Ton Kiang

I found out today that one of my favorite dim sum restaurants, Fook Yuen in Millbrae, has closed. If you know me, you know that I’m on a continuous quest to identify the Bay Area’s best dim sum offerings, so I was sad to see Fook Yuen go. But it also got me thinking about my all-time favorite dim sum establishment: Ton Kiang.

I used to live a few short blocks from Ton Kiang in San Francisco’s Richmond District, and I was a frequent visitor. I still stop by whenever I find myself in the neighborhood, and each visit has left me satisfied.

Specializing in Hakka-style cuisine, Ton Kiang offers all the dim sum classics and then some. The Hakka people originated in northern China a millennium ago, migrating all over Asia, particularly to southeastern China. Hakka cuisine heavily utilizes dried and preserved ingredients, as well as onions and lots of subtle spices.

The first dish our group tried was the shrimp and chive dumplings.

You know when glutinous dumpling wrappers become ever-so-slightly crispy yet maintain their translucency? Yeah. These dumplings pulled that off just right. The filling was good was a good balance of seafood to greens too.

Next, we tried the roast duck.

I love duck but my problem with it is how much fat clings to the meat and skin. Now I consider myself pretty adept with chopsticks, but delicately removing the fat from the skin from the meat from the bones with chopsticks is a major challenge. Almost challenging enough to not want to eat any duck. Almost.

After sampling the duck, we moved on to the chicken dumplings.

This was my least favorite of the dim sums we ate during this visit. The dumplings were plainly seasoned, the chicken was average and the wrappers were a little dry.

Next, we tried the xiaolongbao, which I’ve been wanting to taste for ages.

Xiaolongbao, or soup dumplings, are filled with brothy, steamy morsels of meat inside. The trick is to cradle your xiaolongbao carefully in a soup spoon and prick a little hole with your chopsticks before diving in, lest you make a mess. Someday, I’d like to try the original version in Shanghai.

Afterwards, we shared a plate of potstickers.

I know potstickers are run-of-the-mill, but Ton Kiang’s hold their own. Plus, doing a good job with a basic dish is often a sign of a restaurant’s quality and adeptness. The dough is thick and chewy and the insides are juicy and oniony.

Next came the plate of shrimp-wrapped scallops.

Internet, I think my eyes rolled back in unadulterated pleasure when I tried these. The shrimp-wrapped scallops have since become my favorite dim sum at Ton Kiang. Succulent, sweet, juicy, garlicy, crispy – these babies have it all. This is the stuff dim sum dreams are made of.

Despite being stuffed at this point, we trudged ahead. After all, a cart of crab noodle rolls had come by, and who can resist their siren call?

I often have shrimp or beef noodle rolls, but crab is much harder to come by. The crab had a very delicate flavor, and thankfully the sauce did not overpower the crab. Ton Kiang’s noodle rolls, as always, were thin and slightly chewy.

We ended our meal on a sweet note with a dish of fried sesame balls filled with sweet bean paste. Then we proceeded to roll ourselves out of the restaurant. It’s hard to resist saying no to the endless carts of food that are pushed around at any dim sum restaurant, but Ton Kiang makes it even harder. With a steady stream of quality dim sum, there’s a reason why they’ve consistently stayed my favorite dim sum spot for so many years.