Dim Sum Club, Chinese - San Francisco

2237 Taraval St, San Francisco CA 94116
(415) 592-8938
Parking: Street parking
Hours: 11am-3pm, 5pm-9pm Daily

Last Visited: April 24, 2021

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 3 to 4 stars
Price: $$

Dim Sum Club has been open about a week and just started indoor dining.  Owner, Joe Huang, was the former chef at the Van Ness location of Dim Sum Club.  Affiliated restaurants include Dim Sum Bistro in Chinatown and Dumpling House on Noe St, both in San Francisco.

With the first week come a lot of working out of kinks, so plan to be patient.  For example, they only have three types of tea available - oolong, bo lai, and jasmine.  After sitting down, they had a flurry of orders to get out of the kitchen, so I found my own menu, and we waited probably ten minutes after being seated before someone came to take our order, provide place settings, and ask what kind of tea we wanted.  The staff is really nice so the flaws are easy to forgive, but don't be surprised if it takes a little longer for them to come back with sauces that typically accompany a dish without request or scissors to cut things that might be already cut elsewhere.

Depending on the table, some have disposable plastic tablecloths while others have regular linen cloths. Paper placemats are also in use.  One thing about the tea that I liked is that they use a strainer inside the tea pot, so you don't get leaves when you pour out the tea. 

The menu goes beyond typical dim sum.  Besides the usual dumplings, they also offer entrees like pork stomach with chicken and shrimp with lobster sauce, as well as noodles, chow fun, and fried rice.

- Beef with Cilantro Rice Noodle Roll - The amount of beef was really generous and well flavored with cilantro.  The texture of the rice noodle roll is perfect.  The only unusual thing about the roll is the way its rolled - the two edges are rolled into the middle and folded like a book, so you have one roll of just noodle on one side and a roll of beef on the other instead of rolling like you would a carpet.  This made it a little hard to eat since the meat side is heavy.  Still tasty though. $5.95

- Fried Sesame Balls - Super fresh and filled with red bean.  The skin isn't super thin, but also not super thick.  Good.  $3.95

- Shrimp in Tofu Skin Roll - These were fantastic!  The pieces of shrimp is generous and while you usually find that these are flattened out elsewhere to make it look like there is more shrimp filling, these are stuffed to the gills.  Perfectly fried and crispy - these are a must try.  You may need to ask for the Worcestershire here if you want the sauce. $5.95

- Deep Fried Pork Puff - Golden puffy goodness.  Again, not the thinnest of doughs, but not too bad. Good flavor and moderate amount of filling.  $4.50

- Shrimp and Pork Siu Mai - Pretty standard with a mixture of shrimp pieces and pork inside.  Good flavor.  Standard stuff that I have no complaints about.  The wrapper stays on - it's not overly steamed. Good. $5.95

- Steamed pork ribs in black bean sauce - This is something I always get at dim sum places.  Good portion of ribs, good flavor. No complaints. $4.95

- Steamed chicken feet - Good flavor.  Not as puffy/plumped from the braising juice as some other places, but still ok.  $4.95

All items were served at the right temperature - hot and crispy out of the fryer or hot out of the steamer.

If you're the type of person to ask if they're checking temperature, you probably want to come for takeout instead.  They're still serving condiments in a communal way on the table, and while it's not crowded by Chinese restaurant standards, it's not as far apart as some of the fancier places.  Servers are masked.

We talked to the owner, Joe, who was super nice and asked for feedback about our meal.  He also mentioned that they're selling frozen goods like wontons and dumplings, but this hasn't been posted yet, so you're getting the scoop here first.

I would definitely check out Dim Sum Club again, especially with their dine-in promotion of 10% off available through the end of May 2021.  Note that they're adapting prices still to match with their competition, so you might find things have changed when you visit.  

SSF Chickenbox - Fried Chicken, South San Francisco

312 Swift Ave, South San Francisco CA 94080

(650) 273-0997

https://ssfchickenbox.square.site

Parking: small parking lot, street parking
Hours: Mon-Sat 11am-9pm 

Last Visited: April 10, 2021

Food: 4 stars

Atmosphere: N/A - Takeout or Delivery only

Service: 4 stars

Price: $$ 

SSF Chickenbox opened about a year ago, just as sheltering in place was kicking off.  Located off of East Grand Avenue, their operating model is takeout/pickup or delivery only.  Order online or at their kitchen.

My mom is very particular about fried chicken and considering that SSF Chickenbox got high ratings from her indicates just how good this place is.  

- Family Box - 4 pieces of chicken (thigh, drumstick, breast, wing), choice of 2 sides, and 2 plain mochi muffins.  The chicken is lightly breaded and well seasoned; even after a 15 minute drive, the chicken was still crispy.  The dark meat was juicy, and what was incredibly impressive was the juicy breast meat.  Most of the time, I avoid fried breast meat because of how dry it is, but this one was moist even after letting it sit about 30 minutes.  The choice of sides include coleslaw, french fries, macaroni salad, rice, or chicken gravy.  I opted for the french fries and chicken gravy.  The seasoned fries were ok, not as crisp, and better after being popped into the air fryer at home.  The gravy was tasty with lots of flecks of fresh pepper and great on the chicken as well as rice that I had already made at home.  The pickles that came with the chicken was just ok.  I opted to have one plain mochi and to pay an extra $0.50 for an ube mochi.  Both were ok, but not particularly exciting. Even popping them in the microwave for a few seconds didn't do much for me. Slightly crustier top and chewy on the inside, but not as crusty/crisp as what I prefer.  $22

- Individual pieces of fried chicken $4 for the first piece, +$3.50 for the second and third piece, etc.  I ordered three pieces and was given a drumstick, thigh, and wing.

If desired, sauces are also available for purchase.  The menu also includes chicken sandwiches if that piques your interest.  

Service was friendly.  I ran the bell upon arrival, and was promptly greeted. 

My food was ready as scheduled, 30 minutes after the order was placed, and the temperature was hot. 

I highly recommend getting the fried chicken and gravy.  Fun fact - SSF Chickenbox is affiliated with LoveBurn.