Foodhoe's Foraging

Corner of Broadway and Columbus | previous posts:  2.05.07 | 03.14.07 |

I’ve enjoyed many lunches at this utilitarian Chinese restaurant straddling North Beach and Chinatown, so it seemed an appropriate spot for a farewell lunch on my last day of work.  After countless years of working in downtown San Francisco, ten of them with my last company, I’ve chosen to take a job in Concord, which is a land of sprawling malls, strip malls and endless fast food opportunities.  I’ll miss all of the amazing restaurants in the City and if anyone has any recommendations for good eats in Concord, I am very interested to know about them!  Anyways, there is a free form artsy thing going on in front of New Sun Hong Kong, with open books suspended in the air that light up at night.  I suppose this has something to do with the affiliation of North Beach and the City Lights Bookstore across the way…

We started with Congee with Pork and Preserved Eggs ($4) which was thick and creamy, brightened with the flavor of ginger and topped with thin slices of the funky preserved eggs and crisp green onion.  This looks thick and heavy, but seems light and fresh tasting.

Of course we had Salt and Pepper Spare Ribs ($6.50), which still gives me goosebumps, it is probably my favorite dish at NSHK.  The thin chops are battered and fried and topped with aromatic fried garlic, jalapeno, green onion and liberally coated with salt and pepper (as well as glistening crystals of msg, which make it extra tasty)…

Beef Chow Fun, had the beautifully smoky flavors of a properly stir-fried dish, the noodles were al dente, the pieces of beef were nicely charred and the dish was pleasantly mixed with crisp bean sprouts and green onion for fresh flavor and texture.

It’s funny because I thought this was Sweet and Sour Pork, but it actually was Orange Peel Beef...  This looked good, but the meat was a little mushy, the batter was too thick and not fried crispy, so the overall texture was a little soft.

The Pea Shoots with Garlic are always delightfully fresh and crunchy tasting.

Prawns and Walnuts in Mayonnaise Sauce ($8.50) is one of those dishes that people always order but my favorite thing about the plate is the candied walnuts that are coated with sesame seeds.  The prawns are always plump and succulent with a delicate crispy crust that becomes velvety with the rich sauce, but are so rich that I usually only have one or two, but will always clean up the candied walnuts…

Chicken Stir Fried with Peppers and a plethora of vegetables.

And since we had one vegetarian at the table, we ordered a Vegetarian Stir Fry that was a tangle of broccoli, carrots, baby bok choy, onions, mushrooms, baby corn, bell pepper and zucchini in a light, savory sauce.  Thank you Daisy for taking the driver’s seat and ordering everything, it was delicious!

I’d like to add a few shots of some other delicious dishes that we’ve enjoyed that I never got around to showing you. Beef Stew and Tendon with Turnips ($7.50) is one of my guilty indulgences.  It is thick and richly aromatic and so good served along with steamed white rice.

JT had a delicious noodle soup dish with the stewed beef that came topped with finely julienned green onions ($4.50).

You can also order noodle soups with wontons and a variety of meats.  This is Beef Stew and Wonton Noodle Soup ($5).  It’s good, though not as good as ABC Cafe…

Alexson found this on the menu, under the confusing name of Fork Kin Style over Fried Rice ($12), which is actually a Fookien style deep fried fish fillets covered with a sweet corn sauce made with velvety chicken broth thickened with egg white blossoms and corn starch.  But, hello?  This is served over fried rice!

New Sun Hong Kong Pan Fried Noodle, H.K. Style with Gravy ($7).  This is a toothsome combination of chicken, calamari, shrimp and char siu in a savory sauce served over a mound of crispy pan fried noodles.  I always let sit for a few minutes to let them absorb the flavors and sauce, I just love the texture of the noodles when they are crispy but softened slightly…

I am also very fond of the Chicken with Salted Fish Fried Rice ($7) that has bits of the deliciously pungent salted fish mixed in with the yang chow style fried rice.  It provides a delightful base for any stir fry with sauce.

I’ll definitely miss these delicious lunches…  I feel like I’m sort of a regular, as the servers and manager seem to recognize me, and they speak English well enough that we always are able to figure out what to order.  As the final image to this post, here is an empty bowl of Tofu Fa that ended our dim sum feast at Gold Mountain the day before.  It was good to the last drop.

I almost forgot, the cake…. Sayjee procured the Chocolate Souffle Cake from Tartine Bakery - it weighed about 10 pounds and was worth its weight in gold (notice the gold leaf on the top).  The top layer was about an inch of rich chocolate ganache covering a dark chocolate souffle…  heavenly and none of us could finish our plate.  Thank you my comrades at Williams-Sonoma, it was fun… I’ll miss you and that discount most of all…