12 Jan The Best & Most Popular Chinese Food Dishes In San Francisco

Han Lijun

Being the foodie adventurist that you are, you finally decided to explore, discover, and review the best Chinese food in San Francisco restaurants . First, you begin by finding a popular and established Chinese restaurant, such as Chili House SF, which has a reputation of serving delectable and authentic dishes. Second, as you sit with the menu in your hands, you’ll have to choose the popular dishes that don’t only have wonderful presentation (ideal for taking pictures), but also best represent the cuisine. Hence, here are some popular Chinese food dishes that you ought to try:

Kung Pao

Also written as Gong Bao, Kung Pao dishes hail from Guizhou cuisine, one of China’s eight famous cooking styles. The main ingredients used for Kung Pao could be chicken, prawns, scallops, and tofu, to name a few. These are then stir-fried with peanuts, vegetables, and chili peppers. Needless to say, spicy Kung Pao is not for the weak-hearted as it will deliciously numb your taste buds yet leave you wanting more.

Chow Mein

From instant noodles to pop songs, Chow Mein is a tasty noodle dish that definitely made a name for itself. Here are the basic facts on one of the most popular Chinese food take-out options from an article posted at Cultural-China.com:

Chow Mein is a rich source of nutrition and has many health benefits including improving digestion, anemia and immunity. Extremely popular in China and all over the world, this stir-fried noodle dish comes in many varieties. Cantonese Chow Mein is the most famous in Western countries.

In American Chinese cuisine, Chow Mein consists of noodles, meat, onions and celery. It is served as a specific dish at westernized Chinese restaurants. The East and West Coasts of the United States do have some differences in preparation of this dish. On the East Coast, Chow Mein is almost always prepared in the “Hong Kong” style and crispy. On the West Coast, Chow Mein is almost always steamed and soft.

Most restaurants in China cook this dish by deep frying the noodles; the fastest way to obtain the beautiful golden yellow noodles associated with this aromatic dish.

Peking Duck

One can’t talk about the best and most popular Chinese food dishes in San Francisco without mentioning Peking duck. Now considered as a cultural symbol of traditional Chinese food, the aromatic and savory meat of a roasted Peking duck is a sure delight to the senses. It’s recommended that you first dine on the thin, crispy skin dipped in sugar and garlic sauce (or the signature sauce of the restaurant you’re visiting), followed by the tender meat.

(Source: Top 10 popular Chinese dishes on foreigners’ tables , Cultural China)