Menkee Wonton

I believe this is the cheapest place that serves Cantonese food in the Sunset District. It is the most affordable place to get Cantonese food. Most of their customers ordered take outs. Dine in experience was hilarious and bad. We were screamed at by the wait staff (owner’s daughter) while waiting to be seated. It didn’t bothered me much since I cared more about the food than service. Also, I was well prepared after reading reviews on here. My date and I dined in and left in 20 minutes. The kitchen worked fast and food was on the point. I will order take out next time. AVOID using their restroom unless you really have to go.

I have been eating at Menkee’s since my high school days (in 1998).
This is KILLER (Excellent) Cantonese Food!!!
I am ADDICTED to two of their (fried rice) dishes: shrimp fried rice and salted fish and chicken fried rice!!!
*To the ones who BASH this place but STILL give it four or five stars: SHUT IT!!!

This has always been a great takeout place as their portions are huge at a very reasonable price. Taste aside, it’s a pretty good deal. We recently just ordered some takeouts (as I don’t think I can withstand having my meals inside that restaurant). However, either the to-​go box got bigger or they just got stingy with their portions. Eh, very much so, the latter. The togo box was only half filled (or half empty, whatever), but the portions shrunk tremendously. Then again, the portion size didn’t really matter any more because the food was just meh… it was bad that we couldn’t even finish it… not that we were full, just because it was bland. Sorry, Menkee, I think our relationship ends today…

The food here are just so-​so, but can’t really expect too much since you get what you pay for. Don’t try to impress anyone by bringing them here because they will not be impressed. With that said, the prices are incredibly low. The thing that irritated me the most about coming here is that man cook/owner’s loud nagging voice at his assistant. I feel sorry for that lady assistant (maybe it’s his wife) having to listen to him all day long. This is the only time that I agree with feminism. If she is his wife then she need to know that she can easily rape his ass in divorce court for half his shits. I’ll bring my earplugs with me next time and bring some spare for that lady and the waitress too.
This is my most negative review ever. I’m just playing around. The foods are decent at best but I do love their house special fried rice.

don’t buy the 5LB tomato beef. I got 5LBS of sauce and onions with 10 pieces of beef. they rip you off and don’t do anything about it. this was $ 15

I’ve drive pass this little place dozens of time and always wanted to try finally get my chance on friday. feeling lazy and as always on a friday and the old lady and I decided to go out and eat so I choose to try this place out. yes is a little outdate with all the tables and chair and the glass is a little foggy but that is the whole point of this restaurant. it reminds me of Hong Kong the dai pai dong… the services is’nt really great. I personally say her service is about a 1 ½ star but that beats alot of those so call 5 star restaurant services. because u dont expect service to be too good here and for the 5 star restaurant u expect they will lick your ass and shine your shoe which it will never happen all they will do is just laugh at your silly ass and say sucker for eating here !!!
order the most simple dishes that 5 and 4 star restaurant can not make.
1 deep fry tofu with catfish pot. very home feel. (u must try this)
2. stir fry A choy with bean curd. little blend but I never like A choy anyway
3. chiu chow oyster pancake (really must try)
4.chiu chow pan fry egg with silver fish. (is ok)
is really too bad that she did not hear my side order of wonton cause I really wanted to try their wonton. I guess I will have to go next time when I try their noodles and rice plates.
pan fry egg with silver fish is only ok because the egg is pan fry too (old fire) and it cause the silver fish to dry out a little. other than that al the dish has alot of WOK AIR. Have been searching for the WOK AIR dishes for many many years tooo bad they only open till 9 pm they should just skip the lunch time and open dine till mid night I bet u if they do that ABC, Jumbo, will be out of business. just make sure don’t go here when u feeling very very hungry because when they cook u ca smell the aroma of the dishes in the open air and that will make u even more hungry and mad with the services. This is what Chinese FOOD and eating Chinese food is all about. WOK AIR!!!
This is truly a real solid 3 star with their chefs cooking skill they should raise their price up a little more because really think is worth more than what they r selling at now.

A huge shout-​out for this neighborhood gem! This is your typical, local hole-​in-​the-​wall, cheap Chinese joint — so please don’t expect 5-​star quality customer service, white table cloths, or spanking new china. And please don’t downgrade the stars because those things don’t meet your expectations. This is NOT the place for those things! This is the place for consistently delicious food for an excellent price! Where else can you actually get a meal for less than $ 5 – 6 nowadays??! Portions are great, taste is great, and the prices are great. I can’t think of a better place to go if I need a quick lunch or dinner and don’t want to put a dent in my wallet.
For those of you are never dined in Hong Kong canteens or dai-​pai-​dongs before, you might be turned off by the conditions of this restaurant (‘cuz it’s very similar). If that’s the case, just order to-​go. But do give this place a try and you won’t be disappointed.

This little joint deserves a review. I only put a couple up. But when I have something to impart to my neighbors about a place, trust that it is because it needs to be brought up.
Try the Mongolian beef. Just so good. The food here is delicious, fresh, and generous! Very good dollar value. You cannot beat their portions for what they charge.
I sense they have a standard by which they cook back there too which is more than I have sensed elsewhere Asian food-​wise. You almost always get a glob of fat or an unwanted bone chip or gristle at those other places-​not here. Not yet.
The gal who waits/​order-​takes/​works the phone etc.-she is all about tending to business, not kissing ass, get over it. She won’t pamper you, and fine by me. You’re there for the food.
Go there and try it out. One of our nice little Asian secrets here in the Sunset:)

I come here for their scrambled egg beef/​prawn chow fun. «Just Won Ton» on Vicente uses oyster sauce, not gravy and claims they use more egg. I dont think so. More or less egg, the chow fun here is the best I’ve had since it’s also so cheap!
Yes the bathroom stinks, parking may be hard at night, it’s cash only and the waitress doesn’t smile but for good food for a good price, I don’t care. I come here for take out and I always get the chow fun. Never fails to disappoint.
If you don’t like this place or their service, then go to other restaurants on the street, there’s a gazillion of chinese restaurants on Noriega.

Extremely affordable dishes with a very satisfactory portion served.
I ordered the Kung Pao Chicken with rice and it came out in a little just over 5 minutes. I ordered 10 minutes before they closed so I was the only one they were serving it to. Obviously, I got it to go and just ate it at home. I wish the dish had a little more meat. I could see that they tried to proportion more vegetables than the chicken.
I was not disappointed and most likely would come here again!

I’m giving 4 stars for their excellent food and price. Where else can u find such a good price for a big delicious chinese plate? If you want fancy, go somewhere else. Indeed, the lady that answers the phone is always grumpy. It does sound like she hates her job. I observed her, it’s not a fun job at all. Looks like she’s the only one that answer the phone and takes order. All she does is walk back and forth in the hallway, getting the orders. No one talks to her. Kinda sad. No wonder she’s not happy. Please, give her a break and enjoy your meal! :)

LMAO! Now I get why people say the service is bad. The girl at the register «pushed» the food and receipt with her pen towards me and instead of giving me 2 quarters as 50 cents change, she gave me 2 dimes, 1 nickel and the rest in pennies. She was so rude that instead of getting offended I was actually totally amused by this experience. Their food? Absolutely deliciously affordable. Can’t wait to go back to see this girl again. I mean it.

Sure, this place has horrible service. Sure it also is dirty where grease shines brightly on the tables under their lights. Sure there’s dust covering all the wooden fixtures where the plants are stationed. But you know what? Never judge a book by its cover. The food is amazing here. It reminds me of the good old days in China when I go eat out at the da pai dang. Keep up the quality and maintain the same bargain price. Thanks for serving the neighborhood of sunset.

I had to squeeze in a quick lunch here and I ordered the wrong dish. something basic and not too complicated but truly poorly executed today.
scrambled egg and beef over rice.
the beef was rubbery and the egg mixture was poorly put together with more corn starch and water than egg. flavorless with poor ingredients.
not only that the table service person was completely indifferent, not friendly, barely spoke, and the table I sat down at had a disgusting sticky grease glaze on it. The first time I Unilocal reviewed this place was back in 2006.
it is now 2015 and the mirrors in the dining area STILL have not been cleaned.
yuck.
avoid.

The waitreess is really horrible. She needs a angry management class. Inpatient and supercilious.

The waitress is unfriendly and impatient. She doesn’t even look up when customers need help. Perhaps, they need a new waitress.

Yes we all agree the girl is as grumpy as someone who just worked 20 years straight without a break. However I have to give this place credit, for $ 6 including tax, I got chow fun with scrambled egg sauce and prawns how can that be beaten. I ordered take out since I work nearby and jumbo charges 9 bucks + tax for the same dish, if you go and sit down jumbo is a better looking place, this place is a hole in the wall but definitely worth a try. Most of their entres average $ 5 and they’re delicious .
Don’t expect great service, also make sure you bring cash since that’s all they take.
Won ton soup is dirt cheap under 4 bucks, and their chow funs are great.
Can’t beat the price!!!

Family & I have been coming here forever. since they’ve opened which is 20 years. Chef has great wok skills & consistent EVERY TIME. There have been some mishaps as in getting the wrong order but I blame the mom who takes the phone orders (she usually is the kitchen helper but sometimes she has to answer the phones & she probably heard it wrong).
the BEST spice salted calamari EVER! Same goes for spice salted little fishes to go w/​your chiu chow jook (which is really watery rice rather than a porridge).
our staples: salty fish pan fried minced meat ‘cake’ (haam yu jeen yook baeng), beef chow fun (extra bean sprouts), any of their stir fried greens (depends what restaurant has on hand & either w/​plain garlic or fermented soy bean cubes «fu yue» or salty shrimp paste «haam ha»), asparagus beef/​shrimp/​chicken (seasonal), any of their fried rices, scrambled eggs w/​prawns flat rice noodle (it has a more ‘wet/​gravy’ base), eggs w/​corn fried fish filet (over rice or by itself), FRIED wontons w/​sweet & sour dipping sauce. They also have good eggplant dishes (i like ‘em all).
they have an $ 18 dinner special w/​the following (no substitutions & it’s on the green menu but only in chinese): spice salted shrimp (w/​the shells & head on), half a salted steamed chicken w/​ginger & scallions, garlic mustard greens, pan fried 3 treasures (fried tofu, eggplant, green peppers very minimally stuffed w/​fish paste).those 4 items for $ 18, perfect for 3 ppl to eat.
when crabs/​lobsters are in season, we usually buy 1 or 2 live at a asian market. take it over to Menkee, pay couple bucks (for labor & their ingredients) to have it spice salted fried or stir fried w/​ginger & green onion… droool… I always tip them well (like $ 10 – 15 extra) when I pick up the cooked crab b/​c they’re doing all the work for you.
Note: VERY HOLE IN THE WALL so if you don’t like grimey tables & floors, get it to go! (though their calamari or anything fried is best eaten there piping hot! I’ve done those for takeout, it’s so different. unless u have a toaster oven to reheat it… still not quite the same).
And don’t mind the young girl waitress, it’s a family business & she’s stuck w/​her life working there b/​c she has to help her family 365 days/​year (this place NEVER closes, not even for chinese new year or major holidays) so can you blame her? This entire family never gets a day off (unless Chef is sick which I’ve NEVER seen).
CASH ONLY

I never eat here, only take out. Bomb scrambled eggs with beef and gravy over rice or flat noodles. Their chow mein is good and their eggplant dish is also good. Cheap and affordable. Only thing is they don’t understand English that well so when calling in speak slow and clearly and repeat!

Service: I can care less. I’m ordering to go. It’s cheaper too. The lady in front is either mute or has trouble speaking. She does this to everyone. Speak clearly and she’ll get your order.
Food: the food is great. When I want Chinese food that isn’t from my parents, I’ll come here. My go to is the scrabbled egg/​beef over flat noodle. I’ve been coming here for years and it hasn’t changed. The price and head chef are the same. Oh, and it’s still a home in the wall.

I worked in a Chinese restaurant in high school– and it was hard yes keeping boners flat in baggy saggy denim and not dripping phlegm in customers’ orders who were assholes to my family. It wasn’t an fancy place, but it was home for 4 years and my Uncles were kind to keep my oily faced ass there for as long as they owned it.
I needed to preface my review of Menkee, because I love and hate it for the same reasons. Simple neighborhood spot, convenient and (relatively) dirt cheap. You looking for clean tables, smiles and Zagat ratings– getcha butt on out of there. Food is cheap and tasty, Salt & Pepper Fish Fillet and some sorta chow fun for me ala carte. Consistent always.
So, if this isn’t the first review you’ve read on MenKee, there’s the issue of a specific staff person: and it’s not the friendly older lady who only speaks Chinese or the younger skinnier dude who doesn’t smile, but you don’t need him to.
I worked in a Chinese restaurant, and I’m Chinatown kid, so I don’t expect, or even want excessive courtesy or attention from the wait staff. I’ve eaten at Michelin starred establishments and cringe the whole way through, hating the staff refilling my cup every half minute and ducking under my armpit to shovel crumbs off the fine linen. I don’t care about service. I should also mention that I work in mental health, and have among others, worked with former violent and sexual offenders. So what I’m saying is, I have a pretty damned high tolerance.
And yet, when I see her, this tiny frumpy little girl, her round, metal frame goggles clamped over an incurable scowl, and somehow, something hateful boils in me. I could understand that perhaps she hates her job, hates her customers, hates her family even (it could only be family who keeps her on) and I empathize, with her, really I do. I’ve been there, been her, grinned through work and spent the nights after seething about it. I empathize really, but that doesn’t mean getting treated like butt-​smear on a shoe gets my appetite revved.
I hated but faked it through my restaurant service for my family, not the patrons. I pray for the sake of the business she can find it in herself to come to the same conclusion. Come and go quickly for the cheap eats: under no conditions stay for the service.

I’ve been going here for yearrrrrrrs! This is probably one of my favorite Chinese places to get authentic, affordable and delicious Chinese food.
It’s practically a hole in the wall restaurant… not much of grand service, no extravagant décor, no fancy utensils or plates, etc. In fact, this restaurant’s atmosphere might deter many people from eating in (I never mind because the food is always yummy); which is probably why I always see a line of catering and takeout orders being prepared instead.
I don’t think I tried anything here that I don’t like. However, I do think it helps if you or the person ordering knows Chinese — you can practically ask and custom create any variation of a dish that you like (which protein? over rice/​noodles? what kind of noodles? do you want it wet? in soup? pan fried? etc etc…) I don’t think we have ever looked in the menu. we just order what we like! If we see another table having something that looks bomb as hellllll, we just ask for that dish too.
Some dishes worth trying — beef chow fun (Seriously the best I’ve ever had here! You can really taste that char flavor. We always get it dry, but wet is just as good too!), tomato beef over fried noodles, Singapore mai fun, eggplant chicken over rice, fried stuffed tofu (appetizer), wet egg & chicken over rice (I promise it tastes better than it sounds! It sounds better in Chinese… hahaha… and if you’re under the weather or just seemingly love these dishes, their won ton soup and porridge is yummy too! I believe they’re under $ 2??? Something ridiculous like that.
Anyway, I feel like this restaurant is a little underrated and under-​loved here on Unilocal.Take your fancy pants off and give this place a try! Cash only.

I ordered a Tomato Beef Chow Ho Fun (flat rice noodles). They ran out of those noodles but didn’t tell me and replaced it with spaghetti noodles instead. That style of noodles doesn’t work with the sauce from tomato beef at all! It doesn’t stick and tasted more like noodles mixed with watery ketchup.
If they had told me they were out of the noodles requested I would have been happy to order it with rice instead.
No communication = ruined dinner

This place has the best priced salt and pepper squid and quality, second to Yuet Lee. Salt and pepper prawns ain’t bad either. But this is for the price conscious foodie. They have all the basic soups, stews, over rice dishes, and noddles of above average quality. Their vegetable dishes are exceptional. You can’t really complain about the ambiance because the price, and consistency. The owner is the cook and this guy knows how to do it right. He even puts other restaurants to shame with his sweet and sour pork. This place does a lot of catering and large orders. The wait staff, except for David, who is now an engineer, have lack luster personalities. So if we’re tight in the pocket and have an inkling for provincial Chinese cooking, this is our go-​to place in the outer sunset. By the way, they don’t serve beer.

I’ve lived around the corner from Menkee Wonton for about 4 months, and just tried it today for lunch (take out). At first glance it looks kind of run down. Felt like I was deep in Chinatown and not in the sunset district. Ordered pork fried rice, chow mein and Mongolian beef all of which were good. I’d go back just because they are so close to where I live but there are other places nearby that I like better.

This place is pretty legit ever since the days of high school. I decided to drop by again the other day and the wonton noodle order still only came out to $ 2! I mean if you’re looking for a cheap meal that’s WAY HEALTHIER than ramen, definitely give this place a shot!
The wontons are usually pretty good and they usually get my order ready in a couple minutes which is what I’ve been used to since the days of high school. I used to order from this place on my walks back from school and they’ve been really consistent. I haven’t ordered anything else from here since the wonton noodle soup is always such an economic option. The wontons are good and the shrimp is fresh. The noodles with cabbage are also cooked well.
This place probably gets criticized for shorting people a wonton or two but seriously, it’s two freaking dollars people!
It also gets extra stars for being so close to home!

My favorite take-​out Chinese comfort food place in SF! You definitely get the best bangs for your bucks. It’s far from your ideal place in terms of layout and service, very typical of a hole in the wall which I don’t mind.
The food is great, not the best but for the prices they offer, who’s to complain? Most rice dishes are between $ 5 – 6 and you get a great portion per order.
Recommendations/​tips:
–Get takeout (call ahead of time if you know what you’re getting)
–Deep fried salt and pepper fish fillet (jiu yim yuu peen)
–Salty fish and chicken fried rice (haam yu gai lap chow faan)
–CASH ONLY

CASH ONLY! Gotten much better after 2012.
This is one of my favorite places to eat in San Francisco. It is hands down the best bang for your buck anywhere. I paid $ 5.50 for a plate of fried rice back in the late 80s. The food is authentic HK restaurant food — great wok skill and decent quality of meat. I’m sold!
The service is ok. It is family run, and the kids are pretty good at taking orders. The mom seems to be always mad at something. I guess if I had to wake up at 6am everyday to prepare the food for the day, I would be pretty pissed too. Anyway, the service is ok, not that bad and compared to other Chinese restaurants, it is average.
I know the appearance of this place is appalling, but keep in mind that the kitchen is open. Thus the oil will be bound to travel onto the tables. From my experience with restaurants: having an open kitchen will always be cleaner than one hidden in the back. You will be surprised to see how dirty the kitchen is on some very fancy decorated restaurants. I’ve been eating here on and off a few years, and I’ve never gotten sick from eating here. God bless the health inspectors of SF. They really do their jobs well.
So in short:
If your focus is on taste and $$$, then this is a restaurant you should try. Great for broke college students.
If you’re more into décor and service. You will probably hate this place. Or at least take it to go.

MengKee is not the prettiest place I’ve ever dined at but is definitely one of the tastiest!
Been wanting to try this place like, forever. From the outside I thought it would be a Hong Kong style won ton house. From the inside it’s a solid family run Chinese eatery. You’ll find a respectable assortment of soups and various noodle and Cantonese style dishes, all of which will not break your bank account .
You walk in, seat yourself, and try not to be put off by the décor, or rather lack of. Cloudy mirrors, faded hand written menus grace the wall and 1970’s type of Return of The Dragon generic restaurant tables and chairs comprise the dining area.
So, we ordered beef stew won ton, combination wor won ton, tofu beef over rice, black bean tripe over rice, and curry vegetables. The beef stew was super duper tender and the won tons were perfectly shaped, cooked al dente, and were damn tasty. The stand out dish was their curry vegetables, comprised of fresh broccoli, bok choy, carrots, green peppers, and snow peas! It was awesomely tasty and spicy, nom! All the dishes were only in the $ 5, $ 6, and $ 7 range, score!!!
So when I’m in the hood, I would definitely come here again, for the food, but probably not for a romantic dinner!

Greasy, authentic, delicious. The staff only speaks Cantonese (my coworker always has to order for me), so you know Menkee is the real deal. Every dish is like the best version of itself, from the beef veggies over rice to the pork porridge.
My personal fave are the eggplant noodles. Moist pieces of eggplant drenched in flavorful thick sauce, accompanying wide flat noodles cooked to perfection. Too good.