Restaurant: Canton Seafood & Dim Sum Restaurant (San Francisco)
Food description: Chinese steamed dumplings with pork, beef, and shrimp (dim sum)
Food rating: 6.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1
Meat flavor clashed together too much, nothing distinct about it.
Restaurant: Yank Sing (Stevenson St., San Francisco)
Food description: Steamed shrimp dumplings filled with chopped shrimp and sweet winter bamboo shoot tips
Food rating: 7 out of 10
Times ordered: 2
I must admit that har gau is one of my favorite dim sum dishes, so it was a relief that Yank Sing did a proper job on these dumplings. I was starting to worry they didn't have anything I'd like. Although these little suckers can get pretty slippery with the plastic chopsticks that were provided, the thickness and consistency of the rice skin was just right, and the chunky shrimp and bamboo filling had great flavor and texture. There were thick sesame overtones which meshed well with the shrimp, but left a slightly greasy aftertaste. Nothing that a swig of beer couldn't fix. Other than that, my only complaint is that I wanted more of it! Looking forward to ordering these again.
Restaurant: Yank Sing (Stevenson St., San Francisco)
Food description: Steamed dumplings with shrimp and pork filling, hand-wrapped in fresh pasta skin (dim sum)
Food rating: 6.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1
The shu mai at Yank Sing (Stevenson location only) is pretty standard. It's decent enough to order again, but nothing memorable. I really feel like the dim sum here is generally overpriced so please excuoooze me for sounding critical. On the bright side, the shu mai dumplings seemed fresh, not frozen, with a nice distinct sesame-pork flavor. The texture was well... dim-sum-y. You know, that weird mystery-meat lookin' medley of pork n shrimp that dim sum is notorious for. I don't really fancy my pork and shrimp sharing the same fork together, but there's enough garlic and other ingredients to distract me from this aspect. I think with enough sesame, garlic, and ginger, you can make anything taste proper. But for real, their shu mai was likable--the price tag less so--but I'd say go for it if you can get your company to sponsor it (otherwise you're on your own!).
Restaurant: Yank Sing (Stevenson St., San Francisco)
Food description: Northern Chinese style pan-fried dumplings with minced pork, napa cabbage, scallions, ginger, and sesame oil filling (dim sum)
Food rating: 6.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 2
These potstickers vary depending on the weather . When they come fresh from the kitchen, they're hot, crispy, and tasty. When they've been sitting on the cart for a while, they become soggy, cold, and lifeless. It's pretty drastic, I know. The flavor of the filling was your standard sesame-ginger-pork combo--nice but same ole. The texture and balance of ingredients was good--none of that lingering garlic aftertaste in your mouth. I also liked the not-too-thick skin of the dumpling which allowed it to crisp up all the way through (on a good day) and not feel too doughy in your mouth. Overall, they make good filler, but make sure they're hot off the press or you'll be disappointed.
Restaurant: Canton Seafood & Dim Sum Restaurant (San Francisco)
Food description: Steamed Chinese shrimp dumplings with sesame oil (dim sum)
Food rating: 7.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 3
Don't come to Canton Dim Sum without tasting the shrimp dumplings (and the steamed pork buns). They're the best dim sum that I've had at this restaurant. The shrimp dumplings are huge, first of all, and are filled with big chunks of shrimp (and only shrimp). The shrimp have been lightly marinated and coated in sesame oil, complementing the shrimp nicely. This creates a very rich flavor while not being overly greasy. The steamed wonton is the right thickness to hold the dense shrimp inside and not fall apart when picked up, and not doughy like their potstickers. Amazingly, I have nothing negative to say about these shrimp dumplings. They're simply delicious!
Restaurant: Canton Seafood & Dim Sum Restaurant (San Francisco)
Food description: Chinese steamed dumplings filled with shrimp and pork (dim sum)
Food rating: 6.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 5
They serve many different dumplings for dim sum at this restaurant (my favorite being the shrimp dumplings) but I always order the shu mai. Their version of it has shrimp and pork mixed together, which I'm not a huge fan of because it makes the texture a little chunky. I do enjoy the flavor, which is dominated by a tasty combo of sesame oil and pork. It's not too salty or shrimpy. I could tell that they had been frozen for a while (the pea was embedded into the meat permanently), unlike some of their other dim sum. Overall, not the best I've had, but good enough to order again.
Restaurant: Canton Seafood & Dim Sum Restaurant (San Francisco)
Food description: Chinese pan-fried pork dumplings (dim sum)
Food rating: 7 out of 10
Times ordered: 5
These potstickers score high in flavor, with a nice balance of ginger, garlic, sesame, and onion. They're cooked to a nice golden brown, but only on one side (a complaint I have about most fried potstickers). Sometimes if you bite into them hot oil comes pouring out, so use your chopstick to poke a little drainage hole into them before eating them. The wonton skin is slightly too thick, but not as thick as others I've had. One thing I like is that they're not drenched in oil, like many other potstickers I've had. However, though tasty, the texture of the filling leaves something to be desired: it's too mushy and falls apart too easily. This is because there's too much cabbage and not enough meat. So aside from some minor texture issues, these dumplings are very good and definitely worth a try.
