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Mon-Thu. 10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Fri. 10:00 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Sat. 9:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Sun. 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Join us for a lunch or dinner buffet, dim sum or hot pot and don't walk out if here for more than $20. Great deals on multiple dishes.
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On a Sunday morning, a friend and I wanted dim sum. Our choices were my staple Golden Mountain in Chinatown or something new. He suggested Ton Kiang since it was Hakka cuisine and we wanted to try something different!
First off, the parking and the wait are major drawbacks. I dropped off my friend to get a table since there was a sizable crowd waiting outside the restaurant. I circled the neighborhood for almost 30 minutes before finding a spot, only to show up and wait another 10 minutes before we got a table. Apparently the restaurant staff had told him the wait was only 20 mins, so double whatever time they tell you.
Second, as a Chinese person, I tend to take stock in the crowd at a restaurant. It was pretty much all non-Asians dining at Ton Kiang. This made me slightly hesitant, but I also noticed that the restaurant was clean, spacious and bright and the staff spoke pretty good English, which is probably more helpful for non-Chinese people who want dim sum..
Then I finally got to try the dim sum. It was alright. Not bad, but certainly not the freshest or best dim sum I've had. There were very few "different" (Hakka) dishes and there were quite a few white-washed items like fried calamari (which tasted bland, so don't order it). My favorite was the shrimp and chive pan fried dumpling.
So Ton Kiang wasn't bad, but it wasn't good and it was quite pricey ($45 dim sum for 2). I'd much prefer my Chinatown staple which has waaaay better dim sum. I wouldn't come here again for dim sum, but I'd be interested in trying the Hakka dishes at dinner.
Sadly, Ton Kiang is not what it used to be. I've been coming every few months for many years, and the quality has gotten progressively worse in the last 6 months.
This last visit we were 5 for a weekday lunch. We ordered 18 dishes among us. Overall the food was bland, stale and not tasty. Whoever's managing the kitchen is not doing a good job. For example:
1) the shrimp in the har gow was chewy, surrounded overly starchy wrapper
2) pot stickers were dry
3) the rice in the Lotus leaf was dry and the meat inside was gristly
Overall the service was mediocre: one has to repeat requests several times before getting the items, and the trays often come by in clumps.
Very disappointing to see the decline, especially since San Francisco doesn't have many good Dim Sum restaurants left. At least there's always Yank Sing -- though pricey -- and good places on the Peninsula.
I am trying not to make a racist comment...but why is it that EVERY single table at this place had every ethnicity, but chinese? i mean..it IS a chinese restuarant right? This could only mean one thing: the food was good enough for non-natives to not notice bad chinese food, but sucked enough for the natives to not even eat here because they know of either better deals or better places.
This place was: 1. expensive. 2. did not have quality food. 3. had to wait a blue moon and another for a party of TWO while multiple bigger parties got seated before us. 4. the servers told us to wait outside in the freezing cold when it was almost our turn.
FAIL.
This place is good for people who got tricked into thinking they got their money's worth (example: tourists and tour bus' parties)...the fancy two floors with clear glass windows to look out into the street's traffic deceives this place as "quality."
The premier Chinese restaurant!
I was introduced to to Ton Kiang by our Chef Instructor teaching us foods of Asia. And I don't ever think I've had better Chinese since!
Chef arranged for a sampling of dim sum and table foods. And since our class was a mix of all ethnic groups, everyone seemed to really enjoy-especially the only Asian in the group: me!
The courses were presented beautifully, not greasy, and made with amazing product!
Ton Kiang is always a must for me when in the Bay Area!
My mother in law grew up in Singapore, so I was somewhat shocked when she wanted to try this place for dim sum. I'm not much of a dim sum eater, but she was very pleased with this restaurant. She went for lunch with a girlfriend and recommended we order in delivery sometime. The food was pretty good, some of the more decent chinese food I've had in the city. My only complaint is that when we opened up the fortune cookie, not only did we get a fortune, but a big rat poop. So my suggestion...open fortune cookies with caution!
I'm biased, I went here for my 5th birthday because I loved it then as much as I do now. Originally I would go here for mongolian beef, beef chow fun and moo shu pork. More recently my family and friends started going for dim sum as well.
As for the dim sum it is delicious. The lady's are not too pushy, which can occur in some of the more hardcore places. My favorite items are shui mai, ribs, whatever veggies they have, a few other things I dont know how to say and the donuts. Try the donuts if you feel like indulging and they are available.
Parking can be a little difficult about half a block down and across the street there is a lot you can park in.
I like this place because you can get good dim sum in a peaceful clean environment where the servers are polite, friendly, and can speak & understand English. A bit pricer than most dim sum places but worth it for the environment compared to the usual busy noisy Chinese restaurants. It's not the best dim sum but at least it's not greasy or gooey.
My favorite thing is their miniature egg custards. You can just pop them in your mouth. Too cute!
Full Disclosure: This was my (our) first experience at a dim sum restaurant where they walk past with all the options in a very "Cigars! Cigarettes!" style. I liked the immediate gratification of sitting down and putting food in my mouth 30 seconds later, but the constant flow of options was A) really hard on the diet and B) difficult to have a conversation around.
That said: Everything we had was good, but 90% of the other patrons were white people, which is never a good sign.
Update for vegetarians: Went to Ton Kiang for our annual work's holiday lunch. I always, always have to order a vegetarian entree because the dim sum is always, always covered in pork, shrimp, bottom feeders, whatever. Today was a completely different experience, however. Maybe they read my review? Am I that important? Or was it purely coincidental or were they saving the meat for their own Thanksgiving holiday the next day? Not sure, nor do I care. I'm just happy that I left feeling full after dim sum at Ton Kiang.
The extra star: they have tea leaf salad now! doesn't match Burma Superstar's but still. I'm impressed they branched out.
3.5
Excellent food, but vegetarians should order a separate dish during lunchtime dim sum.
I've been here several times and I think I like coming here more with a bigger group. This last time (Saturday, lunch), I went with my bf and we got a few of our fav dim sum orders but we were stuffed pretty early on in the meal. The selection they were passing around wasn't as big as I last remembered but it could also depend on the day. Their Shanghai dumpling totally did not meet my standards at all. But I did try this walnut "cookie" and it was surprisingly good. It was still warm and the outer crust was flaky and the inside filled with lotus paste. I'm not a big sweets person but this was probably my favorite item. For once, desert was the main focus of the meal.
Went here on a recent Sunday morning. We were lucky and were immediately seated upstairs. When we left, there was a line out the door and down the street. To the staff's credit, despite being unbelievably busy, our group never felt rushed to finish. The service was excellent, and only suffered one dim sum black hole where the trays of food stopped coming around. It only lasted 4 or 5 minutes, and we were so busy eating we hardly noticed.
We wound up spending about $30 per person on dim sum, so we sampled most everything that was offered. The high points were the sugar pea greens, the shrimp stuffed crab claw, the mushroom and shrimp dumplings, and the sticky rice w/ meat wrapped in a leaf.
I've been coming here for probably 10 years now and it has always offered good service and solid, fresh, non-greasy food.
For my first time at a dim sum restaurant, I was highly impressed. Okay, so I'm not Asian, but does it help that I was accompanied by 4 Chinese women (and others)? I love this place. I loved the feeling of it; I loved the food; everything I had was good and with that said, I am definitely coming back. I have to give it the highest amount of stars based on the fact that I am somewhat picky and tried 99% of everything that was on the table (I hate bean curd - not their fault), fell in love with their dim sum, was COMPLETELY satisfied and left full.
We are coming back for next year's holiday lunch, yay!
Over-salted, over-greased, and waaaaaay overpriced. +1 star for prompt, polite service.
Ton Kiang may have once been a good Chinese restaurant, but is now a shadow of its former self. The food is bland and the clientele skews non-Asian; the natives have gone elsewhere for more authentic cuisine. An OK choice if you value cleanliness and English-speaking servers above all else, but otherwise, you can get better food elsewhere.
Ok....so I've finally figured it out. Dim sum in San Francisco is just like Toronto....ya don't go dim sum in San Francisco proper, ya gotta get yourself out of dodge, (Daly City) in SF, (Scarborough/Richmond Hill) in Toronto.
But, if you're okay with mediocrity or just have that craving and can't make it out of town, then I guess you're stuck with Ton Kiang or Yank Sing in SF.
Bummer. Ton Kiang is a very non-descript, small restaurant in Outer Richmond (west side). It is mostly frequented by non-Asian's who want to experience dim sum but perhaps don't want to deal with the bustle and commotion and abrupt service that most quality dim sum places have.
Nonetheless, the dishes are carried out on trays. The waiters, who are quick to give an English name, seem confused when I had to ask what it was in Cantonese. Most of the stuff is cooked fresh but it is not high quality (read possible previously frozen). Your staple har gow, siu mai were just barely ok. Nothing really to say but just disappointed because I expected something half decent given the raving (written by non-asian) reviews.
I don't want to be too harsh but I want to make sure my fellow dim sum loving brethren don't get fooled. It is what it is.
It is Christmas Day, your fridge is empty and you are grumpy because you are hungry. What do you do? Go to Ton Kiang. There is most likely going to be a line, but I have never waited more than 10 minutes. The food is good. Yum: BBQ pork buns. I just love the whole atmosphere...you can look and then you can choose :) And then you usually get a heart attack when you get the bill because you totally pigged out and had more than you would normally eat. However, I think it is worth it.
So yes, this place caters to a more American taste, without getting into gross friedness and oyster sauce that every American-ized place does. The crab claws with shrimp (Hai kim?) are the best in the city, I think. The rice noodles with beef are delicious (the one's Ive had at "authentic" places are usually chewy and flavorless and overly greasy.) The steamed pork buns are fine, though Ive had the same quality at half the price elsewhere.
Id recommend this place for someone new to Dim Sum - its clean, friendly, and everything I order is good (NOT the case in most "authentic" dim sum places). That said, it is about twice the price of most dim sum. :(
So while I wouldnt give 5 stars, and even 4 is pushing it, I think all the 2 and 1 star reviews are just people who hate Chinese food that non-Chinese have discovered.
Few things seem to vary as much as an opinion of a dim sum place. Why do people keep coming here? Well, it all depends on what you want in the end.
If you want a "Westerner-friendly" place, this is it. It doesn't necessarily mean the food is "unauthentic." I think when it comes to the dishes here, it varies by what you choose. There are definitely things there to cater to the non-Chinese crowd, friend calamari, some "asian salad." Is that bad? The place is clean. The staff actually smiles at you and tries to be polite. Maybe that's not "authentic" in some people's books, so if that's the case maybe there's something to be said about being unauthentic. But, regardless, several dishes are "authentic" in my book, and attracting non-Chinese is also not necessarily a bad thing.
Growing up with Chinese food, I, like many, have my personal preferences, and I'll provide some guidance from my perspective.
Rules for eating here:
1) avoid things that's on the menu because it seems popular. This is a general rule of mine, so that eliminates fried calamari and the salad. I didn't bother trying it. In fact, most things that are desserts and most things deep fried, I just skip at dim sum places. They fill you up fast, and you can't taste the good stuff. (for desserts, is any of it really going to be better than a bakery?)
2) anything with shrimp is good.
3) anything with pork and shrimp is good. Ditto
4) anything with pork is hit and miss. The steamed black bean ribs were tasteless and not very meaty. The steamed bbq pork noodles were nice, as were the sticky rice in leaves.
5) skip the shanghai dishes. I tried the xiao long bao. Meh. Don't bother.
6) luo bo gao. A fried turnip cake. It's an acquired taste, but was yummy here. (though a little on the greasy side)
7) get the fresh veggies. Whatever is green, get it. It's a little on the oily side, so you can always order one specifically with less oil direct from the kitchen.
A big factor, regardless of your tastes, in judging a dim sum place is the price (we're talking about Chinese people here), and as far as that goes, the price does not justify the food. You are paying a premium for the reputation, and in that case, might as well go all out and eat at Yank Sing. For something about as good, for less, Lucky Fortune the next block over is a decent alternative.
It is probably worth trying out once to measure your experience against others, but even if you like the place, I find it hard to think about coming here on a frequent basis; at most it is a safe place to take out-of-town-guests. Other plus points: food brought around to the table, so you can just "point," wait did not seem bad on a Sunday, and they serve past 2. Parking is bad, but it's actually a plus. Park a few blocks away, there's some interesting places in the neighborhood, from an Irish bakery, to Russian specialty stores, to a Shaolin martial arts center.
Good food,good service and clean environment! it's pricey than normal place dim sum but you get what you pay for. Definitely come back again.
Super yummy! So cool too, I mean immediately when we sat down we got served food! Everything was really tasty. Plenty of food to eat, especially for a peskatarian like myself. The baby boc choy was really good, and the pea sprouts! The deep fried soft shell crab, shrimp stuffed crab leg, scallop and shrimp....the list of goodness goes on... the mango pudding was wonderful too... i could probably it that all day. It was probably better because it was free for me and I could order whatever I wanted. However, most of these reviews say it is more pricey...so if I had to pay I would probably have to be more concerned about what I was getting. Oh well, fun experience!! Hopefully I can go back!
Couldnt decide to come in here or Golden RIver, which is next door. I peered in here to scope out the place--- filled with people and looked promising. BUT WAIT... this is a dumsim place...WHERE ARE ALL the ASIANS?? So we went next door.. it was EMPTY. We then opted to go to the busier restaurant and order hai gow and other small dishes. I looked at the bill as they marked the price and it was 5 bucks for fucking hai gow!? We then ate our 3 dishes and bounced to sakana bune. RIP OFF! I know hai gow is about 2.50 avg at restaurants and 1.30 at mom& pop shops. ... 19 bucks for 3 small dishes.. so not right.. WTF
I haven't had dim sum in a long time. With that said, I really enjoyed the food that I ordered. There was nothing that I didn't like. They had a wide selection of non-dim sum dishes, as well as dim sum dishes.
Me and friend did their special for 2 people: 9 dishes of dim sum (2-4 servings per dish) for $38.
3.5 stars.
We had some standards including shrimp noodle roll (good), siu Mai (good), har gow, chicken feet (great), beef balls, spare ribs, and xiao long bao (don't order). Sauces were provided and service was nice. Not everything was great, but it was surprisingly cheap, tab was $30.
I've had dim sum here several times. The quality is terrific and tasty. It has some unique dim sum you don't really see anywhere else.
We have ordered take out from here many times. My hubbie is picky about his Chinese food; he loves Ton Kiang's dishes! Every item we have had has the right amount of spices and kick for an enjoyable meal. It can add up though and it would help the delivery man to invest in a navigation system as he always seems to get lost finding our place.
Came here for lunch this afternoon and it was very yummy. The bbq pork bun was amazing. The veggies were good. The sui mai was nice. The sesame balls were good, but not warm. (Maybe they were when they were served, but not when I got to eating them.)
This place is yum. It was busy but not packed, I'm guessing because it was a Monday afternoon.
Where da Chinese people at??!?!?
That was my first thought. I didn't see one Chinese family there. Uh oh... why? how come?
My non Chinese friend recommended this place. I should have known....
Had the following:
*Har gow: didn't like the taste of the shrimp
*Siu mai: tasted better
*Char shiu pastry: tasted good
*Long bean: yummy
*Baby bok choy: tender and good
*Egg custard: I've never seen it that small. Smaller than a 50 cent piece! I could have shoved all three in my mouth with no problem.
*Congee: Thousand year old egg, pork, but no flavor
*Three different types of steamed dumpling: Wow... tiny and tasteless.
The servers were polite and thanked us for each item selected - even got a "thank you very much".
Now I know why there weren't any Chinese families - items are made small and it's EXPENSIVE!!
For two people, it was $65.00!! The least expensive dish was $3.00 each.
None of the dishes were very unique or tasted awesome to to warrant the price. At least Yank Sing had lobster har gow.
This place is a good for people who had never had dim sum. Safe and clean.
I've been to Ton Kiang on a number of occasions and I like:
1) The sugar snap peas. Garlicky goodness will prevail above all others
2) BBQ pork buns
3) Eggplant and shrimp
4) Mango pudding
5) Quick service
6) Dim Sum all day every day!
It's a simple place to visit. The food is absolutely fine by my standards - not 5 star quality but I enjoy what i eat when I go there. Plenty of dishes making the rounds so you are not left wondering where everyone went. When I am in the Richmond district, it is always a safe option to take friends.
Along with Yank Sing, the place to get gourmet dim sum in the city. I could go on and on about how mouthwatering and awesome their potstickers are. I think they are the best I have ever had. The shanghai street dumplings? Heaven! I also like that they have an extensive menu as well (great hong kong style noodles). I love this place and all the bow tie servers and women who push the food on you. They must get commission. This place is the best...
The food here is GREAT! Tastes very fresh and consistent. Chinatown doesn't always guarantee quality and taste and I rather cough up more cash for something that is this good! It also has my love's seal of approval and he is such an ass about Dim Sum and Chinese food. The shrimps ones are very very satisfying.
The service was prompt since we went after lunch. The ladies going around with the foods were very nice and helpful. Thank you! Glad they know how to speak English because its so much harder to order with a language barrier.
3.5 stars really but I can't round up because more than half our meal was just mediocre.
The best items were:
1) Steamed Noodle with Shrimp - VERY GOOD - Soft and light noodle with a bit of bite. Flavorful and sweet whole shrimp.
2) Sui Mai - VERY GOOD - fresh tasting with crunchy, sweet shrimp and delicate wrapper.
3) Chicken Feet - VERY GOOD - deep dark braise with 5 spice flavor... some of the best I've had.
The mediocre items were:
1) Beef ball - ordinary flavor and texture - go to Mayflower instead for this one
2) Har Gao - ordinary wrapper lacked chew and the shrimp filling was just average
3) Soup dumpling - very whack actually, no soup, dried wrapper, very whack
4) Spare Ribs - very ordinary with little black bean flavor - it was served with a vinegar worcestershire mix
Went for dim sum around 12 noon a Saturday. Got in with no wait and seated upstairs. Generally presentable and friendly wait staff.
Really liked the shrimp and spinach dumplings, mushroom dumplings, and garlic spinach. Intrigued by the crab claw stuffed with shrimp, but this was not as tasty as hoped. Foil wrapped chicken was good, but requires some handiwork.
For first timers or occasional dim sum'ers, this restaurant is nice in terms of choice and presentation.
Great dim sum. The service is fast. Before you can sit down there are carts of dim sum to pick and choose from. You can tell that this place is well liked because the sizable crowd outside waiting to get in. Although it popular the wait is no more than 20 minutes for even a large group of 6. great for nursing a hangover.
I have been here a few times,both have been great.However last time they seemed a little skimpy on certain things.
The dim sum is definitely good, not the best.I ts rated in Zagat as one of the best in S.F. I don't know if I completely agree with that.The dim sum was not as good as the first time I went but still tasty.We also ordered an order of general Tao chicken last I was there,I thought it was very good but it was hardly any actual chicken, definitely was not enough for 2 people( I still don't think it compares to the General chicken at Tai Chi off Polk street)but it was still very satisfying taste wise.
Service is good,it can get a little busy in there and sometimes it takes a while to get certain dishes,however that's understandable.The restaurant is clean and they maintain it very well.
I still think this is a great place and would want to come back particularly with a larger group to try different dishes and dim sum.
The best Dim Sum restaurant to take your family too. Exquisite dim sum and food, and a more manageable environment for folks who aren't as familiar with the more chaotic dim sum hall in Chinatown.
Ton Kiang: the Queen of Dim Sum Alley, one of the Dim Sum Big 3 (along with Yank Sing and Koi Palace), favorite of the Food Lover's Guide, and a perennial entry on Michael Bauer's Top 100.
Too bad it's the least tasty Dim Sum I've had in the city so far. Oh, and the most expensive, by a factor of 2 (and in some cases 3). Sure, the interior is slightly more polished than average, but otherwise the popularity baffles me (at least there was no wait when we went).
Indeed, every time I proposed Ton Kiang to my friends, they warned me of the undeserved high prices. But the publicity this place gets was too much for my curiosity, so I finally managed to bring some unsuspecting out-of-towners here. Their dim sum is "order by sight", not the giant checklist menu which I've grown to prefer. And for some reason they're not as dumpling-centric, introducing slabs of chooped spare ribs and duck, or tea-leaf or fruit salads. But the real kicker is how lukewarm a lot of it was. Now that's just not cool, especially when you're paying a premium.
So take my advice and go down the block to Lucky Fortune, or to any of the other Dim Sum places I've reviewed. And that goes for you too, Mr Bauer--I think you've let Ton Kiang coast long enough.
the boy and i were on the hunt for a dim sum place to hit up one sunday morning. i have yet to find THE dim sum place, one that has convinced me to return to it regularly. this place was recommended to us by a (non-asian) friend of the (non-asian) boy.
i should've known.
ton kiang is AMERICAN. look around and most of the tables will be occupied by non-asians.
the servers come around with trays, and call out each dish by its english name/translation. i'm not chinese, so i always get flustered because the cart-pushers always try to speak to me in chinese and i obviously have no clue what they're trying to tell me, but i've come to expect that out of a typical dim sum outing. it was WEIRD that that wasn't happening here...and also weird hearing har gow referred to as "steamed shrimp dumpling" or something like that. it's just easier for me if you refer to it as har gow.
the food wasn't necessarily bad, it was decent, it was PRICEY - $20/person for mediocre dim sum?
yeah, no.
i'll be continuing my hunt for THE dim sum spot.
MmmMm i love this place! I always come here with my whole family when we have big celebrations. We usually order the longevity noodles, jelly fish appetizer, fried rice, and the walnut prawns. The service is really good here...maybe that's why i enjoy this place so much. The best part is the dessert!! at Ton Kiang, you don't get your normal chinese desserts...red bean soup, tapioca, fortune cookies, or oranges. you get these really good cookies and buns filled with egg custard. I LOVE these desserts. Everytime I go, we get something different every time.
The only negative thing about this place is the parking. terrible terrible parking.
I see why this place is so popular - it is friendly to the non-cantonese speakers and the dim sum is pretty safe. The food is okay, but there is something missing from their dim sum. Can't put my finger on it, but only one chinese long bean dish really made me want more. A certain level of blandness permeates all of the dishes. It is a bit pricey but safe for your out of town friends. Not the place I would take the family (with my kids being the dim sum fanatics) more than once every few years, but I understand why it appeals to some. The crowds should scare you away!
I really like this place! Like many other reviewers have noted the parking is TERRIBLE! Public transit is the way to go, you'll spend just as much time transferring on buses as you would driving around and around looking for a parking space! The one thing you can't avoid is the line or the wait if you hit it at the right time. Good things are worth waiting for and dim sum can turn over tables fairly quickly!
The beef curry pastries are my favorite! They have all the standard dim sum fare and the price is reasonable. If you go at an off-peak hour for dim sum you can easily order off the dim sum menu. It does negate some of the dim sum cart experience but you won't starve as some of the more interesting delicacies (read: the ones I am too timid to try) keep passing you by while you wait for the bbq pork buns or shumai you have been craving!
They also have clay pot dishes that are part of the restaurant's Hakka region cooking. I read in a travel guide somewhere that Ton Kiang is the only place in the U.S. that serves Hakka cuisine (in addition to their regular Chinese menu) which sounds neat though I haven't had a chance to try it yet. It's hard not to fill up on their great dim sum!
3.5 stars
I really enjoyed this place, though it didn't blow me out of the water. So better than okay and almost a fan, though I will defiantly go back there again.
Went there with a family of 6 plus me, making it 7 people and I got to sample at least 9 things including some pot stickers. All were pretty consistently good, but not being a huge Chinese food fan, it was a bit harder to judge. All I know is that I was really full at the end!
My favorite was the sweet and sour chicken-- that was great. Super flavorful and it went like crazy. The chicken and mushroom was good too- lots of flavor but too much sauce. We got one order of dim sum which I would like to come back and try again. I really would, especially because of all the reviews of the dim sum here. Another dish that was tasty were the pot stickers.
All in all, the food was good, not great, but I will defiantly be back to try some dim sum!
Neighborhood: Outer Richmond
Category: Dim Sum
Neighborhood: Outer Richmond
Category: Dim Sum
Neighborhood: Inner Richmond
Category: Dim Sum
Neighborhood: Inner Richmond
Category: Dim Sum
Neighborhood: Outer Richmond
Category: Dim Sum
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