IT USED TO BE A CAJUN RESTAURANT: 浩味茶餐廳

Honestly, who in their right mind opens a Cajun restaurant in the middle of a neighborhood that has evinced no interest in Cajun food? Such optimism! And, in it's own way, inspired.

That was nearly four years ago. By the time I started going there, two years ago, the menu showed a very strong chachanteng influence, and the place had probably changed hands.

At this point the Cajun items have disappeared, and the clientele is mostly Chinese enjoying familiar food with their wives, husbands, lovers, friends, and small children.

Which is an improvement.


Oh, also single diners like myself. I have do not have a wife, husband, lover, or small children, but if I ever do I should like to take them there, assuming that they are comfortable with Hong Kong style milk tea, and bittermelon (涼瓜 'leung gwa').

I should mention that among the condiments offered for modification of your meal on every table are red vinegar (dumplings), soy sauce (tourists), Sriracha hotsauce (anything you choose), and ketchup.
They do not serve hamburgers.
Why ketchup?


浩味茶餐廳
THE BOILING SHRIMP
150 Waverly Place,
San Francisco, CA 94108.
Telephone: (415) 658-7168


Their menu has changed about three times since I started going, but everything I like is still there. The wall-specials are particularly good.

If you are a very typical American you might not like it, and if you are a 'banana' you might not like it. Which is okay too. That's why you slam everything on Yelp, which serves no other purpose than to give pissy people like you an outlet, and more power to you!
You frustrated weenie.

But you see, I like it. The food is good, the ambiance is just right, there are happy people talking Cantonese or German eating there, and did I mention the bottles of Sriracha hotsauce, and the Hong Kong style milk tea?

The Germans (and Italians, French, and Dutch) wander in off the street while visiting the city, the Cantonese speakers are there all the time.

The only time I have been even mildly disappointed was when a waitress who worked there well over a year ago misunderstood my Cantonese, because of a word that also sounded like .....

She was American, and didn't last long.


Still, I tipped well, because it was a natural mistake, and I have eaten there over a score of times since then, and tried several things on the menu or the wall, even the General Tso's Chicken which a banana who couldn't speak Chinese swore was nothing like the authentic General Tso's Chicken.
The version he wanted was invented in New York, and is ... odd.
What I had was quite good, and I've asked for it since then.
If I ever go to New York I shall be disappointed.
Their version is not the same.

As you may have gathered, I like bittermelon, and have it with fish collops over rice (涼瓜斑球飯 'leung gwaa pan kau faan') not infrequently there. One of the other diners often has steamed shellfish and stalky vegetables, and an auntie tends to go for the noodles.


They are closed Wednesday afternoon and evening.


The waitress I like works after five. White people who speak Chinese are usually repulsive freaks, but she treats me like a human, and understands my speech, as well as my burning need for hot Hong Kong style milk tea.
Some friends who may be involved in activities which are technically not strictly legal also like the place. That, too, is a recommendation.




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