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San Tung
By Rita Ng
The San Tung Province is a beautiful coastal province in northeast China.
Boasting more than 91 million people, the province is surrounded by the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea. It is no surprise that the fishing industry thrives in the region with an abundance of prawns, kelp, and other delicacies. With its temperate monsoonal climate, the San Tung people have also become famous for farming fruits, including the apples of Yantai, the pears of Laiyang, and the small dates of Leling.
The San Tung Restaurant brings this unique Chinese cuisine to San Francisco with its flavorful dishes and specialty dumplings. Located in the Inner Sunset, the restaurant's location and ambiance are quite understated. Bright red carpet, hanging paper dragons, and marbled green tables filled the restaurant. I must say that the restaurant was more spacious and quiet than the typical noisy Chinese hole-in-the-wall restaurant. The service was also extraordinary with an abundance of waiters floating around. On any given night, San Tung is bustling and crowded with groups of friends and families.
San Tung offers an impressive array of entrees including dumplings and potstickers, noodles, cold plates and appetizers, soup, mushu, pork, beef, chicken, seafood, vegetables, and fried rice dishes. Vegetarians should not shy away from the restaurant as numerous items are highlighted on the menu that should satisfy any palate. For good measure, wine and sake are both served.
Due to the close proximity of the province to Korea, it was not surprising that kim-chee (spicy fermented cabbage) was served as an appetizer at all tables while patrons were ordering. While crisp, the kim-chee was a bit on the sweet side.
We ordered several entrees including their famous dumplings and potstickers. The steamed potstickers ($5.45) were filled with a tasteful blend of ground pork and Napa cabbage delicately seasoned with fresh ginger and garlic. The potstickers were presented beautifully, brought out straight to our table and still steaming hot in the wicker basket.
The shrimp and leek dumplings ($6) were also good, but quite expensive for the quantity (12 small dumplings) provided. The presentation could definitely be improved. While tasty, with a mixture of ginger, garlic, ground shrimp, and chives, the tiny dumplings looked much like shrunken wontons slapped onto a plain plate. The restaurant is famous for these dumplings, so perhaps they didn't feel the need to embellish an established dish. However, I'm not sure that the dumplings live up to their hype.
A wide variety of noodle dishes were also available. We finally settled on the dry black bean sauce noodles ($7.50). Shrimp, calamari, and scallops in a dry dark soybean sauce were served over a large bowl of fresh homemade noodles. I was particularly impressed with the strong texture of the noodles. The seafood was delicious, as were the noodles which were tossed with onions and zucchini. The dark color of the sauce complemented the bright vegetables and seafood. The sauce was slightly sweet and a nice addition to the meal.
Enjoying the dry noodle dish, we also opted to taste the soup-based noodles. The deluxe soup consisted of shrimp, mussels, calamari, beef, and vegetables over noodles in a thick egg flower broth ($6.50). The large bowl was colorful with fresh bok-choy, carrots, Napa cabbage, and whisked egg whites. The portions were large, and the seafood was fresh and offered a nice assortment of items.
Finally, we ordered the satay beef ($7.50). Sliced beef was stir-fried in a dark Chinese barbeque sauce accompanied with hot peppers and baby corn. While the beef was tender, there was very little color in the dish to accentuate the presentation. The sauce was delicious, but a bit on the spicy and salty side.
The shrimp with lobster sauce ($10.50) consisted of tender sauteed shrimps braised in fresh garlic, green peas, and eggs in a wine and lobster sauce. The cashew chicken ($7) was also excellent, stir-fried with zucchini, bell peppers, onions, celery, and water chestnuts in garlic sauce. Traditional Chinese dishes are also available for those that want standard cuisine: chow mein, fried rice, sweet and sour pork, kung pao chicken, lemon chicken, broccoli beef, and an expansive variety of other entrees.
Overall, San Tung Restaurant offers excellent food although presentation is a bit lacking. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Weekday lunch specials (11 a.m.-3 p.m.) are offered for bargain-hunting starving students that includes the soup of the day, steamed rice, and the choice of over 40 entrees ranging from $4-$6.
Rita Ng is a medical student
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