Ok, Sacramento has gotten much, MUCH better in terms of the quality and variety of Chinese food available locally.
But man. Drive an hour and… well, you get these wonton in chili oil which were so good ‘the perfect balance of porky gingery umami and slick, but VERY balanced heat.
And these hand cut noodles with sesame paste, a sort of meatless variation of Dan Dan noodles. Thick, lumpy, chewy, slick, and just so good. A touch of vinegar brightness, some spinach to make to pretend it’s kinda healthy.
I’m sure someone far more knowledgeable than me knows the whole history of this Chinese district in Oakland and maybe even of this restaurant in particular, which seems to have existed with the same bare bones but perfectly adequate ambiance for what could be forever.
Places like this make me long to live in the Bay Area proper again.
Did You Eat Yet is a great You Tube channel that explores the food scene in the Oakland area, including Chinatown and Little Saigon: https://www.youtube.com/@HiDidYouEatYet
I like shan dong for an occasional delivery but would like to get there in person. The shan dong chicken is a solid version of a spicy sweet breaded chicken dish, the sesame sauce hand cut noodles are great, and the mushu is on point. I’ve had some trouble navigating the rest of their menu successfully but those three dishes have been consistently good IME.
The wontons were not very well seasoned the couple of times that I got them and the dumplings were underwhelming, so YMMV.
10/10. Get the sesame nooodles (or possibly the spicy meat sauce noodles).
My partner is not a very food-oriented person. If it’s food and it’s not shrimp or asparagus she’ll eat it and not worry too much about its quality. She’s more an ‘ear to live’ rather than a ‘live to eat’.
The noodles and dumplings were so good SHE burst into the happy food chair dance where you bounce and him a little tune to yourself cuz it’s so good. That’s a strong endorsement.
Now you obviously know your partner better than I do, as I don’t know her at all, but if someone is not a food person then I will normally take an endorsement with a grain of salt. If you don’t usually “worry too much about quality,” then how do you recognize it when you see it? Just wondering. Food looks tempting though
