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Hang Ah Tea Room
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
175 reviews for Hang Ah Tea Room
Review Highlights
"I unfairly judge all other barbeque pork buns to them."
(in 49 reviews)
"the turnip cakes were awesome."
(in 8 reviews)
"I got the shrimp balls and absolutely loved them."
(in 11 reviews)
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175 reviews in English
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Review from Gillian B.
9/16/2011
I LOVE this place. I have been going here for dim sum since my parents were pushing me in a stroller (and I played in the awesome playground next door), and I make it a point to make a visit every time I go home for a visit, even though I now live far away.
It's a no-frills place and tucked away on a little alleyway above Grant Ave. in Chinatown, but who needs fancy when you have excellent food?
Their char siu bau (BBQ pork buns) is the best ever. I crave it. I dream of it. I write poems about it. I also love the ha gow, eggrolls, potstickers, custard buns and pretty much anything else I've tried on the menu. I can eat myself silly for about $8, including a generous tip. -
Review from S C.
STANFORD, CA
2/4/2012
The food is just okay. Nothing too special or delicious -- pretty much typical dim sum fare for a take-out place.
The service is not good -- the waitress is not that nice and was not happy I ordered to go instead of eating there.
Also in terms of sanitation -- I noticed the waitress did not wear gloves when she put fortune cookies on people's plates. Her hands might be clean -- but still, I dont think that's a good practice. She handles the money and the fortune cookies, so my guess is that the sanitary level is not particularly high. I suppose if your immune system is doing well then you should be fine, but if you're already not feeling well or if you're having a stressful week -- why compound things? -
Review from Tim J.
Sunnyvale, CA
1/15/2012
Only ONE reason you would ever go here: you're on a shoestring budget seeking cheap dim sum, don't mind a dingy décor dump.
Example: $2.50 = four-piece set of steamed shrimp dumplings (Har gow, also Xi jio). Pretty good. Not great, but good.
So, yes, prices are good, but don't forget the same so-so quality dumplings can be had just blocks away from the street-side Chinatown dim sum take-away shops for just $2.00 a four-piece set. (Remind me: WHY did we come to Hang Ah again? Oh yeah, because of the clueless yelpers who rated it 4 or 5 stars, pulling the average up to 3.5 stars, and misleading us into trying it. Once.)
The cute rabbit-shaped Har gow are worth getting, but only ONCE because they taste the same as their regular but cost fifty cents more per set. And if you're eating in this DUMP, fifty-cents should matter to you; otherwise, why would you be eatin' here!
Food is MEDIOCRE. Some passes as GOOD. Nothing on their menu is GREAT. Nothing.
The Chicken Corn Soup is good, much better than their Wonton soup. The serving size is decent given price only six bukz.
Skip the BBQ pork buns, because they are like $7 for four. Be strategic. You make "value" of this dump by ordering the cheap, good stuff. The BBQ pork buns are pricey for mediocre buns served in a dumpy place. Chinatown has better restaurants with similar price, but with GREAT BBQ pork buns, and in a lovely setting
As for Hang Ah Tea Room, the decor is "Chinatown dive hole-in-the-wall" that hasn't been redecorated (or cleaned?) since about 1955. Also, difficult to find because big sign makes you think it's fronting on Sacramento St, but then you figure out ya gotta walk down the dingy alleyway to find the dump.
Service is HORRIBLE (even by Chinatown low standards). We walk in. Three-quarters of tables are empty at lunch "rush" hour on Sunday (not a good sign) yet the not-busy yet slow-as-a-snail waitress takes 10 min just to set our table with dishes, then another 10 to walk back and ask our order. Takes them twenty minutes to notice and finally re-fill our tea pot with hot water, even when we tipped open the lid and had it facing them at the edge of the table. They had the heat turned off. It was about 45 degrees in the place. We asked directly: "Can you please turn the heat on? Can't you see our 3 1/2 year-old daughter is freezing." They looked at us from two feet away, glared, then turned away not even answering. Rude.
Then the waitress looks at the 10% tip we left and stops us thinking she's gonna bitch us out for not leaving her 15%. Oh man. We let her have our opinion in no uncertain terms. Frankly, she was lucky to get 10% tip from anyone!
Oh, and we do know dim sum. Family of four 1st generation, one married to a white boy. Own a second home in China. Frequent travel to HK, Taiwan, Mainland China. We eat a ton of dim sum all over the world. We know dim sum. And this ain't great dim sum. This is discount priced dim sum, that's mediocre to good. Served in a dump down an alley. -
Review from Kat B.
Cambridge, MA
1/13/2012
1.5 stars rounded to 2. This was the first restaurant my husband and I ate at during our trip to San Francisco. We went to it because of the high yelp reviews but we were extremely disappointed. The service wasn't very good because of how busy the place was during lunchtime. They only had two waitresses serving the entire restaurant and it was obvious that they were flustered. We had to wait a very long time to get our check and a to-go box...only after we spent a while trying to flag a waitress down. Additionally, their bathroom reeked and you could smell it if you were situated near it whenever anyone opened the door. They even sprayed some Febreeze during the meal which didn't add to the ambiance.
Nothing we ate here was remarkable and to be honest I thought that their dim sum was frozen, pre-made items that were simply heated up. Their food does not represent authentic Chinese dim sum whatsoever. The cha siu bau was soggy and the filling was chewy and too sweet. Their fried prawns were worse than the frozen kind you can buy at the grocery store...not to mention overpriced compared to the other items on the menu (they were over $1 per prawn). Their shrimp dumplings weren't fresh tasting and the wrap was overly glutinous. The best dish we had was their sticky rice wrapped in a tea leaf. We also ordered some sesame balls which were ok but not nearly as good as the ones you can purchase from the bakeries in Chinatown. -
Review from Blck g.
San Francisco, CA
1/3/2012 1 photo
It took them around 25 mins to serve us. We were a loud obnoxious crew of people, but it was totally worth the wait.
I spent a lot of time thinking about what I like the most at Hang Ah Tea room: The decor or The ambiance. My favorite thing here has got to be the cha siu baos, it isn't the same as other dim sum restaurants, the bao is made differently, but damn does it make it that much better. They don't have the pushcarts like other dimsum spots but this place definitely doesn't mess around. Come here and bring your friends. -
Review from manoj n.
Burbank, CA
12/29/2011
We were baited by an old guy standing at cross street in Chinatown handing out flyers. My dad who is 72 likes everything old so when the baited told him this restaurant has been around since 1920, he felt the ire to try it.
So we entered the restaurant and waited 10 minutes to be given a table. Note the place is hidden away in basement of a dark and shady neighborhood. Then we waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited.
When no one showed up after 20 minutes I walked to a waitress to let them know to take our order and get some water. She came and took our order.. After that we didn't see our food for next 45 minutes. I pinged her again and then came all the disgusting Americanized food. The food tasted horrible with no salt or spice and the drinking water glass was dirty and cheap plastic.
I would rather die of hunger rather than eat here. My tip was $0. -
Review from Terry T.
Mililani, HI
Updated - 1/7/2012
My wife and I were looking for some good dim sum in Chinatown, Problem is there were so many places and not sure which one to go to. There was this young girl standing on the corner passing out flyers and pointing to the restaurant. So we decided to go there and check it out. Walked uphill abt 50 yards and at first, was unsure because the restaurant was a hole in the wall located next to a noisy daycare for kids. Menu was immense and pictures of the dim sum dishes were colorful and helpful! We ordered several dishes (SHRIMP BALLS da BOMB!) and being from Hawaii, we LUV our fried rice which was the best i have ever eaten! Very affordable also; fried rice and 6 dimsum dishes came out to under $20. Check em out!!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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6/20/2011
Wife and I were looking for some really good dimsum in Chinatown and young girl passed out a flyer… Read more »
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Review from Angela L.
La Quinta, CA
7/27/2011
Definitely not the traditional "Yum Cha" place with the ladies pushing the steam carts around, haggling you to take their delectables. It's an order off the menu situation. But nonetheless, food was decent.
We ordered:
1. Har Gow
2. Xiu Mai
3. Haam Sui Gok (deep fried mochi balls w/minced pork filling)- these were really good!
4. Sticky Rice wrapped in Tea Leaf
5. BBQ Pork buns
6. Egg Custard buns
7. Beef Chow Fun
Oh, and they don't have Cherng Fun.. Whaaa?!?! :-/
Bill came out to around $24. If you don't want to go to a take out dim sum bakery where they virtually crack a whip at you for thinking about what you want, then this is not bad place for a dim sum fix. -
Review from Johnny Y.
Fresh Meadows, NY
9/27/2011
I absolutely luv this little hidden dim sum spot! It's never crowded with massive families, nor have push carts waiting for what your looking for. You just simply check the list and *poof* out comes fresh dim-sum! I also like the fact that it was very cozy. It would've been perfect if the service was more tentive with their customers. But since it was a 1 man show.. I can totally understand.
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Review from Dana P.
4/6/2011
Dim sum that's affordable and cooked right when they are ordered. There is only one employee handling orders, checks, and seating so it kind of seemed like she was overwhelmed.
I ordered 5 plates of various dim sum and it was only $12.
Totally worth staying at a cheap, smelly hotel just to come here in the morning. -
Review from Tom K.
Washington, DC
8/3/2011
Liked the dim sum and the authentic look and feel. Didn't like the bill. It wasn't expensive-- it was wrong. There was an additional item included for $15 on the check written only in Mandarin. I had to figure out what we ordered and match it to the bill to find the bonus, bogus charge. When I asked, the charge came off a little too easily ... Could've been an honest mistake, but my spidey sense was tingling.
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Review from chris l.
Sanger, CA
10/15/2011
Eating at this place has been a family tradition of mine for 20 years. I eat here at least 3 times a year and have driven 7 hours round trip just to have lunch or dinner and drive home many times.
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Review from Avery W.
Denver, CO
1/15/2011
So... I was playing tourist and I got sucked in to going here by being handed a menu on the street in Chinatown.
Never having had Dim Sum before, I wasn't sure what to expect. However, for the low price of $2-3 per a la carte dish, my boyfriend and I went ahead and ordered 8 things!
My boyfriend had had BBQ Pork Buns in Denver (where we live), so he was excited to try the "real thing" in Chinatown. Once he sunk his teeth into one, a melodious sigh came from his side of the table. Instantly I knew this place was a treasure.
My favorite thing by far were the Egg Custard Buns. Holy. God. We ordered not only, 1, not 2, but THREE orders of these things (one to go to munch on while we walked around town).
Now, I give this place 4 stars instead of 5 because of my lack of Dim Sum experience. However, I can validate that this place kicks ass because we decided to try "All You Can Eat" Dim Sum elsewhere... needless to say, we loaded up our plates at the buffet, we sat down for about 5 minutes, and the rest of the day was spent on the toilet (do NOT have the chow mein!!!)
Overall, I'd suggest this place to any newcomer to San Francisco. We went three times (once with a friend from LA, who thought that this place kicked ass as well). Please, if you know of an even better place, let me know... otherwise, I will wholeheartedly believe that this is my new favorite Dim Sum place. Period. -
Review from Angelo F.
San Francisco, CA
11/8/2010
To be honest I wanted to go to Golden River in the outer Richmond, but someone(s') hangover, the rain, lethargy dashed those plans to bits. Yelp to the rescue!
The 4 star places have no seating and don't accept plastic so I settle on Hang Ah Tea Room (currently 3.5). This hidden gem is in an alley next to a playground w/ it's storefront hidden from street view. I only knew this was the place when I saw a sign w/ an arrow pointing down the alley.
The pluses:
1. Really really clean.
2. inexpensive (each plate of shareable dim sum is less than 5$)
3. not too salty! I am really really sensitive to salt. Not for health reasons, I just hate over salted food. YUK!
4. attentive staff. Our tea pots were never empty and they came around to ask us frequently if we wanted to order any more.
Just one suggestion:
1. for large group tables, uprgrade to a lazy susan. Haveing to reach over/ask to pass the _______, gets annoying.
The 7 of us were stuffed and it came out to be 12-13$ a head. This will be a new addition to my favorites in Chinatown. -
Review from Swapan M.
East Bay, CA
2/7/2011 1 Check-in Here
Yummy yummy DIM SUM that's been around since 1920
3 people ate for $20.
Steamed pork buns, shrimp dumplings, egg rolls, pot stickers, and other dumplings. Pork buns, pot stickers, and and shrimp dumplings were my favorites
Cheap and good. No complaints. Mmm. Mmm. Mmm -
Review from Katy O.
1/24/2011
This is one of those order from a menu dim sum places -- no carts, sadly. The selection wasn't great but they had most of the standards: bao, shu mai, har gow, etc. Everything was decent but nothing was special. The place is pretty clean, despite the fact that you sort of have to go through an alley to get to the place. And the price was right.
My friend and I were looking for the big Chinese banquet hall experience: carts everywhere, people fighting for food, gaudy gold chandeliers, the works. If that's what you're looking for cheap, fast, no stress dim sum than this might be for you. -
Review from Uyen T.
San Diego, CA
8/11/2011 1 Check-in Here
This place is located smack dab in the middle of China Town. It is hidden in a little corner. The restaurant is super low key. When you first walk in, the place is literally an apartment turned into a restaurant. Unlike the bougie Chinese restaurants with gold dragons on the wall and fancy mahogany wood seats, this place is a little hole in the wall with Ikea plastic furniture. However, do not let this fool you! The dim sum here is as fresh as it gets! The har gow, xiu mai to the sticky rice and crispy shrimp balls all came out steaming hot. There are no dim sum carts like those in fancy dim sum restaurants. You simply sit, order, servers bring you food, and then you eat quality and fresh dim sum. They do joo you on the H20, but you could always just ask for more. Overall, love the food and service!! :)
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Review from janet d.
Irvine, CA
10/26/2010
Ok....so my friend asked for suggestions of where to eat in SF's Chinatown and I remembered back...
About a 3 or 4 years ago my friends and I went to SF to celebrate New Years for the weekend. As typical tourists, we hit up union square, china town and Fisherman's Wharf. While we walked China Town, minding our own business, looking at whimsical toys and good luck charms from street vendors, a man hands me a menu. Right there on the corner of blah....NE of blah street. I was like what hell? Does he have food in his car or something?
I looked at him, he looked at me and he pointed up the hill. "Up there I said?", he nodded. Since we weren't able to communicate very well and we were all getting pretty hungry, we followed the man(he was about 75-years-old, we could collectively taken him down). He took us up and up the hill for about 10 minutes. I wasn't really looking for exercise on my vacay!
Finally, huffing and puffing we pass this gated playground and turned right into one of SF's many, little, alleys and arrive at a hole in the wall, LITERALLY. I don't remember seeing any signs in front of the restaurant or even windows for that matter. We could have walked into a death trap or been robbed at gun point for being stupid tourists.
Seeing the inside confirmed my fears even more. It was small and windowless with furniture from the 70's. Very tacky. I thought we had walked into a mafia/mah jong hangout or something.
Anyways, we sat down and instead of ordering plates off a rolling dim sum cart as is normal in most restaurants, they gave us menus. There were pictures on the menu, so that helped because we all know....no one really knows what the names to all the little dim sum dishes really are. You usually just point and say "that, that, that, that and that.....oh what is that?.....and that!"
To make this Essay shorter....the food here was BOMB! I am a total dim sum lover from Orange County to Chinatown in LA, i've tried a lot but this was hands down GOOD.
My favorites are the har gow, xiu mai, and sticky rice wrapped in the banana leaf! I just remember the rice being soft and sticky, hot and stuffed with a lot of pork inside. Nom nom.....I really want to go back now! -
Review from Andrew C.
Manhattan, NY
10/18/2010 1 Check-in Here
Alright. They got me! The women who stand on the corner peddling Dim Sum menus, and then pull you towards a restaurant when you show the slightest bit of interest.... they got me on a foggy Saturday afternoon 6 years ago like a Preying Mantis looking for her delectable mate,
And I'm actually glad I submitted to my language barriered guide, up a steep hill; into a weird alleyway; behind a random park; down into the dungeon of an unmarked building; to dine at Hang Ah. It was like stepping into a Taiwanese oasis, full of bright colors, random decor, and reasonably great service for a Chinese joint in SF.
Since that first visit during my Freshman year of college, I've returned a handful of times with and without company to enjoy the Dim Sum. While it's good, I can't say it's the best. I've found joints in the Richmond and Sunset to offer more delectable (possibly MSG laden) dim sum. That being said, I always order Su Mi, Pork Buns, and Pot Stickers from Hang Ah. The portions are pretty sizable, so those three dishes will fill me up for under $12 (including tip).
If you like to venture around and try all kinds of Dim Sum places, then come here for an afternoon - I don't believe you'll regret it at all!Listed in: Gotta' Find It 2 Know It
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Review from Kevin D.
Vallejo, CA
7/10/2011 1 Check-in Here
cute little place hidden away from the main street. The food wasn't all that good, but i dont really care for Chinese food so take this with a grain of salt, although other folks in our group said it was whatevas
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Review from Tram T.
Peoria, AZ
1/11/2011 1 Check-in Here
It was Saturday morning and while my friends and I walked around Chi Town a lady standing at the corner wave a pink flier in front of us, she said dim sum and we said ok. =) we walked uphill passing Willie Wong's playground and were skeptical about Hang Ah since it was in a little corner. I asked a group of cute girls walking out of the restaurant how the food was- and one of the girls said "fantastic"- so I was excited to try some shiu mai. We walked in, and I thought oh no- it's tiny- must not be good. It's not your typical dim sum place, they didn't walk around with their cart and you point at the dish you want, I don't know my Chinese dim sum dishes so I was counting on pictures.
All i know is Shiu Mai -which was superb! On top of that the black bean chili sauce- thinking about it my mouth is drooling. AHHHH I wish they have this in AZ!!!!
We pretty much like everything we ordered, I didn't like the tofu soup. By far I had the best dim sum at Hang Ah- I was reluctant about giving it 5 stars because the service was nonexistent but the food won me over. Thank you Hang Ah for filling my tummy that morning!
*5 stars for the food!
*It gets really busy so don't count on excellent service. -
Review from Joyce L.
San Francisco, CA
8/16/2010
We were here on Sunday around 11:30 or so. We saw one guy there and I thought "ah crap, my sister chose the wrong place to eat". And then we ordered some items off of the menu and when the food came, we were pretty satisfied. And within a few minutes of arriving, the place started to pick up and by the time we left, there were lots of poeple there.
Any hoo, the only thing I did not like was the turnip cake, which I thought was too soft. Their hot and sour soup was REALLY hot and spicy. My husband liked it but I couldn't drink more than a bowl. And their combination chow mein was really good. It was so good that my husband, who hates noodles, had a second serving.
Other dim sum items, especially their shu mai, were the bomb. WOW..delish! For spare ribs, fried noodles, hot and sour soup, 2 order of chicken feet, turnip cakes, chicken wings with fries, 2 orders of shu mai, and other dishes I can't remember, we paid $63 + tip.
The only thing that bothered me was when my sister tried to order the chicken feet to go, the lady said, you have to wait 10 minutes. I guess they were serving their guests and the guests that were ready to go became 2nd class citizens. (and there was only one lady serving all of us.) -
Review from Dee Z.
San Francisco, CA
1/21/2011
It says it's been around since 1920 and I believe it. The alley looks like it's been around at least that long. It's right above the playground so you wouldn't expect to see a restaurant right behind it. Check it out for the decor...it probably hasn't changed much but it's part of its charm...come on you guys - don't be so harsh! At least you won't get sleepy since the lighting and the lime walls really perk you up.
The menu is smaller than most Chinese restaurants but the food is good and fresh and the best part is you can walk away and feel pretty good about the fact that you didn't get gouged somehow. And I like that they have REAL fortune cookies - those cellophane wrapped ones aren't even from San Francisco. If you're into dim sum you can't go wrong here cuz it's fast, easy, inexpensive and no frills. -
Review from Alicia W.
11/23/2010
Came here because my friend said that her friend said this place is really good.
This place is a bit hard to find. I have never been here and thought it would be one of those big fancy dim sum restaurant because they had this BIG banner on the side of the building. But I was wrong..... turns out you have to go to the side of the building and walk through a back door.... which leads you to a white room with two doors. I was about to leave because I thought I walked into some Chinese Chiropractor's office. But then I heard the sound of chopsticks and people talking.
So I walked in and finally found Hang Ah. It is nothing like Koi Palace or Hong Kong Lounge. It is really a whole in the wall restaurant.
My friend told me that the dimsum here is good, so I thought they would have a pretty decent size menu of dimsum. Unfortunately, I was wrong.... There was only a few dimsum items.... so I was a bit disappointed and I just wanted to leave. I only ordered the Pork Bun and the Lotus wrapped rice. They were okay... it isn't anything special.
I might come back here again, just to give this place another try. My friend made me have high expectation for this place so I might have been a bit harsh on it. -
Review from Karen C.
Concord, CA
7/17/2011
Very cheap dim sum prices. I would come here again! Service sucked though. We had to wait 5 minutes to get seated. And, had to flag the waitress twice for our bill. The shrimp and pork dumplings and the pork buns were my favorite!
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Review from Rachel S.
Davis, CA
7/24/2010
Not super impressed.
My family and I were showing around my cousin from out of town, and we picked this place based on the proximity and 3.5 star rating. It was packed on a Saturday afternoon (about 1:30) when we arrived.
We ordered the vegetarian combo and a few dim sum items a la carte. For some reason, though, the waitress seemed to be trying to 'upsell' us on several other items. She also seemed insistent that we get chow mein (maybe it's good there?)
Us: "We'd like one order of sesame balls."
Waitress: "So. Three orders of sesame balls, and 2 orders of chow mein?"
Us: "No, just the sesame balls."
Waitress: "So 2 orders of sesame balls, and 1 order of chow mein?"
Us: ....
The sesame balls were good, and the pork buns were fresh. The bbq spare ribs, however, arrived in a watery broth and were really grisly and bad. We waited nearly until the end of the meal to get our drink orders, and I ended up getting everyone at my table our own water from the pitcher nearby.
Basically: service - 1 stars. Food: 3-4 stars --- averages out to 2. -
Review from Megan G.
San Francisco, CA
7/12/2011
Yum yum yum yum. Best Dim Sum in the area (based on price, quality, transparency, ease of getting a table, and plenty of selection). The BBQ pork buns are A+, as are the hot and sour soup (very hot) and mu shu vegetables. The price is oh so right, and though the lack of music in the restaurant makes it a little too quiet to avoid awkwardness, takeout is simple and it's open late.
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Review from robbie l.
San Francisco, CA
5/2/2011
I'm Chinese american. Panda express has better food. Other than the waitress and cook I was the only Asian in the restaurant. That's all I'm saying....
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Review from Suanne L.
9/6/2010
Wah, I can't come to SFO without making a stop for yum cha, can I? Based on other Yelpers and how little hill climbing I wanted to do, I chose to eat at Hang Ah, which is on sacramento between grant and stockton if you're looking at a touristy map, like me.
I walked in the place and earned a friendly "ne ho!" on entrance, but the bright orange and green interior was a bit empty... With two tables of "lo fahn." Eek.
Now, everyone here orders off the menu - there are no steam carts. All the dim sum is on the front page, and is more general dim sum favorites. Nothing scary (or uber authentic) like chicken feet or ginger tripe. They do have a dim sum sampler for $14.50 which comes with one of each of the popular favorites, without having to order only three dishes and have to eat multiples. This is great because everything is made fresh and delivered hot!
Ha gow - on point. Met my high standards (which says a lot)
Fried prawn - very fresh!
Spring roll is nothing special
Curry puff wasn't a puff - was a huge egg roll. Greasy, but good.
Ham sui gok - crunchy, chewy, soft. But not as much variety inside as I'd like.
Potsticker - meh. Lots of cabbage, greasier than necessary
Siu mai (why does every lo fahn here say "sue mee"??!) Par, but not memorable.
Foil chicken - delicately flavored - probably the best surprise on the plate. A little more sugar than necessary, but quite tender.
Cha siu bao - steamed (thank god) took it home. Fantastic, moist, and sweet.
Overall - greasy but delish. 3.5 stars for food and service. Maaaaaaaaaybe I'll be back. -
Review from SANDY P.
Sacramento, CA
The prices went up from the last time I was there which was like a couple of years ago.... Came here Saturday morning right when they opened at 10am. We were the first ones here.
They gave us plastic kiddie cups for water which I thought was funny and tacty. Dim sum was good and fresh since they just started cooking, but damn the fried shrimp balls (4 pcs) are 4.50 now!? Too damn pricey now. WTF!! More people start coming in around 1030.
The lady taking our orders didn't speak English and at the end of our meal...on our way out she stopped us and complained that we didn't tip her correctly!! Can you believe that shyt!?? Gratuity!? No way. We already gave you a tip but you want more? Your service wasn't great either! We had a party of 5 not 7 or more.She was making a scene speaking all crazy and I just grabbed 3 extra dollars and handed to her. I didn't want to argue with her anymore. Lol. I don't think I will be back!1 Previous Review: Show all »
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2/10/2009
Good dim sum. Place is kind of small, tables are too close to one another. We followed an old lady… Read more »
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Review from Karen C.
San Francisco, CA
10/3/2010 1 Check-in Here
Solid offering of dim sum and standard Chinese favorites.
We were in Chinatown to visit Action Figure Freddy and wanted to grab lunch. Our first choice for dim sum was closed, so we picked the highest-rated place on Yelp near our location. Approaching the restaurant, it appeared to be closed. Luckily, a family walked by saying "this place is great!" and walked in. Thus, we learned it WAS open, and entered the establishment.
Hang Ah Tea Room offers dim sum from a menu. There are about 20 choices. They also have standard Chinese rice plate lunches, and an assortment of fried rice and noodle dishes to augment your meal.
We had the following dim sum:
* Rabbit-shaped shrimp dumplings (Har Gow)
* Shrimp & pork dumplings (Siu Mai)
* "Special" shrimp wrapped in tofu skin and fried
* BBQ Pork buns (Char Sui Bao)
We also wanted the Salted Fish & Chicken fried rice, which was sold out, so we got BBQ Pork fried rice instead.
Everything was good - the steamed items were a bit soggy, as though they'd been steamed earlier and were sitting around. But, since it was almost 3:30pm, that seemed kind of reasonable. The shrimp in tofu skin was good, but the BBQ Pork buns were the best by far. Each table has a pot of sauce on the table which is totally amazing - a mixture of chilis, garlic, black beans, and oil - this made everything better. Be sure to use it with abandon!
It wasn't the best place - or even the second best - but it's a solid option if you're in the neighborhood. We'll be back. -
Review from Vicky L.
1/12/2010
If my friend hadn't yanked me back down this street since I was about to continue walking straight past the alley, I would've never even seen this place.
It's very, very hidden. A lady came out of the door right as we were about to walk in, so she led us in and seated us at a table. Since it was about 2:15, there were only a few other people in the restaurant, and the weird thing was... I was the only Asian person, out of all the diners. It was like the opposite of Stuff White People Like (http://stuffwhitepeopl...).
The interior is clean and strangely decorated, with a Buddhist temple type of shrine thing on one end, pictures of random Miss Chinatowns from a long time ago (in the form of newspaper clippings and old photos), and the walls were painted a lime green. It was tiny, and so that meant no carts being pushed around.
Prices are pretty good, but the food was just okay to me. The BBQ Pork Bun was a whole lotta bun, not a lotta pork. They were big, but not as sweet as I'd like them to be. Try Clement St. for better dim sum items, especially their pork buns.
I may try to go back here to try their other items, since I wasn't hungry and didn't feel like eating much besides the BBQ pork buns. The people are nice, and it's a clean place. Not sure if it's supposed to cater more towards tourists, seeing as how I was the only Asian there, and everyone else seemed like they were on some family outing, common of tourists.
This review is dedicated to Peter L., who will be making the final decision on which restaurant to order BBQ Pork Buns from for my (probably never-going-to-happen) Asian wedding. You're all invited.Listed in: CCG Approved, Oh Hai Chinatown!
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Review from T A.
Alameda, CA
3/28/2008
So, this chick was handing out menus on a popular corner in Chinatown. We bit.
We were escorted by the menu chick up the hill, went down the lil alley..I started thinking the chinese mafia had a plan for us.
Went in, sat down.. got water (in the shabbiest lil cups)...then we waited..and waited.
My friend said we should leave based on the fact that they had fried chicken feet. I told her to chill - it'll be great.
We waited.. and waited..
Finally I got sick of waiting - the bathroom had almost made me lose my appetite anyway (smelled like strong, morning piss)...so we left.
Not sure how the food is, but the atmosphere and the vibe was weird. It looked janky and I see all these reviews about it being clean. I'd hate to see their homes if they consider this greasy lil shack clean. -
Review from Betty S.
San Francisco, CA
6/16/2009
Came here for lunch yesterday with some friends. I've never been here before, but I have seen it in passing. It's a pretty old resturant, that can be called a 'hole in the wall'. It has a really colorful decor in it - with bright green walls! When you walk into the resturant you will notice some really old beauty pageant pictures of miss Chinatown 1959, 1960, etc. That was pretty cool. Gotta pay attention when looking for this place though! It's tucked in a little alley.
You order off the menu when you get here..we wanted dim sum so we got 2 orders of the shrimp dumplings, shrimp dumplings shaped in a rabbit, sui mai, bbq pork buns, sesame balls, and a combination chow mein. They make it as you order it, so we waited for a little bit, but not too long. The food came out almost all at the same time, so that was good for us. The chow mein was alright - not a lot of flavor, and nothing spectacular at all. The shrimp dumplings were pretty good - but I wouldn't waste money (50 cents more) for the rabbit shaped shrimp dumplings - its the same as the regular dumplings! BBQ pork buns weren't bad either. Food overall, was mediocre.
We got here around noon and there was only 2 tables seated..so we were able to get seated right away. But it quickly filled up and the place was full by the time we were done eating. Service here was really kind of slow. We asked and waited for the waitress to come back with our check. One thing that I did not like about this place was that it doesn't have all the dim sum staples - egg tarts, rice noodle rolls (the only one they have is rice noodle rolls with bean sprouts), etc. Overall, it was an OK experience here, but I'd would probably go somewhere else to get more variety for dim sum. -
Review from Valerie M.
Chino Hills, CA
10/10/2009 2 photos
Yay for dimsum! Very cute and small setting. It was kind of hidden which I thought was cool. Tried almost everything on the list from shrimp dumplings to black bean spare ribs to fried tofu to sesame balls to egg rolls plus tons more! Overall, great food and fun experience.
Note: If you look at my photos, you'll see how much you might end up spending with your friends! -
Review from Lauren C.
San Francisco, CA
5/13/2008 1 Check-in Here
Boyfriend and I were walked to Hang Ah by one of the menu people from Grant. Does anyone get here any other way? We usually wouldn't do something so touristy, but it we had gone to the New Year's festival expecting great food booths only to end up disappointed and hungry to the point of following the menu lady up the hill like sheep. Once I assessed the place, filled with tourists brought in two or three at a time by the menu crew, I developed a complete lack of confidence. We had so little faith that we only ordered a couple of appetizers, just enough to take the edge off our hunger. However, both were good enough to pique my interest and raise my expectations for the rest of the menu.
Boyfriend had the dumpling sampler. There were four or five different dumplings. The char siu bao was okay, but not as good as the ones we got from Eastern Bakery earlier in the day. The ha gow were quite good, as were the rest of the dumplings. I got the shrimp balls and absolutely loved them. They were super greasy but that didn't detract. I kept wanting them throughout that day and for days afterward. I've read the other reviews which don't inspire any more confidence than the patrons of Hang Ah did, so I'll try more things only a dish or two at a time and always with shrimp balls.Listed in: Practical Dining in SF
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Review from Eva G.
5/25/2010 3 photos
So this place may be one of the oldest dim sum joints in SF, and have given many a memory, but wow the food is not good. It looks like a faux-Chinese take-out shack, but Chinese shack food usually tastes authentic; this food tastes.. weird and cold. The pork buns were huge, but the filling is bland. The only thing we liked was their turnip cake.
This is the only Chinese restaurant I've been to in SF, so I don't know. I can so far say that dim sum can be so much better. -
Review from Elle Q.
Oakland, CA
5/23/2007
I HAD to have dim sum today....
The foil wrapped chicken was fabulous, the lotus buns, shrimp dumplings, and egg rolls were average....
Service was slow at first, but the food came out very quickly... my ice tea didn't go unfilled, and when I was ready to go, the waitress boxed my leftovers for me, rather than bringing me a box for me to do it myself (I thought that was sweet. :D)
Not great, but definitely not bad for the price. I'll probably go back. :) -
Review from Laurence W.
Oakland, CA
Updated - 1/28/2009
Hang Ah is still my favorite dim sum in the city against all logic. A couple of thoughts:
1. Ignore the teeming masses of tourists. That's Hang Ah's gig: they're in all the guidebooks as the oldest dim sum place in the city, and they leverage it to the hilt.
2. Ignore the fact that they have little old ladies out on the corner handing out flyers and shepherding people into the restaurant. It's not because the restaurant sucks. It's because of the tourists. See #1 above.
3. Ignore the non-dim sum dishes. They're greasy and terrible. My only hypothesis is that the tourists like it. See #1 above.
4. Do *not* ignore anything steamed: pork buns, shrimp dumplings, and fun gor (filled w/ pork and peanuts) are my favorites.
Shalom.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/30/2006
I've been going here for about 25 years. Believe me, it looks like it belongs in Architectural… Read more »
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Review from Tommy P.
Los Angeles, CA
3/1/2009
This place is absolutely ghastly and offered some of the worst Dim Sum I've ever had. It was actually store-bought frozen dim sum that had been steamed in the kitchen. Non-dim-sum dishes were flavorless and greasy. Awful and unforgivable in a city with so many good Chinese restaurants.
The service was horrible and the little old ladies drag tourists in constantly, so the place is bustling... but there aren't any Chinese people there. They had the audacity to tell us how much to tip on the entire lousy experience, even though gratuity was not factored into our bill.
What is WRONG with Yelpers? This restaurant has nothing even closely resembling authentic dim sum. I thought San Francisco was supposed to be a foodie town -- there is *no* excuse for being a regular at a flavorless tourist trap like Hang Ah.Listed in: Absolutely Horrible Places
