Big Lantern Dim Sum

Big Lantern doesn't necessarily blow my mind, but when I need a fix of some good, old-school Chinese and dim sum, Big Lantern is a solid stand-by. The food is yummy, consistent, and plentiful, the service friendly, and for those of you vegetarians out there, they serve "mock meat" versions of all your old favorites. Plus the prices are super-soft on your wallet. more

Finding good take out Chinese food in San Francisco has always been a challenge. After cutting my teeth on Boston and New York Chinatown food, something about the local Chinese seemed, well lacking. Maybe it was the fact that every chinese place here seems to sell the same Hunan cuisine that there's not much to distinguish it. Even the venerable Henry's Hunan has lost its luster. So, when friends from Tampa said we should have Chinese tonight, I hit the reviews online and decided on Big Lantern. The restaurant - clean and bright with an open kitchen. We were shown a table by someone that we assume is the owner. The menu was unexpected - focusing on special dishes with only a small selection of the typical Chinese standards. After talking to the owner about their best dishes, we went with a selection of dim sum, meat dishes and a noodle dish. The dim sum ranged from excellent to good. The stuffed crab claws and hargow were excellent. The siu mai, siu long bao and the shrimp toast were very good, and the pan fried pork buns were good. Nothing bad, and the crab claws are the best any of us have had in ages. I asked if they had pork belly for twice-cooked pork, but unfortunately they didn't have any - but he offered a similar dish with roasted char siu, which fit the bill. As of their next printing of the menu, real twice-cooked pork with pork belly will be on the menu. We also had Kung Pao Chicken, very well made, but I am not a fan of zucchini in this dish. The surprising dish was an excellent spicy "numbing" noodles - lo mein covered with a ground pork and shiitake ragout. All of this, Pu Erh tea and two beers ran us $60. Plus, they deliver out to the ballpark, meaning that we have a good delivery option in SOMA/Mission Bay. Highly recommended for dim sum or main courses. more

Even though Jasmine Tea House makes superb Chinese food, the owners of this restaurant decided to make an even BETTER restaurant, so they came up with Big Lantern. They made it better by hiring a well-known dim-sum chef to serve up perfect Sew Mai, Shrimp Dumplings egg custards and all sorts of bite sized treats - for lunch and dinner. Only the most savvy could find better in Chinatown itself. With new dishes like bamboo mushroom and papaya soup, they've also expanded upon the Jasmine menu into some adventurous, and delicious territory. more