TemJin3000
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particularly Japanese ramen and Chinese food. thanks in advance for the suggestions! 
In San Francisco looking for good food!
- Thread starter TemJin3000
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Axel's Trainer
Curt
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I've lived here almost 10 years, heres some of my favorite spots!
My favorite Japanese Place in the city is Hana Zen.
http://g.co/maps/wn52f
Also down the street is a place called Sanraku that I really liked. Hana Zen is the best though. You'll be happy, they have great Yakitori.
The Chef won a Sushi Award in 2009.
Don't bother going to the one at the Metreon on 4th, its completey smashed up inside because they're building a target there. (Used to be Sony/Playstation Stores etc)
http://g.co/maps/9htwe
My other favorites in the city are Fog City Diner (Profiled on the Food Network)
Everything is fantastic there, Mac and Cheese made with Gouda (Yum) and the Bufallo Burger is great.
http://g.co/maps/j38j7
Then my favorite steak house is Bob's Steak and Chop. The Cote De Beouf is orgasmic.
and lastly my favorite Mexican Spot, Ricos
The Chimichanga is phenomenal, and their Guacamole is out of this world!
http://g.co/maps/gtg3m
My favorite Japanese Place in the city is Hana Zen.
http://g.co/maps/wn52f
Also down the street is a place called Sanraku that I really liked. Hana Zen is the best though. You'll be happy, they have great Yakitori.
The Chef won a Sushi Award in 2009.
Don't bother going to the one at the Metreon on 4th, its completey smashed up inside because they're building a target there. (Used to be Sony/Playstation Stores etc)
http://g.co/maps/9htwe
My other favorites in the city are Fog City Diner (Profiled on the Food Network)
Everything is fantastic there, Mac and Cheese made with Gouda (Yum) and the Bufallo Burger is great.
http://g.co/maps/j38j7
Then my favorite steak house is Bob's Steak and Chop. The Cote De Beouf is orgasmic.
and lastly my favorite Mexican Spot, Ricos
The Chimichanga is phenomenal, and their Guacamole is out of this world!
http://g.co/maps/gtg3m
Last edited:
aria
Former Moderator
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Knock yourself out:
http://www.michelinguide.com/us/sf_stars_2011.html
If you can get there on a weekday afternoon when it isn't busy, the Bi-Rite Creamery has excellent ice cream.
Someone in the know told me that Globe is where the chefs and staff of the really famous restaurants go when they want a meal.
http://www.michelinguide.com/us/sf_stars_2011.html
If you can get there on a weekday afternoon when it isn't busy, the Bi-Rite Creamery has excellent ice cream.
Someone in the know told me that Globe is where the chefs and staff of the really famous restaurants go when they want a meal.
Tango
Tung's Hair Stylist
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Not sure why people rep Sam Wo so hard.... it is the oldest restaurant in chinatown (I think?) and the dumbwaiter is pretty cool but the food is not good, super greasy and laden with MSG. It is cheap though....
If you want some real good chinese food then my suggestions are New Woey Loey Goey (chinatown), Kam Lok (Chinatown), R&G Lounge (Chinatown) or if you can make it out to the Inner Sunset then you must try San Tung. (http://www.yelp.com/biz/san-tung-chinese-restaurant-san-francisco). This place is amazing. Get a reservation though as there is always a wait, every night. Get the dry fried chicken wings and the dry fried string beans. They also hand pull their own noodles so those are smashing as well.
Seriously, avoid Sam Wo and try out the other spots. Keep in mind though that the menu's they put out in these restaurants for the gwei lo dont have the full list of items. There are set meals/menus on the walls as well that have the real cantonese dishes. My suggestions and personal favorite dishes and ones you should try;
Ju yuk beng -- this is basically steamed pork hash, its considered a home style/country food and while all of the restaurants serve it alot of them dont put it on the menu as non-chinese dont really eat it. You can get the "Hom Yu (salty fish) Ju yuk beng (with dried salted fish on top) or one made with duck egg... the terms escapes me.
Mui Choi Kow Yuk-- fatty pork belly served (generally) in a clay pot with preserved vegetables. Sooooo good.
West Lake beef soup-- this soup is made with ground pork, chicken stock, egg whites, tofu, crab meat and lots of cilantro.
If you want to grab a quick snack while you are out and about but dont feel like sitting down at a restaurant there is a great and really cheap dim-sum shop/bakery called You's Dim Sum on stockton st. Make sure you go to the one on Stockton St.... they have at least one other smaller shop in c-town but they are not as good. If you make it here be sure to try out the Cha siu baau (bbq pork buns)... I prefer the jing cha siu baau which is the steamed roll as oppose to the normal baked roll but they are both good. You's dim sum makes their baked one very, very big and glazes the baked version's roll with honey. Cha siu baau are kind of like the general tso's chicken of dim sum but for good reason, they rule. My personal favorite though is the Lou Mai Bao which is glutinous sticky rice balls with all kinds of good stuff in them steamed in a thin noodle wrapper. You can also get lou mai gai (which is just the sticky rice alone) wrapped in banana leaves which is called a Jung. They make these in both salty and sweet varieties so make sure to specify which you want.
Hope that helps.... if you have any questions let me know. I eat alot of chinese food in SF....
If you want some real good chinese food then my suggestions are New Woey Loey Goey (chinatown), Kam Lok (Chinatown), R&G Lounge (Chinatown) or if you can make it out to the Inner Sunset then you must try San Tung. (http://www.yelp.com/biz/san-tung-chinese-restaurant-san-francisco). This place is amazing. Get a reservation though as there is always a wait, every night. Get the dry fried chicken wings and the dry fried string beans. They also hand pull their own noodles so those are smashing as well.
Seriously, avoid Sam Wo and try out the other spots. Keep in mind though that the menu's they put out in these restaurants for the gwei lo dont have the full list of items. There are set meals/menus on the walls as well that have the real cantonese dishes. My suggestions and personal favorite dishes and ones you should try;
Ju yuk beng -- this is basically steamed pork hash, its considered a home style/country food and while all of the restaurants serve it alot of them dont put it on the menu as non-chinese dont really eat it. You can get the "Hom Yu (salty fish) Ju yuk beng (with dried salted fish on top) or one made with duck egg... the terms escapes me.
Mui Choi Kow Yuk-- fatty pork belly served (generally) in a clay pot with preserved vegetables. Sooooo good.
West Lake beef soup-- this soup is made with ground pork, chicken stock, egg whites, tofu, crab meat and lots of cilantro.
If you want to grab a quick snack while you are out and about but dont feel like sitting down at a restaurant there is a great and really cheap dim-sum shop/bakery called You's Dim Sum on stockton st. Make sure you go to the one on Stockton St.... they have at least one other smaller shop in c-town but they are not as good. If you make it here be sure to try out the Cha siu baau (bbq pork buns)... I prefer the jing cha siu baau which is the steamed roll as oppose to the normal baked roll but they are both good. You's dim sum makes their baked one very, very big and glazes the baked version's roll with honey. Cha siu baau are kind of like the general tso's chicken of dim sum but for good reason, they rule. My personal favorite though is the Lou Mai Bao which is glutinous sticky rice balls with all kinds of good stuff in them steamed in a thin noodle wrapper. You can also get lou mai gai (which is just the sticky rice alone) wrapped in banana leaves which is called a Jung. They make these in both salty and sweet varieties so make sure to specify which you want.
Hope that helps.... if you have any questions let me know. I eat alot of chinese food in SF....
Last edited:
Tango
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Oh shit-- forgot to mention that if you make it out to Berkeley there is a really good Ramen shop called Ryowa on University Avenue, close enough to walk from Bart. Its a cool little spot and has a book case of manga to read (or look at) while you eat.
Of course, Japan town on Geary (in SF) has lots of Ramen shops, but just like chinatown-- some of them are good and some of them are not so good. Hard to tell which are which though. If you do plan on making it to the east bay I can let you know alot of other good spots to eat at in oakland chinatown and in the general area.
Of course, Japan town on Geary (in SF) has lots of Ramen shops, but just like chinatown-- some of them are good and some of them are not so good. Hard to tell which are which though. If you do plan on making it to the east bay I can let you know alot of other good spots to eat at in oakland chinatown and in the general area.
aria
Former Moderator
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If a person is looking to pair things down, is Yelp pretty reliable in SF? I've started to use it to get a feel for places.
aria
Former Moderator
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Hell, if I ever end up eating in the Berkeley area, I've been meaning to try this place for years:
The restaurant, the legend, and yes they have a website.
Tango
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You know Im not too sure about yelp... I dont often use it to be honest. I feel like giving people an outlet to voice grievances just gives people who are normally impossible people to make happy a license to complain maybe? That said... my wife and I have tried out a few places that she found on there that seemed pretty much spot on with what the overall consensus on yelp was... so that must mean something.
King Dong is actually pretty good--haha. I completely forgot about that place!
Next time you make it out this way, hit me up. I'd be happy to give you some suggestions. There are lots of places opening all the time and I think it generally takes a couple months for yelp to catch up. For instance... a place just opened up in the Bay Area that serves nothing but mac and cheese. Yup. Mac and cheese! And its really, really good too!
King Dong is actually pretty good--haha. I completely forgot about that place!
Next time you make it out this way, hit me up. I'd be happy to give you some suggestions. There are lots of places opening all the time and I think it generally takes a couple months for yelp to catch up. For instance... a place just opened up in the Bay Area that serves nothing but mac and cheese. Yup. Mac and cheese! And its really, really good too!
aria
Former Moderator
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That's brilliant business thinking because the margins on mac and cheese are really good.
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I don't know much about ramen.
Chinese food depends on what you mean by Chinese food. I'm more of the Hunan/Schezuan style eater, but Mandarin is the most popular style by my observation and from what I understand. Tango knows Chinese food the best. Listen to him. I haven't tried the world of food he knows.
Although I do have my favorites, I'll mention the following Chinese restaurant because there's a fairly good chance you'd hit that area as most tourists do:
San Wang on Post Street (Japantown) : The food is good. I treated others and they agreed. I seem to remember hearing they make their own noodles, but I'd have to look that up. I'll say service is something lacking in most of San Francisco's Chinese restaurants - so go with the flow.
A hip thing to do is eat at "Off The Grid" where the food trucks are. Thursdays on Haight/Stanyan Street have a reasonable variety with reasonable lines. Haight street seems to be a tourist destination for the hippie and homeless punk culture, but I don't care for that much. I have a food tent on Friday nights at Fort Mason. Fort Mason is a madhouse, so you'd have to be prepared (thousands of people). Show up at 5pm when the grid opens or at 9 pm when the lines are breaking up but the music is still going. I invite you to say "Hey" if you'd like to say so. I also often stop by the Haight Street location to eat since I'm close by.
So many little great "pockets" of food. The blocks around 24th and Harrison are great. You can get some fantastic Mexican food, hit up Philz Coffee, Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream, Dynamo Donuts, and look at the murals painted all around the buildings and alleys. I think lower Haight is another great 2 blocks of food ( cross streets Haight and Fillmore). Memphis Minnie's BBQ, Rosamunde Sausage Grill, Three Twins Ice Cream, some lively bars, and you're set. These areas are fun because you can food binge at little cost while skipping out on reservations, waiters, waiting for tables, and everything else that you don't need when you're having fun with friends. These are the types of locations I'd prefer to delete from mention if I were so selfish.
PS - Seth, I should have some good food news soon. Your stomach will be happy.
Chinese food depends on what you mean by Chinese food. I'm more of the Hunan/Schezuan style eater, but Mandarin is the most popular style by my observation and from what I understand. Tango knows Chinese food the best. Listen to him. I haven't tried the world of food he knows.
Although I do have my favorites, I'll mention the following Chinese restaurant because there's a fairly good chance you'd hit that area as most tourists do:
San Wang on Post Street (Japantown) : The food is good. I treated others and they agreed. I seem to remember hearing they make their own noodles, but I'd have to look that up. I'll say service is something lacking in most of San Francisco's Chinese restaurants - so go with the flow.
A hip thing to do is eat at "Off The Grid" where the food trucks are. Thursdays on Haight/Stanyan Street have a reasonable variety with reasonable lines. Haight street seems to be a tourist destination for the hippie and homeless punk culture, but I don't care for that much. I have a food tent on Friday nights at Fort Mason. Fort Mason is a madhouse, so you'd have to be prepared (thousands of people). Show up at 5pm when the grid opens or at 9 pm when the lines are breaking up but the music is still going. I invite you to say "Hey" if you'd like to say so. I also often stop by the Haight Street location to eat since I'm close by.
So many little great "pockets" of food. The blocks around 24th and Harrison are great. You can get some fantastic Mexican food, hit up Philz Coffee, Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream, Dynamo Donuts, and look at the murals painted all around the buildings and alleys. I think lower Haight is another great 2 blocks of food ( cross streets Haight and Fillmore). Memphis Minnie's BBQ, Rosamunde Sausage Grill, Three Twins Ice Cream, some lively bars, and you're set. These areas are fun because you can food binge at little cost while skipping out on reservations, waiters, waiting for tables, and everything else that you don't need when you're having fun with friends. These are the types of locations I'd prefer to delete from mention if I were so selfish.
PS - Seth, I should have some good food news soon. Your stomach will be happy.
megashock_330
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