cheong fun in the city?

[Sparafucil]

Does anyone have a recommendation for (beef) cheong fun in SF? I found a lot of threads about Sam Wo's closing, but only know the place with the giant ceramic cabbage on Clement street as a fairly reliable backup. Tomorrow I may be on foot in chinatown, and for some reason Googling "San Francisco cheong fun" only brings up New York restaurants. Or am I just using a weird east coast spelling?

[K K]

For those who want it after dim sum lunch hours are over, Fat Wong's in San Bruno. For those willing to drive further for better quality and variety (served all day except when they are closed between lunch and dinner, and till 9:30 pm or so), Cooking Papa in Foster City. Have to wait until mid to late 2013 for Cooking Papa San Bruno location though. These are all steamed to order.

[Dave MP]

Thanks for these tips!! I will try Fat Wong's sometime soon....good place to go before/after airport pick ups!

[Melanie Wong]

You may also want to look for zah leung or jah leong, fresh rice noodle rolled around fried cruller.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/30456

[K K]

Fat Wong's closes later (11:30 pm) which gives them a 2 hour advantage.

Cooking Papa Foster City steamed rice rolls menu/selection:

http://www.mycookingpapa.com/menu/men...

[Melanie Wong]

Thanks for the reminder, KK.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/30498

And here's heidipie's old post about watching them being poured and steamed to order at Gum Kuo in Oakland Chinatown (BARTable),
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/34472

[Dave MP]

Cool, Gum Kuo sounds good as well. I'd love to know about other restaurants (particularly in SF) that have the machine that steams the rice noodle rolls to order.

[hyperbowler]

I recently had Gum Kuo's, and in my somewhat limited exposure to cheung fun, they were first I'd ever thought were something worth seeking out. The roast pork inside was a bit dry, so you might want to go with another filling. You get a good amount of food for the money.

[manda]

Good to hear about the estimated opening for Cooking Papa San Bruno.

[Dave MP]

I actually don't see too many results about this when I search Chowhound. Rephrasing the question a bit, to see if anyone has some firsthand knowledge:

Are there places in Chinatown that are open on weekdays that make particularly great cheung fun? Could be dim sum places (as long as they are open) or smaller takeaway places.

I wish there were places like Manhattan's Sun Light Bakery in San Francisco, but to my knowledge there aren't. But maybe I'm wrong? See: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/818125

[Melanie Wong]

Cheung fun or rice noodle rolls with various filling and seasoning options are ubiquitous in Chinatown. They're pre-packed at produce stands, usually next to the cashier or by the bulk noodles, available at dim sum take-out places, and at sit-down dim restaurants. The scallion/dried shrimp ones are very common in the pre-made realm. Now as far as beef rolls, or a particularly good one that is steamed to order, that takes more digging.

You'll also see them referred to as "intestine noodle", as in this old post on Dol Ho.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/24469

Chinese-Vietnamese places may call them banh cuon. Here's a recipe for shrimp-filled rice noodle rolls,
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/307111

Gutless Wonder
Two Chinatown sources for a Cantonese classic
http://www.tastingtable.com/ecs/9886.htm

[Dave MP]

Okay, so Lai Hong is worth a try for the rice noodle rolls. See http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/866408 also. Does anyone know about their weekday dim sum hours? They don't seem to have a published phone number....

Also, are there more recent reports about Dol Ho?

I personally am looking for places that steam them to order, not places to buy in packaged form.

[Melanie Wong]

I tried the phone number for Lai Hong's predecessor at that location, Lichee Garden, [phone]. Bingo, it opened for biz at 10:00/10:15am today. And if you have other questions, this would be a good time to call as the lady answering speaks good English. Lots of crowd noise so already sounds busy.

Current Dol Ho thread, http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/860003

Let me parse the poor syntax in my post above. The prepacked ones are sold in grocery stores and produce stands throughout Chinatown. They're typically made that morning and whisked off for delivery. At take-out dim sum places, such as TC Pastry on Irving St, they're made in batches throughout the day and kept warm in the steamer. This is typical at the sit-down spots too during lunch rush.

[rubadubgdub]

Gum Wah in Oakland Chinatown makes them to order, and they're very good.

[hyperbowler]

Try "cheung fun" on the SF board