Vegan-friendly
Chinese
Beer/Wine
Delivery
Take-out
Non-veg

Serves meat, vegan options available. A Chinese food restaurant offers clearly labeled vegan/vegan possible items on the menu including appetizers and dishes. Carbon neutral. Previously called Lung Shan Restaurant. Open Mon-Sat 11:30am-3:00pm, Mon-Sun 5:00pm-10:30pm.


11 Reviews

First Review by CoralReef

Gopala108

Points +3227

Vegan
16 Feb 2024

Innovative Chinese with heaps of vegan options

Recently me and my uncle went out for a bite. We were originally heading to Bissap Baobab where I just went to a stellar Elite Event. They didn't open until 5:30pm so instead we opted to go to Mission Chinese Food across the street.

I knew about Mission Chinese for years and it was in my hood aka the Mission yet never went here until now. Danny Bowien aka chef/restauranteur is known for his creative self described weird Chinese cuisine and Danny even put out a Mission Chinese Vegan Cookbook which is awesome. Many vegan options on the menu that are vegan by default or can be customized vegan. Mission Chinese Food is both veg and non-veg.

Danny also opened up a MCF in NYC where he is based and where I am from originally and so is my uncle.

Coast to coast CA to NY. SF and NY are two great cities yet very different.

Service was just fine and appreciate the recommendations from our waitress. Upon the suggestion of the waitress we went with two orders of Classic Chow Mein with mushrooms and Mongolian Longbeans done up with horseradish and Sichuan peppercorns.

The food was quite alright. Ample portions. The longbeans were unique and flavorful with some heat aka spicy and the Chow Mein was good. We each enjoyed our Chow Mein and longbeans we shared family style.

Feedback would have been nice to have the option to add tofu to the Chow Mein. Would have liked more veggies in the Chow Mein as here seems you order the veggies separate.

Ambiance was spot on with dragon and Asian art/posters on the walls. Hip hop music played which was cool and unexpected. I liked the music. I have dined in places where the music took away from the meal yet here the music was cool so kudos and props to whoever was playing tunes here.

Monday morning quarterback for the Sunday game would have shared a Chow Mein, Long Beans, and maybe ordered a tofu dish to get more variety.

My uncle gives it three stars. He is a tough critic. I give it four stars. I can make a mean plant strong Chow Mein yet good to mix it up dining out in this lovely little city by the Bay with my uncle.

I would return to scope out more of the menu.

Pros: Innovative Chinese with heaps of vegan options, Tasty, good size portions, Nice ambiance and music

Cons: could have had more veggies in Chow Mein, Nice to be able to add tofu to Chow Mein

themuppetlibrarian

Points +2727

Vegan
08 Jul 2023

Delicious and unique flavors

Mapo tofu was best I’ve had, and I’ve had it many times.
Every dish had tons of flavor. Fun atmosphere, very vegan friendly. Most of the menu has a vegan option.

shreyp

Points +67

Vegetarian
21 May 2023

Very good vegetarian/vegan options

The ambience is beautiful and the vegan/vegetarian options are really good. I ordered the Chowmein with Mushroom which had a beautiful wok flavor. I would have preferred a bit more Szechuan flavor in it but it was pretty good nevertheless. It went really well with the rice cakes made into vegan by removing the bacon on it. It was so delicious and I think it carries the flavor of the Noodles a mile further. The rice cakes also had bitter gourd and in this rare instance I loved it's flavor. Generally not a fan but it went really well with these rice cakes.

Pros: Clearly marked vegetarian and vegan options , Good spice level by default , Friendly and helpful staff

FelicityWilson

Points +68

Vegan
23 Feb 2023

Solidly delicious food

Cabbage with pistachio milk is to die for.

Queensnbeans

Points +1542

Vegan
30 Jan 2022

Vibe-checked

What a gem! The menu isn't very extensive, but there's a lot of vegan options (and very original ones). The staff is super nice and efficient the music is super cool. All that a super kitch decore, it's a perfect score from me!

Pros: Lots of vegan options, Reasonably priced, The music & staff!

Liz_zie

Points +72

Vegan
04 Sep 2021

The best food of my USA trip (so far)

I don't know why this place doesn't have more reviews! It was the most delicious and flavoursome food I've eaten in the USA so far. My partner and I ordered the Mongolian long beans and the Mapo Tofu with 2 servings of rice and my gosh we were not disappointed. Every mouthful is heavenly. The dishes have a fairly big spice hit which I love so if you aren't a spice lover I would suggest ordering something else (they have other vegan options which judging by the other reviews sound equally as amazing). The portions are very generous and we couldn't eat it all. Only regret would be getting 2 servings of rice as opposed to 1.
The restaurant itself has really great atmosphere and awesome lighting. We went on a Saturday night and waited 40 minutes for a table but don't let this put you off it is so worth it (we went to a nearby bar to pass the time).

Updated from previous review on 2019-06-10

Pros: Delicious food, Good value for money, Great service

Cons: None!

lulu9798

Points +357

Vegan
02 Sep 2021

Abusive management

Edit: didn't know this when I ordered but apparently owners/management are super abusive towards to staff. There are several articles with the full story if you Google 'Mission Chinese food abuse'😒

My favorite Chinese food I've had in the US, hands down! My favs were the Thrice Fried Bacon (vegan version) and the Peanut Noodles, which had a really delicious sauce. Love the variety of herbs and spices used in these dishes, makes for a more interesting meal than your standard Chinese place.

Updated from previous review on 2021-09-02

Pros: vegan options clearly labelled, delicious food

Cons: abusive management!

CoralReef

Points +138

Vegan
30 Nov 2019

Mission Chinese Food not Lung Shan

This is of course the famous Mission Chinese food, which started as a twice-a-week pop up in the dismal Lung Shan restaurant and quickly took over whilst retaining the original staff.

The Tiger Salad is essential as are many of the small dish appetizers and Twice-Cooked Bacon without the bacon.

So, so good and in no way so so. Just go early or suffer the masses.

goradio

Points +41

Vegan
16 Sep 2019

incredible food

one of the only places I've ever easily managed to order genuine mouth numbing ma po tofu. incredible food and great staff!

Pros: well-labeled vegan options, best food I've found in SF

Nut-Free-Vegan!

Points +51

Vegan
24 Aug 2019

Peanut-Free Vegan Options!

Came to dinner here with my two roommates and joined the waitlist when we arrived - waited for about 20 mins or so before we were seated! There are a couple good vegan options marked on the menu, most of which were nut free. I chose the mushroom chow mein because it was the least spicy option😄I asked our server about nuts and she ensured there were no nuts in that dish. It was a huge portion and I took leftovers home, but really wanted to eat the whole thing!

MeAgainVegan

Points +70

Vegan
02 Feb 2018

Mission Chinese Food

We've been coming here since they popped up in Lung Shan and now it's well established and well hyped by every culinary publication worldwide because of Danny Bowien, the creator. There are a few things here that are vegan and everything else is meaty AF so go when it's slow and don't share a table when it's busy. Go right at 5 when they reopen or before 3pm. Most of the small appetizers are vegan, the creamy tahini cucumbers, the pickles, the vinegar peanuts. The other review was right about the main two vegan dishes that are a must: Tiger Salad and Thrice Cooked Bacon (just order Bacon No Bacon) with extra tofu skins as they sometimes skimp on them. Other that that there is a Brussels sprout dish, a spicy green bean dish, and Ma Po Tofu that can be veganized, I think but we only order the two dishes and maybe an appetizer. The flavors are complex and unlike any Chinese food I've ever had. It's the best and David is super friendly.

Pros: It doesn't smell meaty , They understand vegan and cook it clean on separat

Cons: predominantly meat dishes on menu




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