Hai Ky Mi Gia

Hai Ky Mi Gia offers a mean and lean duck leg wonton soup. As to be expected the duck leg is tender with meat falling off the bone. The duck also enhances the homemade-​ish broth. The wontons are decent, on par with other good places but nothing too memorable. I opted for the thin, Cantonese-​style noodles. They were cooked el dente with slight resistance but eventually gave way to my eager molars. I am eager to return and try the other Sino-​Vietnamese dishes on the menu. As with most Asian places, if it’s not on the menu, and you want it, they’ll still probably make it.

What’s not to love? One of the best. Their combination of broth, noodles, duck and chili are out of this world. Lao ban niang is always friendly, did us always good, and the front counter is always stocked with the best candies. Hai Ky had never failed to satisfy a craving and low-​key I don’t think they ever will.

Read so much about it and decided to try. 10 minutes walk from Hilton, passing a long line of homeless gathering nearby a soup kitchen I suppose.
I ordered the duck noodle with wanton. The noodle was overdone, the duck tasted average hardly any favor, and the wantons were wrapped too tight. All in all, a disappointment. Folks should try similar dish in new york’s Chinatown. Much better.

The duck is nicely braised and flavored. The broth (which I got on the side) is nice, but nothing to write home about (hence why you should get it on the side so as not to drown out the duck). The egg noodles are pretty standard fare, so I might get rice noodles next time.
I also got a small side of the fried fish cake which was nice. The price of everything was low, so the overall value is quite high.

Five star for friendliness. The owner (?) sat us and was extremely nice during our meal.
Food was exactly what we wanted. We got the duck mee soup and the beef tendon mee soup (with tomato base broth). Both were terrific! Too much i couldnt finish.

HKMG is a Tenderloin, if not SF, institution. My bf and I came at 11:30AM on a Sunday and clinched the last table. Thank the brunch gods. The food here is simple, tasty, and easy on the wallet. Perhaps best of all, they are fast even when super busy.
Braised Duck Leg & Wontons (~9) — Easily the most well known dish here. The duck luck is sizable and the meat easily falls off the bone. I personally ask for this dish «dry,» AKA soup on the side. The soup is essentially seasoned chicken broth. You can choose between egg or rice noodles, or a combo of both!
Beef Stew w/​Rice Noodles (~9) — The bf got this and wasn’t a fan because there were a lot more beef tendons than actual meat pieces. The soup was also too sweet for his taste but I personally found it to be delicious. Twas definitely on the oily side though.
[TIP] CASH ONLY
They have fresh hot soy milk for 2.50! It comes sweetened. You can also ask to have get it iced.

Food evokes nostalgia — that warm fuzzy feeling of home, family and friends. That’s what the noodles at Hai Ky Mi Gia does. From the texture of the noodles, complimenting with the assortment of meatballs, wanton, meat, fish cake brings me back to the streets of SE Asia. The warm soy milk completes that feeling of home.
If I were in town, you would find me there!
ps. Food was so good, by the time we realize we would take pictures, it’s been digested. True story.

Rainy days = noodle soup days in my books. So, when we woke up on a pouring morning hungry, my bf and I decided to try this place.
We ordered the beef stew with wonton (half rice stick half yellow noodle) and a special rice stick noodle soup. My beef stew bowl had SO much stuff! When I was full it looked like I barely made a dent. While the beef chunks were tender, my favorite item were the wontons. They were so juicy and fresh, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they were handmade. My bf also enjoyed his noodles, which came with shrimp, pork, and other good stuff.
We also ordered the soy milk after reading about it in the reviews. It was very good and definitely freshly made as we saw them scooping our order into cups from a huge pot.
Service was super friendly, which is rare in restaurants like this. Prices are also low for what you get, so I plan to come back.
Pro-​tip: Get half half noodles! They didn’t charge us more and I got WAY more noodles than my bf did.

I’m going to keep this review short since I’m sure other reviews covered how delicious this place is. The beef stew noodle soup is absolutely yumlicious! Flavorful and the beef is super tender. The noodles were cooked perfectly. Definitely a must try on a cold winter day.
Service is surprisingly delightful!
Keep in mind that the wait time might be long though!

Came to visit SF with my girlfriends one weekend and of course, we were craving some noodle soup after a night of drinking. This place reminds me of a place down in LA called Kim Ky, same concept, same kind of food, but of course they both have their differences.
There was a long wait so we did have to wait like 15 mins for a seat. Although the people here eat really fast, this isn’t a place where you would sit down for a long time to chit chat after your meal.
You choose a dish from the menu and then you get to choose from 4 different kinds of noodles: small yellow, big yellow, small white or big white. I always prefer small yellow (wonton mien noodles) and small white (phở noodles), but I think this time me and my friend got big yellow instead. It just honestly depends on your preference. You can get half and half if you’d like, and you can ask for soup on the side or inside your bowl.
The soup didn’t taste as good as the one in LA, they didn’t have satay sauce like the one in LA, and their menu is also very small here. They didn’t have any vegetables on their menu, so we had to get just noodles and soup. The location surrounding it is also very dumpy and ghetto, it was really scary walking on the streets!
Their Chinese donut is BOMB, def crispier and more fresh than the one in LA. They give you a ton of noodles, they like fill the whole bowl up and none of us could finish it in one sitting. Workers here are very nice and friendly, they’re very scattered since they’re super busy.

Reminds me of Hong Kong the second I walk in here… fast, bustling, lots of people, long lines… Cantonese speaking waiters/​waitresses… cash only.
I got their beef ho fun with extra fish balls and it was delicious! The broth made from a tomato base and was rich and filling. Perfect for a cold day! I also got a side of their fried fish cake which was good but be careful as it comes out extremely hot (burnt my tongue-​hot!).

On my way to my favorite — turtle tower — for Vietnamese antibiotics (phở) when I noticed this spot for the first time. It looked like a phở place I used to get breakfast at in Hue, Vietnam so I walked to the door to check it out. I noticed that phở is made with free range chicken!!! Whoa, I’ve never seen that at a $ phở spot before, so I had to check it out.
Broth with noodles did not disappoint. The broth was richer than Turtle Tower’s, with lots more condiments to doctor up the phở. Even though the noodles are not homemade, there still slippery and delicious. It’s a toss-​up which is my favorite now!

We walked up and down larkin looking for some authentic asian food we stumbled upon this place. The spot was popular because we had to wait 10minutes to eat. They’re supposedly known for their duck noodle soup but my gf ordered the sa tay with beef noodle that soup was super thick and it had chunks of garlic or peanut in it. I ordered the bo kho and it came with all piece of fat! The noodles were good but the broth was bland and there was no meat in it. My friends all ordered the duck noodle and none of them finished their small bowl. Im vietnamese so I’m use to eating super flavourful broth with a lot of meat in it. I was disappointed in the san fransisco spots i visited.

My old hang over noodle house hasn’t changed in over a decade. The same people own it and run this place still friendly as ever. The noodle soup is cheap, greasy and hearty. It’s casual café ambiance.
You have to enter the Tenderloin, but be adventurous! It’s a scenic walk through SF’s concrete jungle in search of the Chinese soup noodle oasis-​or a colorful drive. I love that succulent roasted duck leg noodle soup. I like to load it up with jalapeños and have at it. If you need more carbs than the noodles. They have fluffy Chinese donuts here too. You will walk out of here feeling like new money after a hard night of SF festivities. I’d even find myself in here for a cheap breakfast or lunch. –comfort food for sure.
It’s yummy, cheap, fast and a no frills noodle house! I’ll probably grace Hai Ky Mi Gia with my presence the morning after my next night of debauchery in the city!

#236. I normally stick to the Unilocal highlights if I’m new to the place. Everyone was raving about the braised duck leg with wontons and thick egg noodles, so I decided to go with that. It was such a disappointment. Maybe I had an off day, but there must’ve been heaps of MSG in my soup. So salty.
+1 for cheap menu items, but I probably would explore the TL and try something else next time.

Well, that made a HUGE difference.
After having visited Hai Ky Mi Gia almost eight years ago and leaving fairly unimpressed, I decided to make a return visit. Not only that, I carefully read the reviews of a few fans (ie: Ken K.) and came away not only more educated, but much more satisfied.
A few lessons learned: Not only is it important to order the right dish at a restaurant, sometimes it’s equally important to order the right preparation and variant style. Second, while one visit is enough to form an opinion, a repeat visit is often more than warranted and can lead to a much more delicious experience, especially if you’re open and willing to learn from others who have gone many more times.
At my first visit, I ordered their specialty duck noodle soup and also ordered their seafood combination. Both were solid, but I didn’t think any stood out from the crowd and definitely didn’t like having to go all the way to the Tenderloin for what I considered standard noodle soups.
Ken K’s review is not only detailed, but accurate and the description of the cuisine as Chiu Chow and the blueprint that led to the ubiquitous (and admittedly once very good, but now mediocre) Tung Kee chain of noodle soup shops leads to a whole new way of looking at the cuisine.
Second, learning that wide rice noodles are available for every entrée and that furthermore many entrees can be ordered «dry style» changes the game completely as well. At my first visit, I ordered everything egg noodle and while I’ve since had the thick egg noodles as well as the thin, egg noodles have never been my noodle of choice. Ordering the rice noodle as the base changed the dish completely for me and I’m a huge fan of the semi-​wide rice noodles used here, common in phở and even around the corner at Turtle Tower.
The dry style or «lo mein» style is also a revelation. I ordered the signature duck noodle as a soup noodle the first time and found the broth very good, but the taste to lack vegetables and nuance. Ordering it dry style is something I do frequently with hu tieu nam vang (Vietnamese Cambodian noodles) as well as Cantonese Beef Brisket Lo Mein and is really how I love to eat noodles as well. The duck noodle soup served dry (which they easily substituted with rice noodles) was delicious and tearing apart the duck meat first (another tip) and mixing with a touch of chili oil and even a touch of hoisin and sriracha brought the dish alive.
Overall, it took more than a few years but I’m glad I returned to Hai Ky Mi Gia and gave it another try, but more importantly, I’m glad I knew all the various styles to try for my own liking (nowhere on the menu is the dry version mentioned).
Hai Ky Mi Gia remains as popular as ever and the fairly large space is clean and service straightforward. While I’m still not a fan of trekking out to the Tenderloin, for Hai Ky Mi Gia, I now have a reason to.
Hai Ky Mi Gia is cash only.

Came here cause the restaurant across the st was closed. This place seems more like a local mom and pop restaurant. A lot of local viet and canto people here so seems pretty legit.
We ordered #4 thick dry noodle with fish cake, fish ball, shrimp and pork, and #7 thin dry noodle with duck and wonton. The duck was super tender and flavorful. But I liked the seafood combo better. I personally liked the thin noodles better. The soup base was very light which is good. but they might’ve put too much msg in there.

I love noodles especially egg noodles. So when I saw this restaurant from IG, I was excited to try this place.
After we walked for 7 blocks of nonstop solid crowds of drug addicts & drunks from union squares, finally we reached the restaurant.
There were 2 more people ahead on us on the waiting list.
It was packed because lunch time.
Finally we got our seats and a lady came like in such a hurry mode asked what did we want to order.
I decided with pork and meatball thin noodle & I like the taste of the thin curly noodle. It taste good, but it didn’t wow me though, not gonna make me craving to go back for a second time.
You can’t go wrong with beef meatball, it’s always the same texture. The broth was good too.
My husband ordered the thick noodle in the soup style also with beef meatball.
He didn’t really like it and I gave it a try and I had to agree with him. The broth wasn’t rich, it was bland. No veggies at all.
The thick noodle seems undercooked.
Maybe for my husband who had no idea the different texture of noodle but to him it seems undercooked, super aldente but me being a noodle maniac after I tasted it, he was right.
The broth from his soup wasn’t good or rich flavor onto it, even he said mine was more rich flavor.
Service was in a fast mode but wasn’t bad. Everybody smile & don’t forget to bring some cash.
This place was like eating in Asia. They put strangers together at the same tables and nobody talk to each other except their own friend or they know the owner.
Will I be back? Hmm maybe yes maybe not. If I do, I’ll asks the waitress to wait for a minute so I can study the menu or I’ll just come after lunch. I don’t recommend to come here at lunch time if you are a tourist.

FOOD:
OMG!!! I LOVE THIS PLACE!!! The food is so delicious… I always get the egg noodle with chicken or egg noodle with duck or egg noodle with shrimp. Any of these taste so good. The «meat» you choose can also alter the way your soup base tastes so keep that in mind. I usually come here after a long night of drinking. Also, try the chinese donut! Dip it in your soup and tastes so good!
SERVICE:
Everyone is so sweet here, love the owner!
TIP:
You can choose what kind of noodle (RICE or EGG NOODLE) and you can choose THICK OR THIN noodles. And, if you’re picky like me, you can mix so I usually get a mix of thick and thin egg noodle :)
WOULD I RECOMMEND IT? Yes!!! Must Eat!

To be frank, the TL is probably my least favorite neighborhood in SF. It’s a bit gritty for my liking but the real problem is how much of a pain parking is («why have you forsaken me, parking gods?!»). Despite my personal feelings though, there’s no denying that the area has some serious eats, especially when it comes to Vietnamese food!
Walking into Hai Ky Mi Gia, I was expecting a typical hole in the wall type of joint, but the place is surprisingly large. And even more surprisingly, nearly every table was already taken at around 11:00 in the morning. Highly unexpected, but it certainly gave me confidence in the food!
While the menu seems to offer a good variety of dishes, I actually didn’t take a long look since I already had a good idea of what to get: (#4) HOANH THANH MI VIT TIM — Braised Duck Leg with Won Ton Egg Noodle Soup ($ 8.28). However, heeding the advice of my friend, as well as a few fellow Unilocalers, I requested the soup on the side since it would make the duck easier to eat and the flavor wouldn’t get lost in the broth.
Although the marinade/​sauce on the duck was a little salty, I thought the dish was great! The more mellow soup nicely balanced the mix of seasonings/​flavors and the meat was cooked to the perfect tenderness (broke apart so easily!). Plus, while they may not look all that big, the dumplings were so plump and meaty!
If the delicious food wasn’t enough of a draw (my friend enjoyed her dish as well), Hai Ky Mi Gia’s prices are really reasonable. Roughly $ 10-​$ 11 after tax and tip for a bowl of noodles and a big piece of duck? Unheard of for something so delicious and filling, especially considering how expensive things are getting in the city. In fact, it even makes the trek down to the TL worthwhile. Well, for the most part…