"wing lee bakery" news and stories

I love my San Francisco neighborhood, the Inner Richmond. I am steps away from Clement Street, the real Chinatown, where Chinese and non-Chinese alike do their shopping away from the hustle and bustle of tourists visiting the other Chinatown across the city. I love that when I am in the mood for Peking duck, there are any number of "BBQ" restaurants with ducks hanging in the window to choose from. It's fun to eat there, but I like to take out, too. Here's how I do it:

At Wing Lee Restaurant on Clement Street, you can "duck in" for roasted duck. They will take a molasses-colored, crispy duck from the window, hack it up with a giant cleaver, and then arrange it carefully in a take-out tray. Then head next door to the Wing Lee Bakery and pick up a bag of doughy, yeasty cocktail-sized buns (or bao) to go with it.  Further west down the street, stop into New May Wah Super Market for hoisin sauce and green onions.

When you get home, arrange the duck and rolls on a platter and set out bowls of hoisin sauce and very thinly-sliced green onions. Split the rolls and make little duck "sandwiches." If you are really a pro, you will remove the skin from the duck and use that to make your sandwich, saving the meat to eat later.

One of the best things about my Inner Richmond San Francisco nabe is its proximity to the real Chinatown in the city. Not the touristic place where dollar store owners hawk fake jade and shot glasses to tourists, but the bustling, neighborhoody area where Chinese and non-Chinese alike do their shopping.

One of my favorite establishments in the Inner Richmond is Wing Lee Bakery on Clement and 5th. Not a bakery like you are thinking (although they do offer up sweet treats), "bakery" is the traditional name for shops that sell dim sum, too. The best thing about Wing Lee is that they serve fresh dim sum and other savory tasties for cheap. An order (3 pieces) will cost you no more than $1.30, and if you just want a bite, they also sell their dim sum by the piece.

Today I shoved $5 in my pocket and headed off in search of lunch. I selected coriander dumplings, both boiled and pan-fried leek dumplings (my fave), pork siu mai, a spring roll and a couple of baked char siu bao (pork buns). Then I took it all home, brewed some chrysanthemum tea, and my daughters and I had a feast for lunch.

[Photo Stefania Butler]