Taiwanese in San Francisco?

[TheFuzzy]

Folks,

I had some excellent Taiwanese Chinese food in Beijing on my last visit there. However, I've not been able to find a gourmet Taiwanese restaurant in the SF Bay Area. Anybody know one?

[C J Phillips]

I don't know about gourmet, but when we still were carnivores, we often ate happily at Taiwan Restaurant on University in Berkeley. They had great oyster rolls and oyster pancakes and some terrific fish. They have a problem with consistency -- sometimes it's stellar, other times you wonder whether the regular cook didn't show up and the bus boy took over. But it's cheap and worth a look if you're in the area.

There's lots more Taiwanese people in the South Bay area, so there's lots more Taiwanese restaurants there, too. Check out the ones in Milpitas Square (880 at 237) in Milpitas whenever you come down this way. All of the Taiwanese restaurants there serve home-style dishes rather than fancy stuff.

[hzrt8w]

I agree. I have seen more Taiwanese style restaurants in the Milpitas, Fremont and Cupertino areas than in San Francisco proper. But this native Cantonese doesn't usually look for them.

I have been to one on Clement Street long time ago:

Taiwan Restaurant, 445 Clement Street, San Francisco, CA

(415) 387-1789‎

If you Google-Map with the above string, you can find 12 reviews on that restaurant and they are mostly good. With StreetView you can even see what it looks like! My memory of it is they are not bad. But that was long ago and I don't eat Taiwanese food too often.

If you are interested in the Milpitas, Fremont and Cupertino areas I can provide more details.

Edited August 22, 2008 by hzrt8w (log)

[hzrt8w]

Another idea is that: Check out "Tapioca Express". They are a franchised drink store which originated from Taiwan.

In some store locations, they team up with some restaurant operators and offer food. I don't know if all locations serve the same kind of food (I don't think they do). The one location of Tapioca Express in Sacramento (Freeport Blvd) teamed up with a "Shangdong Noodle House" and they offer Taiwainese style small eats and noodles. e.g. HungShao Beef Noodle Soup, potstickers, scallion pancakes, tea eggs, tofu sheets, dan-dan noodles, etc.. And they are pretty good!

Worth checking if there are other SF Bay Area locations having a similar setup.

http://www.tapiocaexpress.com/

[TheFuzzy]

Ah Leung,

Thanks! I'll try some of the stuff in San Francisco and write it up if it's good.

Where would you recommend for high-class Cantonese food? All the Chinese restaurants I know seem to be cheap diners, or good-but-not-traditional California-Chinese gourmet.

[hzrt8w]

Where would you recommend for high-class Cantonese food?  All the Chinese restaurants I know seem to be cheap diners, or good-but-not-traditional California-Chinese gourmet.

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Fuzzy Chef:

I am not sure what your "high-class" means. High prices do not necessarily equate to high quality in terms of food tastes or services unfortunately.

I also am unclear on what you are looking for as "good-but-not-traditional California-Chinese gourmet". I assume that you mean you don't want the chop-suey, egg-foo-young kind of outfits, because chop-suey dishes would never make the "high class" rank.

I have a few favorites of my own. They are kind of at the outskirt of San Francisco.

Zen Peninsula Restaurant, Millbrae, on El Camino Real

Very good food. Very good service. Good decor. They offer round-table (for 10 to 12) set seafood dinner for US$300 - $500. They serve Cantonese live seafood dishes. Was in a banquet there once. Really a nice place.

Fook Yuen Restaurant, also in Millbrae, on El Camino Real

Hong Kong brand name. Good food, good service. Decor can be a bit better IMO. Serving Cantonese live seafood dinner. Similar to Zen. I think Zen is a tad better.

Koi Palace Restaurant, Daly City

Very good food. Very good decor (they have koi pond as a center piece inside the restaurant). Service is not as good. Waitstaff seemed too busy all the time. This restaurant can offer you all the "high end" stuff: shark fin, abalone, live king crab, etc.. They serve dim sums, which are excellent. Not sure if Zen and Fook Yuen do dim sums. I think they do but am not sure.

Many others like Yank Sing (inside Rincon Center, downtown SF). I haven't eaten there before. Couldn't get a seat (too busy) the one time that we visited. I love their Yank Sing Chili Sauce though.

Also some like Flower Lounge (Millbrae, on El Camino Real). I think they used to be good but my last visit a couple years ago gave me the impression that they had gone way downhill. Haven't been back since. Similar Cantonese live seafood dinner stuff and dim sum.

[TheFuzzy]

Ah Leung,

Thanks for the recommendations!

I've been to Yank Sing. They're very good, but only do dim sum. I was looking for more serious prepared dishes.

Hopefully I can follow up on one or more of your South Bay recommendations soon.

And yes, what I meant was I was trying to avoid "chop suey" places, and visit more of the kind of places I ate at in Beijing.

[hzrt8w]

And yes, what I meant was I was trying to avoid "chop suey" places, and visit more of the kind of places I ate at in Beijing.

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I have just viewed your photo album. The food you had in Beijing is very different from what you can find in the USA. I don't recognize many items that you had (except the Malaysian roti canai and curry mee ).

Because of its history dated back to the gold rush days, California is populated predominantly by Cantonese-Chinese restaurants. Even that, the dishes, ingredients and styles have been altered to suit the local tastes. The "Chow Mein" as we know it in California is very different from those offered where they were originated. It wasn't until recent decades that more "authentic" Chinese restaurants started setting up shop in US soil.

There are a few Sichuanese, Shanghainese, Taiwanese and a mix style restaurants in San Francisco. Don't know of one as "pure" Beijing style which seems to be what you are looking for.

Edited August 31, 2008 by hzrt8w (log)

[TheFuzzy]

There are a few Sichuanese, Shanghainese, Taiwanese and a mix style restaurants in San Francisco.  Don't know of one as "pure" Beijing style which seems to be what you are looking for.

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Shame. Let me know if you run across anything.

I do find it bizarre, though, given the Chinese population of the Bay Area, that there aren't more "authentic regional" Chinese restaurants here. There are certainly authentic regional Indian restaurants. Go figure.

[Carolyn Tillie]

I do find it bizarre, though, given the Chinese population of the Bay Area, that there aren't more "authentic regional" Chinese restaurants here.  There are certainly authentic regional Indian restaurants.  Go figure.

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I have a similar complaint that there does not exist in this city a single Japanese Yakitori restaurant. You can't throw a dead cat and not hit a sushi restaurant, but nary a single yakitori...

Edited September 4, 2008 by Carolyn Tillie (log)

[TheFuzzy]

I have a similar complaint that there does not exist in this city a single Japanese Yakitori restaurant. You can't throw a dead cat and not hit a sushi restaurant, but nary a single yakitori...

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Not just Yakitori! Just about any specialty Japanese food: shim-age, tempura, curry, izakaya*, okonomiyaki ... there are almost 20 restaurants in JapanTown, and at least 12 of them just serve "general Japanese food", a bland mishmash of soba, tempura, bento, ramen, sushi, etc. You'd think some of them could specialize! Certainly they couldn't do worse business than they are already.

You can get pretty good Japanese Ramen and Udon in the city now. And there's one place in JapanTown that pretty much just does steamed rice casserole (I forget what it's called). But the rest would be regarded as low-class diners in Tokyo, the kind you find near a terminal train station where there are no other restaurants.

(* = yes, there's a restaurant called "Izakaya", but they serve the same bland mishmash Japanese food as everyone else).