House of Nanking

Name: House of Nanking
Address: 919 Kearny St, San Francisco, CA 94133, San Francisco, CA, US
Telephone: (415) 421-1429
Price range: $$

📍 Chinatown 💰 $$ 🍽️ Shanghai Chinese

The Verdict

"Two-time Chopped champion on Food Network. The family was the subject of the docuseries Chef Dynasty: House of Fang"

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. A favorable San Francisco Chronicle review changed that, and there have been lines out the door since.

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 food starts arriving. First-timers who order from the menu still eat well; the kitchen knows what’s good on a given day.

What to Order

If you want to choose, the menu splits between long-running dishes and newer additions. The Nanking Sesame Chicken is the signature. The Fried Pork Potstickers and Shrimp Packets (both with peanut sauce) are the other long-running staples.

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

The Space

About 40 seats packed together. The room has little decor. Stacks of kitchen supplies along the edges. Peter runs the front of house. He directs how the dining room operates, including how people eat and what they order.

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 was the subject of the docuseries Chef Dynasty: House of Fang and published a cookbook with recipes from three generations of Fang family cooking.

Kathy also runs Fang, the family’s second restaurant in SoMa, which opened in 2009.

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

Practical Info

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

Cash only: No cards accepted. Bring cash.

Reservations: None. Lines form before opening and persist through dinner.

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, in front. Montgomery BART is about a 10-minute walk south. Street parking is difficult.