Dry Fried Chicken Many restaurants serve a version of dry fried chicken. I first had it in a Mission Street Chinese restaurant where it was called "Korean Chicken". The definitive version currently is at the Shanghai House. Shanghai Dumpling House Shanghai House in the Outer Richmond at 3641 Balboa sits opposite the Balboa Theater. The sleek glass and chrome facade belies the folksy slow service inside. The wait, however, is worth it. Service may take awhile because there is only one server and she moves to her own rhythm. They specialize in steamed dumplings called "xiao long bao". Ten in an order, everybody seems to order them as well as the dry fried chicken wings. The chicken wings aren't on the menu, but everybody seems to know about them and want them. These are big juicy chicken wings with a battered crispy skin that's hefty enough to carry the spicy sweet and sour sauce. Order the dumplings and chicken wings and then try out a couple of other things and you've got a great dinner.
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Bitter Melon with Fish at B&M Restaurant "Oh no not fu gua (bitter melon), do I have to eat it?" That's what I groaned as a kid. My parents grew vegetables in the back yard and when it was bitter melon season, we saw it on the dinner table. This gourd contains quinine which gives it the bitter taste. Kids start eating just the meat cooked with the melon until they get used to the bitter taste. Then at some unknown future time and place, they realize they like it. B & M Mei Sing is a downtown restaurant on 2nd Street between Market and Mission - open only for lunch. Originally located across the street in a small storefront, it has since moved across the street into a larger 2 story space. They have devised a unique system of getting your food to you fast. They take two numbered chips and give one to you to place at the table. The other chip goes onto a countertop marked with squares. Each square represents a dish to be prepared. A person on the other side of the counter looks at the chip and calls out the menu item to the cooks. When the food is ready, there are runners taking the food and chip looking for you. When they are on a roll, your food can be ready by the time you pick up your silverware and tea and find a seat. B&M seems to be a favorite of office workers and postal carriers - a really good sign. The place is well maintained and fast. A not to be missed experience! The Dancing Phoenix Emerges5/26/2011 Cleaning out the garage is like being an archeologist. I come across bits and pieces of my history, but I don't know the details. I found this pin in a box and showed it my Mother. She said it was hers -- acquired in Hong Kong in the 1930's. It is a carving of a Phoenix. Long hidden in the dark, it is now in the light free to dance again. Legend tells us a phoenix only appears during times of peace, prosperity, and happiness. Surely its appearance is an auspicious sign! I gave it to my daughter Katie because her Chinese name is fung mo or dancing phoenix. At nineteen she has a striking resemblance to her grandmother at the same age and just like the pin, she is emerging into the light. Now it is a part of her history. Chinese Steamed eggs or water egg in Chinese is simple comfort food. There are two ingredients - eggs and water. Mixed together and steamed. I haven't mastered the technique. Mine come out a complete mess. Made correctly they have the smooth texture of custard or soft jello. The top is smooth and flawless. Most cooks always use the same bowl to steam the eggs as the shape of the bowl also affects the final result. Chris learned some techniques from my Mom and she now makes this dish occasionally. Spooned over hot rice, it is comfort food. This last time, she used a deeper bowl. The result was good, but as you can see the top was not flat and has interesting bumps accented by the soy sauce added afterwards. Next time, a more shallow bowl and a shorter cooking time may need to be the adjustment. Life is a process of trying and trying and hopefully moving in the right direction. Neon Enlightenment5/16/2011 San Francisco Chinatown is not what it seems. Its ersatz exotica is built over a layer of beaux arts style buildings from the post 1906 earthquake era. Look up above the tacked on pagoda eaves and you will see classic western detailing. The Buddha Lounge at 901 Grant Avenue has one of my favorite neon signs, its red neon beckoning for a drink and a transcendent experience on a dark lonely night. They say enlightenment can be found all around you even in a cup of tea. I first learned about Zen Buddhism from reading D. T. Suzuki, the author most credited with bringing zen philosophy and practice to the US. He might agree that indeed enlightenment could be found here in the neon sign -- or perhaps Dean Moriarty would be inside seeking enlightenment in a shot of whiskey. After all, City Lights Books is just a stones throw away. Missed Opportunities5/10/2011 I was at the San Francisco Main Library in the Civic Center recently to pick up a book and saw a photo of the library under construction (left photo). The photo on the right shows the same space today with a glass domed oculus lighting the space. The library was completed in 1996 by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, an architectural firm founded by I. M. Pei -- the renowned Chinese-American modernist architect and 1983 Pritzker Prize winner. Unfortunately I. M. Pei had already left this firm when the library was designed. So San Francisco missed out on an opportunity for a major I. M Pei building. I like to think about what he might have done in San Francisco - something as memorable as the glass pyramid at the Louvre in Paris? At age 94, it will probably never happen. Sometimes time and place miss each other. Unfortunate. Information Highway - Green Apple Books4/29/2011 There's nothing like Green Apple Bookstore in the City and probably in the Bay Area. It has some of the same vibe as the famous Strand Bookstore in Manhattan. It doesn't nearly compare in volume to the Strand. Then probably nothing else does either. Alex and Katie called it Luk Ping Guo (Green Apple in Cantonese). It's in the heart of San Francisco's inner Richmond shopping district on Clement Street, conveniently near a lot of places I frequent. As much as I enjoy the convenience of getting information on-line, there's nothing quite like the tactile quality of a book, the quality of the paper, the design of the layout and cover. Chris has organized our library by the color of the book -- reds in one area, blue in another. It doesn't make it easier to find a book, but it sure is enjoyable to look at the shelves. For the most part, architects love books and Chris and I are among those who do. Bruce Lee's Little Dragon Buns4/22/2011 Mom hasn't felt up to going out walking this week so last night we took her to dinner at Shanghai House on Balboa near 38th Avenue in the outer Richmond near the beach in San Francisco. The big storefront windows are an appealing feature to the simple interiors. You can immediately see if there are tables available when you drive by in contrast to the Shanghai Dumpling King restaurant down the street where you have to make the commitment to park and go in before finding out if there is a table. Shanghai House has the slight edge for having Spicy Chicken Wings. Both Shanghai Dumpling King and Shanghai House are known for their xiao-long bau - little juicy bit-sized morsels dumplings filled with pork, steamed in a bamboo basket and served with a ginger dipping sauce. The dough is beautifully pleated and swirled into a shape like lips puckered for a kiss, appealing in every way. Best if you eat them in a Chinese spoon to catch the juices that squirt out when you bite into them. One order brings ten. Service here is slow, but totally worth it. Why do I call them Bruce Lee's Buns? Bruce Lee's Chinese name is Li xiao-long or little dragon. Seafood -99 Ranch Market4/17/2011 Sunday, time to take Mom grocery shopping. 99 Ranch Market has everything in the way of Chinese groceries and deli foods -- all in one location so I decide to take her to one in Daly City. The heavy fog along Highway 35 near the Pacific coast reminds me of winter tule fog in my central California Valley hometown of Reedley, I switch on my headlights. 99 Ranch Market emerges out of the fog and I turn into a handicap parking space in front of the market. The enticing aroma of crispy fried fish permeates the entire store - like fish and chips take out. The seafood section brims with fresh and live seafood -- and if you want, they will fry the fish for you in their industrial sized deep fryers. Seems popular, but the oil looks dark and suspicious. I'll still steam my fish at home. Mom loves shopping so she spends time making her selections and finding the best buys. Ten pounds of rice or twenty? "Oh Gwok Boh (Koko Rose) rice makes the best jook." The thrill of the kill! We stop for lunch before lugging the treasures home. Live uni (OOOOH-ni sea urchin), too bad Chris isn't around. Chris and I have a little bon voyage breakfast before she heads off to an art retreat in Sonoma, we sit at the counter at Plow Restaurant. The new Plow Restaurant at 1299 18th Street is in the thriving Portrero Hill District overlooking San Francisco Bay. The tables are filled but we're happy to sit at the counter because we love to watch the cooks prepare our food. Near the front door, my eye catches a subtle touch (see top photo) of one of the owners who is Chinese American. These little heavy polychromed Chinese bowls were everywhere when I was a kid. Now they're scarce and collectible. The design of the restaurant is simple and straightforward and the space benefits from the north-facing large storefront windows and high ceilings. It has a happy generous feel. I read that the space was formerly an architect's office (another casualty of the economy?) and I remember walking by and noticing it before. The food matches the space. Simple, hardy, and good. I have the scrambled eggs with crispy (deep) fried potatoes and rustic toast. Chris has the french toast with fresh strawberries. Good Equator coffee is served. Worth a repeat trip. AuthorCatagories
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