Looking for American-ized Chinese Food

[ForgeBond]

Okay, I admit it. I like sweet and sour pork and pork fried rice and a host of other "Chinese" dishes that people in China have probably never heard of.

When I lived in NYC, I used to go to a place called Sam's on 3rd Avenue and 29th Street that was the greatest. Any people on this board know of a similar place in the San Mateo/Foster City area?

[Alan408]

Wing Fat, 3rd Street San Mateo, close to the train tracks/station.

Been around for at least 40 years.

[Gary Soup]

Tai Chi on Polk St. has well-done Chinese-American food including a cloyingly sweet General Tso's that would do any New Jersey mini-mall Chinese Restaurant proud.

[Peter Cherches]

I just passed Tai Chi on a stroll and wondered if there were anything "authentic" about it, based on the positive reviews in the window, including a 2007 Michelin Guide recommendation. I guess not.

[Gary Soup]

Hey, how about an authentic. ca 1963 SF Chinatown-style Tomato Beef Chow Mein? That's what was brought to a neighboring table the one time I was there, and almost sent me into a Proustian reverie.

[asianstamp]

You can try Kam's on Balboa I think the cross street is 36th Avenue) in SF. They are the only place I know that serves Chinese American (very rare these days) dishes.

[Melanie Wong]

Here's a post that iterates some of the nostalgic favorites at Kam's -
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/40021...

[walker]

I, too, miss east coast Chinese food. There used to be a wonderful place in SF called Mike's Chinese Cuisine at 16th/Geary. The chef/owner retired and I have not found a real replacement. I do like Eric's on Church at 27th Street. They have great pot stickers, sesame chicken, reasonable prices, very cheap lunch plates. There are 2 Eliza's, and I think you should try the Chef Chu's at El Camino and San Antonio in Mountain View -- or is it Los Altos? Great prices for lunch and they don't close between lunch and dinner.

[Robert Lauriston]

Eric's does the same kind of modern Americanized Chinese food as Emily's.

[moon71062]

Hi there! If you ever find cyrstal shrimp that is close to Mike's let me know - one of the best dishes ever. This was my mother's favorite Chinese place ever! A family favorite for close to 30 years!

[Ruth Lafler]

There's a long thread on the general topics board about the difference between East Coast and West Coast versions of Chinese-American food. It's not even an issue of authentic/not authentic, but different styles that evolved on different coasts.

That said, I don't agree that the existence of "authentic" Chinese restaurants precludes the co-existence of American-Chinese restaurants: they serve different functions and different clientele. I think for good, old-fashioned American-Chinese food you need to look in the older parts of town. Try to find a restaurant that's been there for more than 20 years, and it's more likely to have the kind of dishes you're looking for.

[Robert Lauriston]

Some of my favorite Chinese restaurants (e.g. Old Mandarin in SF and China Village in Albany) have standard Chinese-American dishes on the menu, but what reports I've heard from people who ordered them don't give me the impression those dishes are very good.

[Ruth Lafler]

Yeah, I think you're better off with a place that only serves Am-Chinese food and takes some care with it. As I said, an established, old-school place that's been keeping the neighborhood in sweet and sour pork for a generation often has quite decent (if not "authentic") food.

[peppatty]

Rickshaw on Foster City Blvd, next to Albertsons has take-out chinese. I'm chinese so I consider this type of food a different "genre" kind-of a "junk food" version. The chicken salad is good, lots of chinese mustard flavor, and everyone always gets the dai chin chicken (fried chicken bits with a sweet/sour sauce. Their string beans are good, in a greasy way, too, though last week they had the long beans instead. Very inexpensive.

[rednails]

Rickshaw is unbelievably cheap. If I want quick take-out (and am not feeling too picky), that's where I go. I can get enough food for 2 people for under $10.00, easy. That said, there aren't too many items to choose from. I almost always get the dai shin chicken. There are usually more people getting take out than eating in.

[shnigglebob]

What about Eliza's on California Street near Broderick in San Francisco? When I ate there last, it seemed pretty Americanized. I think they also have a 2nd location in Potrero Hill.

[bdl]

Having grown up in the midwest, and having spent time on the east coast, I have to say that restaurants like Eliza's and Panda Espress are nothing like what I enjoyed growing up (and still crave). The one perfect example is "Mongolian Beef". East of the Rockies, M.B. will never have a spicy star and will always be served on top of fried rice noodles. There is no spice to it and green onions are the only vegetable. Then there's the great dessert of the apples and bananas dipped in hot sugar syrup then chilled in ice water. I would say Elizas is "California-ized" Chinese for Non Chinese people and Panda Express is just bad Chinese. The restaurants I frequented growing up stood out even among similar styled restaurants and by all standards were super excellent. Long live duck sauce!!!!!

[Robert Lauriston]

I agree, Eliza's is Americanized in a modern way. Not the place to go if you're craving old-fashioned Chinese-American dishes.

[melisky]

Yes, I totally agree. PF Chang's, Eliza's and Panda Express have nothing to do with old-school Americanized Chinese food. In 70s-80s Marin, we used to go to a place called Tiburon Tommy's -- anyone remember that place? On the water in a funky atmosphere - Tiki-bar-ish with incredible bbq spareribs (not short ribs), huge egg rolls and fried bananas -- where you can find that now? I want those ribs.

[P. Punko]

Whenever I have Mongolian Beef here, it comes exactly like that, and it seems that the star doesn't really suggest it is any spicier, then again, my spice tolerance is huge, so I wouldn't notice the difference, but the last 2-3 times I have had Mongolian Beef, it has be scallions and beef, over fried rice noodles.

[bdl]

I usually find green onions and regular onions (often alot of them). I don't find these versions particularly spicy either, but they are usually very salty and more aggressively seasoned than their "West of Rockies" counterparts which tend to be sweeter, lighter and the scallion flavor dominates. I've found that certain restaurants offer a "scallion beef" that is more similar to the M.B. that I know. Either way, where do you get it with the rice noodles?...it's worth a try,

[P. Punko]

I think either Wang's (El Camino) or Szechuan Cafe (California Ave) in Palo Alto. I am pretty sure I had it at both places- and it was scallions all the way, one of the two we had take out, and they packed the rice noodles separately so they wouldn't get mushy.

[katg]

if you're willing to drive south, what about su hong on el camino in menlo park? the bf pointed out today that there were a lot of non-asians inside as we drove by. i think the food is a better version of panda express but definitely westernized.

[P. Punko]

I like Wang's on El Camino in Palo Alto (closed Tuesdays) and Szechuan Cafe on California in Palo Alto. I hope they are not offended by my mentioning them on this post. I have not had many dishes, but what I have had has been well prepared and the dishes do not all taste the same. I have only been to Jing Jing once and did not really enjoy it (I found the food incredibly oily). Ming's in Palo Alto seemed like it was OK. There are also China Delight, Windy's, The Mandarin and another upscale Chinese place in downtown PA.

AS much as people would bag on PF Changs, they do what they do very well, and the dishes are prepared well- if we go with unadventurous friends there is the "Szechuan" crispy beef, which is little shreds of almost beef jerky with julienned celery and carrot with an actually tasty sauce.

What I would love out of an Americanized Chinese place is an actual egg roll, in an eggroll skin (thicker and chewier than a spring roll wrapper). Chef Chu's has them, but the filling is super MSG-y. And a scallion pancake- these things are pretty rare around here.

[Gary Soup]

Scallion Pancakes are a far cry from American-Chinese fare; any Shanghainese Restaurant (in Shanghai or in the US) open for lunch will have them, and a lot of non-Shanghainese restaurants, too. Believe it or not, Sichuan crispy beef (Gan Bian Niu Rou Si) is also an authentic Chinese dish, though I have no idea what PF Chang's rendition of it is like.

[P. Punko]

Thanks for the Scallion pancake tip- these seem almost ubiquitous on the East Coast, and I know you can find them frozen in Chinese markets, but the ones I have had in the rare restaurant here where I have found them are more like parantha- flaky and almost greasy all the way through, and a little bit thicker than the crispy/chewy, thinner ones on the East Coast, which are usually served with a sweetish soy sauce based dipping sauce.

I think I did know that the crispy beef is an actual Chinese dish, but have never been to a place that has had it, or more likely have not been familiar with the name of the dish or how it is referred to on English side of the menu.

Thanks Gary!

[snw]

I moved from New York 10 years ago and have found no restaurants on the Peninsula that have anything resembling what you would get in New York. I do not think Panda Express and P.F. Chang's are appropriate comparisons to the style of Chinese food predominant in Manhattan, much of which is very good. That said, the Kung Pao Chicken at Hong Kong Flower Lounge in Millbrae is excellent.

[SanseiDesigns]

It's not about a comparison with NY, the inquiry was about Americanised Chinese food. I think the chain restaurants are about as generically "American-ized" as you can get with the cuisine. Personally, I prefer the more authentic regional cuisines.

[ChowFun_derek]

However this was a reply to a previous poster who mentioned "East Coast Style" pancake
The response was referenced to this post, and not the OP.

[Robert Lauriston]

The original post mentions New York, and as discussed in this General board topic there are significant differences between Chi-Am food in New York and SF.

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/356192

[ChowFun_derek]

..very true ..so it was in response to the OP as well!

[Ruth Lafler]

If you haven't found any Chinese restaurants on the Peninsula except Panda Express and PF Changs, then you aren't looking very hard. There's lots of good, authentic Chinese food on the Peninsula -- although it may not resemble the East Coast American-Chinese you find in Manhattan.

Why would anyone order Kung Pao Chicken at a Hong Kong style seafood restaurant, anyway?

[Mel]

i think Yan's Garden is good... but I like henry's hunan when we are in the city. They have 5 or so locations.

[Robert Lauriston]

http://greasepig.com/henrys

[P. Punko]

For anyone crusing around the web- the photo of the onion/scallion pancake at the link Robert posted above is very much the East Coast style scallion pancake- different than the thicker more Indian parantha style I have had at restaurants here (Wangs in PA and Hangen in Mountain View)

[SanseiDesigns]

I find that you can't get more 'Americanized' that chains like Panda Express and PF Chang's. If you want the flavours you seek with a higher quality, and authenticity to region (there is sweet & sour cuisine in some Chinese regions), I recommend Chef Chu's in Los Altos. It's easy to find, El Camino Real and San Antonio. Chef Larry has a wonderful menu that will satisfy most any palete. For those seeking more, there are dishes not found on the menu that would make any CH happy.

[muimi07]

Another vote for Chef Chu's if you're looking for Americanized Chinese.

[frellis]

There are too many Chinese folks living in San Mateo/Foster City for an Americanized Chinese restaurant to survive, unless you consider Panda Express a restaurant. You'll have better luck in the towns between San Carlos and Mountain View. I grew up in the Midwest so every so often, I do hanker for Americanized chinese food (even though I'm Chinese).

Currently, my personal favorite is Yan's Garden in San Carlos. Their hot and sour soup was absolutely delicious.

http://www.yansgarden.com/

[orezscu]

Yan's Hot and Sour soup stands out, locally. The broth has distinct black pepper, and the tender pork strips are cut in the relatively thick proportions of a (McDonald's) french fry. Tender tofu and floating feathers of egg fill it out.

In my informal local view, based on a dozen or so visits and also the reviews on this board, Yan's is one of the better "Chinese Food" places in San Carlos.

Closest to my heart for Americanized Chinese, however—and I think the closest to what you are looking for—is Jing Jing in Palo Alto. http://www.jingjinggourmet.com/2005/d...