Settling into SF and trying as many neighborhood staples as possible, and San Tung absolutely feels…read morelike one of those classic spots that's been getting it right for a long time. The place was packed at lunch, which is usually the best sign, but turnover was quick and I was seated faster than expected. The lunch special is a solid value with soup, rice, and an entree included. Started with the hot and sour soup which had good balance and depth without being overly thick or aggressive on the vinegar. The dry fried beef was tasty. Great texture, nicely cooked, layered flavor, and the kind of dish that keeps you reaching back in even after you're full. Service was efficient, food came out quickly, and the whole place has that old school neighborhood energy that makes you understand why it stays busy. Not trying to reinvent anything, just executing the classics well.

San Tung - what can be said that hasn't been written a thousand times over? A San Francisco…read moreinstitution and gem. 75 minute wait for a large group of friends (7-8) on a Monday evening. Always well worth the wait! Highlights are of course the famous crispy dry fried chicken wings that no competitor has truly perfected or copied, the dry fried beef (I may enjoy this more than the chicken!) and dry fried string beans. Be prepared to wait and possibly make friends at a communal table. Oh San Tung, never change.

Throwback to the 90s with good food, fun atmosphere, and friendly staff. Imagine all the 90s HK pop…read morestars and movie stars, they're all here on the walls! We ended up ordered 1/3 of the menu, probably. Everything from their speciality squab to the limited time menu items like Singaporean chile crab. Everything was really delicious (only complaint is the crab sauce drowning the bread, order the bread to be on the side to avoid this situation). The popular dessert item was the red bean shaved ice, which was very nice to balance out the meal.

WHAT A GEM in SF Chinatown!…read more Hubby secured hard to get reservations and the very next day, I see a friend post her visit on IG Stories. I asked her, "What's good?" Her response... "Everything!" That's all one needs to say. At the entrance, clearly marked are signs reading, "Reservations" and "Walk-ins". Since we had reservations, we waited only a few minutes to get seated at the bar. The bar makes it easy to converse with your partner and to peer over as the fire from the range springs up from the kitchen. Our server brought us some "Free Bites" of roasted peanuts and smashed cucumbers. She was such a pleasant lady with quite the wit that made me laugh between courses. We ordered a full bottle of Negori sake. Note: if you do not finish the sake bottle, they cannot pack it to go for you, so drink up! Obviously, we couldn't order everything on the menu. For our first visit, we definitely wanted their special dish, Fried Squab. It was delicious! The meat was moist and the dipping salt with Sichuan peppercorn paired perfectly! Just don't focus too much on the visual... the head and claws. Hot Mustard Jellyfish Salad ~ I loved the "crunch" of the jellyfish and the hot mustard marinade was just spicy enough to start a slow burn up the nose. Beef Chow Fun Noodles ~ Delicious and so very savory. I was amazed at how flavorful this dish was without being salty. Clay Pot Rice w/Chinese Sausage & Bacon ~ Loved how the entire pot was seasoned nicely. The sauce did not only sit at the top, but penetrated deep down into the rice. XO Escargot w/Milkbread ~ I've only had French Escargot and these are just as good, if not better! Fish Fragrant Eggplant ~ Another savory and very umami dish. Red Bean Shaved Ice ~ Always a refreshing dessert. Dig in for the surprise in the center. We had such a nice, cozy dinner here. Even while at the bar, we never felt for lack of space. They paced the dishes out perfectly, so there was always room to eat and enjoy. Looking forward to returning and trying more items on the menu.

606 had been on the list for quite a while given the great story of generational business ownership…read morein SF Chinatown, and also because the food simply looked delicious. I joined with a group of friends and we tried many things on the menu. The highlights included the fried chicken and honey walnut prawns. The service was also so, so friendly and attentive - it was around lunar new year and everyone was great even though they were so busy. Would definitely return.

Great food and friendly service! Came here for dinner for a party of 2 and was seated right away…read more We ordered the son of Hong Kong tea and it was in a cute mug. Now let's talk about the food!! For dinner, we ordered the honey walnut chicken, broccoli beef, 606 house fried rice, and the pork dumplings. The walnut chicken came with halved walnuts and had a nice honey glaze to it that made it sweet but not overly sweet. For the broccoli beef, the broccoli was nicely cooked and the meat was very tender. We really enjoyed the 606 house fried rice. It wasn't overly fried like most places and felt fresh. The mixture of proteins was also tasteful. Now for the pork dumplings, the presentation was nice and also tasted great with nice hints of shrimp. We noticed the place became very busy but the service was still attentive. I recommend getting a reservation for larger parties or if you visit during peak hours. We aren't local or else this would be a regular place for us.

The food was too good and I forgot to take a photo honestly so here's a photo of my friends one…read moreafter she ate. (Literally giant servings) Sometimes longer lines and you may have to sit at the community table. Service is pretty order and then get your items in 10m as expected. Ambiance tends to be lots of small tables talking and chatter but also efficiency rather than sitting around. Their Pickled vegetables are also awesome and good bite of crunchy and flavorful

In the area, found the high rating ,but fell short…read more Two of us ordered: spicy beef noodle $17.95 dan dan noodle $17.95 seasonal vegetable $9.95 Soup did not have much flavor. Noodles overcooked. Meat on the beef noodle was kind of wild. Essentially all bone, nothing to even chew off. Veggie also did not match the one in the picture. Overall, not the best experience. Portion wise, they do give a lot of noodles? But that's about it. Maybe we ordered the wrong thing..not sure we would be back. On top of it all, 3.5% mandate tax :/ Street parking only.

I had made a reservation at what I thought was Palette Tea House in Ghirardelli Square, when in…read moreactuality I made a reservation for 24 people at Palette Tea Garden in San Mateo! (Only a 22 mile discrepancy -- yikes!). I was horrified at my mistake, arriving with 24 hungry co-workers but NO reservation. Fortunately, Dennis and his co-workers were amazingly gracious and able to accommodate our large group of people. The food was AMAZING!!!!! Best dim sum I've ever had. Even my fellow employees (who are normally meat and potato types) were impressed and pleased with the food and beverages. Our servers were attentive and gracious, the ambience is lovely, but the food was the star here. I can't say enough wonderful things about Palette Tea House. Do yourself a favor when you're in San Francisco and visit this restaurant! I live in the Los Angeles area, but next time I go visit my mother-in-law, I'm taking her to Palette Tea House! Yummy!!!!!!

Went to this tea house first time over the weekend for Mother's Day…read more We reserved a table days in advance. We chose the outdoor table because of our dog. First off, great vibe and ambient. Modern decoration with touch of traditional Chinese accents. The food was 4 stars out of 5. -5 stars for presentation. -3.5 stars for the taste. The presentation is fancy and luxurious. We ordered both the scallops and abalone shui mai. The abalone is okay but the scallops ones are way better. We also ordered the lotus leaf with abalone. While it looks so fancy, the rice is really wet but not binding together. The flavor is lacking as well. The best dish was the Iberico cha siu (bbq pork). It was so tender and flavorful. All of their food would looks really good on IG but I personally prefer my food have wonderful taste than wonderful photos. The service was good overall but it is a little slow given how fancy the food looks like. Empty plates were not removed until requested or when new plates have nowhere to place. Price point wise..Definitely on the higher end but not too crazy especially this place is in the heart of SF. There is a parking structure next to the tea house but it gets challenging during the weekend. I would rather take ferry and grab a Lyft next time. Will I be coming back? Maybe but it will not be my top choice while I'm in SF. Will I recommend? Yes! You should absolutely try it for yourself!

We just discovered our favorite peking duck @yh_beijing in SF…read more The skin was next-level crispy. It was not greasy, not heavy, just pure crunch. We tried it Beijing-style dipped in sugar and I was SHOCKED at how good it was Then they bring out the rest of the duck sizzling hot, wrapped in a lighter, thinner wrapper (as a Vietnamese girl, I usually love the sweet bao but this one let the duck shine) Tip: make a reservation since they serve it fresh and you might be too hungry to wait

This duck truffle fried rice honestly changed my life. I love duck. Love truffle even more. The…read morefried rice brought both together in a brand new way. Very clean aftertaste, with a rich savory and umami flavor. Amazing even as leftovers. The shredded pork was pretty good too. The little thin dough wrapper things that came with it were interesting, and I loved the cucumbers. I didn't try much of the noodles, but they were delicious as well. The atmosphere of this place is more upscale than your average Chinese restaurant, and the prices are a tad bit higher too. It was really quiet when we went, midday, but beautiful inside and the service was great. I appreciate that they have a unique menu that introduces a lot of brand new flavor combinations. A refreshing opportunity to try new things. Most definitely will go back for that duck truffle fried rice and to see what else they have.

Great duck and lamb, cozy ambiance, friendly staff. We walked in at around 5 PM on Sunday and it…read morewas easy to get a table. Would recommend!

Great caviar duck and braised string beans…read more I liked the duck soup too but my friend Luciano did not

With plenty of restaurants trying to get you thru the door in Chinatown, I was so happy to try out…read moreHon's Wun-Tun House! There will be a little bit of a wait if you come at lunchtime, but the changing of tables is so quick, it's worth the wait. My table got many items to try out, including a number of dumplings and main dishes. We have no complaints! The servers were on top of their game, and every time a menu item was brought out, they would cross it out at the table, to ensure all our food was brought out. Each dish came out piping hot (especially the dumpling and wontons), and my favorite main dish was definitely the Braised Seafood + Tofu in Clay Pot. Pair that with some rice and your set. This place was such a vibe! Totally recommend; all our food came out quick --- everything was made-to-order, and they got nothing wrong. 10 out of 10!

My husband and I visited Chinatown on a weekday morning. It wasn't too far of a walk from Union…read moreSquare and it was a beautiful, calm and sunny day. Shops were starting to open up and we stumbled upon Hon's Wun-Tun House. We originally wanted to go to a different dumpling house but that one was closed at the time. As we peered into Hon's storefront window, we saw employees already busy making dumplings around 9am. We decided to give it a try and we were so happy we did! The servers were quick to seat us, give us water and take our orders using their tablets. We ordered the pan fried dumplings and the scallion pancakes. Everything was delicious! The dumplings had a good amount of filling and were hot and fresh. The scallion pancakes had plenty of scallions which I appreciated. I mean it wouldn't be scallion pancakes without the ample amount of scallions, right?! Lots of customers were having breakfast and I noticed many people ordered congee, so it must be one of their best sellers. Our bellies were satisfied and we were out of there in under 30 minutes. Bill came out to be about $23 after taxes and before tip. This place is great for a group of friends or families to sit down and have a meal while visiting Chinatown. The front of the restaurant has a kiosk to place orders as well (not sure if it's only for take-out orders). It's definitely a restaurant I would go back to when we are in the area again.

Great as always! Salt n Pepper fish - 6/5 great!!…read moreHand cut noodles with chicken was ok - 3/5

ALWAYS delicious. I have come here like over five times when visiting, and it is so close to City…read moreLights Bookstore down the road. Food: 5/5 | Service: 5/5 | Atmosphere: 5/5 Noise level Quiet, easy to talk Group size 2 people Seating type Indoor dining area, Bar area, Outdoor patio / terrace Recommendation for vegetarians Highly recommend Vegetarian offerings Large vegetarian selection Vegetarian options We LOVE the mushroom pan-fried buns, salt and pepper tofu, and their green beans are so crunchy and garlic-y. Parking options Paid parking lot, Paid street parking, Paid parking garage Parking Two different paid lots for $20 right next to them (1 building away on either side). And some street parking. Kid-friendliness Seems kid friendly. Wheelchair accessibility I think there were two doors for opening in the front? But the patio is accessible.

entrance is confusing. there's only one main entrance and that's at STREET LEVEL. they will direct…read moreyou to go upstairs after, but you have to check in here first. the bar also has a separate entrance (2nd floor), maybe lesser known, but that's only for the bar side, not regular restaurant. they also have a takeout side, just during lunch hours 11:30a - 1:30p 4 days a week. Great food and I love that their happy hour is 4-7pm goes pretty late, only available at the bar. I checked in and said im walking in here for happy hour. the host said ok happy hour and asked me do I want to sit inside at a table or at the bar? I'm thinking "o, I thought for happy hour I must be seated only at the bar, ok lets get a table instead then, maybe more comfortable." Got settled down and seated in the main dining room which was super loud. another server comes and I ask about happy hour menu and he said no that's at the bar only. so why were we ushered to this table? so I got out of that room and went to find myself a seat at the bar instead. bar is much quieter which is nice and more relaxing. for happy hour the ha gow and siu mai is about $1-2 off. coffee lava bun is good, gooey coffee filling inside and perfectly baked bun outside! 18% gratuity auto added onto all bills big beautiful space, especially outdoors with the ferry building view the cod is incredible. about $56 for half size and $100 for large size.

Good dim sum in a nice location! So many great dishes. Where do I start? With the best!…read more Baked BBQ Buns with a sugar crust: The pork was slightly sweet, which is a good thing. Soft, soft bun. The crust makes it transcendent. Steamed Pork Spareribs with Black Bean Sauce: The sauce is very light, with a few black beans and peppers making an appearance. Steamed shrimp and chive dumplings: The shrimp pieces were large and the chive made it even better, Steamed har gow dumplings: Big and juicy pieces of shrimp inside of the dumplings went well with my requested chili sauce. Dessert: I liked that these egg tarts were on the smaller size since we were stuffed by this time and they were a perfect end to a great meal. Service was quick. They'll bring your water and tea almost immediately and take your order a minute later if you're ready. By 20 minutes later, all the dishes had been delivered. If you drive, get parking validation. Also a convenient walk from the BART/Muni station and cable car stop.