CAPITAL RESTAURANT ON CLAY STREET -- ONE WORD SAYS IT ALL

Years ago I would have gone there with my ex, if I had known about the place and if she had ever wished us to have dinner in Chinatown.
But I never went there while we were together, and we never ate in Chinatown because she was paranoid about her parents' kinfolk, neighbors, and nosy fellow villagers, possibly (probably) gossipping.
Yes, it was a somewhat strange relationship.
We have remained friends, though.
That's also strange.

Anyhow, the good thing is that now that I'm no longer with her, eating in Chinatown and discovering wonderful new things for dinner on my own has opened up, and I can have soy sauce chicken (豉油雞 'si yau kai') at the Capital Restaurant.

They only make it every other week.

It's delicious.

The serving of stirfried little bokchoi was also delicious. Absolutely marvelous, full of flavour, and wonderful altogether.


京都餐館
CAPITAL RESTAURANT
839 Clay Street
San Francisco, CA 94108.
Telephone: 415-397-6269

['king to tsan-kwun'. Between Waverly Place and Hang Ah Alley.]

They sell huge amounts of salt and pepper chicken wings, for which they are famous, but they also prepare excellent whole steamed fish, old-fashioned Cantonese home-style dishes, nicely stirfried vegetables, and many of the regular Chinese restaurant staples, as well as rice-plates.

Often when I go there I will sit at the counter and order the fish flavour eggplant (魚香茄子 'yü heung ke ji'), or fish and fresh vegetable (菜遠蘢脷魚 'choi yuen lung lei yü'), or black bean bitter melon and chicken (苦瓜雞球 'fu gwa kai kau'). Whatever, over rice.
The lunch plate special, but around dinner time.
The single man does not require much.

I've gone there for years now.



No, I shall never tell her about the place nor mention the wonderful food. She'd want to take her on-again off-again boyfriend ("Wheelie Boy"), who would probably hate it, and I certainly do not want to encounter either of them there, especially not together.

It would be most uncomfortable.


Instead, I'm thinking it would be great place to take someone myself.


Catfish any style. Sauteed squids. Deepfried flounder.
Salted fish with chicken and tofu in a clay pot.
Sea cucumber with black mushrooms.
Oysters with roast pork.
Seafood combo.



I had dinner there yesterday evening. It was quite delicious. Delicious delicious delicious. Did I mention the little bokchoi? Delicious. The trick to a fine soy sauce chicken is to never boil the bird, as that toughens up the flesh. Instead turn heat very low, then off, so that it poaches in the liquid as the pot cools. That way the flesh is sweet and juicy.
Use very fresh chicken.
Delicious.




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