BEST ROAST DUCK IN SAN FRANCISCO

A friend asked me about the roast duck and superior yau choi I had so dreamily mentioned.
Did I cook them myself, or had I gotten them from elsewhere?
Well, I can indeed cook such things, but often it is both more convenient and better to let someone else do so.
And economically there is scant difference.
Especially when you factor in the quality.

There are excellent prepared food places in Chinatown, and fortunately the old neighborhood is only about half a dozen blocks away.


My apartment mate really likes the roasted meats (燒味) at Kam Po on Powell, whereas I personally think the duck at Gourmet Delight on Stockton is absolutely orgasmic. Both places are treasures.
Kam Po is on the southwest corner of Broadway and Powell, Gourmet Delight is between Jackson and Washington Streets.


港新寶燒腊小食
KAM PO (H.K.) K. - KAM PO KITCHEN
801 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94133.
415-982-3516.
[Gong San Po Siu-lahp Sui-sik: "harbour new treasure roast meats eatery".]


新凱豐燒臘店
GOURMET DELIGHT BARBECUE
1045 Stockton Street, San Francisco, CA 94108.
415-392-3288.
[San Hoi Fung Siu-lahp Diem: "new triumphant surfeit roast meats shop".]



Note the apparent difference in the fifth word (lahp) in both names - it is actually the same.
The simplified version of 臘 is rendered as 腊, meaning preserved meat. Which is not, strictly speaking, correct. It merely has a similar flavour and treatment as the traditional cured pork belly (臘肉) and pork sausage (臘腸) with which you are familiar, and the terminology is hallowed by centuries of usage.

[ROASTED MEATS: siu mei (燒味), or in context, siu-lahp (燒臘). Roast duck (siu ngaap 燒鴨), barbecue pork (charsiu 叉燒), roast pork (siu yiuk 燒肉), salt water chicken (lo sui kai 鹵水雞), white boiled chicken (paak jek kai 白切雞), soy-sauce chicken (si-yau kai 豉油雞), crispy chicken (ja-jee kai 炸子雞), poached plumped-up octopus (lo sui mak-yu 鹵水墨魚), etcetera.]


Chinese mustard green (油菜 yau choi) is something that you could easily prepare at home, but if you are picking up the prepared protein component in C'town already - which is probably where you'd have to go to get the vegetable also, seeing as most non-Chinese markets wouldn't know what to do with it - why not simply pick up a pound of it already cooked on Stockton Street? That's what many of the local residents do.
Tasty, very affordable - a huge amount for a few bucks.

Nearly every time I go across the hill to Chinatown, I end up buying more stuff than I really need. Not only the prepared meats, which right around late afternoon beckon temptingly, winking at me with their winsome surface reflection and evident fatty goodness, but also condiments I seldom use, bags of dried oysters or shrimp, tofu skin, yi-mien noodles, tonic herbs......

One time the bitter melon looked particularly nice. I ended up eating it for a week.
Wasn't bored with the taste either when I finely finished the bag.
It was utterly delicious, several ways!


清湯雪菜豬肉圓河粉
[Tseng-tong Suet-choi Chyu-yiuk Wan Ho-fan]

I think I'll have fatty pork meatballs in noodle soup tonight.
With chopped preserved greens and cilantro.
Plus a squeeze of lime juice.
Need to go to Chinatown.
Might pick up a duck.
Nice fatty Donald.
Mmmmmmm.
Chan ho sik!



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