🥟 Dim sum & Chinatown

Sprawling market-and-restaurant complex showcasing pan-regional Chinese cooking.

Beloved takeout window for generously stuffed char siu bao and pillowy pineapple buns.

Lobster har gow with butter injection and swan-shaped taro puffs.

Deep cut bakery counter for silky shrimp cheung fun.

Individual hot pot plus Korean BBQ with 24-hour-simmered broths like coconut curry and roasted tomato.

Combined AYCE hot pot and Korean BBQ with 15 house-made broths and fresh cuts.

Worth the line for crispy pork potstickers and dry-fried chicken wings

Fried sticky rice and lightly fried sesame balls.

Extra-soupy XLB and wrinkly wontons in spicy chili oil.

Coin-sized pan-fried pork buns with an audible crunch.

Hayes Valley go-to for juicy soup dumplings and handmade Shanghainese noodles.

Braised duck leg with wontons and springy egg noodles

Cheap-and-cheerful takeout institution; oversized baked BBQ pork bun with jammy filling.

Cantonese-style roast meats — a smoke-and-roast standout the Infatuation calls out

Hong Kong-style dim sum house that also serves creative hot pot

Authentic mala dishes from spicy hot pot to savory Sichuan noodles.

The upscale dim sum cart parade. Soup dumplings and Peking duck wheeled around a sunlit atrium. Pricey, polished, worth it for a celebration.

Nineteen varieties; bigger, juicy xiao long bao.

Two-dozen-plus varieties of steamed and boiled dumplings with thin tender skins.

Broth-loaded shengjianbao with crunchy thicker bottoms.

BBQ pork wonton noodle soup with shrimp-and-pork wontons

Boiled dumplings by the fourteen-piece set; pork/napa and mushroom/fish.

Family-run Chinese spot with a nearly all-vegan menu

Meaty XLB and 'simple perfection' sesame-topped pan-fried pork buns.

Pink-walled and always packed; lazy-susans of xiao long bao and glistening char siu arrive fast.

All-you-can-eat with customizable broths and self-serve sauce and veggie bars

Newer neighborhood spot with silky, easy-to-grab rice noodle rolls.

Cavernous Chinatown dive with a giant gold shrine and the famous Chinese Mai Tai that will end your night. Dark, weird, perfect.

Numbing, fiery Sichuan that Bourdain made a pilgrimage for. Order the chicken with explosive chili pepper and brace yourself.