"Patience is not just a virtue, but a requirement at Good Mong Kok. If the line isn’t out the door, you’re likely waiting for a fresh batch of something delicious—the price you need to pay for some of the best dim sum in the city. The siu mai are plump and juicy, the har gow are encased in delicate foggy window wrappers, and their baked char siu bao are our favorite in SF. Once you’ve toughed out the DMV-level line at this takeout-only Chinatown institution, you’ll encounter the organized chaos that is Good Mong Kok. At peak times, your strategy for getting your order in is making confident eye contact with someone behind the display case and quickly reciting what you’d like as if the lead in a one-person show. Almost everything on the menu is under $4—for a handful of bills (or a swipe of your credit card) you can walk away with enough dim sum to stock a vending machine. We suggest getting any and everything since Good Mong Kok has a near 100% success rate. With no seating, take your (hopefully) fully loaded to-go box on the road. Portsmouth Square is less than a five-minute walk and has plenty of benches to unwrap a lotus leaf-wrapped sticky rice while watching the locals make overly critical comments about their opponent’s last move in a game of Big Deuces. photo credit: Melissa Zink photo credit: Melissa Zink Food Rundown photo credit: Melissa Zink Baked BBQ Pork Bun No trip to Good Mong Kok is complete without one of these. The filling is made up of small pieces of crisp yet tender meat, and the bun itself wins a gold medal for Best Squish Factor. photo credit: Melissa Zink Baked Pineapple Bun Just sweet enough, and the signature cookie-like topping is thick and buttery. These come in an order of three, and you’ll probably finish them all off before you get home. photo credit: Melissa Zink Shui Mai We usually go for the classic pork, or whatever’s fresh out of the steamer. These dense meat bombs are textbook perfection. Har Gow The shrimp filling is practically ocean-to-dumpling. It’s fresh and made with the perfect ratio of white pepper and oyster sauce. And while many har gow wrappers fall victim to winter coat-level heaviness, the ones at Good Mon Kok are light and chewy. Egg Yolk Buns Describing this bao is easy, not inhaling it under a minute is what’s hard. Fluffy bread on the outside, creamy sweet egg yolk filling inside—make sure to have napkins at the ready after every bite. These buns are best eaten while they’re still warm, so throw tradition to the wind and do a little dessert before dinner." - Patrick Wong
