House of Nanking

What you need to know

Peter Fang opened House of Nanking in 1988 at 919 Kearny Street, where Chinatown meets the Financial District. He and his wife Lily had moved from Shanghai to San Francisco in 1980 with almost nothing. They named the restaurant after Lily’s father’s hometown of Nanking, and Peter started cooking his own version of Shanghai home-style food, folding in California ingredients and whatever else caught his attention.

Business was slow at first. Then a rave review in the San Francisco Chronicle hit, and suddenly there were lines out the door. Those lines never went away.

How It Works

The signature move at House of Nanking is letting Peter (or his staff) order for you. You sit down, they ask what you don’t eat, and then food starts arriving. Regulars trust the process completely. First-timers who insist on ordering from the menu still eat well, but the kitchen knows what’s good on any given day better than you do.

What to Order

If you do want to choose, the menu splits between old favorites and newer additions. The Nanking Sesame Chicken is the signature and the reason many people keep coming back. The Fried Pork Potstickers and Shrimp Packets (both with peanut sauce) are the other staples from the original lineup.

From the newer side of the menu, the House Noodles and the Famous Crispy Honey Beef with Bok Choy are both popular. Portions are generous and prices are reasonable for the neighborhood.

The Space

About 40 seats packed tightly together. The room has no real decor to speak of. Stacks of kitchen supplies line the edges. It feels like a small neighborhood spot in a Chinese city, not a restaurant designed for tourists. Peter runs the front of house and has opinions about how you should eat, when you should stop looking at your phone, and what you should be ordering. The dining room runs on his schedule.

The Family

Peter and Lily still run the restaurant. Their daughter Kathy, who trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Los Angeles, is a two-time Chopped champion on Food Network. The family starred in the docuseries Chef Dynasty: House of Fang, and recently published their first cookbook, sharing recipes from three generations of Fang family cooking.

Kathy also runs Fang, the family’s second restaurant in SoMa, which opened in 2009. But this Kearny Street original is the one with all the history.

In 2024, the city recognized House of Nanking as an official San Francisco Legacy Business.

Practical Info

Price: $$ (most dishes in the $10-18 range, some entrees higher)

Cash only: No cards accepted. Bring cash.

Reservations: None. Lines form before opening and last through dinner. Budget extra time.

Hours: Mon-Fri 11am-9pm, Sat-Sun noon-9pm

Getting there: The 30 and 45 buses stop on Stockton, one block west. The 8 Bayshore stops at Columbus and Kearny, right out front. Montgomery BART is about a 10-minute walk south. Street parking is difficult in this part of town.

📍 Location: This restaurant is in Chinatown. Explore the neighborhood →

What to get

Let the owner choose. Otherwise: pot stickers, sesame chicken, dumplings, seasonal specials