Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
120
Fun Facts
How to Tell Your Hakka from Your Hunan
Chinese cuisine c omes in man y guises. If the menu doesn 't state what pr ov-
ince the r ecipes hail fr om, can y ou t ell your Shanghai fr om your Sz echuan?
Here's a little cheat sheet y ou can use t o impress your kids.
•
Cantonese:
M ost of the Chinese r estaurants in this chapt er fall int o this
category. I n the w et, coastal province of C anton, seafood and v egetables
grew in abundance. Cantonese food thus relies on fresh ingredients, which
are mildly seasoned with fla vors like g inger, soy sauce, and spring onions .
Specialties include dim sum, noodles , seafood, and v egetable dishes.
•
Hakka:
Hakka peoples' ancestors settled in the less f ertile, hilly r egions of
southern China. Their cuisine uses dried and pr eserved ing redients and
little seafood. Specialties include salt-baked chicken, stuffed bean curd, and
crispy meatballs.
•
Hunan:
Hot w eather in the mountainous Hunan r egion called f or str ong
spices to help pr eserve food and mask spoilage . Today refrigeration keeps
food fresh, but Hunan's fondness for chili peppers, shallots, garlic, and other
piquant fla vors r emains. Familiar dishes include stir-fries , sw eet and sour
chicken, and Hunan beef .
•
Mandarin:
Mandarin, or Northern Chinese, cuisine stems from the nation's
capital, Beijing, and neighboring provinces. Specialties include Peking duck
and hot and sour soup .
•
Shanghai:
Hailing fr om the east ern c oast of China, Shanghai cuisine is
noted for using a lot of alc ohol and sugar, in addition to soy sauce. Special-
ties include drunken chicken and crisp y shrimp balls .
•
Szechuan:
This western Chinese far e is w ell k nown for its spic y, flavorful
seasonings. Chile pepper past es and oils ar e liberally used as c ooks strive
to combine hot, sour , sweet, and salt y tastes in dishes . Specialties include
twice-cooked pork and t ea leaf duck .
5
R&G Lounge
CHINESE When you walk into this fav ored joint at the edge of
Chinatown, you've got two options: pr oceeding upstairs to the fancier dining r oom, or
descending into the basement. I f you have little ones with y ou, it's likely the host will
send you downstairs. This troubled my husband gr eatly; the linoleum flooring, fluor es-
cent lighting, and omnipresent mirrors of the downstairs dining room offended his aes-
thetic sensibilities. B ut the decor doesn 't seem to bother most diners, who r eturn time
and again to R&G for authentically pr epared Cantonese fare featuring lots of fr esh sea-
food and plenty of meat dishes as w ell. Salt-and-pepper crab is a big hit, as is the smoky
barbecued pork. Something about putting all the dishes on a big lazy S usan seems to
encourage adventuresome dining, at least with my kids, who happily munched on all
kinds of crab, pork, and noodle dishes. For a real conversation-stopper, call 24 hours in
advance and order the sweet-rice-stuffed chicken.
631 Kearny St. (at Commercial St.).
&
415/982-7877.
www.rnglounge.com. Highchairs, boosters. Reser-
vations recommended. Main courses $7-$25 lunch, $10-$50 dinner. AE, DC, DISC, MC, V. Daily 11:30am-
9:30pm. Muni: No. 30-Stockton bus.
