R&G Lounge

[Stone]

Hey, this place is pretty good. And it's in Chinatown. What's up with that?

Some friends were in town and they were told to go here. Since I've been told that it's pretty good, I didn't try to change their minds and we went over there last night.

We sat downstairs in a big open room. There were the obligatory tanks of large crab and lobster and lots of fish that must have been those dreaded Chinese walking fish because they were all sitting on the bottom of the tank. In fact, they must have just walked a marathon, because they were panting like they couldn't catch their breath.

The first course was seafood and tofu soup. A thick clear broth, with tofu and chunks of shrimp and scallops, this had very little flavor. Not bad, but not good. One of us had hot & sour soup, which she liked a lot.

We ordered a bunch of entrees: The famed salt and pepper crab, roasted lobster with special sauce, R&G beef with secret recipe, eggplant with ginger, baby bok choy with garlic and veggie fried rice. It was all excellent.

The crab was a large dungeness crab, broken into pieces, dipped in a salty batter and deep fried. It came piled high on the plate and topped with the crab body. Although it was difficult to get at the meat, it was delicious.

The lobster was amazing. Still in the shell and chopped in chunks, it came served in a slightly sweet white sauce with scallions and some chili. The meat was plump and tender. Very messy, but very good.

The beef reminded me of what is usually served on skewers as an appetizer. Marinated in a sweet sauce and grilled, it was served dry over shredded lettuce. Very tender and very tasy.

The eggplant was much better than average. It was not overcooked mushy, and not stewing in oil. Even the veggie fried rice had a good flavor without the meat.

[pixelchef]

Happy 2000th post! :D

[Ron Johnson]

R & G Lounge is my favorite chinese restaurant in San Francisco. Check that, its my favorite in California.

[Stone]

I've been back a few times and went again last Saturday with a large group for my birthday. This place is really good. Almost good enough to make me reconsider my stance on Bay Area Chinese food.

We started with roast pork appetizer and beef and chicken sate. The pork was a little fatty for my liking, but sweet and tasty. The sate were different from what I expected. The chicken and beef skewers had been lightly dusted (I assume with corn starch) and quickly fried so that they were a little crisp. They were served under a brown sauce with lots of sliced onion and peppers. Very good.

We had a bunch of entrees:

2 Salt & Pepper Crab. These things are amazing. Two huge Dungeness crabs, split apart, coated in corn starch and deep fried. They're bursting with flavor and filled with sweet, juicy crab meat. I thought some at the table would shy away from eating the deep fried food, but everyone loved them.

Salt & Pepper Scallops. (Why? I don't know, it wasn't my choice.) A robust portion of large, sweet scallops, fried in a tempura like batter. Lighter than I expected and very good.

R&G Special Beef. This is my favorite. Large chunks of tender, succulent beef, marinated in a sweet bbq sauce and cooked in a dry method. The beef takes on a great, toothsome texture without being tough or chewy. I've had beef skewer appetizers like this before, but as an entree they were terrific.

Mongolian Beef. Shredded beef stir-fried with scallions, carrot and onion. Again, very good. I was worried that this stir-fry would suffer from the San Francisco glop habit, but not in the least. It was spicy and flavorful.

Chicken with giner and scallion. The waiter warned us about this one. He said that many White-folk don't like it because the chicken was steamed, and therefore white. I didn't have it, but everyone said it was very good. A half chicken, steamed on the bone and sliced. It was covered with a thick sauce of minced scallion, ginger and onion (looked a bit like a chimichuri). Everyone said the chicken was moist and flavorful and the sauce not too strong.

House fried noodles. Crispy fried thin egg noodles topped with a mixture of shrimp, scallops, chicken and veggies. Basic and good.

House fried rice. Excellent. Tasty rice without being lumpy.

We had a great time. It was a terrific place for a large party. Good people, lot's of fun.

[ludja]

Stone: thanks for the two detailed posts on R&G Lounge; have always heard good things about it but haven't been yet; now I can go armed with lots of good suggestions in mind. The salt and pepper crab does sound incredible.

I've had some good roasted crab with great garlic noodles at Thanh Long out in the Sunset (or Long Thang, as we call it, purely for mnemonic reasons...) but need to try the salt and pepper...

Edited January 18, 2004 by ludja (log)

[Jaymes]

R&G is my fave in Chinatown for sure. Have been there many times, and can't remember what all I've ordered, but everything has been just fabulous. I love that place.

Often I'm the only white face in the joint. As opposed to other Chinese restaurants to which I've been dragged, into which it's clear no real, self-respecting Chinese would ever set foot.

Much less lift a chopstick.

[Gary Soup]

I have to dissent on R&G lounge, though I haven't been there in seven years. The one (and only) meal we had there was a total fiasco. We ordered the signature deep fried crab dish, and it had either been kept in the tank too long or very ineptly prepared. The meat was literally fused to the shell, and impossible to get at without getting a mouthful of shell fragments. (My wife is a crustacean maven and can usually suck a crab leg dry in record time.) A clay pot dish we had was just a soggy, amorphous mess with no distinguishing characteristics except the cloying sweetness of too much cornstarch. We had a third dish, which was apparently not memorably good or bad, because I can't remenber what it was.

We went on a whim, and it could have been the chef's night off. My wife is convinced that the Cantonese staff had it in for her because she is Shanghainese, but I would give R&G the benefit of the doubt on that. I can't give them the benefit of the doubt for horribly botching a signature dish, though.

[Jaymes]

I have to dissent on R&G lounge, though I haven't been there in seven years.

Well -- I hate to point out the obvious, but --

That could certainly be the problem. After all, a lot can happen in seven years.

The last time I was there was about three months ago, and it was wonderful. Perhaps you should give it another chance.

[Gary Soup]

I have to dissent on R&G lounge, though I haven't been there in seven years.

Well -- I hate to point out the obvious, but --

That could certainly be the problem. After all, a lot can happen in seven years.

The last time I was there was about three months ago, and it was wonderful. Perhaps you should give it another chance.

It was highly touted even then, and there's been no change in ownership.

It was the single most disappointing meal I have had in 40 years of eating Chinese food, both here and in China.

Edited January 18, 2004 by Gary Soup (log)

[coughy]

Call before you go. When we visited SF last summer we were all excited to visit R&G. We got to the restaurant only to find it closed for a private party - boy were we disappointed!

[Jaymes]

It was highly touted even then, and there's been no change in ownership.

It was the single most disappointing meal I have had in 40 years of eating Chinese food, both here and in China.

I think if I were in your shoes and so many people's opinions differed so utterly from my own, I wouldn't be able to resist giving it another try.

But hey -- I'm actually thrilled to death with your assessment. For me, it just means two fewer people in front of me in that interminable line.

Edited January 18, 2004 by Jaymes (log)

[Gary Soup]

It was highly touted even then, and there's been no change in ownership.

It was the single most disappointing meal I have had in 40 years of eating Chinese food, both here and in China.

I think if I were in your shoes and so many people's opinions differed so utterly from my own, I wouldn't be able to resist giving it another try.

But hey -- I'm actually thrilled to death with your assessment. For me, it just means two fewer people in front of me in that interminable line.

"Many people" also tout House of Nanking, Ton Kiang and Yank Sing, to mention three other places I'm not interested in returning to.

Be my guest.

[Stone]

all of this must be placed in context -- decent Chinese food is very, very hard to come by in San Francisco.

[Gary Soup]

all of this must be placed in context -- decent Chinese food is very, very hard to come by in San Francisco.

I suppose it depends on the diligence of your search and your templates.

But thanks for vetting the fried rice and the Mongolian beef. Now I'll know.

[ludja]

"Many people" also tout House of Nanking, Ton Kiang and Yank Sing, to mention three other places I'm not interested in returning to.

Be my guest.

Any other chinese restaurants in the Bay Area that you could recommend? Cantonese in particular.