i've stopped giving chinese restaurant recs to lots of people in sf coz i think people just have diff tastes in chinese food.
there's a popular roast duck people like that i think is super mid. they think it's the best.
i think most people who are used to cantonese bbq might prefer *much* fattier duck, so what i like ends up probably being super gross to someone who isn't used to that.
all to say i don't think there's a 'best' (food group) or 'most authentic' (food) there's just what you like
i really don't 'get' the most 'popular' chinese restaurants in SF, as in i really don't like them at all, but i am glad they exist!
my favorite chinese restaurants are in millbrae / oakland / fremont / san jose
there are a handful of chinese spots that i like a lot in sf but they're not the ones that are most praised
anyway, chinese food means totally different things to different people, even to chinese people (who don't like each other's foods)
sometimes i think i'm also responding to a certain lack of complexity and sophistication with chinese food in sf, where it *tends* to be largely evolved from the Toishanese food of the past. as someone who grew up around *many many chinese cuisines* at a far more abundant time and place, a lot of that food feels very.. quaint, like food that my grandparents will eat
whereas i'm used to having very extensive, abundant, labor-intensive foods when i go out to eat, not.. homey food (which i cook)
@skinnylatte There are parallels between your preferences and my spouse's - her favorite Chinese restaurants/foods are the ones most like what she could get in Taipei. Because of the influx of Taiwanese people to Flushing in the 80s, that part of Queens was as close as it got in this country.
Lots of good, affordable food at any time of the day or night in a variety of cuisines is something she misses. Food in Queens is good, lots of variety but not cheap anymore and places close early.
@skinnylatte it only occurred to me late in life that, China is vast to begin with, so of course the different regions have different varieties of cuisine, before you even factor in immigration to other places and adapting for local tastes and ingredient availability. So of course it's hard to recommend to people
@skinnylatte What are your favorite places around the Bay Area?
@matt in SF: Cantoo, Spicy Taste, Hai Ky Noodles
in Millbrae: Royal Feast, H&L Peninsula
in Fremont: Bing's Dumplings, Din Ding
in San Mateo, Milpitas and Fremont: Ox 9 Lanzhou Noodles
in Oakland: lots of places but i think Ming's Tasty is one of the best and cheapest dimsum you can get (way better than any of the 'take out' spots and as good as the fancy sit down places but cheaper)
really have to break it down by cuisine (i'm writing a post)
@skinnylatte Excellent. I look forward to trying some of these on my next visit.
@skinnylatte I think the great thing about restaurants and food is that we have hundreds of opportunities to find what we like every year, less if you're gonna be financially responsible lol, but still. The cost of choosing a place you don't like is pretty low. It's great that we have so much choice!
That said, I'm here for your food recs. I still need to go to Cantoo haha
@skinnylatte are you thinking of Hing Lung in Chinatown, which recently moved to Bernal and became Go Duck Yourself? I loooooooooove their roast duck but maybe that's just my taste.
@kkeller haha yes, i just find it very mid and not fatty enough. i have other preferences.
@skinnylatte yeah, my personal preference is definitely for less fatty, which may explain why I love GDY's duck so much.
There used to be a Henry's Hunan in my neighborhood, which was a less typical Chinese restaurant, but it closed a while back. (I think there's another location in Noe that's a bit far for me because I am lazy.)