Our family’s former favorite Cantonese restaurant, Hong Kong Lounge II, closed down several years ago due to a fire. The owner decided not to reopen and renovate, and instead to open in the South of Market on Folsom in a much smaller space with a more “refined” and upscale menu. So for example, instead of beef chow fun, you can order ribeye chow fun. In place of baked cha siu bao, they have “baked Berkshire BBQ pork buns.” Of course, with fancier names and more premium ingredients, the prices would be much higher, as well. The owner got interviewed, asking if she felt like she would abandon old loyal customers. She simply smiled and responded that those who love them will appreciate the higher quality ingredients and be willing to pay the higher prices. My parents had been wanting to try it, and so we decided to go here for dim sum today at lunch time.

Unfortunately, another downside of the smaller space and the given location in SoMa is that they are not stroller (and by default, child) friendly. They have a sign right on the front door that said, “No strollers inside.” That did not sit well with us, and it was even worse because Kaia fell asleep on our walk from the hotel to the restaurant in her stroller. So we had no choice but to leave the stroller unfolded. I had to beg the manager to let us keep her in the stroller unfolded and give us a table in a corner that would be unobtrusive to other guests. At that point, it was already past peak lunch hour, so he relented, even though he did tell me that he’d get in “big trouble” if the owner randomly decided to show up and check on things. Although the prices were probably 3-5x higher than what we’d normally pay at run-of-the-mill dim sum places, I will admit that the quality was top notch. We rarely have dim sum in New York, and it’s definitely not because we do not like it; it’s more because for dim sum, I prefer larger groups so we can order and eat more things, and it’s never as fun with just the two of us and Kaia’s tiny belly. The highlights at this spot today were the Chinese donuts wrapped in rice noodle roll; the shrimp wrapped in fried tofu skins; the steamed chicken feet in a slightly spicy, black bean sauce, the pan fried shrimp and chive dumplings, and the fried durian puffs. The donuts in rice noodle roll is likely the number 1 dim sum item that almost always is terrible because the donut gets soggy while wrapped in the rice noodle roll for too long. At this place, it was clearly just fried and super crispy, and just wrapped with the rice noodle likely minutes before serving. It was the best rendition I’ve had of this dish by far. The chicken feet were perfectly steamed and had this lightly seasoned, unctuous sauce. And the shrimp and chive dumplings had a nice homemade, almost translucent thick skin with a delicate pan-fried bottom that was delightfully crunchy. For the four of us (since Kaia was passed out the whole time), the bill came to $214 with tip. So it was a pricy dim sum experience by far, but it stands out as one of the very best I’ve ever had.

The funny thing about a work trip sandwiched between two stays at my parents is the immediate juxtaposition of space and luxury vs. cramped spaces and clutter. When we dropped off our bags and unpacked a bit at the hotel before meeting my parents at the restaurant, Chris said he always feels a bit more loose and free once he leaves my parents’ place and goes to the big, open spaces of our Marriott Marquis hotel room, where we inevitably get upgraded into a suite with lots of open space for Pookster to run around. And sadly, I always feel the same. I feel more relaxed, loose, free, and like I can breathe a bit easier once we leave their house.