While there are plenty of Chinese restaurants in the San Francisco bay area, it is usually quite difficult to find authentic regional dishes other than Cantonese, Hunan and Sichuan cuisine.
On a recent visit to Oakland, we stumbled onto a very very good Shan Dong (山東) eatery. We were visiting the area, and decided to give this restaurant a try since we were hungry. We had a great meal and were very happy that we discovered this fine establishment.
The Shan Dong Restaurant is an inconspicuous eatery in Oakland's Chinatown.
The owner Mrs. Ma has been running this successful restaurant for many years.
A worker forms the man-tou (饅頭), a kind of steamed bun without fillings, individually by hand.
A tray of 24 man-tou (饅頭) are freshly made.
Our dumplings are just about to be done.
The home-made dumpling sauce are to die for. A little sweet, a little sour, and just the right amount of garlic.
Hand-cut noodles (炒碼刀削湯麵) freshly made in-house is another of their specialty.
The noodles have just the right chewiness and texture.
Leek filled pan-fried cakes (韭菜盒子 ).
Look at the wonderful filling!
The restaurant starts to get busy as lunch time approaches.
About US$ 50 for a delicious meal and plenty take-outs to enjoy at home later.