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Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Inner SunsetMon-Tue., Thu-Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.
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The best thing about San Tung is the fried chicken wings. I could go here and eat almost nothing but that (i like the black bean noodles too). love, loooove the fried chicken wings. that's about all i have to say about San Tung - that, and now i'm hungry and drooling for some FRIED CHICKEN WINGS.
parking can be a bitch.
Avid fans of San Tung--and you are legion--please stop reading this review. Or if you continue, remember, three stars means "A-Ok." Now read that with an exclamation point or, better, three, "A-OK!!!" There, three stars for San Tung isn't so bad, is it?
I have been to San Tung many times, and it's always a positive experience. My Inner Sunset friends have a fanatical devotion to the restaurant. Now, I will play the (okay, half) Chinese card here and point out that my Inner Sunset friends are Irish and Italian. But, not to be discriminatory, I am sure they are correct in their claims that the Dried Fried Beef and Chicken are the best around. It's just that, well, I'm not a fan of dried fried meats. So my review is really for the rest of the menu, which to me is more "A-OK" than A-wesome.
The wait can also be annoying, but, I guess it is indicative of the lively dining experience you'll have there. So, take a big group of dried fried meat lovers and enjoy.
It took at least half an hour for my party of 6 people to finally get seated. When we were seated, we were served a plate of forgettable kimchi (it just tasted spicy without being pickled at all). We ordered dry fried wings, shrimp and leek dumplings, cold noodles, five spice beef noodles, and dry fried green beans.
The dry fried wings were very good, and the dry fried green beans had a similar sweet salty favor. I thought the five spice beef noodles were kind of one-dimensional, but the beef in it was very tender and just fell apart in your mouth. The cold noodles were the best think. Chewy wheat noodles, tender shrimp, five spice beef, and blanched spinach draped in cold peanut dressing. Awesome meal, but good luck with the wait.
2009/11/20
Ordered Pork Dumpling, Black bean sauce noodle and Dry spice chicken wing with tax and tips $28 (with hot tea).
Its always crazy crowded on Friday night, though not as bad as usual (1 hour on average on the weekend), probably it has been raining. Parking is never easy, but got lucky and park just in front of the restaurants after waiting like 20 minutes.
To all my American friend, never and never order things like sweet and sour something or some curry something. This is a restaurant where you can only order these menus I listed below since otherwise you have wasted time waiting to just order other regular "mediocre" chinese food.
-Dried Fried Chicken Wings
-Dried Fried String Beans
-Shrimp and Leek Dumplings & Pork Dumplings
-Steamed Potstickers
-Black Bean Sauce with Noodle -
-Peanut Noodle
just my 2 cents
Our group of eight went back last sunday evening.
Ordered string beans, zha jay mien noodles #7, the wings, two orders of pot stickers, tofu with minced pork.
And several other dishes, always great food here.
Except the chicken/broccoli was weak, perhaps the brown sauce is the culprit.
nuff said.
decor: ok
This place is always crowded at meal times.
parking : can be easy or iffy. Safe neighborhood.
Always crowded here, get here 30 minutes early during dinner; our party of eleven was promptly put… Read more »
#36 on the 7x7 List: Dry-fried chicken wings
-Tasty? Perfectly fried chicken wings with a bit of a sweet sauce.
-Service: The wait staff is pretty quick and efficient. The refilling of our teapot was like magic. I didn't even see them bring a fresh pot back! They are also pretty keen. One look at the waiters and they immediately come over. Amazing.
-Ambiance: yet another Chinese place that invests its money in the chef / food and not on the walls. It's a paper napkins and disposable chopsticks kind of place - for sanitary reasons. It's not ghetto.
-Worth the trip/try? For me, it was a half-hour ride on the Muni (71-Noriega to be exact). I would say that it was worth the trip for us to share some good grub with a long-time friend.
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We also had the Noodles with black bean sauce (ja jerng mein) - it was pretty good but nothing too special.
The Potstickers were fried perfectly golden brown. You can create your own dipping sauce with the different bottles of condiments on your table
The three of us finished the three orders of food and had room for more, so we ordered the Cherry Pork. It's like sweet and sour pork and it makes white rice taste so good.
Great place for Chinese grub far far away from the tourist-infested Chinatown
Dry Fried Chicken wings, delicioso.
The rest of the food...it was regular. I wasn't amazed at the flavors and taste, just pretty standard chinese food. I had the dry sauteed string beans and 5 spice beef noodle soup in addition to the chicken wings.
why is it so very busy? the chicken wings? next time i shall be ordering to go.
come for the wings. they'll fly you to the moon.
Okay, so the dry fried chicken is tasty, but that's about it. I've had their other "signature" dishes and they were just salty and had no flavor. I have to admit chinese food is my least favorite, but still....
Everything is so greasy or fried. But like I said, the chicken is tasty.
Staff is usually pretty rushy and rude probably because they're stressed cuz this place gets so much f-ing business it's not even funny. If you speak Chinese with them, they give you better service (from my experience). When I go with my mom, she speaks to the waiters in Mandarin and they are very nice to us. When I go with my friends, I speak to them in English and they seem uninterested and blank. Anyway the food is excellent. Wish the place was bigger because you always have to wait at least 30 minutes for a table. Even if it's 40 degrees outside (it's the Sunset district in SF so it's COLD), there are people waiting outside for some dry fried chicken and Dan Dan Mien. My favorites are the pork dumplings and dry fried chicken. Yum I could eat that forever. :)
Great food highly recommend.
Their dry-fried chicken wings made it to the 100 things to eat before you die according to 7X7's The Big Eat SF. So in the quest to conquer all of the items listed on there without too-adverse effect on the waistline, I very very slowly tick off the items, one by one
We arrived at San Tung on a Sunday night only to find a huge crowd waiting outside. From what I heard, the wait could be north of 40 minutes.
Not for us. Since we arrived fashionably late, the rest of the group have been seated and soon the ordering commenced - chicken wings and dried black bean sauce noodles (which looked like the whole thing was dipped in ink) were the two dishes that stuck in my mind... the rest are just your typical Chinese fares.
The wait and the horrendous parking situation would probably deter me from coming back.
You MUST order the DRY FRIED CHICKEN WINGS. These are the best chicken wings I have ever had, and everyone who's ever tried them seems to be in agreement.
This place is good. I'm a fan :) Its always busy, so expect to wait in line for at least 30-60 mins. They do take reservations over the phone for 6 or more people so you can be on top of the list when you arrive. Might still have to wait until your big tables opens up.
I've had this place bookmarked since March! Last Thursday after nannying nearby in San Francisco I got the chance to actually go here. After work I stopped by with the boyfriend around 2pm, and it was PACKED! 10 or so tables, people sharing the big tables and there was a line. Every table there had fried chicken so I thought the rumors are true. This place must have so pretty good chicken. The boyfriend and I ordered the dry fried chicken (which was weird because it's a little wet) and my god party in the mouth. It put to shame most of the fried chicken I've ever eaten! One reason I liked this place is because everything is fast, the service is fast and the servers were pretty damn nice.
Awesome restaurant! We order a variety of dishes, and most came out superb.
Most notably, the dry fried chicken wings were absolutely delicious, and I highly recommend it to everyone who goes. As well, definitely get their dumplings, (Side note: the restaurant's name, "San Tung", refers to a region in China renown for its flour-based foods, such as dumplings) they are outstanding. Their spinach crystal noodles were also very good.
I would definitely visit this place again.
Yummy Yummy is so lucky to be right next to San Tung because once people give up on waiting for San Tung, Yummy Yummy is the next best thing. The last time I was in SF, I came here but the wait was RIDICK so we ended up at YY. Good thing we actually waited this time, because the food was good!!! I felt a twinge of "GOD FUCKING DAMNIT I DON'T WANT TO WAIT IN A LINE AFTER DRIVING 7 HOURS" but lucky us, we only waited like 30 minutes and they gave us the private room in the back for our party of 7.
PROTEIN: Our waiter was cool and was honest about which dishes we should get. We were about to get the dry wings, wet wings, and braised chicken but he just recommend the wings. The dry was much better. It was more "fried chicken-y." The sauce was delish! We also got the sweet and sour pork with brown sauce. Nothing spectacular though still good.
NOODLES/DUMPLINGS: My friend got the dry black bean noodles but I prefer the jjajangmyun at the Tustin Freshia. It was too sweet for me. The seafood in it was nice though. I ordered the spicy seafood combination noodles. It was not spicy at all, but the broth was good and it was so satisfying after our long drive and crisp SF weather. Pork dumplings! You get 12 pieces and each piece was awesome dipped in soy sauce and chili.. *DROOL.* I love a good dumpling!
Despite the long lines, this place is worth the wait.
Not sure about the kimchi since it's a bit sweet and not quite the right taste, but this is one of the things I don't care for that I've tried so far. Maybe because I'm jaded by my family's radish kimchi.
Dry fried chicken diced with that sauce.. so yummy! The pancakes with the mu shu pork are good but the pork filling is pretty bland, where the ja jjang myun is good and has the right amount of ja jjang sauce. The dumplings (chive and shrimp) are also solid --the pork ones are very average. They have these noodles that look similar to japchae (clearish brownish color) and are pretty good too, but it seems to be the same stir fry combo that comes with the mu shu pork filling (a bit disappointing and oddly soggy-ish).
Overall, I'm sold on the chicken. Will definitely keep coming back for more of that.
These reviews are pretty close to the mark. The food is authentic and the prices are quite reasonable for San Francisco. Getting a table can be tricky. The dishes are just plain terrific.
Try this place. I doubt you'll regret it. GET THE DRY FRIED CHICKEN! Though, the kimchee they bring for free isn't all that good.
i love the dry fried chicken wings so much that I ordered it for lunch one day. yup, just chicken. I ate it for lunch and finished the rest after dinner. i felt kind of sick after that...i don't think i can have it for awhile now...!
the mu shu pork and the shrimp dumplings are also my go-to dishes. line can be super long, but it's worth the wait!
i love how they are super fast; get you in and out so they can make more money. i dont mind tho, i like having my food ASAP!
Once you arrive they bring you some tea and spicy kim chee which is great - love the spice!
We had the dry fried chicken which is very crunchy and sweet with plenty of chili peppers - yummmy.
The chow mein was also delicious - the noodles were tender, a bit fatter then usual noodles and wonderfully fresh tasting.
We went early and the place was packed. When we left there was a crowd of people waiting at the door for tables. This is a wonderful restaurant. And the service was very prompt and extremely friendly. I'll definitely be back here again.
Dinner time wait without reservation is usually 45min to 1hr or no more tables left for the rest of the night....
Totally not worth the wait and overpriced.
For some reason I don't see what the hype about this place is. A lot of friends love this place but… Read more »
It's true, wings are killer. Very crowded and bustling so not for everyone. We had a great time. Remember to put your name on the white board!
Came here last night for dinner with a few friends. Thankfully my friends arrive a little before 6pm and was able to get a table in the back! Because by the time we arrived at 6:15, the place was packed. By the time we left at 8, there was a crowd of people at the door. Insane! Moral of the story..come here at some weird time to eat if you don't want to wait.
We ordered:
-Dried Fried Chicken Wings - Delicious! Crispy and then coated this sweet and spicy sauce. Yum!
-Dried Fried String Beans - This was very flavorful too!
-Shrimp and Leek Dumplings & Pork Dumplings - Both were delicious!
-Steamed Potstickers - lots of filling, and homemade!
-Black Bean Sauce with Noodle - This was good...but it can get messy eating this.
-Peanut Noodle - Same concept as above, only with a peanut sauce. this was pretty good as well!
Overall, all of us left with a happy and full stomach! Best part is that because we sat in the back, it was a lot quieter so we were able to talk and hear each other without screaming. Parking is a hassle there tho...well because its Irving St and there are so many cars there. Service here was actually pretty good - very attentive and friendly. Again, come early or at really random/off times if you don't want to wait...otherwise expect to wait!
Excellent crispy chicken with just the right amount sauce. Not too "complicated order "and not too dry.hahah I hate those wing places where the wings are soo drenched in sauce I feel like getting a facial done afterwards... . I ordered both chicken wings and diced chicken pieces which were amazingly good by itself without rice needed. It would think it's great for superbowl or some parties you have even though I don't watch football. The point is that I can eat it anytime of the day. hehe I would definitely bring my friends and family here since they have other dishes to order that appeared delicious from the view I had from my table during my dinner. GREAT WINGS :)
This place is so F**ing good! I've been to A LOT of Chinese restaurants. This one is my absolute favorite.
I HAVE to order when I come here: The Dry Fried Chicken Chunks. That's the HEART of my reason for coming to this place. Some people prefer the wing form, i like it in chunk form. Its not dry, its just right.
I also enjoy the egg dipped in light garlic soy sauce, thick vegetable or pork pot stickers, the peanut noodles, the beef chowmein and the dry fried fish which is basically a fish version of the dry friend chicken chunks. Almost everything Ive had at this restaurant has been fantastic. Its a popular place, there is always a big line to get in regardless of what night of the week it is.
I recommend ordering sake and tea with your meal. it makes for a terrific evening. I know by experience. :)).
This is a good place for dinner, if you can handle the parking and the crowds. Finding a nearby space took about 15 minutes. We ordered leek dumplings, bbq chicken wings, some kinda wet noodles, and beef plates. I really don't know what they were as my friends did the ordering. Every dish was pretty good. Unusual strong flavoring but not overbearing. A coworker said she goes here almost every week. Don't think I'd want to come here that often. The parking alone is a good deterrent. Prices are high but reasonable. Service was ok. I'd come again during off-peak hours.
Well, everyone else already said it all, but I'm gonna reiterate so I can feel productive on yelp:
- dumplings/potstickers (my personal favorite = steamed potstickers! you get 8 of them, vs just 6 potstickers and they're the same size)
- the dry fried chicken is good, true, but $9 for chicken makes it a little bit less good.
- noodles aren't bad either. I mean it's a "shan dong" restaurant, so of course their noodle products are pretty decent. =)
Everything else is aiite, really it's the dumplings/potstickers that stick out the most. Service is top notch for a Chinese place too, I tipped them a good 20% and felt it was worth it. =) Never once had to ask for water refills, they bring them constantly as needed. Fast, efficient service, these workers are hauling ass!!!
Friday night strangely was not busy (6pm), but I went again the next day, and Saturday night I waited for 40 minutes. *shrugs* Don't know why! But usually when I drive by this place, it's off the hook, piles of people waiting outside the door, and lots of people running in and out for take-out. Smart people.
I recommend: Try it out, it's popular for a good reason!
Came here twice, luv luv it. The servers were really friendly, yes, waiting was long, but very worth it. It's funny that it was my white-boy-friend that was craving this place more than I do, so that's how we ended up here. It's funny how they served the table, they gave spicy kim chi, it sounded more like a korean resto than chinese now, doesn't it?
Always gotta order spicy fried chicken (dried), although 2 times I came here, once I ordered wet, the other one dried. I preferred the dried fried chicken, it's really that good!
Other things to order:
- Dumplings
- Potstickers
Never order the Mongolian Beef, it's disappointing, but overall, I never disappointed on their friendly service and portions, will always come back here whenever I visit Bay Area. Tips: When you see the long line, don't forget to write your name on the white board, if not, you gotta wait a LONG LONG time to get seated and yes, always come after the rush hour!!! Even at 9 the lines were still long, it's crazy.
Oh one last thing, yes, they served Beer!!!
i wanted some wings last night and my girl suggested san tung... we opted for take out, and it was a good idea we did, because this place was packed... the wings were heavily hyped up by my girl and reviews read, and judging by the crazy ass attendance at the restaurant, i knew i was in for a treat.
juicy on the inside, crispy on the outside, a tad bit spicy, and glazed in a sweet sauce... i don't think it could get any better, i will return for more later.
we also got potstickers... nice, plump and wok fried to perfection. i will also return for more.
take out... dry fried chicken wings... potstickers... eat and enjoy
At this point there is over 1300 yelp reviews of this restaurant, I have nothing new to add, except I have a trick to getting a seat. The problem being is that it is good food and priced well and once again, the food is amazing.
Seating can be a short wait.
To avoid the wait, eat alone, it is what I do. I don't bring people here, I don't want to wait. So if your party is larger than "alone", I recommend, but if you are alone, go at once, you'll get a seat and eat in no time.
MUST orders:
*dry fried chicken
*dry fried green beans
*shrimp & leek dumplings
I've only had San Tung twice (which isn't enough, considering I've lived in the city for the first 18 years of my life and I come to the city every weekend!) and had these dishes twice. I also had 2 noodle dishes, but I can't remember which one was the good one - make sure you get the correct recommendation! My friend told me to get the spicy seafood noodles (she said it was saucy), but we ended up with some soupy one that wasn't all that great :( Oh well, I still love San Tung anyway!
Tip: Don't want to wait in that horrendous line in the Sunset fog? Call in, double park outside for 5 seconds to pick up your food, and enjoy your meal at home :)
BEST DICED CHICKEN EVER! I love their chicken, but that's not all! Their string beans are delicious! Also their shanghai dumplings are a must! San Tung gets pretty busy during peak dinner hours, so coming here for lunch is a lot less crazy.
the wings are hella legit, probably best chicken wings i ever had. Got an order each of the dried fried wings and the wet fried chicken wings. 5 stars for both variations of the wings, but if i had to choose, the nod would go to the dry fried wings because i just like the drier texture when i bite into it.
we ordered some noodles which we saw at another customer's table and told the waiter we wanted that too. it was the black bean noodles or something, i dont remember the name but its a pretty popular chinese noodle dish...except here, i thought it was below par. it was pretty bland and didnt have a good ratio of noodles to other ingredients like onions and whatnot
DRY FRIED CHICKEN WINGS. had it twice this weekend already.
few chinese restaurants impress me and i rarely get the chinese food urge, but i'd come back here in a heartbeat.
SPINACH WITH GLASS NOODLE? i think that's what it was. enjoyed this as well. DUMPLINGS, i'm not usually a fan of, but they were good. DEEP FRIED FISH - not usually a fan either, but YUMM! GREEN BEANS and the PORK with cabbage/vegetables. Delicious. more please!!
Left here happy and looking forward to another visit.
I won't bore you with details as everybody has already said it.
3 stars cause it really isn't as special as the 1300 reviews. It is quality food and they run a tight ship compared to most chinese restaurants. However, I'd choose my favorite Chinatown spots over going here.
They realllllly love to use salt and white pepper...if they only used the right amount I'd probably give this place a 5. Maybe I need to go back and sample again.
Let me just say this up front: my parents love Chinese food and they grew up in Taiwan.
My parents and I were in Golden Gate Park and I found this nearby restaurant on Yelp. 4 stars, 1300+ reviews... must be good, right? We arrived around 6 PM and found a small waitlist (many surrounding restaurants were comparatively empty). Seemed like a good sign.
We waited roughly 20 minutes to be seated in the cramped, no-room-to-move, people-constantly-brushing-by-you dining room. It was also really noisy (partly from the patrons and partly from the staff's speedy table cleanups). We ordered pig ears, fish, dan-dan noodles, and some potstickers. The food was just "okay" as far as authentic Chinese food goes--ripple-cut carrots and other such Americanized touches gave it away. The overall taste wasn't bad, but nothing really special either.
If my review ended here, I would give the restaurant at least a 3/5 star rating. But the problem was the inconsistent (and mostly bad) service. Most of the staff we saw seemed either complacent or just rude (my Dad asked for more napkins, and the staff member he whom he asked returned an "I don't care" look and ignored the request). Only one staff member, who got us some boxes for leftovers, was friendly and showed that he cared about the customers.
There's much better Chinese food in the South Bay (shopping centers like Cupertino Village and Milpitas Square, for starters). I'm sure there other Chinese restaurants in San Francisco worth visiting, but we haven't found them yet.
Wow, this is one of the best Chinese restaurants in the city!
Those freaking spicy dishes burn twice but they are really good.
Squid, chicken wings, Mongolian beef. They were good.
I can wait around an hour to get those dishes.
Their lunch specials are really the best deal. I usually order takeout and if you order for lunch they include soup.
I fell in love with lemon chicken here but it's been hit or miss lately. Now I prefer the Mongolian beef over fried rice. Was expecting the beef to be spicier though since it tasted very mellow and had a lot of sauce on it.
Even though it's lunch, the portions are big enough to either share with someone or last for two meals.
Yes, I will continue to eat here for my rare lunchtime Chinese food cravings, even if it's out of my way (plus my coworkers love this place!).
yes, this place is good. but not awesome. and def. not worth waiting for hours to get in. it also sucks to be one of the tables by the door, cuz the line is busting everywhere and i dont enjoy a hungry dude staring me down arching behind my back waiting for me to leave
their signature is their wings and their dumplings. i agree, wings deserve some recognition, but not the dumplings. in my mind, its not that hard to screw up dumplings if you use fresh ingredients. everything else on the menu is pretty typical
overall, overated
After years of patronage, sorry San Tung for taking so long to give you kudos for the scrumptious food and consistency. We visit at least twice a month and as creatures of habit, always get the same dishes.
Fried Pot Stickers - three orders please, not kidding - need I say more
Shrimp and Leek Dumplings - the kids love this dish
Dry Fried Chicken Wings - one order wet, one order dry (I personally prefer the dry)
Pork with Mustard Green Noodle Soup - one order although we need to increase to two soon as one never seems to enough
Five Spiced Beef Noodle Soup w/Spinach - Grandma likes this dish
Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup - spicy and hits the spot on a cold day
Other items worth ordering - mongolian beef, dry fried shrimp, sauteed string beans, sweet and sour pork
And there are never leftovers! Yes, we are pigs, but thank you San Tung for making Saturday lunches with the family an event to look forward to!
Prix-Fixe Dinner
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