A Surprise in Every Bite

For me, getting dim sum has always meant walking down the block to one of the many hole-in-the-wall Chinese bakeries that line my street, ordering a couple of buns or dumplings from a counter and carrying them in a tiny plastic bag to a nice spot to quickly eat and then be on my way. Visiting Hung To Seafood Restaurant was a lesson in how dim sum can be much more than a quick post-breakfast snack, but rather an entire flavor-packed meal.

The spacious Chinese restaurant, which has thrived in South San Francisco since 2001, sits on its own large lot along the busy thoroughfare of South Spruce Avenue, with plenty of spaces in its adjacent parking lot. Like a little palace amidst public storage warehouses and speeding traffic, Hung To welcomes guests with a tranquil fountain by the front door and a bustling but clean dining area. Pristine white tablecloths and high-backed dark wooden chairs help give the eatery the formal feel of a traditional Chinese banquet.

Arriving in the early afternoon on a weekday, my dining partner and I were seated immediately by a friendly hostess. No sooner had we been seated than a server, following closely behind the hostess, arrived with the first of many choices for the meal.

She brought a small plate of spicy noodles in round, tube-like shapes, smothered in a red chili sauce.  Not being one to refuse something that looks delicious and smells delightfully spicy, I accepted and plowed right in. While the noodles themselves were not as spicy as they looked, they came with a side of tart and tangy sauce that resembled barbeque sauce, but added that extra kick I was needing.

I soon found out I was going to have to abandon my "Say yes to everything that looks good" mentality or risk ending up with 20 small plates in front of me in the first five minutes. Though a menu of specials sits at each table, and diners are welcome to grab to-go menus on their way in, printed menus are more of a hindrance at Hung To. A new selection of dim sum arrives on a platter every couple minutes, letting patrons see and smell their options rather than just read names of dishes.

Trying hard to be choosy while still getting a good variety of flavors, I picked fried tofu and fried rice from the next couple rounds. The tofu was nicely breaded on the outside and had a squishy but solid feel when I picked it up. Expecting to bite into a familiar taste, I was surprised to find my teeth sink into a small shrimp sitting inside the tofu cube. Not hearing anything about shrimp from the server, it was definitely a bit of a shock, though, not being a vegetarian, not an unpleasant one.

As it turned out, the consistency of the shrimp was actually much more enjoyable than the inside of the tofu, which was a little runny and overly mushy for my taste. The fried rice, too, felt a bit on the fishy side, though I found no actual pieces of meat in it. I found myself smothering it in chili sauce left over from the noodles to mask the excessively fishy flavor. Despite a possible overuse of fish sauce, the rice was substantial, with plenty of fried egg pieces and mushrooms, and really helped to bring the rest of the meal together.

Plowing on in our tiny plate feast, we picked up plates of pork sui mai (pork dumplings), fried taro turnovers and barbecued pork. The pork sui mai, a longtime favorite of mine, did not disappoint: its subtle spices and firm, not-too-oily texture made for an amazing mouth-feel, and the flavorful pork didn't overwhelm the carrot pieces and mushrooms inside.

Keeping the pork train rolling, I next dove into the barbecued pork, brilliant red in color and cut up into strips to make it easier to eat. The pork was solid, juicy and bursting with standard spices and barbecue flavors. It had that strong, sweet flavor that doesn't seem to differ much from one Chinese restaurant to the next, which is, I believe, part of its charm. While the pork could have arrived a bit warmer, its temperature may have had to do with the restaurant's getting near the end of lunch service.

My favorite discovery for the day turned out to be my lunch partner's recommendation, the fried taro turnovers. They were a bit strange in appearance, purplish-gray dumplings with bits of breading sticking out from them like barbed wire. Biting into one, an initial crunch from the fried batter gave way to a soft taro shell, similar in consistency to mashed potatoes. In the dim sum spirit of unexpected fillings, I was once again surprised to find juicy marinated pork in the center of my turnover. Enveloped in a savory sauce with scallions, the pork provided yet another texture within the taro turnover, taking it from crunchy to soft to chewy all in one bite.

Having expected to need a table full of plates to satisfy our lunchtime appetites, we were surprised at being full after only six small dishes. While the portions for dim sum are small, the dishes are often quite heavy, and I found myself wishing I had picked up that plate of Chinese broccoli when it had been offered to me. I highly recommend ordering greens of some sort and drinking plenty of the hot green tea they provide, as the grease from these dishes tends to slow you down at some point in the meal without something to cut it.

That being said, having tried six completely different items in a clean, welcoming environment and walking out of the restaurant completely stuffed, we left having spent less than $30 between two people.

Although not all dishes were winners in my book, Hung To's massive dim sum menu (with items priced according to whether they are small, medium, large, special or super dim sum) helps ensure that you will find something you like. If you are planning a trip to this formal but approachable dim sum palace, go early. Though we had plenty of options to work with, we would have had our pick of almost the entire menu had we gone before noon.  We also probably would have avoided having some items arrive cold, like the barbecued pork and fried tofu.

I also advise asking your servers as many questions as you need to; vegetarians especially should inquire about what is inside all those dumplings and buns to avoid any unwanted meaty surprises. The many servers I encountered at Hung To were friendly and would surely explain the contents of a dish to inquiring dinersor even check to see if there were more of a desired item being made in the back. And if nothing else, they would arrive minutes later carrying something else you might like.