SINGLE WHITE MALE AND GREAT BUNS IN CHINATOWN

Late in the day the single male desires something to eat. So, of course, does the single female. Except that unlike the single male, the single female probably gravitates toward a place that sells salad with low sodium zero fat sawdust croutons.

Really I cannot praise those low sodium zero fat sawdust croutons enough. They are a profound blessing. Naturally wilted green stuff, low sodium zero fat sawdust croutons, and some tasty toasted tofu.

The single male prefers food that comforts. And is nice to eat.
Over good karma dietary benefits and crap.
Give me something yummy.


I've never seen such enormous buns before. The counterwoman, whom I recognized from somewhere else last year, explained that they had chicken meat, egg, mushroom, and lapcheung inside.
So I bought one. It was very cheap.

Probably the most affordable lunch in Chinatown.


好旺利
732 Jackson Street
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 986-3759


They've not been open very long, possibly about ten or twelve months now. The place that was there before (容記糕粉 'yong kee kou fun') closed down sometime in 2012. It had been around for several decades, but I guess the current generation of the family didn't want to continue. That happens a lot. The first two or three generations work their fingers raw in Chinatown, then the family prospers and goes to college, and it becomes counterproductive to work long hours at miserably low pay when with a medical or engineering degree you can do so very much more with your life.
Things change.
Sad.

Still, someone has to keep feeding the locals.

Especially all the single white males who love big buns.

The buns are steamed and pillowy, the filling consists of chopped spiced chicken meat, with a peeled whole hardboiled egg (煮蛋 'jiu daan'), one or two whole black mushroom (香菇 'heung gu'), and a thick slice of Chinese sausage (臘腸 'laap cheung') to add its fragrance.
I don't know what they call it, but asking for 大蒸飽 ('daai jeng baau': big steamed bun), or alternatively 大雞飽 ('daai gai baau': big chicken bun) should get you what you want. It might also be called a 雞球大包 ('gai kau daai baau': chicken chunks big bun).
It's a known quantity in both C'town and Hongkong.
Hardly a dimsum item, due to size.
More of a meal.


There's no place to sit down, so buy one for take-out, with a cup of Hongkong-style milk-tea (港式奶茶 'gong-sik naai-chaa'), and find somewhere quiet to stuff your face.


They also have lots of other food. No, I haven't tried it, but it all looks clean and fresh and promising. Those big beautiful buns, however, particularly caught my hungry eye.
I am a single white male.
I cannot help it.



Scallion bread, egg tarts, potstickers, chindeui, coconut muffins, ham and corn salad buns, siu mai, har gow, red bean pastries, malai gou, taro dumplings, haahm sui gok, crunchy fried shrimp balls, lowmai bao, charsiu kuen, steamed rice sheet .......




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