530446 Wed Jun 18 17:14:01 -0700 2008 26 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 3792523 I've recently just had my first plate of what my local Chinese takeout restaurant, Big Lantern, calls "Shanghai-Style Rice Cake." Their version is sauteed with cabbage and smoked pork. My life has changed forever. As a lifetime devotee of noodles and pasta (chow fun in particular), the fact that dish has escaped me for years on hundreds of menus around the city is alarming... and is henceforth worthy of a full-blown obsession. I must have more! Can anyone recommend other SF restaurants that serve this dish? Are there any in particular that you'd recommend? Wed Jun 18 17:14:02 -0700 2008 200464 Kenois 1 3792563 Similar dish, well executed, at Shanghai Dumpling King in the outer Richmond. I went through a full-blown obsession over these. While Shanghai cooking uses chewy rice cakes in an ovalette or disk shape, Korean cooking uses chewy rice cakes in either that shape or, more commonly, in a cylindrical log shape. The Korean term is "dok", and when dok are sauteed in spicy red pepper paste it is called "dok bok ki." Available at Shin Toe Bul Yi in the outer Sunset, occasionally as a special at John's Snack and Deli downtown, and in most other Korean restaurants that aren't exclusively barbecue-focused. How is the Big Lantern version? Is that the place on 16th across from Katz's Bagels in the Mission? Wed Jun 18 17:31:57 -0700 2008 3792523 10032 david kaplan 2 3793213 My wife sometimes buys the cylindrical logs and slices them to precisely the thickness she likes before cooking. Are you saying that Koreans will cook the the whole uncut logs? It must be difficult to get a uniform texture. Wed Jun 18 21:54:54 -0700 2008 3792563 131118 Xiao Yang 3 3793233 The ones in the Korean dishes are a lot smaller. http://www.hmart.com/shopnow/shopnow_newsub.asp?top_cate=15&mid_cate=141&sub_cate=&product_id=677704121814 Wed Jun 18 22:09:10 -0700 2008 3793213 17116 kc72 3 3793257 Where are the best places to buy them in SF? Any advice about cooking them at home? (I guess the second question could move to the Home Cooking board) Dave MP Wed Jun 18 22:25:04 -0700 2008 3793213 21930 Dave MP 4 3793265 Any larger Chinese market (and some small ones) will have them. They are available dry, frozen or fresh. New May Wah probably has a good selection of nian gao. Wed Jun 18 22:32:10 -0700 2008 3793257 131118 Xiao Yang 4 3793266 I've purchased them both at 99 Ranch and Korean markets in the East Bay. I would think Kuk Je in Daly City would carry it. Also, I'm talking about the ones for Chinese cooking, they come already sliced in the bag Wed Jun 18 22:32:20 -0700 2008 3793257 17116 kc72 5 3801462 Yes, I just bought a package, sliced, at Kukje in Daly City. Organic, too, if you're into that. At the small sit down restaurant, located inside the market, you can taste the rice cakes in a soup. Yum. As a Korean food newbie, I just tasted that one a few weeks ago. Very delicious. Sat Jun 21 21:09:57 -0700 2008 3793266 189036 wontonsoup 3 3800080 Koreans slice big rice-cake logs into ovals about 3/8" thick and chop thin logs into roughly three-inch lengths. Sometimes they put both in the same dish, sometimes with mandu dumplings as well. I think the best I've had were at Ohgane in Oakland. Sat Jun 21 07:54:14 -0700 2008 3793213 11369 Robert Lauriston 2 3794253 Yeah, that's the place. I've been really happy with their delivery service over the last couple of years, especially when I need that dim sum or noodle fix... theirs is the only rice cake I've had, but something about the sweet smokiness of the meat, and the fresh, crunchy napa cabbage, is a perfect foil for the noodles... textures and flavors perfectly balanced... very minimal - if any - sauce... great stuff. Thanks for the info about the korean version - I will definitely hit those places as on my journey. If you wind up eyeing Big Lantern for a night of delivery, let me know and I can steer you toward a couple of the things I think they do best. Cheers! Thu Jun 19 09:11:56 -0700 2008 3792563 200464 Kenois 3 3794288 I live right around the corner. When they opened I tried some of their dim sum items, which didn't make me want to go further. What else do you like there? Also, I didn't see "Shanghai-Style Rice Cake" on the online menu. Which menu is it listed on? Thu Jun 19 09:22:30 -0700 2008 3794253 10032 david kaplan 4 3794362 It's a newer item for them, I think - it's on the Chef's Specials list, but I've only seen it only on the takeout menus I've gotten from them in recent deliveries. That was my impetus for trying it. What I like about them in general is that very list - the Chef's specials. They've got some fairly unusual items on there - the best (imho) are the flaming szechuan chile fish, the smoked pork, and the aforementioned rice cake. i also like the numbing spicy mandarin noodle, and the house combo fried rice, from the noodle/fun/rice menu. Mind you... I've never stepped foot in this place. :) But they deliver to my house quickly, and I'm a huge fan of spicy, starchy, and salty - which they do well. Thu Jun 19 09:39:19 -0700 2008 3794288 200464 Kenois 4 3794381 The menupages menu has an item under "Chef's specials" described as "Sauteed Smoked Pork with shanghai rice cake. veg or chicken or prawn". Due to the price ($10.95) and the fact that Smoked Pork is listed first, I'm guessing that it's not the traditional Shanghai verison in which slall slivers of pork are use as a condiment, more than anything else Thu Jun 19 09:41:51 -0700 2008 3794288 131118 Xiao Yang 5 3794481 The slices of pork in their version are substantial, so yes, I'd say you're correct. The Big Lantern version has very little condiment, and I'm eager to try it at some other restaurants to see how Big Lantern's version stacks up. Thu Jun 19 10:04:39 -0700 2008 3794381 200464 Kenois 6 3794645 link Thu Jun 19 10:45:27 -0700 2008 3794481 10264 rworange 2 3794359 Tomorrow (Friday, June 20), dok bok ki is the special lunch at John's Snack and Deli. Good rendition and smack in the middle of downtown. Ask for a side of extra spicy red pepper paste (kochujang). http://www.snackanddeli.com/ Thu Jun 19 09:38:48 -0700 2008 3792563 10032 david kaplan 3 3794416 I'm THERE - thank you! Thu Jun 19 09:49:26 -0700 2008 3794359 200464 Kenois 3 3798140 Just got back from John's. Fantastic - nice and spicy, and the rice sticks were meltingly tender - good kimchee and side salad, too. I love the little stove that they cook it on, and the people couldn't have been more gracious. I'd try Big Lantern's version if only to experience the complete opposite - no rice underneath and sauteed virtually dry, like a dry chow fun. I even think the "rice" cakes are partially made with wheat (they're beige and notably more firm). It might not be your thing, but I'd be curious to hear your thoughts. Fri Jun 20 11:56:19 -0700 2008 3794359 200464 Kenois 1 3793188 I would trust Shanghai Dumpling to make a good version. I also recently saw it at Eastern Cafe out on Geary near 17th, during dim sum hours. It looked and smelled great going by, can't say what it tasted like. Do try and find the Korean version, in a spicy and sweet red sauce. It's one of my favorite dishes of all time. Wed Jun 18 21:35:29 -0700 2008 3792523 11577 Pei 1 3793200 It's called "nian gao" in Chinese. Shanghai Dumpling King, Shanghai House, Old Shanghai or any other resatarant that serves Shanghai ood and many who don't. I'm not a big fan except for the "paigu niangao" version in which the rice cakes are smothered by pork chops and Shanghai "red" sauce... Wed Jun 18 21:43:40 -0700 2008 3792523 131118 Xiao Yang 1 3793223 I had it once at Chef Wai in San Mateo. It was one of those dishes that you will always remember. I had poor interpretation of the dish before so I didn't think I would like it, but this dish had the "wok hay" and the cut rice cake noodles were soft, chewy, and mmmm.... Went back to have it again later, and I was very disappointed. I hear Chef Wai went to a vietnamese restaurant in SF... Wed Jun 18 22:02:13 -0700 2008 3792523 15457 peppatty 1 3794312 As you may have gathered, any Shanghai style restaurant in the Bay Area will have rice cakes and most of them do a good job. Indeed, I use the existence of rice cakes on the menu to potentially identify Shanghai style restaurants (though non-Shanghai restaurants may serve them). Some of the restaurants offer the dish in soup, in addition to stir fried. I prefer stir fried most of the time, but the soupy version is a good change of pace once in a while. Thu Jun 19 09:27:15 -0700 2008 3792523 10131 Chandavkl 1 3794326 Taiwan Restaurant on Clement Street sells this dish also. I was obsessed with this dish a couple of years ago. It's true, you can buy the noodles at May Wah and make it yourself. Thu Jun 19 09:30:37 -0700 2008 3792523 13281 asianstamp 1 3798275 I've also had excellent nian gao at Hon Lin Restaurant in San Bruno (they are located on a tiny street off El Camino Real). They also have a menu w/ shanghainese dim sum (green onion pancakes, potstickers, etc.) Fri Jun 20 12:32:37 -0700 2008 3792523 13281 asianstamp 1 3800484 Also try Happy Cafe on B St in San Mateo. Excellent, pork, shitake mushrooms, Napa cabbage. Decent sized portions but great flavor. Sat Jun 21 11:15:49 -0700 2008 3792523 14548 acvr5 1 3811319 Shanghai East in San Mateo has a version with crab which is really nice. Tue Jun 24 21:35:40 -0700 2008 3792523 15228 JoyM 1 3811425 If we're recommending restaurants out of the city, then I would like to recommend my favorite place for rice cakes, Shanghai Dumpling Shop in Millbrae. Their dish, rice cakes with pork and preserved vegetable is one of my all-time favorite Chinese restaurant dishes. Tue Jun 24 22:35:30 -0700 2008 3792523 10644 Nancy Berry