Dong Bei Mama

This place is sorta hit-​or-​miss. However, the Twice Cooked Pork is fucking fantastic!

2 n half stars
I went there with a bunch of friends on saturday nite, the place was had about 2 – 3 tables occupied. I wanted to try this place so we went. We ordered the beef roll which was ok, we also had beef in red chilli which imo was the best dish we. I ordered 4 more dishes and they said we dont have any of the sauces used to cook the dishes, at that point I just ordered there name sake chicken dish. It never came out. The service lacks

The giant meat pancake roll thing was 99% dough and no meat (if they made the pancake thinner it would have worked). the shanghai dumplings were weak. spicy beef soup lacked body. food was not impressive — we didn’t come close to finishing it and we had no desire to take leftovers home. service was fast.

Yay! This place is delish! Much better than my 1^st experience here 5 years ago. Here’s why:
1）The food is delish! Lots of robust flavor without the MSG hangover. (At least in my opinion)
2) Hot and sour soup– very tastey with huge portions
3) Boiled Szechuan fish filet– only ok. I am used to my fish swimming within chilli oil/​whole peppers. This place just had the filet with sauce and chilli flakes poured over it.
4) Scallion pancake– two thumbs up
5) Beef wrapped in scallion pancake– husband loved it! Btw, it is HUGE
Overall, we really like this place. However I would recommend going with a native Chinese speaker as this a VERY authentic experience.

Please come! You won’t regret! The shop owner is really nice. I come from China north, the food here is really authentic.

Dong Bei Mama «go for the food». The restaurant itself has a Old School Chinese restaurant décor with pictures of the food on the walls, glass table tops and wobbly old chairs. Street parking only. According to Unilocal low health dept. score.
With that said the food is terrific. The prices are great with large volume of good food. The menu is extensive. Service is excellent. We had the beef pancake roll which was gigantic and was one of the «best» I have ever had. The Tea smoked duck was fatty tender with a deep smoke flavor. Spicy La Tze Chicken was numbing and spicy. The Boiled fish was excellent. Plenty of other dishes to go back for.

I have gone here three times now and really enjoyed each time. I’m a bit disappointed to see that they recently received a low health score, but assuming that they can get this fixed, here’s my review of their food. Their dumplings are a little different but no less tasty than the ones at King of Noodle and San Tung. They don’t have as extensive a dumpling menu, but the ones they served were solid. I like how their menu is pretty diverse and spans quite a few different regional cuisines in China. Service is good and this location is great for groups. I’ve never had to wait to get seated and I’ve come on various weekend evenings during dinner time. Portions are quite large so make sure you bring a few people or be prepared to take home leftovers. I’ve ordered the winter melon and pork bone «stew» on multiple occasions and really love this dish. One time I ordered it, the dish came out under cooked, but once I pointed this out to the staff they were more than happy to take the dish back and bring us another one that was really tasty. The beef pancake, while good, is enormous, so I only recommend ordering that dish if you have 4+ people.

Props to the memorable and well-​thought-​out name… not sure how well «Northeast Mom» would have fared. Dong Bei Mama indeed specializes in Northern China cuisine, featuring unique dishes that aren’t always on the menu at other Chinese restaurants like the bean sheets appetizer (very photogenic!), spicy pig ears (for adventurous souls), and that braised pork dish that looks like a giant pork belly masterpiece.
Dong Bei Mama is most well-​known for the BEEF PANCAKE: it was the primary reason for our visit, and we noticed while walking out that literally every table had ordered it! Although it falls short of the title «the best I’ve ever had» (blame my 626 food adventures), it was unquestionably the most humongous. Couple the American portion size with the extra-​crisp pan-​fried cooking style, and it is quite filling. I would have liked more beef and less cilantro, as well as more sauce to balance out all the pan-​fried-​ness – though the ample cucumber does add a refreshing touch (neutralizing the heat, as explained by my rudimentary understanding of Chinese medicine)
We also got the XIAO LONG BIAO so it would seem somewhat more of a balanced meal than just beef pancake. (Okay not really, since the only veggies were the cucumber and cilantro in the wrap.) For a Northern Chinese restaurant, I expected good XLB, but I thought it was just okay and could have used more soup, thinner skin, and more flavorful pork. Then again, I set unrealistically high expectations based on legendary XLB behemoths like Crystal Jade and DTF. Dong Bei Mama’s XLB were not terrible, but serve the purpose as another order-​able dish. At the end of the day, it’s still all about the beef pancake.
Ambiance is decent, as a standard nice Chinese restaurant, not some obscure hole-​in-​the-​wall and not a hip fusion place blasting clubbing music. The verdict? Comfy setting with classic comfort food. i.e. BEEF PANCAKE

Chong Qing Spicy Fish!!! Xoxoxo! That numbing spice is perfection. Boneless, crispy, mouth numbing, but so so well flavored. I’m dreaming about it now… Insert Homer moan/​drool.
I’m not a huge fan of sweet with salty, but those beef rolls are also bomb. Big tables, quick and friendly service. Perfect for large groups. There are lots of China tours that stop here, so their kitchen is accustomed to making things fast. When you want an excellent, affordable, family style meal, Dong Bei Mama knows best.
Also that taro red bean pastry is good, and I don’t even like red bean (yeah go ahead, try to take away my Asian card. Nope not happening). They sometimes ask if we want it served toward the end of your meal. Do it.
Décor is lacking but focus on what’s about to be in your face. Magic and numbing spices.

Ummmm, I was the only non-​chinese person here and I WAS LOVIN’ IT. This place is so legit. I came after going to the beach and brought that post-​beach hunger with me.
Like a total noob, I thought my 103lb self can totally handle a beef pancake. WRONG! I am quite the pig and eat like a beast when hungry but this damn beef pancake — no matter how delicious and fresh the cucumber inside was — was TOO much for me. IT IS HUGE. This beef pancake was bigger than my face, my book that I was reading. my life!
Definitely share the pancake with at least 2 – 3 other people OMGAHHH so damn delicious

My parents introduced me to this place. They thought the food was good and that I’d enjoy it as well.
We ordered the:
1. Beef roll (the order is large and tasted okay to me – my parents loved it though)
2. garlic string beans (yum)
3. fried rice steamed in lotus leaf (i didnt see the point in steaming it in lotus leaf. the fried rice was good though)
4. fried pork (my favorite dish, perfectly fried in a sweet and sour type sauce).
When we came they had a group that filled up three large tables. I think it was part of some business tour group. I’m not quite sure the lady speaks or understands English but I think the menu was in English. I wouldn’t mind coming back here to eat the fried pork again!

Came here out of my way to find the best beef roll in town. I think I FINALLY found it after being a guinea pig to numerous places. THE BEEF ROLL IS A MUST ORDER ITEM!!! I am not exaggerating when I say their beef roll is HUGE like seriously for that price! It is def well worth it and they are not stingy to their filling. To put in perspective of how big the roll is, I’ll compare it to like a burrito cut into smaller portions.
This is THE place if you got cravings for those beef rolls, but I will def try other things as well! YUM YUM!!!

Came here on Friday evening around 6:30. We didn’t have a wait and got seated right away unto a big table that would seat 5. We were excited to try a lot of things on the menu with nice big selections of everything from Northwestern Chinese to Sichuan cuisine. We ordered the spicy beef intestines as appetizer, the cumin lamb ribs, sour cabbage dumplings and for dessert, the fried sweet potato wedges coated in thick sugar.
The spicy beef intestines had a nice Sichuan pepper spice to it, but not overwhelming to the tongue like many other places would make it. The price was also very reasonable for the quantity.
The cumin lamb ribs were yummy, not the same type of stir fried lamb pieces in other Sichuan restaurants. This one is more like a grilled rib with cumin spices sprinkled on top, not marinated through.
The sour cabbage dumplings with pork were good, I had one piece since I was already quite stuffed at this point! Fairly authentic since I’m from the Northwest and my grandma would marinate sour cabbage when I grew up.
The sweet potato wedges were my favorite! It is quite rare to find around the SF area since this is a very Northwestern dish, so not many restaurants serve this or do it the right way. They serve it with a bowl of ice water. You are supposed to pull off a piece of sweet potato from the dish and dip it into the ice water so that the outside will harden and become crispy, SOOOO GOOD! VERY authentic indeed. Each piece is sticky and the sugar coating forms thin sticks connecting each piece to the other. This is exactly how I used to eat it in China.
Overall, I can’t wait to come back and try their other dishes, such as beef pancakes, boiled fish, Shanghai soup dumplings, beef noodle soup, and more… I’m drooling again and I just ate…

Nous avons pris à emporter, une entrée (cake de légumes) ainsi que deux plats, tofu, et nouilles sautées au poulet.
Les tarifs sont tout à fait raisonnables !
Les serveuses nous ont assis à une table en attendant les plats, dix minutes, bons et chaud.
Petit point négatif quant à la serveuse peu aimable mais qui fait son boulot tout à fait correctement.

Based on the sliced beef pancake and sauteed snow pea leaves, I’d definitely come here again to have those two dishes alone. The dishes were not too greasy and the flavor was just right.
Sliced beef pancake roll– 5 stars and highly recommend: This could probably feed 3 people easily; the dish is a lot bigger than expected! The flavoring is really yummy; the sliced beef reminds me of typical Chinese cold sliced beef and the sauce is what they use for Peking duck. Great flavor and super delicious… still wish I had leftovers…
Sauteed Snow Pea Leaves (Dou miao) — 5 stars: Excellent! The leaves were very fresh and the hint of garlic was great! They used the right amount of oil; enough to make it tasty and not too much to make it overly greasy.
Shanghai soup dumplings– 2.5 stars: I’m particular about my soup dumplings and they were just okay. To me, the skin was a little too thick and the broth/​meat filling wasn’t spectacular. I’d skip this dish if you had a choice.

Food = good. They have plenty to choose from. And the menu is very large, and a bit overwhelming. Definitely be prepared for family style sized dishes.
Sliced beef pancake = ginormous. Enough to share with others. Or you could eat it alone as a meal. Pancake with sliced beef, vegetables, and herbs rolled and then cut. It’s delicious and hearty.
Pork a la Sichuan = spicy but not that impressive. Julienned vegetables with pork. Definitely has the red chili oil.
Iron plate beef = tender beef with onions and scallions on a cast iron platter. Slightly sweet, savory and definitely hot when it hits the table.
Pea sprout leaves with garlic = win. Plenty of delicious pea sprout leaves with sliced garlic. I did not see it on the menu but it was available.
We ordered steamed rice, too. (It was hard to skip it with the saucy pork dish.)
Prices = moderate. Most dishes are family style. Our meal was $ 48 before tip. We had plenty of leftovers as it was just the two of us. (My friend let me order… oops! lol) They accept Visa/​MC for anything over $ 20, and they will only allow one card per table, so bring cash if you plan to split the tab.
Service = friendly and efficient. Speaking Chinese probably helps but they’re okay with English, too.
Seating = a few 4 tops, and several round tables (seats 8+) with lazy susans, so I’m guessing the more the merrier.
Parking = street. Definitely easily accessible by public transit (MUNI buses).
I’ll bring more people next time.

This place is 3.5 stars for the food and service, but their portions are HUGE & for the price, you get a damn good deal
Came w/​a friend who isn’t too adventurous on asian food, but I’m usually understanding and can accommodate to that. We ordered Shrimp Chives Pork Steam Dumpling, Orange Chicken, & Beef Chow Mein. I wasn’t expecting much since these were pretty mediocre orders, but when they came out, I was shocked. The portions were hugeee,& each served on large round plates. The food didn’t amaze me as they were basic, but they were filling and delicious nonetheless. Also, splitting the bill b/​w 2 ended up only being abt $ 12! For 3 orders, that’s a good value.
Overall, really impressed by the value of the food & how big the portions are. Definitely gnna come back here to try out their beef pancakes&other yummy items

I really really like the food here. Had written a review about it in 2013, and had been coming here from time to time. But there are a few new observations.
To order in a restaurant attempting to please every kind of diner, go for their intended regional speciality. And speak perfect Mandarin in Beijing accent when ordering. That’s what you’ll need to dine well here.
I very rarely eat Chinese food with anyone, mainly because my folks make them way better at home. But there are a few things this restaurant has no other places in the bay area has. The cabbage with pork ribs soup is a better option according to the extremely helpful and polite staff. She’s from northeastern China, one of the three provinces, I’m guessing Liaoning, could be wrong but that accent is not from Heilongjiang, my cultural heritage. If you speak proper Mandarin, as in with perfect Beijing accent as I did, she’ll be very helpful. Ask her what to get between the green beans and the cabbage, she tells me that she’d go for the cabbage, as the green beans would have been cooked too long. I wholeheartedly agree. My grandma used to make this. It came as in a pot that filled with yam noodles and soup, white soup that was so delicious for a cold winter day. My companion is a Midwestern transplant, and he was so delighted. For a white guy he was very adventurous and I was impressed that he liked the dish.
I ordered the bean sheet salad. It’s less than $ 10 and it’s exactly what I liked, things like that only made by my father during Chinese New Year. And the egg omelette salad that is part of the dish was as good as it gets. It’s slimy. Unless you grew up in Manchuria and had that as a kid, I suspect you won’t like it. But if you were like me and had that dish growing up, this is as good as it gets, better than most of the northeastern Chinese restaurants I have eaten at in Southern China or Beijing. They make it spicy too, with Sichuan peppers, so it’s a nice twist to an otherwise completely northern dish. I’d skip the shrimp or the ham, and instead of it, I’d add the Moscow sausage or the blood sausage from Europa Plus which is just down the street. In Northeastern China, our food has a lot of Russian and German influences, stemmed from its close proximity (Russia) and prior colonial influence (Germany).
The last but not the least is the beef onion pancake. It has sliced cucumber and cilantro, plus the marinated and thinly sliced beef. It’s a better version than what I’d get in Beijing, though very Americanized, as in the size is huge.
Portion and value are unprecedented in the bay area, and I’d venture to say, the quality of ingredients and the preparation are far more superior than most of the northeastern restaurants I’ve dined at in China.
Three things we ordered that night: cabbage and pork rib soup, the beef pancake, the bean sheets salad. We ate until we were about to explode from fullness. And then we took the rest of home. We got two extra meals out of it.
The lady who served us was quite nice. She reminded me of the kind hearted, well mannered northerners that I met when I was a young girl and visited /​lived in Manchuria. It’s a very rare sight. I suspect my impeccable Beijing accent made her at ease as well. But being half northerner myself, I know the hospitality of northerners is famous in China, it really makes dining out a treat.
There are many dishes to get here. Like I said, it’s a crowd pleaser and they do what they can to attract different types of diners. It is trying to do too much. Sichuan, Cantonese, Yunan and Northeastern food. They cannot be good at everything. I would not go there for those regional cuisines if you know what the restaurant’s name meant: «Northeastern Mother». You go there to order the food that the northeastern Chinese eat: think home made sauerkraut, stewed cabbage, and noodles.
The three things we ordered seemed to shine above other things, it feels like that these could be their signature dishes. They did those dishes extremely well and food arrived super fast.
A few nights ago I couldn’t sleep and I was browsing Unilocal’s photos of the restaurant. I sent him photos and reviews of this place. He said to me, «You really want to go there, we should go there, you miss home.»
I’m not sure if I was missing home. I was probably missing my childhood in Manchuria, and my grandparents and my father who made those dishes for me growing up. That evening after dinner I slept very well. Curled up like a baby and did not wake up until 8. I think my grandparents who were now heaven, they were watching over me that night, and they were smiling because I have finally found a place in America that made food just like they did.

Been here a few times now, and there are definitely some standout dishes:
— Beef pancake (⁵⁄₅) — As good as all the other reviewers have claimed. Great combination of crispy and gluteny Chinese pancake, flavorful meat, hoisin, scallions, and cucumbers. Not to mention it’s massive and super cheap.
— Spicy boiled beef (⁵⁄₅) — Tender, melt in your mouth beef, along with napa and bean sprouts, submerged in mala numbing spicy sauce. Could have used even more spice, but very good.
— Green beans (⁵⁄₅) — Obligatory vegetable dish that’s actually pretty delicious.
— Lamb dumplings (⁴⁄₅) — Really concentrated lamb flavor.
— Xiaolongbao (³⁄₅) — Pretty average dumplings.
— Preserved napa with pork belly (³⁄₅) — A little disappointing, as the broth and meat were pretty bland.
Overall, this place has good food, huge portions, and awesome prices. You could easily stuff yourself for less than $ 10. Worth the drive all the way from SOMA every time.

Knew to expect deece food x medioc service, but…
Me: «What are tofu puffs?»
Her: «You order or not? If you no order I no talk to you.»
Me: «…Ok, thank you.»
The fffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu?
Did that just happen?
Yes, that just happened.
Liked what I ate but dang.

Come here if you want:
1. Interesting Chinese food
2. Friendly/​Quick service
3. Decent pricing
This place just happened to be outside the motel we were staying at, so we decided to check it out. The beef pancake got better the more we ate it and only cost around $ 7.50 (it had a little too much cilantro though). It could easily feed 2 people. Don’t order the corn cakes alone, they were okay but usually come with something else. We also ordered some Shanghai pork buns, which were decent but nothing that special. The staff was very friendly and food came quick.
To sum it all up: One step away from being really great.