Regional Chinese

[mielemaiale]

I'm on a Chinese cuisine kick, and planning a culinary trip to the mainland this year. As preparation, I've been wanting to get more familiar with the regional cuisines available in the Bay Area. While I'm well versed in Sichuan cuisine, I'm quite unschooled on most other regions, and importantly, how to identify restaurants that showcase particular cuisines. I've eaten at Shanghai restaurant in Oakland, and so understand dumplings. Most Chinese restaurants in Oakland's Chinatown appear to be Cantonese...

So, are there recommendations Chowhounds have for the best of various Chinese regional cuisines - East Bay, SF, and South Bay OK. I'm thinking - Yunnan, Beijing, anything in the Northwest (although I've seen the thread about no food from Xinxiang in the Bay Area), others? Anything but Sichuan.

Your recommendations are appreciated, Hounds!

[Ruth Lafler]

What have you ordered at Shanghai besides "dumplings"? I think pretty much everything they serve is "authentic" Shanghai cuisine. Shanghai cold plates are pretty distinctive -- have you checked out the stuff in the deli-style case in the back? Their red-braised pork is a solid "B" version; same with their Lion's head meatballs. Here's a really good thread with recommendations, notes on what menu each item is on, and some embedded links to previous threads: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/418973

[mielemaiale]

Ruth, I've actually only just ordered dumplings to go several times! I went over there today (I had read that they were open until 3 on Tuesdays) but no dice. Looking forward to trying meatballs, cold pigs year and other delicacies!

[K K]

While SF Bay Area doesn't quite have the variety and density of excellent regional Chinese like San Gabriel Valley in SoCal, whatever we have is and can be pretty decent

Chinjin Eastern House (San Jose) - Islamic Chinese from Beijing and perhaps near Xinjiang region. There's also the more popular and commercialized Darda in Milpitas Square, and Fatima in Cupertino which is more prim and proper in decor, but Chinjin outsmokes them.

Noodle Shop (Mao's Family Cooking) - San Mateo. Focusing on the hometown cuisine of Chairman Mao, somewhat Hunanese in nature but perhaps not exactly. That spicy pork bacon thing is probably the dish to order, although I have not tried it yet, but the non spicy stuff I've had is great (like Chinese spinach/ji cai with pork strips and bamboo shoots)

Little Sheep Mongolian Hotpot (San Mateo and Union City) - official branches of the worldwide chain. Herbal hot pot standard broth is very nice, as is the cuts of lamb they use (beef is good too but lamb is excellent).

Old Islamic Mandarin (SF city) - Islamic Chinese from Beijing region. Multi layer beef pancake (greasy but delicioso), and Beijing style hotpot (stick with beef or lamb, get innards/organs if you are adventurous) are the most popular items. Fantastic sour (fermented) cabbage that complements the broth (they also have a spicy broth too).

Spices (1, 2 with 3 in Oakland) - Taiwanese style Sichuanese but more famous for their stinky tofu dishes

I hear Beijing restaurant is pretty good in SF. For the lower Peninsula there's Everyday Beijing and in the south Bay, Taste Good (Milpitas area)

San Tung on Irving in SF for Shandong style cuisine, excellent for dumplings and noodles. Some say it's not authentic Shandong and it mixes some Americanized stuff with ahem...Korean Chinese, but it certainly has a loyal fan following.

Kingdom of Dumpling / Kingdom of Chinese Dumpling (SF) - signature items are dumplings and you can get these to go, which are a different style than San Tung's. The baozi are very good (contents and dough too) if you can get a batch freshly made before it hits deep freeze (particularly the vegetarian one with excellent knifework by the old ladies making the buns and dumplings in the back of the to-go shop on Noriega). The daikon puff pastry is excellent if properly baked in the oven.

5 Joy in Foster City (formerly known as Joy, not sure where the 5 came from) focuses on a mix of Northern Chinese, Sichuan, Shanghainese, and Taiwanese style regional Chinese....packages pretty much everything nicely that caters towards Taiwanese expat tastebuds. Proper sit down tablecloth restaurant, banquet style. I had to include this in the listing as they are really excellent on a good day.

[Ruth Lafler]

I know you're familiar with Sichuan at China Village, but you might not know that the owner, Mr. Yao, will make Shandong dishes on request. You could probably consult with him (in advance) to put together a whole Shandong dinner.

[K K]

Some more... (and not including any Cantonese restaurants)

Jai Yun - I haven't been yet, some might say controversial choice, but it fits into the regional Chinese category, and quite possibly the highest end.

Great China (Berkeley) - most famous for Peking Duck done quite possibly the more authentic way.

We don't have any true Fujianese restaurants, at least that I'm aware of. But you'll find Fujianese influences in the various Taiwanese or so called Taiwanese food restaurants scattered throughout the South Bay, just for the sake of discussion. e.g. fishball soup with minced pork inside the fishballs, oyster noodles. Interestingly the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddha_J... dish wiki explains as a Fujianese invention, and you might find different interpretations at Cantonese and some Northern restaurants (5 Joy offers a version requiring pre-ordering at $60).

I'm hearing that House of Dumplings in Union City is potentially a very good place for dumplings (owners apparently from Tianjin) if you are ever in that area.

[vulber]

I noticed that China Village has Buddha Jumps over the Wall on their menu (for $15). Has anyone tried it here? Seems like ordering a Cantonese dish at a Sichuan restsaurant wouldn't be the best idea, but I have a veyr limited knowledge of Chinese cuisine

[Robert Lauriston]

That doesn't seem expensive enough, unless it's a modern version made with a politically correct substitution for shark's fin.

[vulber]

hence my suspicions....but given china village's reputation for authenticity and quality; it struck me as odd

[Robert Lauriston]

China Village's reputation is based on its Sichuan dishes. You have to know what not to order to eat really well there—though their standard Chinese-American stuff is beter than average.

[vulber]

I got the spicy boiled eel soup instead and was immensely happy

[adrienne156]

I only went to three restaurants when I came home for the holidays after 5 months of being away and CV was at the top of my list for their water boiled beef. Is the eel soup you had the same dish, different protein?

[wolfe]

On the latest menu, I assume because the price is higher, it is $16.95 and on an earlier menu it is just called Buddha's Delight and while it had abalone no shark fin was mentioned.

[Robert Lauriston]

Buddha's Delight is a vegetarian dish.

[wolfe]

Thank you for pointing that out. Now please note the way it is presented on page 4 of the menu.
http://chinavillagesolano.com/Documen...

[Robert Lauriston]

Yeah, that doesn't make sense. What's the first Chinese name for the dish? The one in parentheses is Buddha Jumps Over the Wall (same as the English) but the first one doesn't match the characters I have for Buddha's Delight.

[yimster]

Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, is normally a dish prepared with dried seafood (highest priced items) the legend was the dish prepared with seafood smell so good the a vegetarian would jump over the wall break his vows and eat meat.

Buddha's Delight normally is listed as Monk's Delight or Law Hor Jai, is a level one reach in their road one level or more lower then a Buddha which I believe is the highest level. But I am positive I got it right.

Last Chinese New Year I had Buddha Jump Over the Wall. It was not something I would walk across the street for let alone jump a wall.

[Melanie Wong]

The dish called "Buddha Delight" at China Village is a version of Buddha Jumps Over The Wall made without the expensive sharks fin and dried abalone. I had it for my birthday dinner in 2003 and it was a relatively frequent weekend special during the Chef Liu years.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/23605

I loved it. However, the reactions were more mixed among the assembled chowhounds, as they have been whenever dried seafood specialties (i.e., abalone, scallops, oysters) are part of a banquet. Might be an acquired taste.

After that dinner, I ordered it for a family banquet and made the mistake of telling Mr. Yao that I'd been bringing some older relatives. When we showed up, he informed me that he had made a different soup because Buddha Delight would be too heavy, rich and hard to digest for the elders. Naturally I was P.O.'d but the abalone soup substitute turned out to be glorious, so I couldn't complain.

[limster]

Buddha Jumps over the Wall is a Fujian dish as K K states above; in the most elaborate form, it's a banquet where each component of the whole dish is served as a course along with the broth, rather than a single course. Cantonese cuisine, being extremely chowy, has adapted an abbreviated version of it (just like it has with Peking duck etc).

[bbulkow]

I think I had that dish at CV before. I don't think it's a traditional form, as noted, but I remember liking it quite a lot.

[ckshen]

Everyday Beijing from San Mateo has some interesting northern dishes around the Beijing area.

Shanghai Family Restaurant in Mountain View is classic Shanghai and Zhejiang. i've never eaten dumplings from this shop.

Both are hole in the wall type of places.

[ckshen]

just noticed that K K already mentioned Everyday Beijing.

a couple more- Liou's House Chinese Restaurant in Fremont does banquet dishes Taiwanese style- best to get a bunch of people to go with you and you must pre-order some of the dishes.

QQ Noodle in Fremont does home-made noodle. i tried the pork soup noodle, but there are other spicy noodle soups that apparently people like.

[wolfe]

Is Hakka not a region but cultural variant?
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/689236

[K K]

Hakka (people) are better explained in wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakka_pe...

Hakka restaurant technically serves Hakka Cantonese, although I'm sure it includes non Hakka Cantonese dishes as well, but HC is the cuisine's theme there. I would classify this as regional Cantonese, and arguably Chiu Chow cuisine falls under that niche as well, but we don't have a Chiu Chow restaurant (proper one) to begin with, other than Chiu Chow from Vietnam (e.g. the cooking at Hai Ky Mi Gai in SF I'm told).

Regional Cantonese is definitely noteworthy in SF or anywhere else, as it is almost rarely seen outside of Hong Kong, and even so, not quite authentic (but HR proves otherwise).

[Robert Lauriston]

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/6046...

[anigozanthos]

We tried Chinjin today and were underwhelmed. Lamb kebabs were meh, kung pao was typically salty, and Eastern noodles had a nice texture but okay overall. The only really good thing was the tofu with shrimp in a clear simple sauce. Found the service lacking.

[eatzalot]

From K K's earlier comparisons, I was looking forward to trying Chinjin. Fatima in Cupertino has done some classy, vivid Islamic-Chinese cuisine over the years. A few favorite dishes (a sour soup with cabbage and paper-thin shaved lamb; the mushroom and prawn spring rolls; various fresh breads with scallions and so on) have been worth a detour, and I'll never forget encountering a group of kitchen employees to the side of the restaurant, with a big case of scallions, prepping them by cleaning, slicing part way down, and spreading the ends like little trees, to sun-dry (for use in -- ? -- breads and onion pancakes). That was before the fire and relocation. But much more memorable dishes there than at Darda in Milpitas (which benefits from the heavy walk-in trade at one of two adjacent commercial clusters on Barber Lane containing numerous Asian restaurants).

[yimster]

I agree that Fatiman is better than Darda now. Fatima was combine with Ma (located on Lundy) which was my favorite for the soup and knife cutted noodles. Mas was accross the street from where I work and it was monthly stop for me. Darda has gone down hill for a long while.

[yimster]

Chef Xiu is Dongbei regional food, not as good as before but very close and offer a style that in not found often in the Bay Area.

One other is Guan Dong in the 99Ranch shopping mall in Cupertino offers Dongbei style food. NIceier then Chef Xiu and a little fancier while Chef Xui is more homey.

Like the food at both places.

Northwest but Northeast

So what parts of China are going to maybe that would help the board help you out.

[K K]

Also Shanghai Flavor Shop in Sunnyvale has arguably the Bay Area's most authentic Shen Jian Bao, bursting with soup inside. Their other dishes are quite homey and decent too (e.g. scallion and oil brothless noodles, pork and spinach wonton in soup), except there's a bit of elbow grease on the tables, and the interior is like a hole in the wall.