Ton Kiang

On Geary Boulevard at 22nd Avenue, in the heart of San Francisco's Richmond district, Ton Kiang built a decades-long reputation as one of the neighborhood's anchor dim sum destinations. Founded in 1978 by Chin Boon Wong and Ching Su Wong, the restaurant distinguished itself from most of the city's Cantonese-dominated dim sum houses by grounding its menu in Hakka cooking traditions — a regional Chinese cuisine with roots in the inland provinces, less represented in San Francisco than the coastal styles that dominate Chinatown and the Sunset. The service format set the tone: rather than the rolling cart system common at larger dim sum halls, servers circulated through the dining room carrying trays and bamboo steamers, delivering dishes directly to tables. The result was food that arrived hotter and more precisely timed. Reported standouts included har gow, siu mai, shrimp rice noodle, soup dumplings, and sticky rice wrapped in leaf, alongside Hakka-specific preparations such as salt-baked chicken. Weekend mornings drew long lines, a consistent signal of local loyalty over many years. Multiple sources over the restaurant's history described Ton Kiang as a dim sum institution within the Richmond, and its longevity across several decades gave it a different kind of authority than newer, more fashionable openings. The room functioned equally well as a family banquet space and a casual weekend brunch destination, which broadened its appeal across generations of Richmond residents and visitors making the trip out from other parts of the city specifically for the Hakka menu.

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