This Saturday, I wanted to go on a longer run. I started off in Golden Gate Park and decided to take the Coastal Trail starting in Land’s End and head towards the bridge, then along Crissy Field, along the Embarcadero, and ultimately the Ferry Building – almost 16 miles in total (I took a small shortcut on the trails approaching the bridge and also skipped my the out and back to Hopper’s Hands. This is probably the longest I’ve run in a year, so it’s nice to be getting back into shape). Andrea wanted to meet up for lunch so we met in the Ferry Building, but it was such a zoo on Saturday with the farmer’s market, so we just decided to go to Yank Sing, one of our old standby’s having had many great meals here over the many years (decades now!) and Andrea had been craving dim sum. Apparently, though we hadn’t been here in over a year.
As we entered the building through the historical post office, the atrium area of the building looked empty and was quite and I was afraid the restaurant was actually closed even though I had made a reservation on OpenTable. In the heyday of Yank Sing, all of the atrium tables would have been packed, but it only looked like one table was occupied (granted it was about 1:30pm). We checked in and there were a good number of open tables inside as well.
One of the best things about dim sum is that food quickly comes to you (and I was pretty hungry after that run and I only have coffee for breakfast. I did eat a Kind bar on my run though) and this was no exception (this is my kind of fast food!). With the first cart, we took the shu mai and some crab and shrimp dumplings. I liked the crab and shrimp dumplings well enough with seafood filling and a light thin dough for the dumpling. The shu mai was a bit clumped together so these weren’t right out of the kitchen (strategically, we’ve sat at tables right near the kitchen where you get first dibs on the carts) and had probably made a couple rounds around the restaurant. They tasted fine, but would have benefitted from being a bit fresher.
A cart came by for the XLB and we flagged down one for the Chinese broccoli. The XLB also wasn’t hot at that point and was not so nearly as flavorful as we remember (the XLB was usually one of their best offerings). The Chinese broccoli, also always one of our favorites, was also cold which again detracted a bit from the flavor and enjoyment of the dish.
Another cart came by for Peking duck (which I was just about to order directly via the ordering from the barcode/link for the table) as well as some spinach dumplings which I don’t think we’ve ever had. The Peking duck was fine since and flavorful thanks to duck, fat, and Hoisin sauce. At least when you order it this way, it’s conveniently prepared for you. The spinach dumpling was also quite tasty, but again, it would have been much better warm/hot and the dough for the dumpling because a bit gummy.
We were still looking for some more food. Andrea grabbed some of the pot stickers and I saw the ribs which fortunately the woman managing the cart said she would have the kitchen order me a fresh one which I appreciated. Potsickers were flavorful (although again, not hot) as you would expect of a fried food. We also enjoyed the ribs which were very tender and flavorful enough.
All in all, it did suit our needs, esp. for me for a quick post-run meal, but it was far from how good it can be here. Perhaps if we had come earlier/more busy time for the restaurant it would have been better.
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