Good Mong Kok Bakery
Brandon Jew sends people to Good Mong Kok for the steamed buns and the har gow, and the line on Stockton Street starts before the doors open.
Why go
Good Mong Kok is a counter with steamers in the window and no seats. Two or three people fit inside at a time. The line runs from opening to close and it moves fast. Jew goes for the baozi and the har gow. Erin Lang of Garden Creamery buys baked cha siu bao, turnip cakes, pork siu mai, har gow and sesame balls here whenever she is in Chinatown for tea leaves. Her advice is short: Go early to beat the lunch line, then swing by Ten Ren for a delicious milk tea.
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Queue for the dumplings. Patrick Wong scored the counter 9.1 for The Infatuation in 2024 and almost everything on the menu was under four dollars. The Chronicle paid $3.80 for siu mai and $2 for a scallion bun in January 2025. The Central Subway dig tore up this block of Stockton Street for years and the line never left.
Order this / avoid
- Order: har gow and pork siu mai, then a baked char siu bao.
- Order: the sesame balls and the scallion bun.
- Avoid: deciding at the counter. Read the steamers through the window while you wait and say the whole order at once.
What locals & experts say
- Soleil Ho, San Francisco Chronicle, 2019:
Good Mong Kok Bakery has the best takeaway dim sum in Chinatown; that said, few of the sit-down places can really compete, either.
5 - Patrick Wong, The Infatuation, August 2024, 9.1:
The siu mai are plump and juicy, the har gow are encased in delicate foggy window wrappers, and their baked char siu bao are our favorite in SF.
6 - Cesar Hernandez and MacKenzie Chung Fegan, San Francisco Chronicle, January 2025:
The takeout-only bakery dishes out toothsome siu mai, extra-savory scallion buns, with a crackly top layer, and comforting sesame balls stuffed with sweet red bean.
4 - Astrid Kane, The San Francisco Standard, November 2022:
The gooey mouthfeel that rice flour imparts is wonderful on its own, but once slathered in soy sauce and sriracha, these plump and springy dumplings are absolute perfection.
3 - Shoshi Parks, 7x7, January 2023:
Sure, the staff is gruff and the line is intimidating, but the perfect pillows of shrimp, barbecue pork buns, and sui mai are well worth the wait.
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Good to know
- Hours: early morning to early evening, every day.
- Paying: bring cash. The Chronicle says cards are taken; Lang calls it cash-only.
- Where to eat it: Portsmouth Square is a short walk, with benches and chess games.
Verdict
should-visit — Queue early, order the har gow, the siu mai and a baked char siu bao through the window, and eat them on a bench in Portsmouth Square. Bring cash.