Mee Heong Bakery

05/​14/​2015:
The saying that the original is always the best rings loud here. This is the perfect example and case in point. I am sure the new owners are nice people. The renovation of the place looks like nice but it loses the old school, nostalgic feel of the old place.
Lets get to the food, the reason we are here, the Pai Gwut Fawn (Black bean pork ribs over rice). It is not the same anymore. I gave it over 4 tries to be fair and it is just not the same despite the old owner there helping and trying to make it the same as before.
They raised the price of everything also.
The barely give you any pork ribs. It is too much rice and not nearly enough pork ribs. They added vegetable to the dish now which is a plus but it’s just not the same… I hope it can be like the original again some day but I doubt it.
Luckily I experienced the original though. Unfortunate for you that didnt have that chance.
I wish the new owners luck but I wont be back for awhile l
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What can I say?
«Hole in the wall» well-​known from word of mouth Chinatown spot known for their city — best genuine chinese Pai Gwut Fawn (or Spare Rib with black bean sauce over steamed rice).
Truly one of the last genuine authentic style steamed black bean sauce spare rib over rice in San Franciscooo.
If you lived in San Francisco and you’re Chinese, this spot should be a given. Means that this spot shouldn’t be a surprise to you.
Talk about some Classic Chinese comfort food on a cold foggy day in the city.
I use to come here when I went to Galileo high school a few blocks away from this restaurant.
There is no first class service or beautiful lighting, but the contraries that make this place what it is. Own by father and son, whom are nice people. Gotta give it a try. This is the type of spot where you would bring a tourist who wants the inside scoop on the off the path eateries in Chinatown. Bring em on in here. They won’t be dissapointed.

They’ve reopened! New name, same owners, expanded hours. Please search for ‘original bakery’.

The only place I will eat a spareribs or chicken rice plate. Although I usually get BBQ pork bun because its always out before 11am and I will order there rice because it is just to good. Every time I go in there, I don’t know what to choose because everything that they sell are just too good.

Yeah there’s pigeons that stroll in every once in a while – but that’s because they’re following their nose.
The best Chinese food places have you wondering how the hell they passed their health inspection. And by that standard Mee Heong wins top prize, consistently.
Place hasn’t changed since I was in third grade. Haven’t gone a month without a visit since. Makes me wonder how the hell I pass health inspections.

My buddy Brian brought me here to pick up some of the famous spare rib over rice dish. It says bakery but they make some amazing rice. It’s a simple dish that is carefully cooked. The spare rib is carefully steamed. The rice is soft with soy sauce, green onions, and sriracha. The meat was extra tender with rice nice and mushy. This is definitely a hidden gem in the area that’s been around for years.
Recommendation: Spare rib over rice

My favorite Chinese bakery. I used to visit Mee Heong a lot when living in Pacifica. Now I’m in Germany — but still visit each time I’m around. Their cocktail buns are the absolute best; no yucky coconut here!

Honestly, I don’t understand the fuss about this place.
Had pigeons flying in the room, the place is probably the dirtiest one I’ve ever eaten in and the spareribs aren’t as awesome as everyone describes.

They are known for their soft, freshly baked pineapple and BBQ buns which tend to sell out quick (before noon). However, if you’re too late for their buns, you can still try their spareribs plate (Pai Gwat) or their chicken plate, which is available all day and is served in plentiful portions with vegetables over rice for only $ 3.75. Cash only.
(IF FOLLOWING MY «CHINATOWN FOODIE TOUR, get the pineapple bun or bbq bun if available. The spare rib plate is too hard to share for a foodie tour)

Uhh…$ 4.50 for 5 pieces of spareribs & rice
. It’s okay… it’s not stand outside in line good though. My mom makes better spareribs and rice. I don’t really understand the hype. I guess I could say I’ve tried it once.

Can’t give more than 5 stars… Sorry Sai Lo, this is all you get.
You come here for the lack of selection, attitude and not enough cream in my favorite bun. Don’t be cheap and add more cream, that’s all I have to say.
Love my BFF and his dad of course, my own full on great service even though he is busy.
No one makes the rice like they do and to top it off, if you are lucky, uncle will give you a lollipop:)

Mee Heong looks scary (room full of Chinese seniors, boxes on the counter, dirty, cluttered, empty display cases) and it’s confusing (I stood at the counter but no one appeared so I wandered to the entrance to the kitchen) but persist and you’ll find the best Chinese black been spareribs over rice in town.
The menu is short, three framed lists: one for drinks, one for buns (but I only saw one type of bun, a cocktail bun), one for rice plates — chicken with mushroom over rice ($ 4) and black bean spare ribs over steamed white rice ($ 4). It looked like everyone was having the spare ribs over rice.
The owner and his father were in the kitchen assembling spare ribs over rice plates with lightning speed. The dish of spareribs and rice is inverted into the takeout container, so the spareribs are on the bottom.
The steamed spareribs are small, fatty and bony. The steamed white rice is what makes their dish so delectable. The rice is infused with sparerib juice flavor.
Cash only.

WTF, IS HE REALLY SMOKING WHILE CHOPPING RAW MEAT!!!
It pains me to write this one star review because I had such high hopes for Mee Heong and was going to save it for my 600^th review. Despite having 6 pending reviews from over the weekend, what I saw today completely shocked me so I decided to skip my other reviews to write this one first.
After seeing rave reviews for Mee Heong’s Pai Gwat Fan (Steamed Black Bean Spareribs Over Rice) by my Unilocal friends, I decided to stop by after an offsite meeting nearby. Parking in the area was as usual a nightmare and I was able to find metered parking on the block. Though it was a loading zone, I decided to take my chances and run into Mee Heong very quickly.
I came in today at around 11:15 AM and was told it would take 10 minutes for my order. Hell, I was here anyways, so I thought I just wait the 10 minutes (thank gawd, I didn’t get a ticket). There was no door to the kitchen, so you have direct view into it. While I was waiting, I was watching one of the cooks chopping the spareribs with a clever. I saw that he had a white stick in his mouth. I proceeded to stare at him for a minute when I noticed smoke emitting from the white «stick». WTF? Is he really just nonchalantly smoking a cigarette WHILE chopping raw meat??? Needless to say, I was repulsed so I immediately left. I would have taken a picture but the zoom function on my Blackberry camera sucks and there was a crowd of popos’ heads that was in my way.
If the cook smokes in plain sight, can YOU imagine what else goes on back there? DISGUSTING.

One of the best authentic Chinese bakery in SF Bay Area.
Shout out to Mr. Jason Li, 2^nd generation family owner.

Numero Uno Hole-​in-​the-​Wall in Chinatown!
Now Chinatown food is cheap but this place is even cheaper. You may ask yourself, would I be sacrificing quality or quantity? The answer is neither. You can’t have your cake and eat it too? Bullsh! t!
There’s (only) 4 options you can get.
— Pineapple bun (bo lo bow)
— BBQ pork bun (cha siew bow)
— Chicken over rice (gai fan)
— Spareribs over rice (pai guant fan)
The buns are cool but they are usually sold out quickly in the morning so that leaves you asking yourself — chicken or spareribs?
BOTH rice plates are delicious. For only $ 3.75 [keep in mind that a usually meal in Chinatown runs you at least $ 6+], you get a mountain of meat, piled on top of steamed rice, drenched perfectly in soy sauce with green onions for decoration. Also, don’t forget the Sriracha! They also have various box drinks (50 cents each) to wash all that goodness down!

My bf always gets rice boxes from here & i haven’t tried them but I came with him here w/​some friends to try what everyone’s talking about.
There are spareribs rice and chicken rice $ 3.75 each.
I had spareribs and shared chicken w/​my bf. It was really good! I recommend this place to everyone! I can’t believe I haven’t heard about this place earlier. Reasonable for the quality of food, but the place could be cleaner..

It’s a grubby hole-​in-​the-​wall bakery, but there’s always a fat line for the chicken or black bean spare rib rice dishes. For less than $ 4, you get a big heaping pile of soy-​sauce flavored rice with shiitake, loads of super-​marinated chicken cooked with lap cheung (chinese sausage) and then a heavy scattering of green onions. The spare rib is also ridiculously tasty, but slightly more fatty and the meat is cooked down to a juicy softness. Their BBQ pork buns are also really good. Lots of piping hot meat in a glazed sweet bun. Yes, plenty of lard in everything, but hey, you aren’t eating here to get skinny, fat girl.
Definitely get your pai gwut fawn to go if you mind the place being dim and dirty, but it has character, especially the gruff scruffy old cook who ignores everyone’s orders and is ALWAYS smoking a filthy cigarette down to the nibs WHILE cutting up all the raw meat. Maybe the ciggy ash is the secret ingredient and not the gallon drums of MSG…

I been here many times when I was younger, and it is simply the best place to grab a quick lunch in Chinatown. Low price, and super yummy! Today randomly my mother suggest to go eat here, and I have no idea she heard about this place as well. Then it reminded me of all those great memories I had here in High School. Amazingly it still taste the same! I guess something in life just don’t change.
Don’t get fool by those fancy looking Chinese food places in CT, this place does not have the look, but food quality is super good! You either get the Spare rib or Chicken rice, both are super delicious! Its a pop and son shop and they are both super friendly. :) You won’t get disappointed here ever!

I love places that choose to specialize in the things they do best, and don’t try to expand their menu with just so-​so items. Mee Heong does exactly this, as their menu is a measly 8.5×11 inch piece of paper stuck on their wall that consists of no more than 10 items. Two of which are their famous spareribs over rice and chicken and mushroom over rice.
Now, Chinese people aren’t accustomed to using butter when cooking, but I swear their rice is doused with this stuff. Whatever it is they put in their rice, it makes the rice aromatic and so tasty. The meat is tender and portions are aplenty. For $ 3.50 per hefty serving, you are guaranteed at least a meal and a half.
The hours are a little strange, but my day can go from bad to great when I pass by Mee Heong after work and see that their lights on still on, meaning I’ll be having one delicious dinner for less than $ 5.

If you’re not into having bits of bones mixed into your rice, then stay away, otherwise, this is the best chicken/​spareribs over rice that I’ve had, and for only $ 3.50.
JONASAPPROVED!

They raised their prices for their spareribs rice and chicken rice!
$ 3.50! STILL WORTH IT!