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Tamara Palmer
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Danny Bowien's ma po tofu is super hot.
Mission Chinese Food began eat-in, takeout, and delivery service yesterday at Lung Shan, site of the past
Mission Street Food dinner events. We slid in for lunch (operating hours are 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.) and spent quite a few minutes debating our tempting choices. Adding to the difficulty, the entire Lung Shan menu was also available. We chose pot stickers from the Lung Shan offerings, a lifelong habit that makes our Chinese meal feel "complete," and a few dishes from Mission Chinese Food.
click to enlarge
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Tamara Palmer
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Szechuan pickles.
Co-founder Anthony Myint stated on the
MSF blog that he expected partner Danny Bowien's ma po tofu would soon be world famous, and it was the only menu item marked spicy, so it was a no-brainer for us. One of the things the two had been looking forward to in this new venture was the opportunity to make really spicy food (as well as doing good ― 75 cents from each dish goes to the
S.F. Food Bank), and this fit the bill ― so much so that we became afraid of its fire after a few bites settled in. Good stuff, not for the timid, and a dish that will help determine if you
are an amateur or a spicy warrior. Luckily, a plate of fried rice made with Chinese sausage, salted fresh black cod, and no chiles was the perfect cooling foil, and the surprise star of the meal. Szechuan pickles of cucumber and daikon radish were spicy, but a snap compared to the tofu dish. We were accidentally delivered a dessert of taro panna cotta with chrysanthemum honey and oat crisps before we could order it, and it was the other unexpected winner, a smooth confection we would have fought over were our lunch companion less generous.
Another nice surprise: Unlike MSF, Mission Chinese Food accepts credit cards.
Mission Chinese Food at Lung Shan 2234 Mission (at 18th St.), 863-2800.
