The community of Chinatown in San Francisco is the largest area of Chinese businesses and restaurants outside of China; it is also the oldest Chinatown in the United States. People visiting San Francisco's Chinatown can choose from a variety of places to dine in while browsing the shops in the neighborhood. Among these restaurants are locally-owned Chinese restaurants, and some of which have earned high ratings.
The Oriental Pearl Restaurant on Clay Street near Walter U. Lum Place in Chinatown held Zagat dining guide ratings of "very good to excellent" for its food, "good to very good" for its service and "fair to good" for its decor, as of October 2010.
The restaurant is known for its discount-priced dim sum combination meals, which include seven selections of items such as shrimp dumplings, barbecue pork buns and egg rolls. The meal also comes with dessert. Combination dinners are available for two or more diners and include an appetizer, hot and sour soup, fried rice and at least two entrees, such as prawns with walnuts or sweet and sour pork.
The Oriental Pearl Restaurant serves lunch and dinner daily. Reservations are highly recommended. Casual attire is acceptable. A children's menu is available, and the restaurant has highchairs and booster seats.
Henry's Hunan Restaurant is at the corner of Sacramento and Spring Streets in Chinatown. The restaurant held Zagat ratings of "very good to excellent" for its food, "good to very good" for its service and "poor to fair" for its decor, as of October 2010.
Spicy fare is the specialty at Henry's Hunan. A signature dish, Henry's Seafood Special, consists of chicken, shrimp, scallops and stir-fried Asian vegetables in a black bean sauce. Vegetarian dishes are also available. The restaurant does not use monosodium glutamate (MSG) in any of its dishes.
Henry's Hunan Restaurant is open for lunch Monday through Friday and is closed on weekends. Reservations are highly recommended, particularly during the noontime lunch rush, when the restaurant can become crowded. Casual attire is the norm. Although the restaurant does not have a special children's menu, highchairs and booster seats are available.
Brandy Ho's Hunan Food is on Columbus Avenue in Chinatown, between Broadway and Pacific Avenue. The restaurant held Zagat dining guide ratings of "good to very good" for its food and service and "fair to good" for its decor, as of October 2010.
The restaurant is most well known for its smoked meats, specifically the duck Hunanese. The duck in this dish is smoked for eight hours over almond wood, then removed from the bones and stir-fried in a wok with bell peppers, bamboo shoots, garlic and hot peppers. The majority of the dishes are spicy, but the restaurant features a special section of the menu for those who do not like spicy food. Vegetarian dishes are featured, and none of the food at Brandy Ho's contains MSG.
Brandy Ho's Hunan Food is open for lunch and dinner daily. Reservations are accepted online and by phone. Casual attire is the norm.
