Who serves the most impressive Chinese Banquet for under $500 per table?

[Civil Bear]

Looking to hold a surprise b'day party in SF for my 70-yo pop. So who has the most impressive seafood banquet menu at 50pp or less? Location in SF is not an issue, but a private room in good condition that will hold at least 20 people (2 tables) is a must.

[Civil Bear]

Thank you all for helping out. I just picked up a menu from Hong Kong Lounge and I think the $380/10 banquette sounds more impressive than the $500/10. What do you guys think?

$500 per 10 People:
Six House Special Appetizer
Double Steamed Chicken Shark Fin Soup
Pan Fried Stuffed Jumbo Scallops
Sauteed Two Kind of Clams Meat
Sea Cucumber w/ Abalone & Green
Sauteed Fresh Crab w/ Egg White
Hand Roasted Squabs
Steamed Fish
Mixed Mushroom with Egg Noodle
Black Sesame Dumpling

$380 per 10 people:
Cold Cut Appetizer Plate
Braised Shark Fin Soup w/ Fresh Crab Meat
Sauteed Squab Meat w/ Scallop
Deep Fried Stuffed Crab Claws
Braised Whole Abalone & Green
Imperial Peking Duck
Sauteed Lobsters
Steamed Fish
Dried Scallop Egg White Fried Rice
Dessert of the Day

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Hong Kong Lounge
5322 Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, CA 94121

[sfbing]

I've never been to HKL for a banquet dinner but both those menus look fine. The $500 one doesn't even look like a huge rip-off, although most non-Chinese (and some Chinese) find the sea cucumber totally not worth it. My rule of thumb is that the cheapest menu isn't that great and the most expensive is usually a ridiculous rip off. One of the ones in the middle is usually the sweet spot.

For your dad's birthday, you should ask for yi mein for good luck.

[ML8000]

I'd go with the $380, it does look pretty good. I might add a couple of dishes since you have the budget.

From my experience, there's usually one or two weird dishes in a banquet. The app plate and dried scallop and egg white fried rice might be it...but maybe they're really good. That's why I'd go with the $380 and order more. Is there any particularly good dish at HK Lounge they're known for?

[kc72]

What''s weird about them? You don't care for those items or they don't fit a $$ banquet menu?

[shanghaikid]

haven't been to banquets for awhile but they always have app plates. if not that, then peanuts and daikon something. always something to keep the diners busy and gives the kitchen time to rev up the food.

i'm usually smashed before the first entrees shows. just so boring waiting.

[rubadubgdub]

You're getting fancier ingredients and prep w $500 menu.

[ML8000]

I was at R&G about a month ago. It has a couple of two table private rooms. Had one of the set menu banquets for $400 (#B)...but subbed a few things. I was impressed because there weren't the usual drop-off between dishes and the interior is nice. For $500 you can probably get most of what you want (more seafood) if you sub or add stuff.

Salt and Pepper Crab (sub'ed for Canto prep)
Walnut Honey Prawns
Scallops and Steak Cubes
Fake Shark Fin's soup
Peking Duck
Fried Chicken
Fake Veggie Abalone
Steam Fish
Fried Rice

[baron45]

IIRC, Hong Kong Lounge on Geary has a couple of small private rooms.

[wally]

Yes, they do.

[Ruth Lafler]

That doesn't seem very impressive next to Great Eastern's seafood banquet:

Minced Seafood with lettuce wrap
Shark's Fin with shredded dried scallop soup
Sauteed Geoduck Clams & Sea Conch with yellow chives.
Sauteed Lobster with diced ginger & scallions
Sauteed Abalone & Chinese Mushrooms
Sauteed Dried Scallops with tender greens
Sauteed Filet Of Squab with straw mushrooms
Steamed Fish
Dessert & Fresh Fruit

[ML8000]

How much is that banquet? Seems like the abalone alone will push it over $500.

[Ruth Lafler]

I don't know. I got it off menupages, where it was $288, but who knows how out of date that price is! R&G charges top dollar, and I'm not sure it's worth it.

[ML8000]

In my view, R&G is nicer and that's what the price is about and they're very consistent. GE is like a morgue. The food is good and that seafood menu looks good but no way that costs $288.

[Robert Lauriston]

The abalone's listed as $35 a la carte. Maybe the $288 menu's not enough food for ten?

[Ruth Lafler]

As I noted -- the price is from an online menu of unknown age. It's undoubtedly more now. But probably not more than $200 more.

[Robert Lauriston]

It was $250 five years ago so probably still relatively cheap given the list of dishes.

http://dineries.com/ca/sanfrancisco/g...

[bbulkow]

I would get a great jellyfish dish. That was one of the hits of a chinese wedding banquet I went to a few years ago (peninsula, now gone). But this menu doesn't have crab. I don't like crab for fancy meals unless prepared in a soup or something.

[rubadubgdub]

The variety of seafood at GE sounds nice, but does it seem a little odd that almost every dish is sauteed? Perhaps there are other cooking techniques left undescribed for a surprise element. My personal experience with Great Eastern is that if you speak Chinese you can get a better meal perhaps because they're more willing to discuss with you what's in season and a nice preparation (I'm a reluctant/poor speaker but have gone with fluent speakers and the meals have been quite different!).

[Robert Lauriston]

Maybe they're all sautéed because that's the luxury-on-a-budget menu? The menus SF Weekly published last year were more varied:

http://blogs.sfweekly.com/foodie/2011...

[shanghaikid]

if you think about it sauteeing is the fastest and quickest way for the restaurant to get fresh tasting food to a banquet table. frying, claypots, and steamed dishes takes more time.

roasties and the poultry dishes are prepped beforehand so they're not as fresh. soups may be in the same category.

just my 2 cents.

[Robert Lauriston]

It's not normal for a banquet menu to have so many dishes in a row all of the same cooking method.

[shanghaikid]

doubt it will be consecutive sautee dishes. interpersed will be already prepped dishes.
the first dishes out will be the prepped ones: steamed sliced chicken, peking duck, etc. then some sauteed dishes. not exactly in a row but sautee dishes will lag.

the kitchen can't cook that fast.
steamed fish is always last

[Robert Lauriston]

I was walking by Great Eastern yesterday so I took a photo of the menu, the price for the Connisseur's Gourmet is $268 for 6-8 people. The other two set menus are $108 for 4-6 and $168 for 6-8, though the latter includes only two fried squab.

[lexdevil]

Current menu is available here: http://sanfrancisco.menupages.com/res...

Banquet menus at the bottom.

[Robert Lauriston]

Not quite current, the top-priced set menu is $20 cheaper than it says on menupages, which leaves out the fairly essential information about how many people it's supposed to feed.

[ML8000]

What Great Eastern hasn't produced the President Obama special menu?

Here's the link, complete with local Chinese lady grabbing the president's butt.

http://blog.sfgate.com/cityinsider/2012/02/16/obama-swings-by-chinatown-restaurant/

Here's what the President ordered: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jared-r...

[drewskiSF]

that should be Chinese ladies. at least two got captured on film ;-)

[Ruth Lafler]

Great Eastern has a private room.

[Civil Bear]

Bueller...Bueller?

[rubadubgdub]

South Sea Seafood Village? If memory serves, their presentation is refined and food is delicious with an emphasis on fresh seafood. My picky Chinese mother approved of everything. I remember her describing the labor intensive technique for their "fried chicken" that she hadn't had in ages and noting the high level of chef skills needed to make it. Coming in at the right price is mainly a matter of arranging the menu with the manager. However, I've only eaten in the SF restaurant around CNY (set menu) and on other evenings a la carte, not at a banquet per se. Their website says they have private rooms.

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South Sea Seafood Village
1420 Irving St, San Francisco, CA 94122

South Sea Seafood Village
195 El Camino Real, Millbrae, CA 94030