A popular neighborhood location?

They’re making ‘em in the back!

While I was looking over the menu, the lady behind the counter suggested I try their BBQ Pork Bun (叉燒包)*. The old man standing next to me near the counter chimed in as well: Yes, get the BBQ Pork Bun it’s very good.

Sidenote: The BBQ Pork Buns at these street-side bakeries are different from the type you typically get in dim sum restaurants (or dim sum takeout shops). The former, pictured below, have a tanned and bread exterior, while the former have a more textured and white exterior.

So I ordered the BBQ Pork Bun, and a deliciously artificially-flavored VITA mango juice to go with it.

BBQ Pork Bun = 80 cents (drink not included).

The bun was fresh and tasty, though not stellar. The short snack was a great respite for a weary passerby.

• Address: 1823 Clement Street: Google map; Yelp entry.
• Rating: 8.0
• Good for: popping in for a quick snack
• Price: $

The first time I visited San Francisco, I flew in from white New England and was looking for what the Chinese-American mecca of San Francisco had to offer up to my palate. My quest began at the Imperial Tea Court, where I asked the two Cantonese-speaking boys manning the shop for recommendations. They suggested Yee’s Restaurant (文仔記) as a good place for a quick bite.

Mystery items scrawled on pink paper, in Chinese, pasted on wall.

Roasted pork+soy sauce chicken+rice.

Yee’s can be identified by the hanging barbequed meats (燒味 siu mei) in its window. 燒味 siu mei is a popular style of Cantonese rotisserie which involves various types of meat barbecued with different sauces. It is commonly served on a plate of rice, with some veggies thrown on the side, and makes for a hearty lunch. The most popular 燒味 siu mei item is 叉燒 char siu, which is pork barbequed with a s3kr3t red sauce. Unfortunately, the 燒味 siu mei at Yee’s is not so good; it’s skinny and dry. Fortunately though, the chicken (both varieties) is delicious.

For a simple meal, I highly recommend the Soy Sauce Chicken Over Rice (油雞飯). The other dishes I’ve sampled (from friends’ plates) were also pretty good, but I usually default to a plate of 燒味 siu mei + rice

Aside from the food, the restaurant ranks high on my authenticity scale for another reason: The pink plastic bags, bare yellow light bulbs and crowds of old Chinese ladies remind me of markets I’ve been to in Hong Kong as a child.

• Address: 1131 Grant Avenue: Google map; Yelp entry.
• Rating: 7.5
• Good for: a casual and quick lunch
• Price: $