34021 Sat Jan 29 00:07:04 -0800 2005 15 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 152936 An astonishing 21 hounds made their way to outer Geary Boulevard for dim sum lunch at Mayflower. It's a good thing there were so many of us, because we got to sample a good deal of their comprehensive menu. Here's what we had: mushroom siu mai chicken feet in black bean sauce steamed beef ball deep fried minced meat dumpling steamed sticky rice roll deep fried crispy diced pumpkin har gau shrimp and banana roll steamed bean curd roll with shrimp in oyster sauce taro and meat dumpling pan-fried chive and meat dumpling steamed scallop dumpling rice noodle roll with shrimp rice noodle roll with shredded chicken and bitter melon stuffed eggplant pan-fried rice noodle with XO sauce pan-fried turnip cake with XO sauce layered bean curd with special sauce roast duck deep fried black cod with spicy salt ribeye beef roll with enoki mushrooms in black pepper sauce gingko nuts and bean curd skin with pea sprouts in supreme broth rice with preserved chinese sausage in clay pot layered egg custard cake pan-fried black sesame sweet dumpling with bitter melon black sesame sweet dumplings sweet sticky rice ball topped with peanut and coconut special dessert with chinese herb & turtle concentrate sesame balls One table paid $12 each, the other $13 each, including tax and tip. What did you think, hounds? Sat Jan 29 00:07:04 -0800 2005 0 heidipie 1 152956 The variety of dim sum was astounding and easy to order on the printed order lists at each table - and there were several first-time tastes for me to savor: deep fried pumpkin, layered bean curd with special sauce, special dessert with chinese herb & turtle concentrate, and the pan-fried turnip cake with XO sauce were my personal delights-in addition to the excellent company of the 21 hounds. Parking is easy at Geary Blvd.& 27th Ave. and MUNI #31 stops nearby. Sat Jan 29 08:41:25 -0800 2005 152936 0 Cynthia 1 152963 The food was good and cheap. Not much more in cost than Y Ben (all the dishes had a taste very close to each other)and Lychee Garden but clearly better. I found the food a little under seasoned but very thing was well prepared and each dish had it own taste. Presentation and service was really great. It was not a loud place and we were able to talk to each other. Since we were order off a sheet everything arrive hot and fresh. The one dish that I like because of the chef clever use of leftover trunip cake. We have a egg fried trunip of cake. Many times these cakes are steamed in round pans and there is leftover trim that cannot be served. So this chef had a the clever idea of frying these pieces in egg and this was a really great dish. In my opinion in a good place if you are in the area but would not drive there if it was not a chow event with all the wonderful hounds to chow with. Sat Jan 29 11:14:56 -0800 2005 152936 0 yimster 2 153054 People remarked that the turnip cake with egg was a great "comfort food": soft and starchy, but with a spicy kick. I also enjoyed some of the other less common dishes: the fried pumpkin and the rice noodles with bitter melon. The roast duck was terrible! Thanks for letting me crash the party. Sun Jan 30 15:36:26 -0800 2005 152963 0 Ruth Lafler 3 153120 The only reason we let you in was you said that you were pulling a Malik. Great line. Mon Jan 31 01:16:29 -0800 2005 153054 0 yimster 3 153132 Ruth, I'm really interested in broadening my duck knowledge; can you explain why you thought the roast duck was terrible??? Mon Jan 31 02:51:57 -0800 2005 153054 0 RWCFoodie 1 153000 I was surprised and pleased at the wide range of items available on the dim sum menu, but agree with the Yimster that it would have been more enjoyable if at least some of the items had been given a more lively seasoning. I did not care for the fried pumpkin chunks which were extremely dry, nor the shrimp and banana roll which was too odd a combination with the mushy sweetness of banana overcoming the shrimp. I was intrigued by the Chinese herb and turtle concentrate, an ink-black jello-like substance with a sweet ginger syrup; I am not sure if I really liked it or was just fascinated, but would like to try it again to find out. And it is supposed to be good for you, as well! Most of the many dishes were good, although I also would not drive into the city merely to eat at Mayflower. Except for that fabulous egg-fried turnip cake. I want some of that right now! Of course, as Lambert and Cynthia both indicate, it is the fine company of Chowhounds themselves at a meal that can make it memorable, and at our table we even discussed the high that the wonderful companionship adds to a shared meal. Upwards and onwards with the hounds! Sat Jan 29 19:08:56 -0800 2005 152936 0 Al@Fairfax 1 153004 Our impressions seem to have differed a bit than those already mentioned, though we do agree that things could have been seasoned a little more assertively. They seemed to do a good job with the fried dishes. Particular favorites: *turnip cake with egg and XO sauce (I love turnip cake anyhow, but this rendition was especially good) *steamed scallop dumpling (the har gau was good too, but we liked the scallops even more) *taro and meat dumpling - I thought this was a nicely balanced blend, none of the tastes or textures (coating, taro or meat) overwhelmed the others. *shrimp and banana roll - I didn't try this, but Tim did and he said it was the biggest surprise of the meal for him. He was a little suspicious of the combination initially but said that the shrimp and banana actually went better together than he expected. He ended up liking this dish and says he'd order it again if we ever went back. Other notes: *deep fried pumpkin - I liked this quite a bit, it was a bit dry as mentioned previously, but when I tried it with chili sauce I thought it was great (ok, so maybe I'd like anything if it was dipped in chili sauce?) *roast duck - not the best I've ever had, but I was surprised that it was in a relatively cheap price category on the menu - $3.80 I believe for a decent sized plate. The skin was nicely crispy. Desserts: *sesame balls - nice and hot, this rendition was filled with lotus paste. These were probably the least sweet version that I've ever had - not necessarily bad, but I prefer the sweeter taste I'm used to *egg custard tarts - I had asked the waiter if they had them and he immediately took off and brought back a plate - I had just wanted to know, but since brought them out I didn't feel right refusing them. They were a very dark yellow-orange, more yolky than any other version I've had. The crust was a bit thick for my taste. Not bad, but not great either. *special dessert with chinese herb & turtle concentrate - we've never seen this before - the deep black was a little intimidating, not knowing at first what we were having, but I enjoyed it. It had a very mild taste, really the only thing that came through for me was a hint of green/herbal taste. To me it felt like a palate cleanser to end the meal - a nice way to conclude on balance. Thanks to all the 'hounds who went, Tim and I had a great time. And special thanks to the organizer Heidi, Nick for setting up all the communications/invitations and Melanie (and Nick?) for doing the ordering for our table! It was a pleasure to see some of the people we'd met previously and to meet all the new (to us) people! Kathy (and Tim) Sat Jan 29 19:52:04 -0800 2005 152936 0 KathySK 1 153019 I took seconds of the chicken feet--they had a nice furry coating, like a breading made soggy on purpose, and a bit of a hot pepper kick. And the steamed beef balls were very flavorful. There's a Vietnamese place on I think Ellis Street, just west of Larkin (it's next door to a Chinese place), that serves turnip cake fried with egg as a rice plate, splattered with hoisin sauce. Also taro cake, the same way. It's the only other place where I've seen this done. It's really great. I agree with the others that this isn't a place to go out of one's way for. Our lunch confirmed my initial impression, that Mayflower has the breadth of offerings to be a destination place, but that the execution isn't good enough. And yet, we had a bunch of fun. What a crowd! And I think I'm one of those people for whom dim sum has to be really bad for me not to have a good time. My next dentist appointment is February 25. Where should we go for lunch? Sat Jan 29 23:43:43 -0800 2005 152936 0 heidipie 2 153067 Them Ky, on Ellis west of Larkin, is the place that makes this dish as a rice plate. Sun Jan 30 17:20:25 -0800 2005 153019 0 heidipie 3 153095 Another place that people can get a similar dish... Banana House on Kearny near Bush serves a stir fried turnip cake (or radish cake, as they call it). It too comes with scrambled egg, but also onions, bean sprouts, and herbs, and is seasoned primarily with Thai fish sauce as opposed to XO sauce. Below is a little more info. Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/26951#110317 Sun Jan 30 21:48:37 -0800 2005 153067 0 nja 4 153097 You're absolutely right. I have had it there. Mommy brain. Sun Jan 30 22:03:03 -0800 2005 153095 0 heidipie 1 153099 Many thanks to Heidi for hosting the Lunch Series event in a long while. We'll see if we can get back on a regular schedule now. Overall I thought the dim sum at Mayflower was acceptable. It certainly isn't worthy of a journey from another city or even neighborhood. I haven't had dim sum in that area, save for a single visit to Ton Kiang several years ago, so I don't know how it compares to other nearby options. If I were to find myself at Mayflower again, the dishes I would be sure to order are the XO turnip cake, steamed scallop dumplings, XO pan-fried rice noodle, the special dessert, and perhaps the sesame balls. This was the first time I have ever had the special dessert and I enjoyed it greatly, although I was told by those in-the-know that this version was made from a mix and inferior to others out there. I'll be sure to try that dish at more places from now on (and would love any recommendations of where to start). The kitchen had a very nice touch with deep frying, although in most cases those items were underseasoned. Other than the mango rolls--which had a disgusting river of mayo in them; by the way, it looks like these didn't get recorded in the list above--I didn't find any other other items bad, but merely acceptable. Our table only paid $11 each, and that included a very generous tip. Not a bad price considering we consumed a ton of food. -Nick *----------------------------------------------------* SF Lunch Series Reports MAYFLOWER RESTAURANT - SF Lunch Series #25 http://chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco/messages/115252.html BODEGA BISTRO - SF Lunch Series #24 http://chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco28/messages/104102.html KAN'S RESTAURANT - SF Lunch Series #23 http://chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco28/messages/103358.html YUNZA RESTAURANT - SF Lunch Series #22 http://chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco27/messages/100911.html ZUNI CAFE - SF Lunch Series #21½ http://chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco27/messages/100472.html SF GREEK FOOD FESTIVAL - SF Lunch Series #21 http://chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco27/messages/100131.html SABRA GRILL – SF Lunch Series #20.2 http://chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco27/messages/99161.html BURMA SUPERSTAR – SF Lunch Series #20.1 http://chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco27/messages/99102.html MAYA (NEXT DOOR) – SF Lunch Series #19 http://chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco26/messages/97978.html MIJITA – SF Lunch Series #18 http://chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco26/messages/97087.html BOCADILLOS – SF Lunch Series #17 http://chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco25/messages/95655.html BANANA HOUSE – SF Lunch Series #16 http://chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco24/messages/92688.html YOUNG'S CAFE – SF Chinatown Chowdown Lunch Series #15 http://chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco24/messages/90820.html HENRY'S HUNAN – SF Chinatown Chowdown Lunch Series #14 http://chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco23/messages/89514.html NEW WOEY LOY GOEY – SF Chinatown Chowdown Lunch Series #13 http://chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco23/messages/88786.html Y BEN HOUSE – SF Chinatown Chowdown Lunch Series #12 http://chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco23/messages/88094.html GOLDEN KING – SF Chinatown Chowdown Lunch Series #11 http://chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco23/messages/87478.html YUET LEE – SF Chinatown Chowdown Lunch Series #10 http://chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco22/messages/86828.html YEE'S – SF Chinatown Chowdown Lunch Series #9 http://chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco22/messages/86051.html SAM LOK – SF Chinatown Chowdown Lunch Series #8 http://chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco21/messages/84474.html UTOPIA CAFE – SF Chinatown Chowdown Lunch Series #7 http://chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco21/messages/83758.html HELMAND – SF Chinatown Chowdown Lunch Series #6 http://chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco21/messages/82568.html HONG KONG CLAY POT CITY – SF Chinatown Chowdown Lunch Series #5 http://chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco20/messages/81890.html CAPITAL RESTAURANT – SF Chinatown Chowdown Lunch Series #4 http://chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco20/messages/81127.html LOUIE'S CALIFORNIA CHINESE CUISINE – SF Chinatown Chowdown Lunch Series #3 http://chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco20/messages/80486.html HUNAN HOME'S – SF Chinatown Chowdown Lunch Series #2 http://chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco19/messages/79873.html BOW HON – SF Chinatown Chowdown Lunch Series #1 http://chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco19/messages/79215.html *----------------------------------------------------* About the SF Lunch Series Each week an ever-changing group of hounds lunch at a San Francisco restaurant. All types of hounds are welcome to attend: veteran chowdowners or newcomers. Seats for each lunch will be allotted on a first-come, first-serve basis to those on a mailing list being maintained especially for these lunches. If you would like to be added to that list for future lunches in this series, send a blank email to: SFLunchSeries-subscribe@yahoogroups.com The SFLS are private, volunteer assisted events. No agency relationship, express or implied exists between any parties and Chowhound, Inc. These are not Chowhound, Inc. sponsored events. *----------------------------------------------------* Sun Jan 30 22:15:28 -0800 2005 152936 0 nja 2 153116 I have just picked up a better verison today at a market. Next time we meet I will have it with me for you to try. It is a lot stronger and if this the correct term "better". But we need for Chowfun to have it first and me passing on it. Mon Jan 31 00:51:41 -0800 2005 153099 0 yimster 3 153227 Could you tell us the name on the label for the benefit of those reading along here? I agree with you that the version at Mayflower was "weak" but this probably made it more palatable. "Better" versions will have more flavor and a firmer texture, but might be an acquired taste. The one at Saigon Seafood Harbor has both those qualities, and adds a nice counterpoint after a filling meal. Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/30387#131136 Tue Feb 01 00:19:45 -0800 2005 153116 0 Melanie Wong 2 153229 Big thanks to Heidi for putting this together and drawing out 22 chowhounds for a friday luncheon. My favorite item was the XO turnip cake. Stir-fried with scrambled egg in the Southeast Asian style (don't know if this is Hokkien or Teochew Chinese), it was a big serving to boot. Ed passed the leftovers to me from the other table, and my father enjoyed the turnip cake immensely heated up for sil yeh (late night snack). I also thought the scallop steamed dumpling was very good with its whole piece of scallop nestled with a shrimp. Much better than the version my previous visit to Mayflower (linked below), although other items were not as good. I had dim sum at Ton Kiang last Monday, and this particular morsel beat it too, but not overall. My mother enjoyed trying a large variety of things with our big group. In general, she thought the food was so-so. Her favorite was the deep-fried sesame ball dessert. Not that thin, but done nicely with a good crispy exterior and chewy shell, and filled with the higher quality lotus seed paste. The fried shrimp and mango roll had a disgusting amount of mayonnaise. Better version at ABC in Foster City, one of the few things there that I really like. The banana and shrimp roll was soggy in the under layers. The fried taro dumpling could have been okay except that the bottom was oil-logged. Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/23900#91859 Tue Feb 01 00:46:08 -0800 2005 153099 0 Melanie Wong