken wings at San Tung Restaurant (and elsewhere).
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Here’s an alternate claim to the origins of “Kung Pao” Chicken from Guizhou.
https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/23/dining/kung-pao-no-gong-bao-and-nix-the-nuts.html
I’m no expert on regional Chinese, other than Cantonese, so not sure what to think about Noodle Home. I went on your mention and I got beef shank noodle soup to go. I prefer medium sized noodles so struggled with the larger and very long noodles. The broth I think had msg in it. It didn’t have the beefyness of a good pho broth. I did like the 4 slices of beef shank and especially the hardboiled egg that appeared to have been cooked in the broth. The exterior was a light brown, somewhat like one might see in guy don cha, sweet egg tea. It was really good with the broth but I didn’t moosh it up like I used to do with my Paw Paw’s egg tea. They have inside service. There were 3 Asian groups in there. I’d try it again if I ever return to CV, but wouldn’t make a special trip.
Have you tried Dell Cafe? It caught my eye as I cruised down CV Blvd and gets good reviews on Yelp.
A post was merged into an existing topic: Regional Chinese roundup 3.0 (SF Bay Area)
