As we enter into the yellow tier, and after a 14 month hiatus, now seemed like a good idea to update the original post.
Below is a summary of forty something new additions to the Regional Chinese roundup since March 2020. Thank you to all the Hungry Onion users who reported on these in earlier posts, and my apologies for missing some places that had actually been open for years-- I’m increasingly out of touch, so additions, corrections, and comments are very welcome.
I’ve noticed that the bulk of new brick and mortars are sister-restaurants or parts of local, and in some cases national or international, chains. That’s nothing new, and testament to the quality and success of many businesses, but it jumps out in this climate where so few solo-businesses are having the opportunity to open. New virtual kitchens and pop-ups have opened, particularly in the Taiwanese category. As if we’re not lucky enough to have new tastes from overseas recreated here, there’s also been lots of chef creativity, from refined to crowd-pleasing. And, of course, there’s been no stop to bao-mania (gua, sheng-jian) and dumpling-mania, even in SF neighborhoods like Hayes Valley and Bernal Heights.
Northwest
Shaanxi 陕西 / Xi’an 西安
Gansu 甘肅 / 甘肃 and capital Lanzhou 蘭州 / 兰州
Uighur ئۇيغۇر تائاملىرى 维吾尔族 / Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region 新疆维吾尔自治区
Wide-pulled noodle
Northern 北方
Northeast / Dongbei / 东北 / 東北 Full menu restaurants
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Pan Fried Dumplings (Newark) SJB, “snowflake dumplings” (whispy edge potstickers), and a variety of northeastern dishes. Has a sister restaurant in San Jose, and is part of the same group that owns Yummy Yummy Bao.
Northeast Shao Kao (skewer) restaurants featuring Shenyang items
Jiaozi or bing
Northern 北方 Shandong &/or Chinese Korean
Jiangnan 江南
Central Highlands
Hunan 湖南
Chongqing & Sichuan
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Chuan Yu (Oakland) former chef from (closed) General Tso Kitchen in SF
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Yu Noodle (Cupertino)
Sichuan 四川
Guizhou 贵州省
Yunnan 雲南 / 云南
Southeast
Teochew-Singaporean
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Lion Dance Cafe (Oakland) “Flavors from our teochew-singaporean family recipes, nostalgic hawker favorites and the legacy of the chinese american diaspora”, pre-order or show up. Limited hours. Vegan!
Taiwanese 臺灣 / 台灣
Taiwanese bento/steam plate, not tea-focussed
Odds and ends
Hot pot (unknown or non-specific region)
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Fire Pot (South San Francisco) virtual-kitchen
Steam pot
Shao Kao 烧烤 / Chinese Skewers 串
Vegetarian
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Cozy Wok (Oakland) plant-based virtual-kitchen
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Lion Dance Cafe (Oakland) “Flavors from our teochew-singaporean family recipes, nostalgic hawker favorites and the legacy of the chinese american diaspora”, pre-order or show up. Limited hours. Vegan!
Finally, some reported-closed restaurants are back (or have been back for a while…)