CRACK WINGS!

San Tung Restaurant is on Irving between 11th and 12th Avenue in the Sunset District. This where you can find the CRACK WINGS. So what is CRACK WINGS? It is deep fried chicken wings in sweet spicy sauce. It is the best wings you can find in San Francisco. 

My friends call it CRACK WINGs because they are so good and after you try them, you will want to eat them over and over again. And when anyone says they would like to eat Chinese food and ask for suggestions. Theres nothing else you will think of but those GRACK WINGs.

Unlike most Cantonese Restaurant in San Francisco, the restaurant San Tung serves regional Chinese food which mean its a mixture of different regions in China. Regional Chinese food is know to be quite spicy because during winter, the mountains get really cold so people eat spicy food to keep warm.

Other than the chicken wings, they also known for their deep fried string beans, black bean noodles, pork dumplings, and their potstickers. It is all very delicious.

Korean food babyyy!!

OMG! I love Korean food! There's something about there way of marinading their meats, making everything so spicy, and all those side dishes. 

Recently, I went to try this new Korean restaurant called Nan on Geary and Fillmore. I'd passed by a few times and thought about trying the place. But it was not until I found out there was a Scoutmob deal (which got my boyfriend and I half off), so I went in. 

The decor was really new and spacious but a little too spacious. The place looked really empty like they can put a couple more tables in. 

They try to advertise it as new Californian Korean food but it is pretty similar to traditional Korean food. They have usual like Kalbi, stonepot rice, Chapchae, and many seafood dishes. Even though, they do have somethings different like this candied potato dish. It was delicious.

Overall, Nan was okay mainly because of their service but their food was good. And because we used the Scoutmob discount, it was very affordable. 

Top 5 Dim Sum Restaurants in the Bay Area

1. Koi Palace

Located on 365 Gellert Blvd in Daly City. This place is kind of pricey but worth every penny.
Tips: Try to go early. It gets packed fast. The wait is usually an hour or two.

2. Hong Kong Lounge

Located on 5322 Geary Blvd in San Francisco. This place is very new to San Francisco. Open in 2010, this place already created a buzz. Every Sunday, when drive past Geary Blvd,  a huge crowd in front of this restaurant.
Tips: Try to park in the parking lot on 17th and Geary because street parking is almost impossible.

3. Yank Sing Restaurant

Located on 101 Spear St. in San Francisco. This place is extremely fancy and pricey but the decor is very grand and glamorous. It is located in the Financial District so a lot of businessman and tourist goes there.
Tips: Be sure to bring extra cash or have your credit card on you, it'll cost you a pretty penny.

4. Asian Pearl Seafood Restaurant

Located on 1671 El Camino Real in Millbrae. This place is great there's parking lot, yes I said parking lot! 
Tips: Try something new, there menu is very different from other dim sum places.

5. Ton Kiang

Located on 5821 Geary Blvd in San Francisco. It is always crowded at Ton Kiang. There is always a wait and people line out the door. It is good but not great.
Tips: Bring a lot of quarters because there only street parking and there's a wait. Go figure!

10 Resources On Food

www.yelp.com
Yelp is a website where regular people can search and rate restaurants and businesses. This website is really helpful because I can read other people's review and thoughts about the restaurant and food. And it shows you what has been most talked about in the reviews so it tell you what you should try on their menu.

http://sf.eater.com
SF.Eater.com is a website dedicated to local foods and restaurants. They keep me updated with the new controversies on the local restaurants and food trucks.

www.zagat.com
Zagat is a website where a restaurant is rate for there decor, service, taste, and pricing. This website helps me determine which place to try and helps me estimate how much I need to spend.

7x7 magazine
This magazine is a local favorite. This magazine published a top 50 what you must try before you die. Although I've never tried it, I love to tty it one day.

Travelzoo
Travelzoo.com has local deals daily and they are great. I look at Travelzoo for deals almost everyday. It is a way to save money while trying new restaurants and food. This website can be useful for my blog because I can find new restaurants and write review on them for a fraction of the price.

Different types of Chinese food...

Many people might not know that there's actually different types of Chinese food. For many westerners, the Chinese food they know is usually the Cantonese style cuisine. It is because 80% of all Chinese restaurants in the United States serves Cantonese food.

Cantonese cooking is mostly pan fried, cooked in corn oil and with a lot of soy sauce. It is less greasy and spicy than other styles of Chinese food. This type of cuisine is where chow mein, chow fun, and fried rice comes from. 

Another type of Chinese food is Shanghainese style. This style is mostly steamed and less salty. There known for different type of dumplings-- Shanghai dumplings, soup dumplings, read oil dumplings, and etc. They prefer steamy hot food because in the winter, it snows and gets really cold.

Some other types of Chinese food includes Szechun which is more like indigenous food. It is more authentic and different. It is usually very spicy and tasty because the region is mostly mountains so it gets really cold. And many of the people are really poor there so they eat spicy food to stay warm. 

Tawainese food is very unique. There famous for having different varieties of dishes for every meal. 

There are many more types of Chinese food but these are one of the more well known ones.

Did someone say DIM SUM?

What is there to do on a Sunday morning? Well, for most Chinese families they go eat Dim Sum.  Dim Sum literally means touching one's hearts.

Dim Sum comes in all different shapes and sizes and isn't a specific dish and it is a variety of dishes. Although, many restaurants serve Dim Sum, not everywhere has the same items on their menus. It usually comes with one to four pieces in a dish and is placed in small plates.

In San Francisco, there are quite a few Chinese restaurant where they serve Dim Sum. But one of my favorites is Hong Kong Lounge in the Richmond district. Some of my favorite dishes there is the claypot rice, hai gow, sui mi, shanghai dumplings, and chicken feet. I know what am I thinking...CHICKEN FEET?

Yes, CHICKEN FEET! I think everyone should at least try it once in their life. Chicken feet is deep fried and then its steamed with some sauce and is delicious. It is one of my must get dish at Dim Sum.

If anyone plans to make a trip down to Hong Kong Lounge, I recommend that you go super early because this restaurant is quite popular in the neighborhood. The restaurant opens at 10:30 am on weekdays and at 10 am on weekends. But since Sunday is considered to be family day for Chinese families, it is going to extremely crowded. Once you reach Geary and 17th Avenue, you will see a big crowd and you'll know you have arrived at the restaurant. The wait time for Dim Sum is usually around an hour and a half to two hours. But it is definitely worth the wait.

Try it and judge it for yourself.

Food Truck Controversies

The Chairman Bao Truck is a mobile truck that sells Chinese steamed and bake pork buns.

The controversy started when Eddie Huang of New York's Baohaus claimed that the food truck stole the name of his "#1 item on his menu and set up shops with it." But the Bao truck people responded by saying "it's a common play on the word."

They opened there truck today and said "No baocott happin here, just yummy buns." One of the SF eater staff member, Carolyn Alburger believe that the rant from Huang has backfired.

Although people might not be hearing the phrase "Chairman Bao" everyday, I do think it is very common to change "Mao" to "bao" since their selling baos. I think the name is very clever and witty. As long as Mr. Huang didn't put a patten on the name, anyone should be able to use it.

I've tried the buns from the Chairman Bao food truck and their really good. Especially the pork belly steam and bake buns. Even though it is really good, it is pretty pricey compared to regular pork buns sold in Chinatown. The prices runs from $3.00- $5.50 per bun and in Chinese store they run around $0.75-$1.00 each.

You can find the Chairman Bao Truck at the Fort Mason every Friday night. Try to show up early because the lines will be long and this truck is one of the most popular at the Off the Grid event.

For more info: Chairman Bao controversy

East meets West

Controversy hits San Francisco over the new bill on the ban of shark fin. Shark fin soup is a Chinese delicacy served at weddings and banquets.

The bill is passing through the Legislature banning the sales, distribution and possession of shark fin. 

With over one third of San Francisco being Asian, this bill is dividing the Chinese community between old Chinese immigrants and the Chinese Americans.

According to Huffingtonpost.com, 218 out of 600 registered voters were Chinese Americans and 70 percent voted in favor over the ban of shark fin. This show that the Chinese delicacy is losing it's popularity upon the younger generations of Chinese Americans.

Although I am Chinese American, I am against the ban of shark fin because it is a part of my culture. My sister and I grew up eating shark fin and see it as part of our tradition. And for my wedding, I would like to serve shark fin soup at my banquet.

The talk on the ban of shark fin is a big factor in this year's mayoral race. With three Asian American candidates, this issue can be the determining factor for the race.

For more info:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/07/shark-fin-ban-san-francisco_n_858915.html