My phone buzzed several times throughout Monday morning confirming the news that Ton Kiang, a beloved SF dim sum institution, was closing its doors for good at the end of the month. Like many small independent restaurants in the city, Ton Kiang did its best to stay afloat during the pandemic by adopting a take-out…
Tag: dim sum
Baby, take a bao
We’re 11 weeks into sheltering in place and it seems not only are people over self-isolation, many are done trying to bake sourdough bread–either out of frustration over flabby or dead starters, flour shortages, one too many failed loaves, or simply because warmer weather is driving them outdoors and away from their ovens. I get…
The sticky subject of rice
In early March, during the nascent days of pandemic toilet paper and hand sanitizer hoarding, mom dispatched me to buy more rice which she’d heard through the Chinese grapevine was also flying off the shelves. She was in a tizzy because that 25lbs bag in the downstairs pantry was clearly insufficient to get us through…
Art of the Wrap…or dumpling traditions
There’s this now famous scene about halfway into the box-office phenomenon that is Crazy Rich Asians (2018) where the obscenely wealthy Young family gather around an ornate dining room table of their matriarch’s impressively vast estate to make dumplings, decked out in stylish designer clothes. The scene is set up so that the elder members,…
Fry Happy…or tales of a fearless frequent fryer
At the start of quarantine I made what many people would consider an impulsive, if not excessive purchase–35lbs. of cooking oil. No, it was not pandemic-induced temporary insanity. I did not accidentally click on the wrong item while grocery shopping online with Instacart. It was a calculated move. You see, I like deep-frying stuff. I…
Chinese Bakery Buns…or I’ll take one of each
There have been only a handful of times in my life when I didn’t live in relatively close proximity to a Chinese bakery/cafe, or at the very least, within driving distance–my college years in Santa Cruz (a veritable culinary wasteland when it came to authentic Chinese cooking) and my brief stint working/living in Monterey. I’d…
Steamer Basket Time Machine
Steamer Basket what?! Weird title I know–mixed metaphors, film reference to Hot Tub Time Machine (2010), Chinese food, me lifting up a steamer basket lid to travel back in time. Stick with me on the visuals. Lately, being mostly stuck at home in self-isolation with my mom–passing the time watching the latest video uploads from…