CONFESSIONS OF A                                                                  
     
RESTAURANT WHORE
A San Francisco Girl's Down and Dirty Adventures in the Culinary Playground

Monday, November 08, 2004

Dim YUM (Ton Kiang -- San Francisco, CA)

I feel like Bubba Gump when I go to Ton Kiang. Shrimp and snow pea, shrimp and spinach, shrimp and scallops, shrimp and mushroom...the dumplings I love to shove down my pie hole never end.

Now if you live in San Francisco and you've never been to Ton Kiang, you might as well move. Seriously. You are a waste of space. There's really no excuse.

Ton Kiang churns out the finest dumplings and other assorted dim sum in this city. Yes, Yank Sing can give it a run for it's money, but TK is cheaper and more basic and I just love it to pieces. Itty bitty tasty dim sum pieces.

Everything there is just super delish. Besides the dumplings, they've got peking duck, crispy calamari, chicken feet, tofu pudding, fruit bowls...the list goes on and on and on and on (just like Erykah Badu). It's all GREAT.

We usually go on the weekend which can be very busy. When it's the two of us, it's no problem. Larger groups can have a big wait. The exception to this is Christmas. We were there during Christmas of 2002 when we stayed in town because I was understudying a play and couldn't leave. Apparently, everyone else who lives in SF eats there on Christmas, too. We waited 90 minutes. Worth every second.

Here's a little secret, they open at 10 a.m. on the weekdays and 9:30a.m. on the weekends. Get there when they open and you'll be alone in dim sum heaven. Going for dinner is fun, too. They serve dim sum until 4 p.m., but you can order 9 dim sum items for $35 any time after that. It's just super.

The only problem is I always get a coke when I go there (I try not to drink soda). I just need the fizzy sweetness to cleanse my palate between the select fried bits and pieces.

And really, the best part of dim sum is that, in theory, you can be eating something as soon as you sit down at your table. It's like a dining experience just for your id. Freud would love it. I sure as hell do.

xoxo
Joy




"To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art."
--La Rochefoucauld

6 Comments:

Blogger OrAreWe Artists said...

Again a review I was looking for and found in your blog. I feel a trend developing. Gayle was talking about finding a good dim sum place while we are in the city and I think I can tell her I found one. Thanks again. Iam now thinking of so many other questions I want to ask you, but we leave tomorrow. Oh well.
At least i'll know where to go next time.

Don

7/29/2005 7:48 PM  
Blogger OrAreWe Artists said...

We went, we ate, we were very pleased!
Great food, great price, great service.
Nothing better than a deep fried shrimp stuffed crab claw! Oh My God! A taste of heaven. Thank you for the recommendation.

Don

8/31/2005 1:26 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Waste of space, huh?

Do you see, I came SPECIFICALLY looking for this review?

10/17/2005 5:52 PM  
Blogger Joy said...

F-- hahahaha...but you don't actually LIVE here anymore, love. And you've been busy eating at other, equally fabulous, places, so you are excused.

xoxo

10/17/2005 6:07 PM  
Blogger Cali said...

A Chinese restaurant "busy on Christmas"? Really? lol I guess you don't know about the "conspiracy" then.

Really, it's no secret. December 25th is Christmas to Christians, but to Jews it's "International Jews Go to the Movies and Eat Chinese Food Day." Generally speaking, the majority of the population is with family and friends and it makes activities easier.

6/21/2006 12:40 AM  
Blogger Joy said...

Um, Cali? I know. I teach at a Jewish school and saw several people I work with that day. That said, not everyone who eats Chinese food on Christmas is Jewish anymore, and I didn't want to appear bigoted in my review.

6/21/2006 8:27 AM  

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