Yong Kee Rice Noodle Company

LUNCH IN SF FOR $1.25? SAY WHAAAAA?!?!?

Despite the crowds of people in Chinatown that think traffic signals are "suggestions" (*ahem* po-pos) which make driving through there like dodging bullets; it's filled with hidden treasures like Yong Kee. The storefront sign is in Chinese, the menu is in Chinese and the workers don't speak English but their is just TWO WORDS you need to know how to say, "GAI BAO". Then throw up the quantity you want with your fingers.

Yong Kee has the BEST Gai Baos (Steamed Chicken Buns) I've ever had! For a mere, $1.25, you get a hefty piping hot bun that's stuffed with a fist full of savory moist chicken, cabbage, Chinese sausage and a hard-boiled egg. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/CrTFhBQVoqSSiFsOLiPrfA?select=yRfVT-RUMi9YkiIhn2U62w The bun is light, airy and soft and the filling is a deliciously savory and succulent. One bao is a meal within itself which is possibly the CHEAPEST meal I've ever had in my life.

I don't go to Chinatown very often for obvious reasons, so I normally buy several gai baos and throw them in the freezer. When I'm craving one, I'll thaw one then steam it. It's almost as good as the first day when I brought them from the steam trays.

So what's the word(s) of the day? GAI BAO!!!

The 3 stars is for:

- no napkins
- no soy sauce
- no sign on their storefront

The usual rants (ratings do not reflect these):

- cash only
- I think my Eggplant (an infant) speaks more English than these people at the counter
- service was medicore
- limited selections

I wanted to go here because I bookmarked this but would I ever go back? Probably not... no napkins and no soy sauce... you've got to be kidding me?!

I did enjoy my shiu mai and shrimp/chives dumplings though.

Ooh, I'm feeling uncomfortably full from the extra large steamed chicken bun I just ate but yum, what a great bun. Yong Kee's bun is generously stuffed with juicy chicken meat, a wedge of hard boiled egg, a large Chinese sausage chunk and a whole Chinese mushroom. The filling wasn't too salty and the dough was fluffy, sweet, smooth and soft. I'd give the edge to Clement Restaurant's chicken buns because they have a gingery flavor and are lower in fat (no sausage, no egg, more cabbage) but Yong Kee's buns are right up there. The bun to filling ratio is great too (not too much dough). Unfortunately, they weren't warm so I took them home to warm them up.

The mung bean glutinous rice pancake was very good. The thick and chewy pancake was filled with a smooth, sweet filling. It wasn't oily (that's a common problem with Chinese pancakes). Too bad they were out of the red bean ones.

Yong Kee is somewhat intimidating though, due to the absence of English signs. I saw of sheet of paper with menu items listed - but it was completely in Chinese. You can always point but the items aren't labeled and not all of them are on display. I saw rice rolls, steamed cake, Chinese rice tamales, sticky rice wrapped in a leaf and all sorts of steamed buns. I didn't see any congee? The woman who helped me did understand some English (she understood my request for a chicken bun and red bean pancake).

Three chicken buns + 2 mung bean pancakes = $4.40 - not bad because the buns were extra large. Since I couldn't read the signs, I don't know how much individual items cost.

Inside the small dim sum shop has no seating. Towards the back they had multiple employees and stacks of steamed buns. It's an older place that looks dark which is typical in Chinatown and for dim sum takeout shops in general.

Even the storefront doesn't have any English (I didn't see the words Yong Kee anywhere but from the address I assume I went to Yong Kee).

Cash only.

When in Chinatown, this place is a M U S T, for me. For the longest time, I had no idea what this place was called. They don't have any signs on the window or above the shop. And unless you can read Chinese, this place can easily go unseen and unknown forever. After all, why go into a Chinese bakery/dim sum place with no name especially when there are so many other options in Chinatown am I right?

The only signage you will see of this place is inside right over the kitchen. While Yong Kee isn't your typical Chinese bakery/dim sum shop selling the most well known pastries and goodies, here they specialize on only a few items.

The Chicken Buns here definitely seem like a hit, but it's the Fun Gor's that keep me coming back for more. I have absolutely no idea what this thing is called in English, but I can only explain that this are the best little dumpling things I've ever had in my life. The flavor is so powerful and sweet...and the minced pork, mushrooms and maybe pieces of water chestnut works so well together. The only way to buy these things in my household is by the D O Z E N S...As you can see from the pictures.

Just how much do I love these? I steal one from the box for myself just before the worker puts them away in a plastic bag. Still not convinced just how much I really really love them? I sometimes eat these straight from the fridge cold just because I'm so impatient to re-steam them. And even cold, they still taste so y u m m y to me.

This place is probably my favorite hole in the wall (literally) in Chinatown. Simple and satisfying!

Closed for business!
Caught between two tunes about my feelings about this... Queen? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqyUAtzS_6M) or Barbra Streisand? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVwJNg4Wgq4)

I guess both fit in this case. After decades of serving old time Chinatown dim sum food, unfortunately of a lower quality towards the end, this landmark closed. Typifying my generation of families where parents who worked six to seven days for 12 or more hours without vacation or sick days, the owners decided to retire as their children had no interest in continuing this business and found less rigorous employment opportunities. The SF Health Dept. may have played a role in this too.
Lasting memories?

a) Humongous fist-sized chicken buns (filled with whole shiitake mushroom, ground pork, chicken thigh slice, Chinese sausage (lap cheung), and 1/2 of a hard-boiled egg).

b) Freshly made rice noodles (ho fun), supplying majority of Chinese restaurants until independent factories started popping up throughout the Bay Area.

c) Steamed buns (man tou) - popularized and demonized in a later Zhang Yi Mou/Gong Li movie, "To Live" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110081/synopsis).

d) the number counter dispenser at the entrance - you think the lines at South Bay ramen places are ridiculous? Any Chinatown resident will remember how things were in the '80's and '90's here.

e) Soup Nazi service - The nonstop rush of customers made for chaos, which showed on the flustered staff's faces. It was like a daily bank run with customers screaming their orders at the staff.

f) Tong Yuen (soup dumplings for the winter festival) - Having a sweet tooth as a kid, this was my favorite hot dessert; doughy balls filled with red bean paste, lotus paste, and my mom's special recipe of peanut butter. This is where my mom bought the raw materials to make them during the winter festival.

g) Extremely kind owners - As the business came to a close, I got to know the owners pretty well and they, like me, were Chinatown "locals", growing up and working in Chinatown all their lives. The auntie would bake my family a special radish cake and taro cake during Chinese New Year's.

Yes, my feelings are mixed as I will miss the old days and those special perks. But it seems that this change is probably for the better.

** Footnote: Good Mong Kok Dim Sum is renovating this space and will occupy this space when done.

*** Double footnote: The owner confirmed the closing was a family decision not influenced in any way by the SF Health Dept. Thanks again for the memories!

CASH ONLY! There is no sign outside that says YONG KEE... LOL... its next to a DVD store. It took me to a bit to find this restaurant. When I was walking around, I couldn't find the name sign or the address for this building. Luckily I walked in and asked the workers if this was Yong Kee and they said yes. *whew* Don't let looks fool you at places like these. It's usually where the BEST food is!!

This place is REALLY REALLY small. TOGO only. They kind of speak a little bit of English. The Shu Mai is YUMMAYYY!!! It was good enough without soy sauce. Chicken Buns are SUPER big and they come out PIPING HOT! OMG.. REALLY YUMMY! BBQ Pork steamed buns are good too.. OMG seriously, everything I ordered here was good. also, CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP!

We ordered 4 orders of Shu Mai, 1 order of haw cau, 2 Chicken Buns, 3 BBQ pork steamed Buns, 2 BBQ Pork baked Buns, 1 Chinese sausage bun, and a few more other items and it only came out to $18!!! WOW!!!

MUST TRY if you are in the area! remember! BRING CASH and if you can bring someone that speaks Chinese it will be a HUGE plus. I spoke partial Vietnamese and they understood what I needed.

Hands down one of my fav places to get ridiculously yum dim sum for cheap (my other fav is Tao Yuen Pastry in Oakland Chinatown).

But the best kept secret about Yong Kee is that it sells FRESH sheets of noodles. You probably don't care but your mom might. It beats having to buy who-knows-what from the market or making it from scratch.

My whole family had been a regular here for years. Every trip to SF would not be complete unless we drop by this place and Delicious Dimsum which is only 3 stores away. The buns here are absolutely delicious! We would always go home with no less than 6 dozens each time. We usually get the most in BBQ buns and the regular plain one. They also have one with chinese sausage that I recently tried and it was pretty good. Surprisingly, we never tried the chicken one yet but I will definitely try it next time. Lastly, the price is good too. A dozen of the BBQ pork buns are only $7.60...where else besides Chinatown SF can you find a better deal? This is definitely a hole in the wall! It's also very easy to miss because the shop is very small too. But look for it if you're near the area cause it's definitely worth the trip.

I'm yelping only about their fresh chow fun rice noodles. They sell these for 4 sheets for $1.10. These are huge sheets. You can make a dish of chow fun for two with about 8 sheets. I bought 10 sheets.

Noodles are firm and thin. You can also use them for soup noodles. They hold up well the next day so you don't really have to prep it on the spot. This is a very good deal. Better than the prepackaged fun from May Wah and all those grocery stores.

Also bought some bbq pork/shrimp rice noodle. They were not good. There were shrimp skin in the noodle. I understand the dim sum is sub par at best.

Go for the chow fun noodles only!

Another winner in the mantou market.... the most common bun eaten in China.... white flour goodness steamed up fuffy and sweet....there are other steamed goods, like cheung fun and other baos there....

been coming here for decades... v close to Stockton.

An authentic dim sum house, with no-nonsense fare that comes close to perfection.