Guilin Rice Noodle Soup at Chồng Qing Xiao Mian.
The Bay Area Eats (dine-in / take-out) Facebook group came into existence on April 2, 2020, in the very darkest early days of the pandemic. As the world turned upside down it became a culinary lifeline, chronicling what restaurants and food resources had closed and which were still available for takeout and delivery (that’s where we found the remarkable takeout meal we experienced from Benu).
As the local dining scene slowly recovered, the group has evolved into a brighter role in reporting members’ local food recommendations as well as posts from food purveyors with their offerings. It was in this spirit that frequent contributor Albert Cheng recently posted “a partial list of my 12 favorite Asian soup noodle places in San Francisco”. Reading the list made us want to try them all—not just for the noodles, but as a do-it-yourself San Francisco soup noodle tour of ethnic cuisines and neighborhoods. We sampled three spots on a recent trip and will be back for more.
Our first stop was Chồng Qing Xiao Mian on the edge of Chinatown, for their Guilin Rice Noodle Soup. This is a classic hole in the wall with a few tables, no adornment and a single cook at work in a small kitchen, The soup was distinguished by a massive beef rib bone with lots of meat attached. There were two quail eggs, lots of tender bok choi and peanuts. The shelled peanuts seemed an odd addition (the server asked if I wanted my soup with or without) but worked very well. Though unpretentious, this place has become popular due to some recent reviews and there were several non-Asian diners in mid afternoon.
Bahn Can at Tu Kim Coffee Shop
The next day (all visits were for lunch) we went to Tu Kim Coffee Shop for their Ban Cahn. Tu Kim is in the heart of the Tenderloin and some folks may be put off by the street life outside, though I did not feel unsafe. It’s a narrow space with small tables opposite a counter/kitchen, and nearly every seat was occupied by an older Vietnamese man having coffee. We were informed that the soup could only be ordered to go, but by the time it was ready the management had relented and we were allowed to take a seat. Lots of shrimp and cubes of pork blood in a fresh-tasting broth, with noodles that were like udon but fatter.
#13 at Thai Nghiệp Kỹ Mi Giả .
Thai Nghiệp Kỹ Mi Giả was the least satisfying of the three places we tried, yet the one I most want to try again. Cheng’s writeup provided only Chinese characters but the server identified the recommendation as #13, Nghiep Ky Egg Noodle Soup. According to Albert it should contain kidney and tendon in a tomato broth. The server said they were out of kidney (something that happens frequently, according to Yelp reviews) and they would substitute fish balls. Our soup also had lots of shrimp including one that was presented on a crouton-like raft, roast pork bits and vermicelli noodles but no tendon. It was too mild until we dumped in a good amount of the provided jalapeños in vinegar. The place was packed and many of the other tables had an appealing cucumber/carrot side dish which the server said is only offered with brisket dishes, So we’ll return and try that next time.
Here is Albert Cheng’s complete post from Bay Area Eats (dine-in / take-out), shared with permission:
A partial list of my 12 favorite Asian soup noodle spots in San Francisco. Please share yours.
- Happy Family Gourmet (Shandong Deluxe) 泰和山東水餃手拉麵 1042 Taraval Street, San Francisco, CA
Combination Seafood Spicy Soup 炒馬麵 with hand-pulled noodles, shrimp, calamari, fish, pork, chicken, and mixed vegetables
- Thai Nghiệp Kỹ Mi Giả 蔡業記麵家 ＇1427 Noriega Street, San Francisco, CA
Tendon and kidney over flat egg noodles in a rich tomato-based soup.
3.,Beijing Restaurant 北京小館 1801 Alemany Boulevard, San Francisco, CA
Beijing Style Noodles With Brown Sauce. “Dalumian 打鹵面),” hand-pulled noodles in a thick rich brown savory saucy soup with wood-ear fungus 木耳, dried bean curd 腐竹, mushrooms, egg, and pork.
- Bạc Liêu Restaurant 3216 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA
Bun Mam. The signature famous broth of Bac Lieu in the southern tip of Vietnam. Fermented fish and noodle soup with shrimp, fish, calamari, and fresh vegetables.
- Chồng Qing Xiao Mian 重慶小面 915 Kearny Street, San Francisco, CA
Guilin Rice Noodle Soup 桂林米粉 continues to be my favorite. It’s loaded with rib meat, pickled veggies, daikon radish, quail eggs, peanuts, etc. in a thick rich savory broth.
- Zazang Korean Noodle 2340 Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, CA
Zazang Korean Noodles for “jjamppong 짬뽕,” a Korean Chinese noodle soup with red, spicy broth with a variety of seafood and vegetables over house made fresh noodles.
- Ming Tai Wun-Tun Noodle 海皇粥麵 2455 Noriega Street, San Francisco CA
Hong Kong style wontun 雲吞 and suigow 水餃 dumpling noodles soup
- Yuanbao Jiaozi 元寶餃子 2110 Irving Street, San Francisco, CA
House Special Spicy Beef Noodles 秘制牛肉辣麵
- Pho Recipe (formerly Quận Ngon) 2511 Noriega Street, San Francisco, CA
Chicken Noodle Soup “Pho Ga.” Rich tasty broth. Perfectly cooked moist tender smooth chicken and innards over rice noodles.
- Tu Kim Coffee Shop 609 Ellis Street,San Francisco CA
“Banh Cảnh.” Vietnamese thick round udon-like rice noodles in a savory clear broth with pork trotters, lean pork, shrimps, congealed pork blood, and condiments. CAVEAT: This spot has NO menu. You have to ask for it.
- My Cảnh 626 Broadway, San Francisco, CA
“Bánh Canh Cua.” Rich thick crab noodle soup
- Chili House 川流不息 726 Clement Street, San Francisco, CA
“Fish Fillet Pickled Vegetables Pig Intestine Noodle Soup 魚片酸菜肥腸.” A popular fish of Chengdu 成都 in Sichuan Province 四川省, China.
King Thai #3 beef stew with flat noodles and special chili sauce.
P.S. You are perhaps wondering how these places stacked up against the #3 Beef Stew Noodles at King’s Thai #1, which we’ve previously reported as the best food we’ve ever eaten. We made a return visit for comparison purposes and it still reigns supreme. But you can’t eat the same thing every day. Variety is the spice of life!
