San Tung Restaurant Review, San Francisco

San Tung 1031 Irving St (Between 11th and 12th Avenue) San Francisco, CA 94122 (415) 242-0828 Website

San Tung is a popular Chinese restaurant in the inner Sunset of San Francisco. They serve northern Chinese food that has some Korean influence as the San Tung region of China is near Korea, hence the free Kim Chee. We have eaten here many, many times, back to when it was located west of here. Our latest visit occurred at the end of 2009.

Decor, Vibe – Pretty generic Chinese restaurant decor, not much in the way of decorations. This is a busy restaurant with lots of people waiting to get in.  Try not to face the door, you will feel pressure to eat fast. Lots of families, small groups, friends getting together for the delicious fare.

Menu Pictures (Click to Zoom in on any picture)

Website San Tung Menu

San Tung Menu Full Picture Set

Free Kim Chee

Picks:

Shrimp and Leek Dumplings ($7.25) are 12 dumplings filled with a savory and tender mixture of ginger and garlic infused ground shrimp and Chinese chives.  These should be eaten quickly when they are piping hot. Dip in soy sauce or vinegar if desired.

Pork Dumplings ($6.25) are 12 dumplings filled with a tasteful and tender blend of ground pork and Napa cabbage seasoned with ginger and garlic.  Some prefer the shrimp ones over these, but both are very good.

Dry Fried Chicken Wings ($9) are deep friend in batter with garlic, ginger, and red peppers.  One of San Tung’s signature dishes that everyone orders.  Sauce is a little sweet and zesty. These come hot out of the kitchen.

Sweet and Sour Pork ($8.50) is a pretty pedestrian dish we would normally not order, but San Tung does it super well. Tender chunks of lean pork battered and deep fried tossed with bell peppers, onions, carrots and pineapple.  Could use more pineapple and less onions. Balanced sauce.

Sweet and Sour Pork in Brown sauce ($10) has tender chunks of lean pork battered and deep fried. Topped with mixed vegetables and tangy sweet and sour sauce. This was sweeter and more tart than normal. Crunchy meat and nice mushrooms and carrots. A nice change of pace from the red sauce.

Seafood Soup Noodles ($8.50) had excellent homemade hand pulled noodles, shrimp, calamari, scallops and mixed vegetables in a very good broth.  A pretty healthy sized dish of top notch noodles.

OK:

Dried sauteed String Beans ($7.50) flash fried and tossed in garlicy sauce with Chinese pickle were pretty standard fare.  Crunchy, not overly seasoned, fresh beans, a decent dish but not special.

Potstickers ($6.50) had six Big ones to the order.  Deeply Fried bottom skin, lots of meat filling, juicy, but just too thick and doughy a crust.

Jellyfish with Cucumbers ($9) – Chilled shredded jellyfish and julienne cucumbers tossed in a light soy garlic mustard sauce was a plate full of jellyfish.  The mustard sauce pretty much dominated the dish. Authenticity style points.

Pans:

None

San Tung’s service is slightly better than the average Chinese restaurant.  You still have to hunt down waiters to order, get refills, get the check etc.  Service and pacing fall fast when the kitchen puts priority on to go orders. One wonders why they do not move to a bigger location. Come early and get in line. The waiting usually starts as early as 5pm. You can call ahead to have them put you on the waiting list.  Small wine list, $10 Corkage.

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