Support the show with the Quest For The Best T-Shirt! advchina.saltycustoms.com/ Good Mong Kok Bakery 1039 Stockton St San Francisco, CA 94108 b/t Jackson St & Washington St Chinatown
When you move to America, please continue ADVstateside! There is a lot of stuff to explore and compare to China! Even if you guys live in different areas, you can do the phone call exploring, where you guys ride in your own area but chat over the phone. Like when Winston was in America but C milk was in China. You could do A Conquering Inner America, and find hidden awesomeness in out-of-the-way places.
陳獨秀 If this channel dies but is replaced by ADVstateside or similar, I'll be happy with that. There is plenty of interesting stuff to cover in America. Then instead of helping westerners come to China, they could help Eastern people who come to America.
As an SF native, who spent A LOT of time in Hong Kong, and with all 100% of my family from Hong Kong, I think you shouldn't go to SF Chinatown for dim sum. All the best places dim sum are on the peninsula in Daly City, San Mateo, or Millbrae. If you choose to stay in SF for dim sum, I can really only recommend Hong Kong Lounge, Hong Kong Lounge II. For street dim sum in SF, go to the places on Clement Street or Irving Street. Those districts are where the majority of Chinese live now.
I agree 100%. I used to live in Potrero Hill and San Bruno prior to that. The peninsula has WAY better dimsum! I was a regular at the place by the bowling alley in Daly City.
I love how for the most part, the authenticity ratings on these episodes tend to be: "Well, it's not very authentic because the ingredients are too high quality, and the thing itself is too big/good/carefully prepared."
As to Cantonese in SF vs Mandarin in LA, the Chinese in San Francisco have been here for a long time, and mostly came from the South. In LA, the community is much more recent, so there are proportionally more folk from everywhere in China, particularly from the Northern cities.
Agree, the first wave of Chinese immigrants to America were mostly Cantonese. Mandarin speaking Chinese are recent migrants to the U.S., i.e. mostlyin the last 30 years or less.
When you guys said you are Dim Sum'd out I felt like you understood me. Chinese food is great, but my gosh I'd had enough Dim Sum for a lifetime. It is like eating Chang Fen, it is so common here and I've had it so much I can't even eat it anymore.
I see we share the same sense of humor. I have been following and replying to comments about your responses to Gweilo60 on his channel. I surmise that the Chinese do not understand sarcastic humor, double entendre, and ethnic joking that has no malice. I have found Indian co-workers in the stats to be generally devoid of humor. Is it a Chinese trait also?
Joe Canis someday they will understand. its about the culture different actually. for example, the chinese mainland will take it serious when western criticized their leader, its hard for them to understand that the western even insult their own president. thats the bggest difference between chnese and western. at the same time some westerners don't have enough sensitivity of that kind of things. if i must pick one biggest difference between chinese and american, i will pick the freedom of speech is the biggest different. but things will change, only need sometime
My first Dim Sum experience in SF -- No English, no prices; just pick stuff. I'm worrying my bill might be $1000. My friends had a good time laughing at me. I think it was $5.
San Fran has the best Chinatown in the US, hands down. It’s huge and you’re right, it’s literally a teleportation to China. I love those pockets in the US that just totally pull you out of modern day America. (Savannah, Harlem, Salem, Virginia, etc.)
I recently went to SF and I noticed that the predominantly people were Chinese, everywhere I turned I saw Chinese people some Japanese but mostly Chinese When I walked in the Chinatown I had the chance of practice my mandarin i really felt like i was in Hong Kong or any city in Guandong province. I met a Taiwanese born now American blogger that made my vacations in SF so great
I was surprised to see escalators in the underground stations on Market street like at the UN New World Disorder plaza regularly breaking down from literally filling up with shit so they bought nice automatic toilets from Paris, France that were also out of order most of the time. San Fran is the most crazy world city that makes no sense, but apparently it does make perfect sense to the likes of Bohemia Grove and the highest level Freemasons.
So surprising to be hassled by a homeless person in SF, like that never happens. Lol. It was nice that you gave him your food instead of cash since many of them will go buy drugs or alcohol with the money. SF has a major issue with panhandling, and the city does little about it, the police seem to ignore the people in the tourist areas, so they can be become aggressive. I have been accosted a few times while there by overzealous drugged out people. Still it is a beautiful city.
David Brown You can't complain about a welfare state and then want to put regulations in place to make them work, also, you have no idea why these people have ended up where they are.
In the UK most homeless are on heroin or alcoholics they get free house's/ council tax and get given more money if they can prove there an alcoholic. I grew up in such a terrible place in the UK I know of a guy who defecated into his bedding and went to a claim office to use as prove he's an alcoholic. You have free health care and I mean pretty much everything ( including breast implants if you can prove it effects your mental health), if you work you have to pay for dental/prescriptions etc. A lot of people claim to have mental illness as they can claim more money as well. Welcome to the UK the land of plenty if you have no self respect.
David Brown Privacy is one of my rights and I choose to uphold it. Go ahead and call me a pussy leftist or any other buzzword but fact is there are veterans on the street who put their most valuable possesion, their lives, on the line for our safety yet they are left for dead on the streets. I don't deny that not all homeless are poor helpless people but to make a sweeping generalisation about all homeless people is disgusting. Sorry for having a different opinion, snowflake.
David Brown Accuse me if what you will but at least stop deluding yourself into believing that you or your TH-cam channel have changed anything. I’ve already said that some homeless people are scum, but in what world do you think it’s as simple as just getting a job when in fact most homeless people have just lost one. I don’t think homeless people are the recipient of most welfare, that would belong to people living in public houses.
I'm glad you rate both authenticity and taste, getting Thai food with my dad is a nightmare since all he can rave about is how different it is in Thailand because they aren't skimping on all the best bits. A business won't survive on authenticity but on quality and that should also be the most important bit.
Love your photography, commentary and philosophy in general. You popped up in my TH-cam selections only yesterday and now I am hooked. Muy may exellente, mucho gracias
I love Winston's love of America and how he talks about all people working together, all the choice, and all the opportunity. We aren't perfect, but these spoiled as fuck millennials don't realize how well they have it or how special this place really is.
Authenticity counts for very little. Something can be authenticly crap. Restaurants (good ones) are frequently inventing new takes on dishes - that's what often makes them good. If we stayed purely with "authentic" we'd still be eating cave man food.
You mentioned queuing as a measure of quality.. which I usually subscribe to, especially at a Singaporean hawker center. But I've also heard that queuing is kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy, in that If the line is there, most Chinese believe it's a sign of quality and make it longer, even if there's not underlying quality to support that. Or maybe that there's some quality, but it gets enhanced by the length of the queue. Any thoughts?
it's usually not an indicator of quality, but that is what most people believe. I lived in Taiwan for a year, and there was a cake shop that paid people to stand in line, until it became a 2 hour wait for cake. It was actually worse than the place next door which got no business.
Chinatown in SF isn't as homogeneous as you think it is. Tons of Filipinos, Thai, Koreans, Middle-Easterners (from many countries) and even Japanese there. You'll find kebab places right next to Chinese restaurants. The rest of the city is much more diverse (obviously).
I was in San Fransisco for 3 weeks in in summer 2000. As a European who arrived late after a long flight I made a little mistake when arriving and asked the taxi driver to take me to "a nice hotel downtown". So ... I ended up staying in the Tenderloin district for 3 weeks. It was nice. For the first week or so I was eating at these American restaurants that we didn´t have in Iceland, Taco Bell, Wendy´s ... but then one day after leaving my hotel I turned left instead of right and ended up in Chinatown where I had Dim Sum for the first time in my life. I never ate anywhere else for the rest of my stay in san Fransisco. Just love the Chinatown there and hope to go back some day. Thanks for an amazing channel and both Laowhy86 and SerpentZA channels are fantastic too.
Vivien would’ve been a great help since she knows Cantonese. Too bad she wasn’t with you guys. I love you, Winston and Matt. You have some of the best content I’ve ever seen.
Hey guys, don’t listen to all those comments that aren’t constructive criticism. There’s too many people that bag on you guys, but just keep doing what you’re doing. Your videos are very high quality, informative, and entertaining, which has been making me impatient for each next video to be uploaded. Keep up the great work!
Hey guys, I'm so glad I came across the both of your channels. I had never really thought about going to China until I came across your videos. Now I am fascinated with the place, I really look forward to travelling over there. Thank you guys for opening my eyes to an amazing part of the world. 😁👍
I would assume most Americans would get confused hearing Winston refer to a Line(waiting in order) as a Que. You did great by showing it as you spoke it, made easy to infer. *Hat tip to director/editor*
This brings back great memories. When I was going through a painful divorce, my buddy from Hong Kong told me that the ship will straighten itself out when it gets into the harbor. It means that things will always end up working out in the end. So far, this has been the case! If I eventually die when I am 80 -85 years old, I will be able to say that, I have left the world in a better state than what it was when I entered. At age 42, I believe that I am precisely halfway done with my life.
4:03 No! NO! Stop it, C-Milk! That’s Winston’s cheese. Cheese was never meant to be shared in such a way. Now it’s cringe. Did you condone this, Winston? Don’t you know that sharing cheese can cause it to mold? I’ll have you know this caused me to tear a muscle in my neck! I have to see a doctor and therapist because it may have given me PTSD. Please, no more! If you must including C-Milk in your cheese, please provide a trigger warning.
As a San Francisco native who travels to Guangdong pretty often, the best place for dim sum dumplings was a street away from where you went! Wing Sing makes fresh and hot dim sum daily. The place you went to is known for their pastries and porridge. Nice video though!
I'm so glad you mentioned that you're allergic to shrimp! Iam also, and afraid to travel the south. PS in Taiwan have you guys been to Din Tai Fung? I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.
Have lived in the SF bay for the majority of my life this Dim sum style/experience is about typical for the bay. The bones of authentic food, but it has diverged over time due to its separation and local palette influence. Sometimes that's good, other times not. One think to keep in mind is that the SF chinatown has existed for 150 years or so and while always connected back to and cross pollinating with HK and mainland china its become its own distinct entity and sub-culture. Keep up the great work! really enjoying the series.
Yes. I am a great believer that cuisine needs to evolve to suit different tastes and local ingredients. I don't think "authentic" is a measure worth worrying about.
Great video guys! From the editing to the graphics, insert shots, rack focus, etc. etc. Curious on how you were able to sync shots from the two camera set up in Portsmouth Square? Seamless!! To be honest I've never tried anything from Good Mong Kok Bakery but now that I know more will probably go and stand in line someday 🥡
I'm Chinese American born in SF, with my family being in local the Chinese food biz. Food in Chinatown and Downtown is absolute shit. Chinatown food is filthy, greasy, and just plain bad. Chinese food in the Downtown is overpriced and extremely westernized to appeal to office workers and tourists. The best Chinese food you can get in the Bay Area is in the residential areas and in Daily City.
Please clean up your stuff inside your tiny car. By that I mean don't have anything visible from outside, car thieves are everywhere in SF 24/7! Don't over rely on Yelp in SF Chinese establishment. For my preference, "Kam Po kitchen" for fried geese, "Yin Du Wonton noodle" and "Sam Wo" for BBQ pork rice noodle roll with must have mustard dipping sause! Hope you 老外 enjoy your stay in this 3rd world first class city~ ^^
The younger people do understand Mandarin. Their parents send them to Mandarin classes because they know that is the business language in China. Old Chinatown is very Cantonese.
It is good to see. I will go and visit there someday to practice speaking. I'm learning Cantonese rather than Mandarin because I enjoy the language more. I'm in Vancouver Canada right now, which still seems to be more Cantonese, though Mandarin will soon over take it in total number of speakers but at least Cantonese is still strong here, concentrated in a few urban areas of the city & it still grows by 10,000 speakers a year. Mandarin grows by 20,000 a year but is more spread out in the suburbs it seems like so you tend to hear it a lot less.
I realize you guys spent a lot of time in the San Gabriel Valley, but I have to say, the dim sum in Monterey Park, Alhambra, and Rosemead is probably the best you'll find outside of HK. I find it amusing that you guys were somewhat surprised to find excellent authentic Chinese food in the SGV. Having grown up here, it's just normal to me. Love the videos. Keep up the good work.
Food Network should make an offer to you guys. I love the show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. This would make a worthy contender to the popularity of that show. Keep them coming!
Alton Brown already did the.. ride on a motorcycle and search out food thing. Even he couldn't make it work. Travel Channel would make more sense than Food Network, and focus less on food and more on travel/bikes and less about clickbait content.
@Cliff - I don't think they should be on TV for many reasons. I was, however, saying that, *if* they were to be on tv, then the Travel Channel would be a better fit than the Food Network. TH-cam doesn't pay like television, that's why. C-milk and Winston have shopped their TV shows to several channels and production companies, so obviously they think it's worth their time, regardless of youtube success.
Michael J Echon As far as food TH-cam creators going over to TV, the best option is Randy Santel to replicate Man vs. Food. Personality wise, I can't see Winston and Matthew doing a series successfully. But above all, there is no show centred around their interests that people at home will want to watch.
Love this perspective on cultures migrating around the world. This is a totally unrelated question. When you're doing audio on bikes, what kind of headsets do you use? I'd love to pick up a pair also.
That custard bun probably has white sugar bean paste in it. There's black, red, and white sugar beans, and they're all used in various buns and manju etc. That would account for the slight hint of coconut in the taste, because the white sugar beans have that flavor.
I really hope this isn't the only video you did in the SF bay area. There are so many great Chinese restaurants here (not just in SF) and you happened to pick a place that isn't top tier.
You were in North Beach when you ate the food...the Italian area of San Fransico... Beach Blanket Babylon a famous theater production was 2 blocks up on your right and Tony’s the best pizza in the west coast is is kitty corner to your left.
If you ever get the chance, hit up Vancouver for Chinese or Japanese food. I’ve heard from those countries’ natives that it’s the best in the world. I’m loving this series btw!
Vancouer has some very good Japanese restaurants. Canada has great quality seafood. BUT for Chinese food in Canada I much prefer Toronto. Generally better quality of chefs.
I'm very interested in the price comparison! I remember you guys used to always do them, any chance we can get one for this one? :D (even if it's just in the description)
We Cantonese are the Og Chinese Disporia. Southern Chinese always distrusted northern government through the centuries. Har gao is my favourite. Should have gotten the baked "pineapple" buns. C-Milk should be able to speak Cantonese by now, probably better than me too.
When the "pineapple" crust is baked just right with the sugar being perfectly caramelized, it's some good shit . I also like the ones with condensed milk inside.
People who founded and settled in San Francisco Chinatown are not standard Cantonese speakers. Vast majority come from a formerly tiny village of Toisan, Canton (Taisan, Guandong). Toisanese dialect is very different from standard Cantonese spoken in Hong Kong. I found the Toisanese tends to be untrusting of outsiders (even to other Chinese people) and tends to stick to themselves. That is still evident San Francisco Chinatown today. The old men and ladies running the shops in Chinatown actually know Mandarin; they just don't like speak it, especially to strangers.
I'll never for a second understand the rational that led the city leadership to allow homeless people to inject heroine in public. It's a mortifying sight.
Shimilk deleted my comments, is that double standard? Only China's problem can be discussed? -- "San Francisco is a freaking awesome city!!" Confirmed! Following is NBC's news, I didn't say that. SHITHOLE ALERT: Liberal San Francisco Full of Poop and Needles th-cam.com/video/B5n-6mSe9os/w-d-xo.html
Did you guys know that the name for Good Mongkok actually sounds the same as the Chinese name for Cape of Good Hope? They tried to play on words. By the way, Winston and C-milk, you both have lived in Cantonese speaking area for 10 years more or less and have both married a Cantonese woman, why can't you guys speak Cantonese.
Clement Av is SF's 2nd Chinatown. There is parking...occasionally. Grant? Stockton? very crowded. Wing Lee Bakery/Wing Lee cantonese Resto (5th and Clement). THE BEST Dim Sum take-away in SF (and a que), plus a good resto with tables. the SFMC is the reason the 'Quit thru Tunnel' sign is there. Our annual unannounced Mods vs Rockers rides...well, we stop a truck before it enters one end of the tunnel by sort of parking in front of it long enough to suck up a gasper (!) Same thing at the other end. It's only 3 blocks. Then a thousand bikes & scooters rode in, made 4 ovals, including U turns, roaring back and forth within the tunnel. Then we scattered. Noise...some. No problems were had or caused. We have become a tourist attraction. Cameras all around & above the tunnel Stay Awesome ;-)
QQ wutttt totally missed out on this! haha wish I could've run into you guys. Next time you're out in SF, hope I might be able to meet up with you two!
Hey, may I ask where in NY was that other restaurant? Love your new series, very professionally made. I did notice that you are increasingly going towards the American model of the 2-3 second cutaway, which probably suits this nation of ADD complainers, most of who live on making snarky comments online. My personal suggestion would to be move away from quick cuts to slightly longer ones, it has a better story flow that way (i.e. British television). Also, the texture of the skin on any kind of dumplings, even shao mai, is a big selling point to connoisseurs. The skin on that shrimp dumpling did not look to be of high quality: which requires them to be thin, translucent, and strong enough not to break easily. Just my humble 2 cents! Keep up the good work and continue to ignore the noisy and grumpy trolls.
I hope you did not miss City Lights in an alley 1 1/2 blocks off Grant Ave. They are only open from 11AM to 3PM. 3 stories tall. The customers are overwhelmingly Chinese. I don't know if it is original style, but it is really good. The street may be named Stockton, but it is an alley. I hope you learned to get a City Pass at a Metro Kiosk. $17/pass gets you unlimited public transportation for 3 days. That takes care of the problem of where will you park the car when you reach your destination.
Support the show with the Quest For The Best T-Shirt!
advchina.saltycustoms.com/
Good Mong Kok Bakery
1039 Stockton St
San Francisco, CA 94108
b/t Jackson St & Washington St
Chinatown
YELP sux
When you move to America, please continue ADVstateside! There is a lot of stuff to explore and compare to China! Even if you guys live in different areas, you can do the phone call exploring, where you guys ride in your own area but chat over the phone. Like when Winston was in America but C milk was in China. You could do A Conquering Inner America, and find hidden awesomeness in out-of-the-way places.
他会操任何东西
陳獨秀 If this channel dies but is replaced by ADVstateside or similar, I'll be happy with that. There is plenty of interesting stuff to cover in America. Then instead of helping westerners come to China, they could help Eastern people who come to America.
Does ADVChina have a patreon page? I searched and only your individual Patreon's come up.
As an SF native, who spent A LOT of time in Hong Kong, and with all 100% of my family from Hong Kong, I think you shouldn't go to SF Chinatown for dim sum. All the best places dim sum are on the peninsula in Daly City, San Mateo, or Millbrae. If you choose to stay in SF for dim sum, I can really only recommend Hong Kong Lounge, Hong Kong Lounge II. For street dim sum in SF, go to the places on Clement Street or Irving Street. Those districts are where the majority of Chinese live now.
Hong Kong Lounge 1 have health safety issues for the past two years or longer. I wouldn’t go there.
I agree 100%. I used to live in Potrero Hill and San Bruno prior to that. The peninsula has WAY better dimsum! I was a regular at the place by the bowling alley in Daly City.
This is so crazy. We just flew in from San Fran 3 hours ago. We got Dim Sum from that exact same restaurant and sat in the exact same park to eat it!
And I don't understand the comment about them not understanding Mandarin. I spoke Mandarin to everyone no problem...
I love how for the most part, the authenticity ratings on these episodes tend to be: "Well, it's not very authentic because the ingredients are too high quality, and the thing itself is too big/good/carefully prepared."
As to Cantonese in SF vs Mandarin in LA, the Chinese in San Francisco have been here for a long time, and mostly came from the South. In LA, the community is much more recent, so there are proportionally more folk from everywhere in China, particularly from the Northern cities.
Agree, the first wave of Chinese immigrants to America were mostly Cantonese. Mandarin speaking Chinese are recent migrants to the U.S., i.e. mostlyin the last 30 years or less.
Everybody Wang Chung tonight!
When you guys said you are Dim Sum'd out I felt like you understood me. Chinese food is great, but my gosh I'd had enough Dim Sum for a lifetime. It is like eating Chang Fen, it is so common here and I've had it so much I can't even eat it anymore.
Personally, this is better than TV!
Respect.
thank you!
What does it take for the food to be awarded a 10 for authenticity, food poisoning?
yes
I see we share the same sense of humor. I have been following and replying to comments about your responses to Gweilo60 on his channel. I surmise that the Chinese do not understand sarcastic humor, double entendre, and ethnic joking that has no malice. I have found Indian co-workers in the stats to be generally devoid of humor. Is it a Chinese trait also?
May be a subject for another "wideo". So cute.
Joe Canis someday they will understand. its about the culture different actually. for example, the chinese mainland will take it serious when western criticized their leader, its hard for them to understand that the western even insult their own president. thats the bggest difference between chnese and western. at the same time some westerners don't have enough sensitivity of that kind of things. if i must pick one biggest difference between chinese and american, i will pick the freedom of speech is the biggest different. but things will change, only need sometime
My first Dim Sum experience in SF -- No English, no prices; just pick stuff. I'm worrying my bill might be $1000. My friends had a good time laughing at me. I think it was $5.
San Fran has the best Chinatown in the US, hands down. It’s huge and you’re right, it’s literally a teleportation to China.
I love those pockets in the US that just totally pull you out of modern day America. (Savannah, Harlem, Salem, Virginia, etc.)
I recently went to SF and I noticed that the predominantly people were Chinese, everywhere I turned I saw Chinese people some Japanese but mostly Chinese
When I walked in the Chinatown I had the chance of practice my mandarin i really felt like i was in Hong Kong or any city in Guandong province.
I met a Taiwanese born now American blogger that made my vacations in SF so great
Amazing video. My then girlfriend and I were in Oakland around then and wanted to see your screening but we missed you by a few months
Hope u watched where u stepped in San Francisco, it can mess up ur shoes.
well also the aids needels. not just human shit
I was surprised to see escalators in the underground stations on Market street like at the UN New World Disorder plaza regularly breaking down from literally filling up with shit so they bought nice automatic toilets from Paris, France that were also out of order most of the time. San Fran is the most crazy world city that makes no sense, but apparently it does make perfect sense to the likes of Bohemia Grove and the highest level Freemasons.
Watching with my t-shirt :) and i didnt get nailed with import tax :)
might be my favorite channel on youtube ! keep it up
I think SF is the opposite... if there's a queue, it's probably a tourist trap for people from out of state trying to "experience chinatown"...
No wonder there's always a line outside golden gate bakery. 😂
So surprising to be hassled by a homeless person in SF, like that never happens. Lol.
It was nice that you gave him your food instead of cash since many of them will go buy drugs or alcohol with the money. SF has a major issue with panhandling, and the city does little about it, the police seem to ignore the people in the tourist areas, so they can be become aggressive. I have been accosted a few times while there by overzealous drugged out people. Still it is a beautiful city.
David Brown You can't complain about a welfare state and then want to put regulations in place to make them work, also, you have no idea why these people have ended up where they are.
In the UK most homeless are on heroin or alcoholics they get free house's/ council tax and get given more money if they can prove there an alcoholic.
I grew up in such a terrible place in the UK I know of a guy who defecated into his bedding and went to a claim office to use as prove he's an alcoholic.
You have free health care and I mean pretty much everything ( including breast implants if you can prove it effects your mental health), if you work you have to pay for dental/prescriptions etc.
A lot of people claim to have mental illness as they can claim more money as well.
Welcome to the UK the land of plenty if you have no self respect.
David Brown Privacy is one of my rights and I choose to uphold it. Go ahead and call me a pussy leftist or any other buzzword but fact is there are veterans on the street who put their most valuable possesion, their lives, on the line for our safety yet they are left for dead on the streets. I don't deny that not all homeless are poor helpless people but to make a sweeping generalisation about all homeless people is disgusting. Sorry for having a different opinion, snowflake.
damn tweakers man
David Brown Accuse me if what you will but at least stop deluding yourself into believing that you or your TH-cam channel have changed anything. I’ve already said that some homeless people are scum, but in what world do you think it’s as simple as just getting a job when in fact most homeless people have just lost one. I don’t think homeless people are the recipient of most welfare, that would belong to people living in public houses.
I'm glad you rate both authenticity and taste, getting Thai food with my dad is a nightmare since all he can rave about is how different it is in Thailand because they aren't skimping on all the best bits. A business won't survive on authenticity but on quality and that should also be the most important bit.
Love your photography, commentary and philosophy in general. You popped up in my TH-cam selections only yesterday and now I am hooked. Muy may exellente, mucho gracias
Thank you and welcome to the channel
I love Winston's love of America and how he talks about all people working together, all the choice, and all the opportunity. We aren't perfect, but these spoiled as fuck millennials don't realize how well they have it or how special this place really is.
Authenticity counts for very little. Something can be authenticly crap. Restaurants (good ones) are frequently inventing new takes on dishes - that's what often makes them good. If we stayed purely with "authentic" we'd still be eating cave man food.
Maybe add some cigarette ashes to the food to make it a little bit more "Authentic". LOL
Will there be a meet and greet in SF? I live around the area, and would love to meet you guys!
You mentioned queuing as a measure of quality.. which I usually subscribe to, especially at a Singaporean hawker center. But I've also heard that queuing is kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy, in that If the line is there, most Chinese believe it's a sign of quality and make it longer, even if there's not underlying quality to support that. Or maybe that there's some quality, but it gets enhanced by the length of the queue. Any thoughts?
it's usually not an indicator of quality, but that is what most people believe. I lived in Taiwan for a year, and there was a cake shop that paid people to stand in line, until it became a 2 hour wait for cake. It was actually worse than the place next door which got no business.
“you see people from all different walks of life working together living together” he says as he walks around a homogeneous ethnic enclave
@derek johnson:
Here's a nice song for you: th-cam.com/video/sFacWGBJ_cs/w-d-xo.html
walk of life =/= ethnicity
Chinatown in SF isn't as homogeneous as you think it is. Tons of Filipinos, Thai, Koreans, Middle-Easterners (from many countries) and even Japanese there. You'll find kebab places right next to Chinese restaurants. The rest of the city is much more diverse (obviously).
I was in San Fransisco for 3 weeks in in summer 2000. As a European who arrived late after a long flight I made a little mistake when arriving and asked the taxi driver to take me to "a nice hotel downtown". So ... I ended up staying in the Tenderloin district for 3 weeks. It was nice.
For the first week or so I was eating at these American restaurants that we didn´t have in Iceland, Taco Bell, Wendy´s ... but then one day after leaving my hotel I turned left instead of right and ended up in Chinatown where I had Dim Sum for the first time in my life. I never ate anywhere else for the rest of my stay in san Fransisco. Just love the Chinatown there and hope to go back some day.
Thanks for an amazing channel and both Laowhy86 and SerpentZA channels are fantastic too.
It's a great video. Glad you guys made this video, because we can see different situations when you travel and explore. Congrats.
Loving this Quest for the best series guys, makes me hungry every time!
Vivien would’ve been a great help since she knows Cantonese.
Too bad she wasn’t with you guys.
I love you, Winston and Matt.
You have some of the best content I’ve ever seen.
Hey guys, don’t listen to all those comments that aren’t constructive criticism. There’s too many people that bag on you guys, but just keep doing what you’re doing. Your videos are very high quality, informative, and entertaining, which has been making me impatient for each next video to be uploaded. Keep up the great work!
I hope you guys got a chance to drink water straight from the tap.
Loved the bonus jerky taste review!
While Chinatown is mostly Cantonese, if you had come out to the Sunset District you would have found many Mandarin speakers AND better food :)
Hey guys, I'm so glad I came across the both of your channels. I had never really thought about going to China until I came across your videos. Now I am fascinated with the place, I really look forward to travelling over there. Thank you guys for opening my eyes to an amazing part of the world. 😁👍
Michael Fletcher china? Not a fan.
I would assume most Americans would get confused hearing Winston refer to a Line(waiting in order) as a Que. You did great by showing it as you spoke it, made easy to infer. *Hat tip to director/editor*
sum din wong in San Francisco?
John Galt there’s something wrong with you
Who is John Galt? What is the motor of the world?
OK so when are you getting to Atlanta? We have a huge Chinese population here and some very authentic places to eat.
Love these food episodes! Nice job!
Maybe change the name of the series to "The Best Chinese Food in California"
there will be different seasons, west coast is just season 1
You guys are such a great duo. loved meeting when you came to AZ! Keep up the great work!
Love the dog in the park behind you taking a dump! lol
This brings back great memories. When I was going through a painful divorce, my buddy from Hong Kong told me that the ship will straighten itself out when it gets into the harbor. It means that things will always end up working out in the end. So far, this has been the case! If I eventually die when I am 80 -85 years old, I will be able to say that, I have left the world in a better state than what it was when I entered. At age 42, I believe that I am precisely halfway done with my life.
4:03
No! NO! Stop it, C-Milk! That’s Winston’s cheese. Cheese was never meant to be shared in such a way. Now it’s cringe.
Did you condone this, Winston? Don’t you know that sharing cheese can cause it to mold? I’ll have you know this caused me to tear a muscle in my neck! I have to see a doctor and therapist because it may have given me PTSD. Please, no more! If you must including C-Milk in your cheese, please provide a trigger warning.
lmao, sorry
ADVChina Hmph... apology accepted. Just be careful next time, the doctor said I’m in a fragile state.
Jokes aside, great videos guys :)
As a San Francisco native who travels to Guangdong pretty often, the best place for dim sum dumplings was a street away from where you went! Wing Sing makes fresh and hot dim sum daily. The place you went to is known for their pastries and porridge. Nice video though!
I've not seen the whole series yet but man I hope you made it to Clement Street. Good Luck Dim Sum is my favorite there.
It’s STI here now as well 6:50
Great series guys, thank you!!
I'm so glad you mentioned that you're allergic to shrimp! Iam also, and afraid to travel the south. PS in Taiwan have you guys been to Din Tai Fung? I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.
8:58 going through the ritual of cleaning your chopsticks, bowls, spoons with hot tea when you go out to eat in Guangdong.
Lovely glamour shot of the articulated long trolleybus!!!
I'm going to give this video a 8.5 on authenticity & 10/10 for flavor.
Have lived in the SF bay for the majority of my life this Dim sum style/experience is about typical for the bay. The bones of authentic food, but it has diverged over time due to its separation and local palette influence. Sometimes that's good, other times not. One think to keep in mind is that the SF chinatown has existed for 150 years or so and while always connected back to and cross pollinating with HK and mainland china its become its own distinct entity and sub-culture. Keep up the great work! really enjoying the series.
Yes. I am a great believer that cuisine needs to evolve to suit different tastes and local ingredients. I don't think "authentic" is a measure worth worrying about.
Great video guys! From the editing to the graphics, insert shots, rack focus, etc. etc. Curious on how you were able to sync shots from the two camera set up in Portsmouth Square? Seamless!! To be honest I've never tried anything from Good Mong Kok Bakery but now that I know more will probably go and stand in line someday 🥡
In Alberta, Canada , dead Coyotes are on occasion found hanging by health authorities in the kitchens of Chinese Restaurants..
Lovin this series!
I'm Chinese American born in SF, with my family being in local the Chinese food biz. Food in Chinatown and Downtown is absolute shit. Chinatown food is filthy, greasy, and just plain bad. Chinese food in the Downtown is overpriced and extremely westernized to appeal to office workers and tourists.
The best Chinese food you can get in the Bay Area is in the residential areas and in Daily City.
btw I grew up in the Tenderloin, so good for you for not giving that bum any cash. He would've just went down to the TL to get high
Dali City has great Philipino food also! I still love the Vietnamese food in the Tenderloine, but the best is in the avenues for sure.
Please clean up your stuff inside your tiny car. By that I mean don't have anything visible from outside, car thieves are everywhere in SF 24/7!
Don't over rely on Yelp in SF Chinese establishment. For my preference, "Kam Po kitchen" for fried geese, "Yin Du Wonton noodle" and "Sam Wo" for BBQ pork rice noodle roll with must have mustard dipping sause! Hope you 老外 enjoy your stay in this 3rd world first class city~ ^^
On a school trip to SF from Belgium... What do I spend my time on? Standing in line for some DimSum.
The younger people do understand Mandarin. Their parents send them to Mandarin classes because they know that is the business language in China. Old Chinatown is very Cantonese.
good to see SF still have mostly Cantonese speakers
It is good to see. I will go and visit there someday to practice speaking. I'm learning Cantonese rather than Mandarin because I enjoy the language more. I'm in Vancouver Canada right now, which still seems to be more Cantonese, though Mandarin will soon over take it in total number of speakers but at least Cantonese is still strong here, concentrated in a few urban areas of the city & it still grows by 10,000 speakers a year. Mandarin grows by 20,000 a year but is more spread out in the suburbs it seems like so you tend to hear it a lot less.
Probably one of the last bastions across the US. Manhattan is still holding out and to some extent Boston.
I realize you guys spent a lot of time in the San Gabriel Valley, but I have to say, the dim sum in Monterey Park, Alhambra, and Rosemead is probably the best you'll find outside of HK. I find it amusing that you guys were somewhat surprised to find excellent authentic Chinese food in the SGV. Having grown up here, it's just normal to me. Love the videos. Keep up the good work.
Food Network should make an offer to you guys. I love the show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. This would make a worthy contender to the popularity of that show. Keep them coming!
The Travel Channel would also make a great home for this show.
Alton Brown already did the.. ride on a motorcycle and search out food thing. Even he couldn't make it work. Travel Channel would make more sense than Food Network, and focus less on food and more on travel/bikes and less about clickbait content.
Why? Here they have 100% control of their content. Getting a TV show is no longer is the goal anymore when you have TH-cam.
@Cliff - I don't think they should be on TV for many reasons. I was, however, saying that, *if* they were to be on tv, then the Travel Channel would be a better fit than the Food Network.
TH-cam doesn't pay like television, that's why. C-milk and Winston have shopped their TV shows to several channels and production companies, so obviously they think it's worth their time, regardless of youtube success.
Michael J Echon As far as food TH-cam creators going over to TV, the best option is Randy Santel to replicate Man vs. Food.
Personality wise, I can't see Winston and Matthew doing a series successfully. But above all, there is no show centred around their interests that people at home will want to watch.
I love the coat C-Milk, any chance you could tell me where you got it?
If I had a Chinese restaurant, I'd call it 'Sum Ting Wong'.
Xerdoz sum ting wong wit mang kok
Xerdoz you would be out of business in less than a minute
I'd visit that.
Love this perspective on cultures migrating around the world. This is a totally unrelated question. When you're doing audio on bikes, what kind of headsets do you use? I'd love to pick up a pair also.
Gopro hero 5 with mic adapter, but we talk to each other with Sena intercoms. These don't record audio though.
Great video! Your video skills have gotten great!
Hi Winston CMilk do you ever visit midtown NYC hugs
That custard bun probably has white sugar bean paste in it. There's black, red, and white sugar beans, and they're all used in various buns and manju etc. That would account for the slight hint of coconut in the taste, because the white sugar beans have that flavor.
I really hope this isn't the only video you did in the SF bay area. There are so many great Chinese restaurants here (not just in SF) and you happened to pick a place that isn't top tier.
hahahaha. you guys are hilarious. great video!
You were in North Beach when you ate the food...the Italian area of San Fransico... Beach Blanket Babylon a famous theater production was 2 blocks up on your right and Tony’s the best pizza in the west coast is is kitty corner to your left.
If you ever get the chance, hit up Vancouver for Chinese or Japanese food. I’ve heard from those countries’ natives that it’s the best in the world. I’m loving this series btw!
Vancouer has some very good Japanese restaurants. Canada has great quality seafood. BUT for Chinese food in Canada I much prefer Toronto. Generally better quality of chefs.
I've always wondered why the Chinese in San Francisco were so short.
What's the scallion? Never heard of that before
I want to thank you guys! you have inspired me to get a bike and drink more beer!
I'm very interested in the price comparison! I remember you guys used to always do them, any chance we can get one for this one? :D (even if it's just in the description)
"Uncle... it's uncle right?"
LOLOLOL
We Cantonese are the Og Chinese Disporia. Southern Chinese always distrusted northern government through the centuries. Har gao is my favourite. Should have gotten the baked "pineapple" buns. C-Milk should be able to speak Cantonese by now, probably better than me too.
Cscratchy. What good are "pineapple" buns? There's nothing inside.
When the "pineapple" crust is baked just right with the sugar being perfectly caramelized, it's some good shit . I also like the ones with condensed milk inside.
I, too, am waiting to hear C-milk speak Cantonese… 🤪
La Lora Loca
dude, calling a chinese non-chinese is highly offensive and racism to chinese. so, pls stop.
doge doge uhm. Not being racist. Everything is racist to you libs. It is a fact.
Someday maybe come and do some reviews in Colorado.
People who founded and settled in San Francisco Chinatown are not standard Cantonese speakers. Vast majority come from a formerly tiny village of Toisan, Canton (Taisan, Guandong). Toisanese dialect is very different from standard Cantonese spoken in Hong Kong. I found the Toisanese tends to be untrusting of outsiders (even to other Chinese people) and tends to stick to themselves. That is still evident San Francisco Chinatown today.
The old men and ladies running the shops in Chinatown actually know Mandarin; they just don't like speak it, especially to strangers.
San Francisco is a homeless people paradise.
I'll never for a second understand the rational that led the city leadership to allow homeless people to inject heroine in public. It's a mortifying sight.
So is Portland
CAPTAIN SWEATPANTS chillin
Shimilk deleted my comments, is that double standard? Only China's problem can be discussed?
--
"San Francisco is a freaking awesome city!!"
Confirmed!
Following is NBC's news, I didn't say that.
SHITHOLE ALERT: Liberal San Francisco Full of Poop and Needles
th-cam.com/video/B5n-6mSe9os/w-d-xo.html
SF has gone So downhill these last 10 years. Genuinely sad to see TBH.
Next time you guys are here, check out the other Chinese shopping/food areas around town:
- Clement Street/7th Ave
- Irving/20th Ave
ADV China would you ever think about doing ADVNZ -Adventure New Zealand?
Have you made a video on how Winston met C-Milk? I've been looking because i have preconceived notions and my O.C.D. demands closer..
Yeah laowhy86 has one
great video as always!
Did you guys know that the name for Good Mongkok actually sounds the same as the Chinese name for Cape of Good Hope? They tried to play on words.
By the way, Winston and C-milk, you both have lived in Cantonese speaking area for 10 years more or less and have both married a Cantonese woman, why can't you guys speak Cantonese.
I was just there and celebrated the Chinese New year
yous guys are looooking goood! keep them glasses looking cool!
Lol! You guys had to add that swoosh sound effect when you took off your glasses 😂 4:02
How can I know if it's a good week coming? New episode of The Quest For The Best in USA on MONDAY.
Clement Av is SF's 2nd Chinatown. There is parking...occasionally. Grant? Stockton? very crowded. Wing Lee Bakery/Wing Lee cantonese Resto (5th and Clement). THE BEST Dim Sum take-away in SF (and a que), plus a good resto with tables.
the SFMC is the reason the 'Quit thru Tunnel' sign is there. Our annual unannounced Mods vs Rockers rides...well, we stop a truck before it enters one end of the tunnel by sort of parking in front of it long enough to suck up a gasper (!) Same thing at the other end. It's only 3 blocks. Then a thousand bikes & scooters rode in, made 4 ovals, including U turns, roaring back and forth within the tunnel. Then we scattered. Noise...some. No problems were had or caused.
We have become a tourist attraction. Cameras all around & above the tunnel
Stay Awesome ;-)
QQ wutttt totally missed out on this! haha wish I could've run into you guys. Next time you're out in SF, hope I might be able to meet up with you two!
Quick tip: 奶黄包 and 流沙包(watery) is different 13:43
Did you guys try the chicken feet, or beef tendon ? Cow stomach - tripe, yum.
Curried squid.
I thought the 奶黄包 that were very runny like a custard were a different kind entirely, called 流沙包
Hey guys there’s a lot of nice dim sum places in San Jose you guys should check it out
I wish I knew they were in town so I could meet them.
Hey, may I ask where in NY was that other restaurant? Love your new series, very professionally made. I did notice that you are increasingly going towards the American model of the 2-3 second cutaway, which probably suits this nation of ADD complainers, most of who live on making snarky comments online. My personal suggestion would to be move away from quick cuts to slightly longer ones, it has a better story flow that way (i.e. British television). Also, the texture of the skin on any kind of dumplings, even shao mai, is a big selling point to connoisseurs. The skin on that shrimp dumpling did not look to be of high quality: which requires them to be thin, translucent, and strong enough not to break easily. Just my humble 2 cents! Keep up the good work and continue to ignore the noisy and grumpy trolls.
"the best Winter I ever had was a Summer in San Francisco" -mark twain
I hope you did not miss City Lights in an alley 1 1/2 blocks off Grant Ave. They are only open from 11AM to 3PM. 3 stories tall. The customers are overwhelmingly Chinese. I don't know if it is original style, but it is really good. The street may be named Stockton, but it is an alley. I hope you learned to get a City Pass at a Metro Kiosk. $17/pass gets you unlimited public transportation for 3 days. That takes care of the problem of where will you park the car when you reach your destination.