Dol Ho Restaurant — Restaurant in San Francisco

My friends and I always eat here before our 8 mile, urban hikes. We over-order and leave the joint with a baggy full of leftovers that we munch on as we walk. You have to try their fried shrimp balls and lo mai gai (steamed chicken in lotus leaves). They also have very strong shumai and chicken feet.

My primary piece of constructive criticism is that Dol Ho struggles with consistency. One time, the char siu so (BBQ pork pastry) was so perfectly flaky that when we ate them at a park later that afternoon, the wind picked off layers of the golden brown skin and flung them through the air like flower petals. Another time, the dough was crumbly and had the same texture as an American, country biscuit.

I am also slightly disappointed in their cheung fun because they use regular soy sauce instead of sweet soy sauce, and they skip the ritual of pouring the sauce in front of you when served (the dish is pre-sauced).

Don't get it twisted though; Dol Ho is still one of my favorite spots in China Town. Some of my happiest days start at Dol Ho, and end with Dol Ho leftovers.

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While my friend and I were visiting SF, she wanted to try out the dim sum there to see if it's any better than NYC. Short answer: DEFINITELY not.

Long answer: We were looking for a sit down place and Dol Ho had some really great reviews. So we went in on a Monday at around 10 in the morning and we to one of the last tables. Looking around, there were quite a few older Chinese people, so we assumed the food would be good and not a tourist trap. Sadly, we were mistaken. Everything we tried (shrimp churng fun, shrimp dumplings, chicken feet, shumai) were all just mediocre. The only thing that I actually liked was the meatballs. Their chili oil definitely made everything else better tasting so I ended up smothering everything in that.

Service is pretty much what you would expect at a Chinese restaurant. Only, it does take a while to get your food, unlike the cart-pushing places in NYC. They don't have carts of dim sum here. Somebody will come and take your order of the dim sum you want.

Maybe next time, I'll just try one of those 'to-go'...

One of the best place to have Yam Cha. Food has remained unchanged since they've opened 30 years ago and the quality of the service is outstanding. The simplicity of the way they take care of their business and customers should be a standard for all business.

They don't overcharge you because you are a tourist They're not judgemental or prejudice base on the color of your skin They don't chase you for tips. They thank you for you coming in with sincerity.

My family has been coming here. My parents brought me here, and now I'm bringing my kids here every Sunday as well.

Some of the recommendations are the Beef ball(don't add steak sauce), Ha Gao[shrimp dumpling] and You definitely MUST try their chicken feet. Either the beef or shrimp Cheong Fan is amazing. Just get both, and the best of all the Spareribs over rice. Whether you are a tourist or a local, you must try the spareribs over rice. The chicken over rice is meh. And all these food I've mentioned above is going to run less than $30 - that can already feed more...