I really don’t care if East Lake is popular or not. Just that they have enough business to stay afloat is good enough for me. My wife recently recommended EL to another parent from my kid’s school. They actually drove down to try it. Verdict: the best yellow feather chicken congee in entire Bay Area.
I am sorry I have not been to Chef Zhao Kitchen in Palo Alto.
China Live is a good place to have fun, entertain, and eat good food. Just don’t expect 東海海鮮酒樓 in Causeway Bay where every November you can easily get 大閘蟹蟹黃小籠包 or anything like that. Also please do not expect 鼎泰豐. China Live is definitely a little westernized ---- but I think its westernized in a good way that will expose people to Chinese cuisine in such a manner that people will gradually start to think of Chinese cuisine as something that you can actually pay more $$$ for than the cheap General Tso’s Chicken joint down the street.
My early boomer folks will not like China Live. However, my ABC Gen-X friends and quite a few CBC and TBC and HKBC Gen-X friends enjoy China Live.
I detest San Tung. Everything has the same sauce, the same “Fried” texture, the same taste — and cloyingly sweet. One dimensional. But it sure is popular with the “kids”.
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Wow, I love Dragon Beaux. Their 兩麵黃 (did I spell that right?) is fantastic. I know it is such a “regular” dish but I think this is so difficult to make. Their version is perfectly crispy on the outside, ALMOST GREASELESS, and plenty of fresh squid and shrimp and fish. This dish is difficult to execute well, and they do a good job. And all their regular dimsum is great.
I use to like to go to D&A for their 田螺 (I think I spelled “snails” right?) but now that I am older, it is too dirty for me.
Here is a review for that Udon place from an Elite poster:
So, I guess she doesn’t know anything about what good udon is…
[REFERS TO ROOSTER AND RICE]
I tried it three times and was very disappointed. The chicken is not “running chicken”. Also, the rice does not have enough “Essence of chicken” in it. I have given up trying to find good hainan chicken rice here in the Bay Area… I have resorted to just making it myself, but it is such a chore to make that I never make it. If I lived in Singapore, I would eat HCR every day and get really fat. 
No, I expect quality similar to 雪園飯店 in North Point, just kidding I spent many family gatherings there as a child, too bad they closed…however I heard they recently revived at another location.
You need to convince @sfdragonboy to go. He likes places with long lines and yet he refuses to eat there.
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Doesn’t tell me much. That’s like you saying you live in fab 7x7 for your entire life and you love San Tung.
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I can’t afford it… especially now that we bought our exchange home. My Big Bro is even impressed I spent that much for a home and he lives in Saratoga…
I been to China Live 2x for lunch. I say it’s pretty good but definitely pricey.
You did? How did I miss that?
Because he didn’t tell us…
I also live south of GG Park like you, and I will willingly cross the park and go into the Richmond — on a weekend(!!!) — to eat at Dragon Beaux. I used to frequent Dim Sum King in Daly City to get my Dim Sum fix for dinner — but man, the quality at DB is just so. much. better.
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I made the mistake of using google to find the newest location of 雪園飯店 (in causeway bay) and of course, there were pictures of all their latest dishes all over the google listing. Now I have a huge problem on my hands because I’ve resolved not to eat after 9pm (and get fat) and I’m starving now. Thanks.
There’s one in Wan Chai too called 老雪園 but I don’t know which one is the authentic one (maybe they both are). I only ate at the one in North Point before. Honestly I am not really a fan of Shanghainese food but my family likes it. I prefer 潮州打冷 
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Two tips I found recently —
#1 - If you love roast pigeon, and you get there early enough (like by early early afternoon), you can get take-out roast pigeon from Ming Kee @ 1548 Ocean Ave. I love running yellow fur chicken and I also love roast duck — but if I can find takeout roast pigeon, then I will almost always get that. Actually, their yellow fur chicken is good too, but their pigeon is great.
I had their pork cheeks too. I was somewhat disappointed — too much fat (not trimmed) — and I am already a “boon fei sau” half-fat half-lean kind of guy when it comes to roast pork.
I wish they had roast goose too. They don’t.
#2 - Its not THE STANDARD of wonton noodles, which would be Mak’s Noodle 麥奀雲吞麵世家 on Wellington St in HK, but I thought the old “King Wonton Noodle” on Irving @ 21st was not a bad substitute stateside. Their noodle texture was really good - a pity that they closed down. I recently discovered that you can buy the noodles that they sourced from “N American Noodle Manufacturing” from Sunset Super Grocery Store — but there is a TRICK! There are two packages of Wonton Noodle from “N American Noodle Manufacturing” on the noodle shelves. One has a white sticker on it ($3.59/package) and one has red text printed on clear cellophane ($2.xx/package) The english writing on both is the same but if you look carefully, the white sticker one has, in Chinese, the words “Bamboo Pole”.
That’s the one you want. If you cook that at home for 15 seconds in boiling water, then shock with cold water and then return it into a piping hot bowl of soup, it will be as good of a bowl of wonton noodles (texture wise) as you can find anywhere in the USA. In Canada you can find Mak’s Noodle, and, of course, that would be superior. But this is pretty darn good for being stateside.
You are legit. I love that shop too. Did not know they have pigeon. Will tell wife.
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Hah, thx for the vote of confidence. The pigeon is tricky — they run out quickly and once they run out, its very sad. And, of course the pigeon is not printed on the regular menu — the pigeon is hand written on one of those scraps of paper that they paste on the back wall. That’s why you have to get there early — they run out of the pigeon frequently. And, when you order the pigeon, they always bring it from the back - it is never hanging in the front.