R&G Lounge 嶺南小館 @ San Francisco

嶺南 Lingnan is the old name for Guangdong region which include Guangzhou and Hong Kong. And this region is famous for Cantonese cuisine 粵菜, one of the four major cuisines of China.

R&G Lounge is located in San Francisco’s historic Chinatown. Established in 1985, it started out as a modest one story restaurant in the basement level and has expanded, over the last 35+ years, to three dining room floors, including a full bar and three spacious VIP private rooms. From the outside, it’s hard to get a sense of R&G—the facade is spare and softly lit. From the door, you can glimpse a full bar with a TV playing overhead, plus the host waiting to welcome diners.

We were given their Main Level Private Room that can seat up to 15 guests in a private, intimate surrounding away from the hustle and bustle of the main dining hall. And unlike restaurant in Asia, there’s no minimum spend for this privilege.

Roast Meat Platter 燒臘拼盤

We started dinner with a Cantonese style appetiser, the Roast Meat Platter 燒臘拼盤, which came with four varieties of BBQ meats, served a sweet plum sauce that would be found on my family dinner table as well.

From left to right:

• Roast Duck 掛爐燒鴨 – Specially marinated roast duck with golden brown crispy skin, nice;
• BBQ Pork 蜜汁叉燒 – very lean pork loin was used, making the resulting BBQ pork a tad too dry for me;
• Cured Ham Hock 佛山燻蹄 – I was surprised they have this here, but being one of the revenant Cantonese restaurant on the block, I shouldn’t doubt their capability to make this cured pig trotter;
• Soy Sauce Chicken 玫瑰豉油雞 – Whole chicken marinated in house special soy sauce, which is just dark soy sauce with a bit of rose wine marinade.

Salt & Pepper Dungeness Crab 椒鹽焗大蟹

Whole fresh crab battered, deep fried, & sprinkled with salt & pepper seasoning

Dungeness crab is an indigenous species of crab found in California and has a sweet, delicate flavour that is prized by many seafood lovers. They are known for their tender and juicy meat, and their size made it perfect for this next dish – Salt & Pepper Dungeness Crab 椒鹽焗大蟹. Some handiwork needed to get into those sumptuous meat, but it’s worth the effort.

R&G Special Beef (Secret Recipe) 嶺南牛肉

Stir fried top choice sliced beef marinated with Chef’s special sauce

This is an invention of Cantonese restaurants in the US, where strips of beef are sautéed in sauce like Maggi seasoning and other in-house concoctions to this overdone state. Not my favourite, but my US colleagues loved it.

Sautéed Scallops with XO Sauce (Spicy) X.O.醬爆帶子

XO sauce is an accidental invention by HK chefs, the name is actually a reference to XO (‘extra old’) French cognac, a super-expensive drink that gives you lots of status in HK. XO sauce’s signature flavour comes from dried scallops, dried shrimp and the cured pork and is the perfect condiment for sautéed with shellfish like scallops. The whole umami bomb is balanced with the sweetness from the yellow onions and sweet peas.

Sautéed Pea Sprouts with Garlic 蒜炒豆苗

The scallops cannot really be considered a vegetable dish, so we ordered Sautéed Pea Sprouts with Garlic 蒜炒豆苗, which featured the pea sprouts common among Chinese palates but rather new for my US friends.

Peking Duck 北京片皮鴨

Specially marinated whole duck, roasted to a golden brown crisp skin, served with steamed buns & house special sauce

A perennial crowd pleaser, Peking Duck 北京片皮鴨 has become the calling card for Chinese cuisine in the Western world, and has taken over General Tso Chicken as the most ordered poultry dish. But this dish has been adulterated in so many ways, and this is one of those bad example. Hapchuibao 合嘴包 was used instead of crepes or popiah skin. The roasted duck was sliced quite thick and rather small pieces. Definitely room for improvement.

Lobster with E-Fu Noodles 龍蝦伊麵

Another crowd pleaser, Lobster with E-Fu Noodles 龍蝦伊麵 uses the Boston lobster instead of the rock lobster that is commonly used in Hong Kong restaurants. Personally I prefer the Boston crustaceans as the shell is easier to manage. They have nailed this noodle dish, with the delicate balance of ginger and scallion, and the infusion of the umami from the lobster into the noodles.

Stir Fry Sticky Rice 生炒糯米飯

Stir-fry glutinous rice with Chinese sausage, cured pork, eggs

It is interesting to see that waxed meat 臘肉 is translated as cured pork. I had not have Stir Fry Sticky Rice 生炒糯米飯 outside of Hong Kong, and they have nailed this difficult fried rice. The glutinous rice needs to be stir-fried before steaming, and if it is not done right, you would end up with a sticky mess instead of this well-defined fried rice. Delicious.

Baked Chilean Sea Bass 香焗銀雪魚

Large fillet of sea bass marinated and baked in our special glaze (cooking time: at least 30 minutes)

As the restaurant is close to theatres, they would advise the waiting time for some of more complicated dishes, like this Baked Chilean Sea Bass 香焗銀雪魚. But this was well worth the wait. The glaze on the flaky Pacific codfish was so spot-on and the fatty fish paired so well with the rice. Must order again the next time here.

Mango Pudding with Sago and Pomelo 楊枝甘露

Mango Pudding with Sago and Pomelo 楊枝甘露 is the classic dessert found in Cantonese restaurant, and it is always a crowdpleaser. It is the same here, though the mango was not the right season, and was quite unripe and sour. If the mango was sweet, then it would be a perfect ending to a wonderful dinner.

This is one of the best places in the city for fried crab, and because of the experiential aspect of eating there, it’s popular for locals to bring visiting from out of town. Reservation recommended, but the table does turn very quickly.

R&G Lounge 嶺南小館
631 Kearny St, San Francisco, CA 94108
Tel : 415-982-7877 (Reservations)

Visited Aug 2024