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so i'm sick, and usually, when i am sick, my mom would make porridge for me, but as a part of growing up, my mom now lives 100 miles away. so i yelped for a good porridge place and this place came up. I came here at around 9PM, and there were still people dinning. I get my pork & egg porridge (with an extra egg because my mom doesn't skimp) and an order of the "cow-tongue" bread. this place has so much MSG, it is ridiculous... but it's so delicious! anyways, i came back here the day after (while i'm still sick) at around 12:30pm, and this place was PACKED like they were giving away food.
anyways, in summary, tasty quick porridge.
I'm hungry.
I'm tired.
I'm too lazy to get dressed.
Oh but where do I go to satisfy this growling belly?
HING LUNG!
Porridge is, without a doubt, my favorite food in the whole wide world. I may say fried chicken reigns supreme but that Chinese side I keep suppressing comes out everytime I crave for something simple that provides me the comfort alike cuddling a teddy bear. And when this urge presents itself, Hing Lung is the only spot that suffices.
My Hing Lung companion and I are alike in so many ways. We are creatures of habit when it comes to ordering at our favorite haunts. So what? We like what we like.
We always get:
1) Thousand year old egg & pork porridge
2) Chinese Fried Donut wrapped in rice roll
3) Bean Sprout Chow Mein
Although the service may be crappy with a capital C, the food never disappoints.
The porridge is always as I remember it to be. Piping hot with generous portions of thousand year old eggs and teeming full of shredded pork. Add a light amount of soy sauce + a lavish amount of white pepper = good-for-you-tasty-goodness-that-your-momma-can-ap prove-of.
The Chinese Fried Donut wrapped in rice roll may not always be consistent but it is one of my favorite Chinese breakfast dishes. When you gotta make do, you make do and get over it. When it's good, it's really good. The soft rice roll with a semi-crunchy center dipped with a sweet soy sauce is the best compliment to porridge, hands down.
Last but not least, the Chow Mein is wok-fried with copious amounts of bean sprouts and fragrant pieces of garlic. The dish itself + hot sauce mixed in with the porridge...OMG.
Not only are all these dishes savory, they are dirt cheap! How can I not love this Chinatown gem?
it was thanksgiving weekend 2008 when the rat fell from the ceiling. we were there for a late night meal. i was having a good hair day and even wore eye shadow.
we all saw it from the corner of our eyes. i panicked. "just keep eating! it didn't happen!!" we scarfed down our food and quickly paid the bill.
the ride home was quiet and i've never been back since.
2/5 SERVICE: aiya! no service for you!
2/5 AMBIANCE: tiny tables wiped down by the same rag used…
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So, my mom made a rare trip here last week and wanted to get lunch. She was in Chinatown, I work in the FiDi - the two are close... but not really. Nevertheless, I ran over to meet her, my aunt, and my uncle for lunch. I'm a Central Valley girl and grew up visiting SF all the time but my family only went to Chinatown. Actually, until I was in high school, the only thing I knew about SF was Chinatown. They chose Hing Lung and I guess my family's been eating here for years because the first thing my uncle said was, "I wonder if the food is still as good..." (the second thing was, "Oh my god! They raised the prices on everything!" to which I said, "It has been a long time since we've come here, you know...") Anyway, the place was packed and stressful for me because I needed to get back to work but once we got seated and ordered, things came out quickly and I remembered why we always came to this place. The bowl of porridge with fish slices was one of the best I've ever had and I'm picky about my porridge because it is my favorite comfort food. I would come back just for this. The Chinese donuts were fried perfectly - crispy on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside (excellent for dipping into porridge!). The chow fun was not terribly oily nor too salty and had nice chunks of meat. I think the defining moment of this lunch was when my uncle declared, "It IS as good as I remember," and happily ate his food, despite the fact that the prices were higher than what he had to pay ten years ago... Haha...
The best damn congee ever! Service is ok, it just depends on who you get and if they are busy. I find that if they are slow, the service is with a smile, if they are busy, not so much. I don't care, bring me my congee!
How come it's still raining in September?
I got this place confused with Gold Mountain
Nice day to have some porridge
Get them with some Chinese donuts
Loved #127!!!
Unique dish to find
Now run over to Chinatown and get yourself some...
Good, warm, filling breakfast to start your day
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I got this place (674 Broadway) confused with Gold Mountain (644 Broadway). And I didn't realize it until after I had paid the bill. O_O
It was raining in Chinatown last Saturday! What the heck? It's September and why is it still raining? I don't understand Norcal weather. =\
Anyways, I was even proud of myself for being able to still read Chinese! I saw the sign that said "gold" and "mountain" in Chinese! (All those years of Saturday Chinese School paid off right?) ahaha So my friend and I walked inside. The place was small and a bit unclean. No dim sum on the menu? o.O But lots of porridge/jook/congee/xi fan!! I have to tell you sometimes I think I'm not Chinese. I've never really liked xi fan, nor those century egg stuff. I thought it was an old person's breakfast. hehe :P
We ordered...
#10 Seafood congee
#35 Chinese fried donut/bread (default item to get if you're ordering congee) $1.85
#127 Chinese fried donut wrapped in rice noodle (MY FAV!!!!) $5
Total: under $17 for 2 people
The first thing I saw on the menu was #127!!! I've been in search for this and now I know I'm not going crazy! It does exist, just not at many dim sum places in Norcal! I used to always order this when I had dim sumin SoCal. I LOVE #127!! Crispy, fried donut on the inside and soft rice noodle on the outside with sweet sauce!! mmmm
Congee: It was very good! For someone like me who doesn't like it, I was surprise to have eaten three small bowls of it! :D And I love dunking the Chinese donuts into them!!! :) And it's great to eat this on a rainy, cold day like Saturday!!
I'm kinda glad I accidentally ran into this place instead! :D And of course, CA$H ONLY!!! But they validate for "Park and Ride"! :)
Can't mess with the porridge, but they could use a little work on the rolled rice noodles (cheung fun). Typical chinese place, typical service. Good cure for a hangover, decent prices.
Jook. Porridge. Congee.
Whatever you want to call it, they got it here; and this review is strictly for that and the Chinese donut. It's one of the best, if not the best, jook in the city. The texture is always just right, not too watery and not too thick. The flavor is as authentic as you can get.
Do not forget to order the Chinese donut wrapped in noodle roll. You will not find better unless you go overseas to Asia.
It is kind of dirty looking (and probably is kind of dirty). It is crowded. It is everything you would expect from a Chinatown restaurant. If you absolutely cannot stand that, keep walking.
As for the name? I personally call it jook in Cantonese and porridge in English.
My cousin introduced me to this place last weekend, and it's my new joint for Cantonese breakfast.
Very flavorful rice porridge (jook, congee, xi fan - whatever you wanna call it!). I like mine with thousand year egg. They also have great side dishes, dumplings, and noodle soups. The prices are right and the dishes are so authentic you'd think you stepped into a Hong Kong hole-in-the-wall.
Minus one star because my whole party and I were very thirsty after eating here -- a sure sign of MSG. Sigh. I guess no place is perfect.
One thing i look for in a Chinese restaurant is either all or a majority of Chinese people dining. Especially right off Chinatown. Hing has the best claypots around. I've tried tons, and i can say they are all amazing. I've had a few that were on the bland side, but all in all, i can sit with a seafood pot with a friend and a side of veggie delight and just enjoy. There is no rush; we sat for 90 minutes just talking, and talking, eating, and no one told us we had to go move, anything. it was light tonight, but even when its full up i never feel rushed. i love that, and the whole dinner... $17 plus tip. Yum.
Popular cheap Cantonese place that always has a good number of customers inside. Service is bad, but more importantly exists, which is harder to come by in Chinatown. And although there are no pictures to reference, some of the staff speak English well and will explain the dishes to you. Huge portions of very saucy, very oily food, which you can watch the chef make in the front -- he's soothingly systematic against the noisy backdrop. Decent for those late nights... if you're walking around the area. Parking isn't kind here.
++ | E-Mien w/XO Sauce |
Thick noodles well greased in a spicy sauce with quick fried eggplant
Ok to try:
Chicken Congee
Its JUST rice porridge and chicken. Very plain. Probably need to drop in a few pieces of fried Chinese donut. Make sure you have a Cantonese friend to tell you how to eat this the "right" way, b/c I might have enjoyed it more had i done the same.
I think the congee here is overrated, never really consistent. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not.
I hate how the boss is always screaming at her workers.
As for the place itself... um it's sticky, tables and menus
Recently, the place has been increasing its prices, so much that I don't think it's even worth it to come and eat here anymore. Simple dishes for dinner are $8... for that price I can be eating steamed oysters somewhere else.
There are definitely other places to eat if you're in chinatown, but if you're realllly craving for congee, I guess you can throw like $6-8 on a bowl.
Went here yesterday with four friends. Happy Hour is AWESOME, from 4-6pm on weekends, we ordered seven dishes and a nasty milk tea. Total was only 25 bucks! Potstickers were great, Fried Tofu wasn't that bad either! I ordered the dumpling noodle soup, it was ok, but I should try the porridge everyone's talking about! The XO Chow Fun was great too, though it was meatless. Each dish cost only THREE DOLLARS EACH! What an amazing deal, The milk tea was $1.50 during happy hour but it was gross because it's just iced tea with condensed milk.
Hing Lung, you will see me again soon!
Food was pretty yum, prices were the best!! Supper for five people was only 21 dollars and we… Read more »
Ordered:
Abalone & clam congee - good amount of clams and abalone, glad they didn't add any extra salt or flavoring to it
Beef Chow Fun with XO sauce - one the first chow fun I've ordered that I didn't need to doctor (add more soy sauce, hot sauce, salt, anything to make it taste less bland), decent amount of beef with bean sprouts and none of the crappy shredded lettuce some restaurants like to throw in
Sauteed pork intestines with preserved vegetables - Awesome! the first restaurant in SF that I've found to serve this, nice crispy texture, served with a sweet & sour sauce
crowd:
Filled with mostly Chinese families, saw one family waiting for tables at 6:15p on Sunday
Service:
I did take out so don't know anything about the service, but my order was ready for me in around 20 minutes.
The food is bland but the PORTIONS are HUGE. I have been here on numerous occasions.
PARKING -
We found parking immediately but it is 25cents/10 minutes.
My favorite - $1.50 for watermelon juice (FRESH SQUEEZED WATERMELON)
The porridge and fried dough (sweet and savory) are made out in the front so you get to see the chef work it's magic! Therefore if you crave porridge and rice rolls (cherng fun) come here!
Hing Lung Restaurant and I have a love-hate relationship. I am a very big fan of traditional canto jook / congee and have difficulty finding places that offer a variety of congee (most places just serve the standard preserved egg and shredded pork).
The first time I came here I totally fell in love with the congee (I ordered the pork's blood and liver, yes I am very chinese and like interesting flavors :). Though in typical chinatown restaurant style, it's a more than a little bit grungy, the congee was perfect. The porridge was flavorful and rich, the pork's blood and liver very fresh and not overcooked. The donuts were crispy and doughy and I love their hong kong style milk tea, both cold and hot are delicious.
HOWEVER, since then my experiences with Hing Lung have been very uneven. I have been here probably around a dozen times and it's either very good or very very terrible. A handful of times I went, my ingredients were burnt giving my porridge a very unpleasant flavor. And this very last time the spoons were not properly rinsed off and I tasted and smelled dish washing soap when I tried my congee. I was so disgusted I couldn't finish my congee (which if you know me and my hatred of wasting food, this is a pretty big deal).
Also, the service is not so great if you do not have someone with you who speaks cantonese. That being said, I probably will continue to come here, because when it's good it's soooo good but i will follow these three rules (and I suggest you do the same!):
1. Come early in the morning (we noticed the congee only tastes burnt when we happen to come in after the breakfast rush).
2. Bring my own plastic spoons!!
3. Bring a cantonese speaker!
Recommendations: Preserved egg & pork congee is especially good here, but pretty much all the congee is good, hong kong milk tea, fried donut wrapped in rice paper sheets (amazing! especially if you eat it when it's piping hot), the fried tofu that has the little pieces of fish fried with it (soo good, the tofu is unbelievable silky).
Rating: 2.5 / 5
It's hard to know what's good in Chinatown, and as my Chinese is that of a 3 year old, one of my Chinese friends took me to Hing Lung for jook. For those of you new to the delicious world of jook, it's a soup made with rice that has been slow cooked til it puffs up into a porridge-like consistency and is made with: chicken, dried pork, frog legs, mushrooms, etc. If it can go in a soup, it's in there.
This is definitely the place if you have a hankering for a good bowl. (yes they're other dishes are good, but you gotta try the jook!) I swear the preserved egg just melts in your mouth! If you haven't had this before, don't be scared. It tastes the opposite of how it looks. They also have a happy hour on the weekend from 3-6 pm when a huge bowl is only 3 dollars. Now that's talkin' to the bargain hunting Chinese in me!
I ordered take out one day when I was too lazy to cook. I opened my bag to find that their to-go containers are a made of a high grade eco-friendly material. No styrofoam, very nice!
I can't say that it's the most clean or polite place, but this isn't four star dining and I love a good hole in the wall. I happened to stop by 10 minutes to 6 during their happy hour and I asked if the special was still going on. The woman looked at me and then looked at the clock with 10 minutes to go and said "No". That day they did not get my business. But the jook is so damn good I'll be back soon to have another bowl of my favorite Chinese comfort food.
Look out your window today, or really, any day in San Francisco during the summer. I'll bet you 9 times out of 10, it's a cold, foggy day.
And what's more perfect on a day like this than a hot bowl of congee, right?
This place is pretty popular with locals. Once, I was walking around Chinatown and forgot which place served the good congee + youtiao, so I called up my parents (and they hardly ever come into Chinatown), and even they knew exactly what and where Hing Lung was.
They have an extensive menu of congees, all for very cheap. The last time I came here, I think I got the one with abalone. It was, as expected, solid and came in a very large portion. I ordered a side of youtiao, and it was a perfect meal. Youtiao are fried dough sticks, and when cooked right (this place does it right), is light, fluffy, and very crispy.
Congee + youtiao = wonderful lunch on a cold day.
Protip: IMO, congee is best with lots of green onion and many pieces of thousand-year-old eggs (pidan), but not all the congees come with pidan. If not, make sure to specifically request it, because pidan is a wonderful complement with great texture. Oh, and of course, getting youtiao is a must.
After a full day which included riding into the wind and not even getting to cruise downhill because of a flat tire, we wrapped up our day by having dinner here. I named my dog Congee not only because of his white fur, but because its comfort food to me. So what else could warm my achy and tired muscles other than 2 piping hot bowls of congee and some Chinese fried bread? The portions were generous, the congee was hot and tasty (I got the preserved egg and pork congee) and service was very fast and efficient. The congee here is thick .... so all the fixin's are nicely suspended and don't just sit at the bottom of the bowl. To be fair though, I've had better and fresher fried bread elsewhere.
This is a no frills joint ... but I came here for some comfort food and that's what I got.
Porridge is good diet food because one small bowl of rice will expand into a quart of porridge. Delicious!!
Hing Lung has great prices and good food for the price!
we had a banquet there for 9 people and had enough food for left overs for most of us! it had 4 seafood dishes, 2 ducks etc etc and it was about $20 a person! did someone say BARGAIN!
in their price bracket I give 5 stars!
Definintely a big hit or miss from this place. The last few times I went, the food was pretty bad, but I still go once every few weeks if I need to kill time before I head to work. I had the peking noodles this time around and it was surprising quite tasty. The noodles weren't overcooked like before and the pork was pretty tender and spiced well with a little kick.
For less than six bucks, you'll get a nice breakfrest that will fill you up until dinner. I'm not a huge porridge fan, but definitely will order their porridge cuz it's might tasty. Give this place a shot if you're in the area.
The memories of Hing Lung's congee has been haunting me ever since the prospect of visiting San Francisco came up. I've been here many times throughout the years with my family for breakfast when we visit San Francisco. Hing Lung is located in Chinatown and is actually very close the "Little Italy" section of the city. My first venture to find Hing Lung was fruitless because I wasn't with my parents and only remembered what the outside and inside of the place looked like. While walking through San Francisco towards Fisherman's Wharf, I looked left and right in hopes of finding the restaurant. As my search was fruitless, I decided to use yelp to find the place. Thankfully, yelp was helpful and I got the number and address of the place.
Sunday morning found us cold, shivering, and hungry. Jook, or porridge/congee, seemed like the perfect morning breakfast for my companions and me. We ordered three bowls of jook: thousand year old egg and pork, chicken and abalone, and clams and abalone.
The thousand year old egg and pork porridge was good. I consider it a classic. There was a good amount of thousand egg and a decent amount of shredded pork. I really like the flavors in combination with each other.
Since I could remember, I always ordered the chicken and abalone jook here. I was really looking forward to a bowl however, it wasn't as good as I remembered it to me. The chicken must have been marinated in something because the chicken was quite salty. It was difficult to taste the sweetness of the meats and the saltiness made the jook itself taste a bit too salty.
In my opinion, the winner out of today's porridges was the clams and abalone porridge. The cilantro that they used as garnished really flavored the porridge. Though all three bowls had cilantro, for some reason, this one had the strongest cilantro flavor. The clams were sweet and tasted of the sea. The abalone complimented the clams really well.
Overall, it was a good experience. The jook is definitely better at Hing Lung than it is in all the Monterey Park restaurants. The texture of the jook is thick and creamy, unlike the watery rice broth that some cafes try to pass off as jook. Though I wished that the jook wasn't as heavily salted, my companions enjoyed it and thanked me for recommending the place. I will definitely come back next time and try another bowl of clams and abalone porridge.
3.8/5 stars
It's getting harder and harder to find affordable places to eat these days, but Hing Lung has been a favorite of mine for years. I'm a westerner, but I used to live in Beijing and got hooked on "Fried Man Tou", basically an unsweetened doughnut (to-die-for good) - and this is the only place to get it!
If you're hell-bent on having chow mein, it won't be the Chinese you've ever had, but the portions are huge (one dish is usually good for two if your order an appetizer) and the selection is huge (they make me things I can't find on the menu all the time), and all for a tiny price. If you're a little more adventurous or have acquired a taste for some of the traditional dishes like congee or fried bread - it's a sure-fire winner!
Good Tasty Food; reasonable price, known for their jook, won ton noodles.
Definitely want to eat their chinese "donut".
But, hygiene is not perfect.
I'm a fiend for congee and finding a place that specializes in congee was a dream come true. We went with the shredded roast duck congee which delivered beautiful flavors. A side of Chinese fried bread will change up the textures. This place can get a little crowded, so be prepared to share a table with other diners. A great, quick breakfast with pleasant company that will leave you stuffed.
Good place to chow down after my Angel Island biking trip in Frisco cold weather. This place have very good clams and abalone congee, and also Pork with preserved Egg plus a Fried Bread on the side.. Yummy. yummy
IF you don't like Congee, there are a lot that you can order from the menu such as noodles, hot pots, rice plates...ect. I also like the red beans top with a scoop of vanilla icream.
5 Stars for their prices
Do not come here looking for fine dining, good service, clean bathrooms or dinner ware and the wait can be suicidal at times when it's packed.
Despite it's faults, this place is sooo good.
Come here for good REAL chinese food. If you want orange chicken and mu shu pork go to Panda Express.
I recommend any kind of congee, the chinese doughnut, fried bread wrapped with rice noodle thing (wish i knew what that was called), wonton mein, any meat plate (especially the duck), fried chicken wings, chow fun... damn I think i've liked almost everything i've tried here.
If you're in SF chinatown you should definitely come here.
on a side note:
the last 4 times my family and i have come here, they've overcharged us on the bill. Word of advice, double check the prices on your bill....
3.40 stars.
I've only been here for their breakfast porridges. Their porridges are cooked in the front kitchen of the restaurant, and that is where they made their deep-fried bread rolls and other side dishes for porridges. I've never tried their dishes from their back kitchen, so I cannot comment on that. Their porridges are thick, hot, and yummy. Couple that with their soy-sauce noodles, rice-noodle rolls, or (even AND) deep friend bread rolls (traditional ones AND the sweet ones), and you have a very delicious breakfast.
This place does feel somewhat dirty, and their waiters obviously feel underpaid (and probably sometimes under-appreciated too). I've heard stories about this place's uncleanliness (rats running on the ceiling... A LONG time ago though). I've personally never experienced that, but that is probably why I only eat from the front kitchen. At least you can see what's up there (no pun intended).
I would come back here again, but only for their porridge (I think they have a breakfast special daily for a cheaper price if you get their meal deals.).
Eat here almost every time I am in the Bay Area. The best congee ever!
If you do not know what congee is, it is the Chinese version of porridge, but so much tastier. It's made with boiled rice and the cook will add different meats or vegetables - pork, fish, chicken, seafood. Sometimes people eat it plain with condiments on the side. I like to order the Chinese fried donuts made fresh on the premises to dip in the congee.
If you like lobster, you must try the Lobster Congee.
It's a bit expensive, but so worth it. The waitress told us the chef uses a special kind of congee rice to get the right consistency.
After 5pm, they also have a special clay pot rice dish which is very comforting and homey to eat.
If you don't take my word for it, look in the restaurant completely filled with other Chinese enjoying their meals.
Mmmmm.....the absolute BEST congee (rice porridge) in SF! Get that with a side of oily bread sticks and you're set! Their won ton noodles are pretty good, too!
Place looks kinda dirty but I don't care.....I go there for the congee and I leave a happy lady. =)
They have breakfast and dinner specials, which are really cheap! Their pan fried noodles are really yummy, too! Place gets really packed during breakfast and dinner.
Man.....I think I'm gonna go there and get some congee soon!
You can't beat this spot for Jook. Get the fried donuts and you are set. If you want something hardcore that is hard to get elsewhere, get the fried donut inside the rice noodle wrapper. I refuse to say more cause if you need more, this probably is not your joint. No they don't speak good engrish, but handle tourists just fine.
When I get a craving for good porridge I'll come over to Hing Lung.
Also their Chinese doughnuts are really good here.
The only reason I don't come here more often is because parking is such a pain
This is one of the regular spots to eat now. Picked up take out on Christmas because my nieces were too lazy to walk! We got two porridges (the mixed pig giblets and the thousand year egg w/ shredded pork), fried donut and a tender green w/ beef chow fun w/ lots of gravy. All were delicious as expected but the price has gone up - still reasonable but not dirt cheap anymore.
Came by for dinner the other night and decided to try their clay pot rice. We also ordered a three shredded pan fried noodles to eat while waiting for our rice - it takes 20+ minutes to cook. We also ordered the bitter melon, bean curd & catfish claypot.
The pan fried noodles came out first - good. The crispy noodle was good but I love the middle part where it's soaked with gravy! The ingredients (toppings) were bean sprout, thin shreds of chicken, pork and bbq pork with a little of shitake mushroom.
The clay pot came next - the bitter melon was so bitter, just the way we like it. The bean curd was good and the catfish was meaty and flavorful.
The clay pot rice came last - it smelled and looked great. There were 2 bok choi on top with couple mushroom, few pieces of chinese sausage, some dried lily flower (kum chum) and some super tender chicken. All was good except they didn't cook it long enough - the rice didn't get a chance to create that perfect layer of crispiness at the bottom or the side. We were only able to get a few pieces...only if they left it on the stove for another 5 minutes, it can be very very good.
Until the next time...
Been eating here too long to not give them the fair rating. If you know what to order - you can… Read more »
Hands down the best jook in the bay area! I have been coming to Hing Lung since my parents took me as a child and am still a fan 20 years later. The service is lacking but what do you expect from an unsanatary looking Chinese restaurant!?
After walking through Chinatown on Chinese New Year looking for some action and finding none; we ended up at Hing Lung Restaurant as a last ditch effort on our way to our car. Thanks to a yelp review, the restaurant was on my radar to try the ngow lei sol. I didn't expect a sit down restaurant, but luckily they have a pick up/to go window where the precious ngow lei sol pastry is fried to perfection.
I'm not sure if it was because it was Chinese New Year that caused the staff to feel extra friendly or if their behavior is normally that way, but once we asked about the ngow lei sol, the guy behind the fryer insisted on giving it to us for free so we could sample the warm, slightly sweet boat-shaped donut like pastry.
I'm not a big fried dough fan, but I have to say, the ngow lei sol was a tasty treat. I think having it warm out of the fryer helped. Who can deny warm fried food, right?
I had a difficult time rating HL because 1) their thousand year old egg congee was super delicious, we finished a bowl even though we weren't that hungry, 2) we also ordered their yummy Chinese bread stick, and 3) their rice and seafood in a clay pot.
The dilemma wasn't the quality of their food, but the time it took them to serve our food. Our congee came out first but we wanted the bread sticks to go with it. Unfortunately, the bread sticks did not come out until 30 minutes later after we had already inhaled our congee. It took another 15 minutes after the bread sticks for the clay pot rice to come out...we were already full...
I am already salivating at my next opportunity to go to HL, but I am scared at how much hunger pains I have to endure before they serve their food...
Dishes here are a big hit or miss. Their congee is great - the liver is a must try. Their whole rotisserie chickens are well-priced, but the peking duck is definitely one to avoid, despite the price.
In the tradition of good Cantonese restaurants, the texture of meats and veggies here is excellent. Everything is cooked to the perfect consistency. That said, the sauces are heavy and the sauteed dishes are all overseasoned. Never tried the noodle soups here, but they look well-portioned and are probably lighter.
I've always come here for dinner, but lunch is probably more practical. Grab a bowl of congee and you're set.
The service really varies. One of the guys here is AWESOME. Seriously, that guy is a hero to me. You can recognize him by the receeding hairline and the distant look in his eyes. This badboy fucking runs the joint. The potential for a rewarding case study alone is sufficient reason to come here.
If you are a "jookster" like me, then you gotta give the original HING LUNG
a try if you are ever in San Francisco. They make the best jook!
A "jookster" is a person who likes jook, a rice congee soup, that is slightly salty and with the right amount of viscosity like porridge. In Asian culture, this basic dish is considered to be a food therapy for those who are unwell, the elderly, and infants, because it is easily digested.
After a night of drinking, jook serves as a comfort food that makes you feel a little better, because it dilutes some of that alcohol in your system. Luckily, Hing Lung opens up later than 9pm.
For those who are not familiar with jook, it is served warm and it is good for breakfast or late supper. You may want to season it with white pepper and soy sauce.
Just like how the French have a morning cup of coffee and a croissant,
the Chinese pair up their jook with "yau tew," which are deep-fried golden brown strips of dough. The great ones have the right amount of crunchiness and are not too greasy. Hing Lung make the best ones to be dipped in.
They make other dishes, like chow mein and chow fun, but it is only average. Stick with their specialty: jook.
There are many jook variations that make it more palatable. My favorite is the shredded pork and thousand year old egg. But some people like it with fish filet; seafood; abalone; chicken; liver; and sliced beef w/ a raw egg. Whatever floats your boat (no pun intended).
During happy hours, you can get your meal sub $5.
Although the place is much more cleaner than before, I still have to minus
one star due to the bathroom. I look like Jackie Chan,
using my left foot to nudge the bathroom door open and close,
then use my right foot to raise the toilet lid and finally the same
foot to flush the toilet and sometimes to lower the toilet lid back down.
I still gotta use my hands to do other things, though. Get your mind
out of the gutter.
btw, I did not see or squash any cockroaches the three times I was here.
If they are hiding somewhere, the "jook" is on me.
San Francisco has the perfect cool weather to chow down on some congee (rice porridge). This place opens at 8AM to fill up the patrons with their breakfast grub. As you enter, you can see the steaming congee with the other condiments. In a different window, the guy is making the chinese donut which is deep fried to a nice crisp and oh so slightly doughy filling. This huge bowl of congee can fill you up in the morning and warm you up inside and out. Considering the price and quality, this place was a steal. Only if they had warm soy milk, it would have been the ultimate breakfast place for a full day of playing in the Bay Area.
Prix-Fixe Dinner
Neighborhood: Financial District
OPEN on Thanksgiving Day
Neighborhood: Mission
Neighborhood: Nob Hill
Category: Restaurants
Neighborhood: Nob Hill
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Outer Sunset
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: North Beach/Telegraph Hill
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Nob Hill
Category: Bakeries
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