Often described as a kind of soulful cousin to Cantonese food, the cuisine of China’s migratory Hakka people abounds with pickled vegetables and slow-cooked meats. This homey Outer Richmond restaurant is a great place to get hooked on these rustic, comforting flavors. Must-order dishes include the salt-baked chicken, clams stir-fried with basil, and braised pork belly with preserved mustard greens.

On cold nights, prior to the pandemic, many of the regulars who’d crowd the small, scruffy dining room at Old Mandarin Islamic would order one of the spicy Beijing-style hot pots. In general, the restaurant, which specializes in Chinese Muslim cuisine, is a great place to feast on lamb — stir-fried with cumin, braised, or boiled in a claypot. Chili-heads will want to test their endurance against the side dish/condiment known as la si ni, or “spice you to death.”

San Francisco is gifted with an abundance of solid Shanghainese restaurants, and Shanghai House is one of the most consistently enjoyable, known for its steamers of thin-skinned, appropriately broth-laden soup dumplings. It also serves a classic Shanghainese breakfast on weekends, including one of the city’s best renditions of salty soy milk, or xian dou jiang — perhaps the only version in the city that incorporates the pungent dried baby shrimp that Chinese and Taiwanese expats crave.

A strong contender for the title of San Francisco’s xiao long bao king, this Outer Richmond newcomer is worth a visit for its wide selection of boiled dumplings (available in both cooked and frozen versions), ranging from standards like pork and cabbage to fish dumplings with squid ink wrappers; its noodle dishes; and its sesame seed-studded pan-fried pork buns.

A relative newcomer to the Richmond, Ken Kee has emerged as one of the city’s most reliable for the mix of Western and Chinese dishes that are characteristic of a traditional cha chaan teng (Hong Kong-style coffee shop) — braised beef tendons in a noodle soup; Hainanese chicken rice; and gigantic baked pork chops served in a oozy pool of tomato sauce and melted cheese, over either spaghetti or white rice.

San Francisco’s reigning queen of fancy, innovative dim sum is a favorite for steamers of Instagram-friendly, five-color xiao long bao, but Dragon Beaux has many strengths to explore — classic and modern takes on Cantonese dim sum, including plenty of dumplings: har gow, sea bass dumplings, and scallop shumai; as well as inventive dishes like sugar-crust-topped baked pork buns, bright-red rice crepe rolls stuffed with fried fish, and a mushroom-and-chicken bao made to look like an actual mushroom.

Run by Paul Yu, the chef who used to operate Dumpling Kitchen a few blocks down on Taraval, this pint-sized restaurant’s most popular dish is actually its juicy, pan-fried sheng jian bao. Otherwise, the real finds here are the northern Chinese breakfast specialties, including the city’s richest, creamiest version of salty soy milk (xian dou jiang).

This no-frills northern Chinese spot in Parkside specializes in flaky scallion- and sesame seed–flecked pancakes, often rolled with up with thinly sliced beef or scrambled eggs. It’s a carb-fest here: The dumplings and hand-pulled noodles are also pretty great.

How lucky San Francisco is to have a Beijing restaurant whose whole reason for being isn’t its Peking duck? Instead, regulars at this Excelsior mainstay mostly come for the kitchen’s northern Chinese dough-based dishes: chewy hand-made noodles; big, Beijing-style crepes and pancakes; and little stir-fried flour balls.

Trendy Hayes Valley has not previously had a reputation for destination-worthy Chinese food, but this relative newcomer is worth a special visit for its freshly handmade, supremely soupy xiao long bao, and crispy-bottomed sheng jian bao. The xiao long bao, in particular, are available in six different versions, including one filled with numbingly spicy broth.

The Mission now has a dedicated dumpling house in Bao, a modern space with a chic interior. The neighborhood newcomer offers a vast menu of Cantonese classics like baked-to-order charsiu bao and dan tat; a stunning array of xiao long bao and non-traditional dumplings; gorgeous swan puffs and sweet bao; and coconut bunnies, mango corn (mango pudding in the shape of a corn cob), and souffle for dessert.

This Cantonese barbecue shop’s crackly-skinned roast pig and succulent, honey-brushed char siu — served either on their own or as part of a rice plate — make for some of most luxurious bites in the city. For most of Hing Lung’s existence, delivery was never an option, but during the pandemic, co-owner Eric Cheung signed onto delivery apps under the moniker Go Duck Yourself, though of course customers can still walk up and order takeout.

The casual first-floor market restaurant in George Chen’s massive, multi-venue complex is known for customer favorites like its crisp-bottomed sheng jian bao and its Peking duck sesame pockets.

The rest of the menu offers everything from fried scallion bread and butter garlic noodles to Dongbei-style long potstickers. While you’re there, might as well stock up on the housemade condiments.  

Everyone orders the xiao long bao, as you do in a Shanghainese restaurant, and few diners will feel sorry about devouring a steamer’s worth of Bund Shanghai’s very respectable version. The tender lion’s head meatball is another favorite here, as is the jiggly red-braised Dongpo pork belly (available in a small, one-person portion).

The iconic, century-old restaurant — the self-proclaimed “oldest restaurant in Chinatown” — is still open and serving bowls of fish jook, tomato beef chow mein, barbecue pork noodle rolls, and raw fish salad with preserved vegetables to its loyal customers.

Perhaps best known for its salt-and-pepper Dungeness crab, an aggressively seasoned, deep-fried version of the local delicacy, this bustling, three-story restaurant serves plenty of other great Cantonese fare.

Run by members of the R&G Lounge crew, Harborview is more than just a swanky banquet space with nice views of the water. It’s also serving some of the tastiest dim sum in the city, turning out consistently solid versions of all the standards, from har gow to siu mai to baked barbecue pork buns. The restaurant has an extensive takeout menu that includes dim sum, family-style entrees and prix-fixe meals, and even a whole or half roasted suckling pig.

Sure, it's expensive for dim sum, but you mostly get what you pay for at Yank Sing, whether you’re talking about the egg tarts, the scallop dumplings, or the notably excellent vegetarian dumpling options.