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It's on Jackson and Kearny, between Chinatown and Little Italy. I always eat there when I'm in that 'hood and I've eaten everywhere in Chinatown although I haven't really kept up since I moved out of the city over a decade ago so that's not quite fair. Anyway, the scallion pancakes are to die for. And the health tea is quite good, which is odd for me because I'm not fond of wolfberries and the tea is stuffed with them. The place is always packed and very small (although they recently expanded from being extremely small). Chef Peter Fang is there to take your order. Sometimes it's best just to chat with him and let him whip something off menu up for you. Plenty for vegetarians and carnivores.
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It is my favorite Chinese restaurant. All good, +1 on letting the chef choose the food, or order anything with "Nanking" in the title for extra-special goodness.
The decor is clean-but-spare, with patio-furniture chairs and formica tabletops. Almost no ambiance at all, which is good, since you won't want to be distracted from your food.
Even on an "off" night, the meal I had there was better than any other Chinese food experience that I have had. If anyone knows a better place, let me know!
In the Tudor Period, Fencing Masters were classified in the Vagrancy Laws along with Actors, Gypsys, Vagabonds, Sturdy Rogues, and the owners of performing bears.
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You eat chinese food now?
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You know it is not my first choice, since "Chinese Food" translates into "quantities of nearly tasteless (or too salty) starch coated with a glutinous, primarily corn-starch, sauce and bits of meat of dubious provenance."
I went to The House (of Nanking) several years ago with a friend who raved about it and was so pleasantly surprised that I have been back many times. If someone knows someplace better or just as good, please let me know. Otherwise, I'll stick to haggis.
Speaking of haggis, HK...
In the Tudor Period, Fencing Masters were classified in the Vagrancy Laws along with Actors, Gypsys, Vagabonds, Sturdy Rogues, and the owners of performing bears.
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...you know it's gotta be frickin' great!
Either that, or it's the Bourne Ultimatum...
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Jiggly cameras and great pot-stickers? Does it get any better? The Bourne Nanking House Ultimatum?
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It turns out that what makes House of Nanking so tasty is that everything is drenching in MSG. There is no way to have a non-MSG dish there. We asked, but no. We were treating one of Stacy's relatives to a b-day lunch and he has a severe MSG allergy.
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Really? That is disappointing. Did you ever try the unfortunately named "Brandy Ho's"?
In the Tudor Period, Fencing Masters were classified in the Vagrancy Laws along with Actors, Gypsys, Vagabonds, Sturdy Rogues, and the owners of performing bears.
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Our b-day guest liked it. Mrs Dm, T and I weren't impressed. Too much salty soy sauce. It's probably better if you get the full strength pepper sauce, but we had to go mild for our guest and T. It claims Sichuan cuisine, but it's not. They all speak Cantonese in there, which is a bit like going to a Chicago pizza joint and hearing a TX accent.
There's this new Sichuan place near our office called Chili Town that I like. They do a blazingly tasty Ma Po Tofu.
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On the Doom recommendation, I dragged two friends here on Tuesday while I was up at MacExpo. These were the same friends that I took to Andalu's last year.
The weather was ok, so we walked from my hotel off Market all the way to HoN. They don't take reservations, and there was a line going out the door. (Actually two lines, one to the left, towards Market and one to the right, towards City Lights bookstore.) My friend had it all dialed in and we immediately got in the right-side line and waited for about a half hour.
When we finally got to the front, they let us in and seated us family style at a long table with a bunch of other people. Like at Andalu's my friend suggested that the wait person choose for us. We got a few beers, then the food started coming.
I don't know what the dishes were called, except for the sizzling rice soup which was excellent. There was a mushroom dish with basil (and onions?) that was great. The Golden Buddha here in Soquel makes a similar dish called "Gang of Mushrooms" but they use tiny mushrooms. There was a dish with fish (breaded?) and eggplant. There was another with very thin pork (breaded). I was starving and the food was tasty, but I really don't recall what I ate. After that, we left, and walked to the bar right next to City Lights and had a few beers.
I recommend it highly, in spite of the MSG.
--tg
Note: be wary of ATMs accessible at the sidwalk my other friend went to get some cash, and while he managed to win a $20 in a tug of war, the duct tape wedged in the slot managed to make off with the other $80.
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I used to love the Ethiopian joint near Civic Center and they had this dish called Spicy Mashrooms. I think I even ate there with the Yeti once. It's been closed for some time, sad to say. All my fav Ethiopian joints have closed.
I didn't have a problem with MSG for years. In a lot of Japanese joints, they used to put in on the table next to the salt and pepper shakers - they call it Aji-no-moto. But just recently, I've noticed headaches after eating it, so I'm putting it on the ever-expanding "don't eat" list.
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Cafe Ethiopia on Valencia in Da Mission? Have you tried that one? I like it, but I have only eaten there and Blue Nile in Berkeley.
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When we went to HoN yesterday, it was boarded up tight. Instead of windows and door, it was sheets of plywood. So sad, so very very sad. I hope it reopens soon.
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Lotta restaurant break-ins, so lots of plywood. Starting to get lots of murals on the plywood. I hope it comes back when the city reopens.
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Quote:21 DECEMBER 2022/SF RESTAURANTS, FOOD & DRINK/JOE KUKURA
House of Nanking Is Getting a Food Network Docuseries Premiering Next Week
The six-episode docuseries about the father-and-daughter team behind House of Nanking and Fang is coming to the Food Network next week, as [i]Chef Dynasty: House of Fang[/i] goes behind the scenes with one of SF’s premier Chinese food families.
Last year around Christmas time, our favorite tables-too-close-together Jackson Square restaurant House of Nanking scored a brief cameo in [i]The Matrix Resurrections[/i], and as seen below, Keanu has been a longtime fan of the Shanghainese home cooking spot. And this year’s Christmas holiday will also bring high-profile attention to House of Nanking, as well as the Fang family’s trendier SoMa offshoot Fang, as SFGate reports that that House of Nanking and Fang are getting a six-part Food Network docuseries premiering Tuesday, December 27.
[i]Chef Dynasty: House of Fang [/i]chronicles House of Nanking co-founder Peter Fang, and his daughter chef Kathy Fang. The younger Kathy Fang has been a reality TV fixture on foodie shows like [i]Beat Bobby Flay[/i], [i]Guy’s Grocery Games[/i], and [i]Alex vs. America[/i], and is also a two-time [i]Chopped[/i] champion. This may or may not be a proper documentary, and perhaps instead more of a manufactured-drama reality TV show. Consider the writeup for the first episode, which reads, “A private dinner for social influencers puts Kathy's new ideas to the test, but only if her guests, including Peter, approve of her changes.”
But the House of Nanking and Fang family story is certainly one worth telling. “My parents came here with less than $40 in their pocket and the first place they stepped into was Chinatown,” Kathy Fang tells SFGate, describing the House of Nanking’s 1988 opening and its eventual ascension to destination status. “We literally spend more time at House of Nanking than we do at home.”
The Chronicle also has a deep-dive into House of Nanking and Fang in advance of the show’s premiere. “This [show] is just something that I couldn't even dream of — our little story, that my dad created something with my mom,” Fang says to the Chronicle. “So I hope people actually see that, and they understand why my relationship and dynamic with my dad is the way that it is. We’ve come a long way.”
A Food Network release about [i]Chef Dynasty: House of Fang[/i] sets the premise of the show as “This father/daughter duo is a dominant force in San Francisco’s food world and now Kathy is ready to expand their business while honoring their roots in the six-episode docuseries [i]Chef Dynasty: House of Fang[/i].” The show premieres on the Food Network on Tuesday, December 27 at 9 p.m., and has a few more airings over the rest of the week, before Episode Two drops on Tuesday, January 3.
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