Yong Kee Rice Noodle Company

Closure of another SF Chinatown Instituition… the best Gai «Chicken» Baos ever! Also, the place to go for FUN… time to remember the 60−70s…
Sun Sing Theatre and Great Star Theatre — Miss going to the movies on the weekend as a kid… double features, and if you’re lucky, two Martial Art movies and no wimpy romance/​comedy…
Sun Wah Que Restaurant — Miss the Custard Pies, and Apple Pies… but miss the Orange Pie the most… can someone find the recipe and make this!!!
Sai Yuen Restaurant on Jackson — American food available for the kids while the Parents ate Cantonese food…
Jackson Street Café — Steamed Sand Dabs, Clams in Black Bean Sauce, Sea Snails… I didn’t know how good this place was until it was gone…
Sam Wo Restaurant — Gone, miss the late night cheap food and the one loud guy that yelled at everyone… yeah…we all miss him…

Closed for business!
Caught between two tunes about my feelings about this… Queen? (
) or Barbra Streisand? (
)
I guess both fit in this case. After decades of serving old time Chinatown dim sum food, unfortunately of a lower quality towards the end, this landmark closed. Typifying my generation of families where parents who worked six to seven days for 12 or more hours without vacation or sick days, the owners decided to retire as their children had no interest in continuing this business and found less rigorous employment opportunities. The SF Health Dept. may have played a role in this too.
Lasting memories?
a) Humongous fist-​sized chicken buns (filled with whole shiitake mushroom, ground pork, chicken thigh slice, Chinese sausage (lap cheung), and ½ of a hard-​boiled egg).
b) Freshly made rice noodles (ho fun), supplying majority of Chinese restaurants until independent factories started popping up throughout the Bay Area.
c) Steamed buns (man tou) — popularized and demonized in a later Zhang Yi Mou/​Gong Li movie, «To Live» (
).
d) the number counter dispenser at the entrance — you think the lines at South Bay ramen places are ridiculous? Any Chinatown resident will remember how things were in the ’80’s and ’90’s here.
e) Soup Nazi service — The nonstop rush of customers made for chaos, which showed on the flustered staff’s faces. It was like a daily bank run with customers screaming their orders at the staff.
f) Tong Yuen (soup dumplings for the winter festival) — Having a sweet tooth as a kid, this was my favorite hot dessert; doughy balls filled with red bean paste, lotus paste, and my mom’s special recipe of peanut butter. This is where my mom bought the raw materials to make them during the winter festival.
g) Extremely kind owners — As the business came to a close, I got to know the owners pretty well and they, like me, were Chinatown «locals», growing up and working in Chinatown all their lives. The auntie would bake my family a special radish cake and taro cake during Chinese New Year’s.
Yes, my feelings are mixed as I will miss the old days and those special perks. But it seems that this change is probably for the better.
** Footnote: Good Mong Kok Dim Sum is renovating this space and will occupy this space when done.
*** Double footnote: The owner confirmed the closing was a family decision not influenced in any way by the SF Health Dept. Thanks again for the memories!

Sad to report that they are indeed closed… end of an era.
Thank you for all the tasty treats in the past many years!

I remember my parents taking me here when I was a little kid. They would order practically everything on the menu since there were dozens of plastic bags and red bakery boxes filled of goodies. My favorites are the large steamed chicken buns and this spongy white sweet dessert (apologize for not knowing the name). The dim sum they sell are also of top tier quality.
If you are like me who barely speak any Cantonese, you may want to have an idea of what you want ahead of time. I just pointed at items and used my fingers to say how many I wanted. The cashiers do speak English but I find it a hit and miss depending on who is servicing you.

Don’t get the chicken buns. Mushy, concoction of chicken, mushrooms, and eggs which SOUNDS amazing but tastes bad.
Disappointing!

Best pork buns in SF!
They were so good we brought home 2 dozen for my parents to try!

If anyone asks where you can get an authentic CHINATOWN quick bite, this place is it. When I emphasize CHINATOWN, I’m talking about here in the States and not necessarily my family’s roots. As a youth, the memory I have of the storefront looks exactly identical as it does now. «If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.» Oh, how literal Yong Kee follows this saying.
The recipes for the buns and rice noodles here are virtually the same from thirty years ago. My father would often say, holding up a chicken bun (gai bao) and say «I remember when these things were fifty cents». As I am writing this, at $ 1.30, their chicken buns are one of the best deals in Chinatown still. Along with that prestigious honor, they are one of the best tasting chicken buns as well.
The elements of the bun’s filling consist of: egg, mushroom, Chinese sausage, chicken, and a mish mash other ingredients. What really differentiates these chicken buns from the others is the bun itself. I’m talking about the roll encasing the meat inside. Many places provide a presentation that may be prettier and fixed up all fancy, but the bread would be flaky, ultra dry, or both. Yong Kee’s man tao (steamed bun without filling) are one of the best in Chinatown. To get the true taste of their buns, try their man tao. They have a fluffy texture with a steady, light sweetness that slides into the bite.
Their headliner is obvious with their chicken buns. Yong Kee does offer other things, but I rarely deviate from the chicken bun. If one were to get anything else, definitely give their meat dumplings a shot. The meat dumplings are simple, scrumptious, and are a versatile snack bite. Looking at this hole in the wall as a whole, they cover a combo between the look of an old school Chinese bakery and the taste of your Chinese grandma’s kitchen. It is very evident in presentation and flavor.
A couple tips before you pick up your chicken bun. Expect to point at what you want if you don’t speak Cantonese. Don’t go on a MONDAY, they’re CLOSED. Like many Chinatown businesses, they’re CASH ONLY. Enjoy!

Yongkee Doodle went to Chinatown,
Cooking pork & chicken,
Stuck the meat in his man-​tou,
And called him Man tou Man,
Yongkee Doodle keep it up,
Yongkee Doodle Dandy,
Mind the GAI BAO and the flat noodle,
And with the Girls be horny.
Father and I went down to Castro,
Along with Captain America,
And there we saw the men and boys,
Thick as hasty Pudding
Yongkee Doodle keep it up,
Yongkee Doodle Dandy,
Mind the GAI BAO and the flat noodle,
And with the Girls be horny.
There were 2 old Chinese ladies,
taking my order GAI BAO
went inside to get my order,
I guess there were a million.
Yongkee Doodle keep it up,
Yongkee Doodle Dandy,
Mind the GAI BAO and the flat noodle,
And with the Girls be horny.
— — — — — — — — — — —
You say «either» and I say «either»
You say «neither» I say «neither»
“Either” «either», «neither» «neither»
Let’s call the whole thing off
You say «potato,» I say «patattah»
You say «GAI BAO», I say «DAI BAU»
«GAI BAO», «DAI BAU», «GAI BAO», «DAI BAU»
Oh, let’s call the whole thing off
Oh, if we call the whole thing off
Then we must part and oh
If we ever part, that would break my heart
So, I say «GAI BAO», you say «DAI BAU»
I’m not gonna stop eatin’ GAI BAO just cause you say DAI BAU,
Oh, let’s call the whole thing off
Oh, I say «GAI BAO», you say «DAI BAU»
Sugar, what’s the problem?
Oh, for we know we need each other so
We’d better call the calling off off
So let’s call it off, oh let’s call it off
Oh, let’s call it off, baby let’s call it off
Sugar why don’t we call it off,
I’m talking baby why call it off
Call it off¡
Let’s call the whole thing off
— — — — — — – OK, enough for singing.
I mad a mistake here.
I didn’t know that $ 1.25 Gai Bao, the steamed chicken bun, is that big, I got 3.
SO FXXXIN” BIG.
I got 3 pork buns too. Why pork bun is smaller than chicken bun?
The pork bun is good too. It’s a same old steamed pork bun, lookin’ nothing different but something about Yong Kee, may be there is a secret old Chinese ingredient or something, very addictive great flavor in it.
There is nothing like it.
Oh, Don’t forget the Flat Noodle, Awesome, just Awesome.
I like the authenticity like, no English menu, no large photos and it’s not really clean but not really dirty.
I love the place. Great little shop.
Yong Kee made me fat, so fat today.

It was a cloudy morning in SF, and when I awoke I felt a sudden urge.
An urge to embark on a quest.
A quest for dim sum.
After searching for the best options, my companion and I set out on an epic walk from Japantown into the bowels of Chinatown, the fabled land of dumplings delicious. And after some trouble with inaccurate street numbering, we finally found that land.
By then it was about 1 pm, and we were both starving. The morning rush had long come and gone as we parted the doors and entered the diminutive shop.
Now – hyperbolic language aside – I really must say, I don’t know why people are saying these ladies are unfriendly! Sure, if you hit the morning rush they may be a little short with you, but obviously if you sit there asking them what every ingredient is or if they have this or that then they are going to get annoyed. I would too! I found that when I smiled, was enthusiastic about their food, and ordered in an expedited manner, they smiled back and treated me just fine!
I ordered two of the sticky rices, two of each type of dumpling (there were many!) and two baked BBQ buns. Everything is labeled in pretty clear English. The BBQ buns were probably better that morning, and being my delinquent self I forgot to think about that. Everything else, though, was fantastic – the sticky rice was the best I’ve ever had. We got some of the fresh batch of the egg custards and they fell apart in a cascade of pastry flakes with each bite, still warm from the oven.
We perched at our table on the upper level, immersing ourselves in our food and the sing song lilt of Cantonese, punctuated by the occasional bumbling English ordering much like what we had just done. When we came back for more food the ladies smiled. Everything about my Yong Kee experience was great, and yours probably will be too!

Our first stop for our girls’ day out, hunting for food in the city. We had hard time looking for the place, no store sign?
I bought 4 sio mai and a sesame balls placed in a plastic bag and ate it with my hands in the side of the street. Thankfully, being a flip that I am, eating using my hands is no big deal for me. lol.
Don’t get discourage, the dim sum is pretty good and very cheap. I paid for mine all in all for only $ 2 and some few cents. Please note: This isn’t a restaurant so don’t expect to find, tables, chairs, utensils, but really? No napkin too? or even soy sauce? It’s almost like selling fries without catsup?

The 3 stars is for:
— no napkins
— no soy sauce
— no sign on their storefront
The usual rants (ratings do not reflect these):
— cash only
— I think my Eggplant (an infant) speaks more English than these people at the counter
— service was medicore
— limited selections
I wanted to go here because I bookmarked this but would I ever go back? Probably not… no napkins and no soy sauce… you’ve got to be kidding me?!
I did enjoy my shiu mai and shrimp/​chives dumplings though.

When there aren’t very many options in a certain area, restaurants tend to have to do too many different things just to attract customers. For example, any Chinese restaurant in College Park probably also makes bubble tea and Japanese food and frozen yogurt and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if somebody was in the back room doing tax returns for people.
San Francisco Chinatown is the opposite of this. Walk past any given storefront (Yong Kee’s is especially inconspicuous so we walked past it twice) and you’ll find places that do one thing extraordinarily well. For Yong Kee, this is the chicken bun (bao, if you will).
First off, it’s the size of a baby’s head and it only costs $ 1.25. These are basically China prices. Second off, it’s filled with ginger infused ground chicken, a hard-​boiled egg, and a piece of Chinese sausage — a delicious protein bomb waiting to be devoured. My only critique would be that the filling could use more salt. But this is coming from the guy that eats the salt at the bottom of Cheez-​It bags. Help me.

This is really a hole in a wall type of bakery, just take out like Golden Gate Bakery…
This place has the best real homey Chinese baked or steamed goods…
I love their «man tau», it is a plain white bun, with no fillings… it has a sweetness and you can always add your own fillings at home…
Another is their white steamed cake, called «bak tong go», it is an old school type of pastry and not many places have it as good as here… in fact, this is the only place for me…
Another is their «dou sa bang», which is a white soft flat cookie style with red bean paste inside, they also pan fry it to give it a little crisp…
For all the pastries you ate as a child, this might be one place you can pick up a few…
There is one thing I wanted to add, when I was in line, I noticed a couple of people that didn’t speak Chinese, it is ok, everything is in eye view, buy one of each, try it and you might like it…

The menu is written in Chinese, but even if you can’t speak the language just remember these two word GAI BAO
Yong Kee is a little hard to find, but once you discover it you’ll be back again and again. The Gai bao, as many Unilocalers can attest to, is simply amazing. The filling is absolutely generous i’m pretty sure I had a whole shiitake mushroom in mine, along with a hard boiled egg.
cash only

CASH ONLY!!!
I would categorize this place as a bakery more than a dim-​sum place. You can buy dim sum items, but there’s no place to sit and eat. Definitely a grab-​n-​go place.
Per previous Unilocalers, this place is known for their Ga-​Bao. (Steamed Chicken Bun.) It is just shy of the diameter of a CD, the bao is the biggest I have seen in a long time. When I was reading the reviews, being from out of town, I thought it was a restaurant that you can sit and eat. so I wanted to leave that in the reviews for other travelers.
The Ga-​Bao is a meal in itself. I have never had a bao with half a marinated boiled egg, a whole mushroom and Chinese sausage in it along with the regular filling of the chicken and cabbage. Deliciousness!
If I had access to a kitchen I would buy those long noodles and pan-​fried them myself. They looked so good and super fresh. I ended up going to Dol Ho after sharing a bao with the BF since we wanted a dim sum place.
This place was hard to spot and the awning had faded so you could barely see the name. Need to pay extra attention if you’re looking for a new place to try in San Francisco.

LUNCH IN SF FOR $ 1.25? SAY WHAAAAA???
Despite the crowds of people in Chinatown that think traffic signals are «suggestions» (*ahem* po-​pos) which make driving through there like dodging bullets; it’s filled with hidden treasures like Yong Kee. The storefront sign is in Chinese, the menu is in Chinese and the workers don’t speak English but their is just TWO WORDS you need to know how to say, «GAI BAO». Then throw up the quantity you want with your fingers.
Yong Kee has the BEST Gai Baos (Steamed Chicken Buns) I’ve ever had! For a mere, $ 1.25, you get a hefty piping hot bun that’s stuffed with a fist full of savory moist chicken, cabbage, Chinese sausage and a hard-​boiled egg.
The bun is light, airy and soft and the filling is a deliciously savory and succulent. One bao is a meal within itself which is possibly the CHEAPEST meal I’ve ever had in my life.
I don’t go to Chinatown very often for obvious reasons, so I normally buy several gai baos and throw them in the freezer. When I’m craving one, I’ll thaw one then steam it. It’s almost as good as the first day when I brought them from the steam trays.
So what’s the word (s) of the day? GAI BAO!!!

Hands down one of my fav places to get ridiculously yum dim sum for cheap (my other fav is Tao Yuen Pastry in Oakland Chinatown).
But the best kept secret about Yong Kee is that it sells FRESH sheets of noodles. You probably don’t care but your mom might. It beats having to buy who-​knows-​what from the market or making it from scratch.

CASH ONLY! There is no sign outside that says YONG KEE… LOL… its next to a DVD store. It took me to a bit to find this restaurant. When I was walking around, I couldn’t find the name sign or the address for this building. Luckily I walked in and asked the workers if this was Yong Kee and they said yes. *whew* Don’t let looks fool you at places like these. It’s usually where the BEST food is!
This place is REALLY REALLY small. TOGO only. They kind of speak a little bit of English. The Shu Mai is YUMMAYYY!!! It was good enough without soy sauce. Chicken Buns are SUPER big and they come out PIPING HOT! OMG. REALLY YUMMY! BBQ Pork steamed buns are good too. OMG seriously, everything I ordered here was good. also, CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP!
We ordered 4 orders of Shu Mai, 1 order of haw cau, 2 Chicken Buns, 3 BBQ pork steamed Buns, 2 BBQ Pork baked Buns, 1 Chinese sausage bun, and a few more other items and it only came out to $ 18!!! WOW!!!
MUST TRY if you are in the area! remember! BRING CASH and if you can bring someone that speaks Chinese it will be a HUGE plus. I spoke partial Vietnamese and they understood what I needed.

Wow, coming across the Unilocal entry for Yong Kee last night was total nostalgia for me! My parents used to take me here regularly when we did grocery shopping in Chinatown and I’d always ask to get the fresh ho fun and cheung fun (rice noodle roll) from the «place with the green sign». The siu mai, har gao and fun goh are also quite good though on the greasier side.
Funny enough, I don’t remember ever having their mantou or either version of the BBQ pork bun… which means I’ll have to make a stop here the next time I’m in the city =D

The last food stop of my insider’s tour of Chinatown with local Unilocal legend Fro-​yo Girl Lolia S. This was so secret that even she had to hunt up and down this street to find it.
I could see why — there are no signs at all to indicate where Yong Kee or what Yong Kee is. However, step inside and you can tell it’s a bakery. Partly from the products on sale but more interestingly to me, because I could see bao being made by hand.
Unlike previous reviewers, they spoke English to us. The chap making the bao was making it look like a piece of cake (pardon the pun!) — filling dough with the meat and then crimping the dough to make a perfect dome shape. Apparently, they’re one of the last places to be making it by hand.
Lolia and I left with our bao booty and I will treasure my memory of bao making on my insider’s tour. Thanks, Lolia!