Mow Lee Shing Kee & Company

I like this place, much better than the stuffs you find at the supermarkets, less greasy, and more flavorful. It’s also a more natural looking color so that must tell you the stuff you buy elsewhere has some food coloring and more processed. We go there regularly once we found this place.

Best place to buy lap churn and all the other preserved meats. Our family has been coming here for years and only buy from here when I come visit SF. Yes I’m willing to board on a plane with all my carryon laugage all filled with preserved meats, and TSA laugh at me every time :(but i don’t care cause its that yummy! The lady is always very helpful and teaches me how to cook it too. She’s also very patient with separating all our bags that makes it easier for us to give out to other family/​friends that also want the goodies. Till my next trip out there, I’ll be back for more.

If you go past a hole in the wall, that was the place! Somewhat strange, lady pulls lup cheong from behind the counter, not from display but it’s all good

According to the owner, this place is a 100+ years old store and being managed by the 6h generation of the same family. I had higher expectation from this place but It was a bit disappointing. We purchased the cured port belly, cured sausages, cured duck and cured chicken. The taste of the cured meats were no better than what I can find in the regular supermarkets. I even stored the cured meats in the refrigerator and the pork belly got spoiled only after a few weeks. These meats suppose to last years without any refrigeration. From what I can tell, they did not follow the proper process for the cured meats which resulted in short shelf life and lack of flavor. They also charge a premium for the same product compare to a local supermarket. For the price I paid, I definitely think it is not worth the money.

Thanks Unilocal!
Apparently this had been in another location when we went 5 – 7 years ago, and we thought it was in one place in Chinatown but it wasn’t. It was in a smaller alley side street and we would have never found it: P Plus thank you for the Search «Chinese Sausage» near «SF, CA» as well, so that helped us out with the name.
had to get some for our cousins because they usually get it for us, etc. They also sell the Oh gosh I can say it in canto but not in English. But if you make Chinese sausage on top of rice, you can soak some of its flavor in the rice if you put it in the rice cooker: P It tastes amazinggggg. You can get some of their dried stuff/​other things and figure out… ooh I remember the name. Preserved meat! Add that to some fried rice and you got yourself a meal. It’s really good. If you know what to add it to what dish, you’ll totally know the really insane flavors that the meat here gives off. The flavor is unreal.

My family has been getting freshly made preserved Chinese sausages and Chinese bacon for as long as I can remember. It’s so much better than the stuff you find at the supermarkets, less greasy, and more flavorful. It’s also a more natural looking color so that must tell you the stuff you buy elsewhere has some food coloring and more processed.
This stuff is great steamed with mushrooms and chicken over rice or diced into fried rice. Throw it in the freezer and it will last practically forever.

It took me a while to find this place and even then I walked past the entrance 3 – 4 times before I figured out it was there. I ended up buying a little bit of everything to make dinner with and after trying it out can honestly say this place is better than the store bought one (don’t remember the brand Kam Lan?). I also went to Wycen on the opposite side of this place. Even though it’s bigger and seems nicer, the may didn’t taste as nice and the lady curing the may had the worst attitude I’ve seen as a Chinese person. Mow Lee lady owner was fantastic and helped me out in picking my meat and chatting me up about her store. Highly recommended.

Very white guy here that likes to cook Chinese style. Found this place randomly while researching places to buy Chinese sausage. Found this place (no address markers as far as I can tell). Prepare to be a little intimidated, there is just tons and tons of preserved meat piled up in a very tiny space. Luckily, the lady who works there was super super nice to me and despite her broken english explained that the place was 130 year old family business with her son being the 6^th generation. She said they sold their meat to some of the good Chinatown restaurants like R&G lounge.
Originally I was just going to buy a half lb of each type of sausage (pork and liver), but the she insisted I buy one piece of preserved bacon, chicken and duck. As that added only $ 10 to the bill I decided to go all in. She chopped it all up for me and even explained how to re-​heat and serve it.
This review might be a bit pre-​mature as I haven’t actually eaten any of it yet but I am drooling just looking at it.

any chinese kid growing up in/​around chinatown knows this place meant that the dinner table would be filled with delicious and aromatic food at night. sausages here are to die for

Whenever I’m in San Francisco, my family and friends ask for Chinese Sausages to bring home, especially duck liver sausage.
Growing up, I had fond memories eating them for dinner. My mother would let the sausage cook on top of the rice while it was steaming. I think it was a default dish for when she ran out of ideas/​things to cook. My mother would also crumble potato chips on top of my rice for my dinner: O I did love it though.
Today I stay away from these sausages because they are vaccuum sealed and full of msg, preservatives and food coloring. The traditional way is made with sugar, shaoxing wine or sherry, soy sauce, and curing salt. It needs to be sun dried where you hang the meat in a cool, dry place with lots of air circulation but is impractical in most places with the exception of San Francisco.
I made sure I had cash ready and my family dropped me off in the little alley where this meat shop is located. It’s around the corner from Eastern bakery and is a little space that’s not noticeable unless you knew what you were looking for.
The meats were in plastic bins or hanging and a lot of items were sold out when I arrived shortly before closing. I purchased 1.5 — 2 pounds of pork belly (4 pieces), 2 pounds of duck liver sausage (10 – 11 pairs), and 1 pounds of pork sausage (5 pairs) to be distributed between my mom, a friend, and uncle/​grandpa.
The lady that works here is very nice and helpful and speaks very good English. She recommended the duck breast that was $ 16.50 a lb. There were only 2 pieces left but I had already spent over $ 40 and wanted to try everything first.
There was nothing to eat for dinner at my house tonight so I steamed one piece of the pork belly and 4 pork sausages over white rice. Before cooking it, the black, shriveled meat scared me but when it was done, it really plumped up. The pork belly was my favorite and it really colored and flavored the rice. It was extremely delicious and succulent and would be great with a fried egg with a runny yolk.
The lady said it can last 3 days in my car or a year in the freezer but I highly doubt that will be necessary: p

Stop here every time I visit from LA. My family loves their preserved meats. I picked up some lap cheong, gon cheong (duck liver sausage) and lap ngap (duck legs). They have two kinds for the latter — one is the less salt version. I don’t eat pork anymore but when I did, their lap cheong was probably my favorite way to eat pork! I tried a duck leg upon coming home — it is soooo good. Just steam it and serve with steamed rice and plain veggies like bok choy. Heavenly.
Sausages are sold by the pound. I can’t remember how much but I got a total of 13 pairs for $ 23 (26 sausages). They are larger than the packaged sausages you buy at the grocery store. The duck legs are $ 4.50 each. People were lining up for the pork belly but I don’t know how to pick out the right ones.
I don’t know when I’ll be back again. I feel like I didn’t buy enough this time. Darn the airline luggage weight limit!

Growing up, my folks would always come here to buy Chinese preserved meats whenever we were out in the City. Needless to say, I grew up off that and the tradition has carried on to me. Now, every time I’m in the City I try to come through here and buy at least a pound of the Chinese sausages. I don’t even mess with those packaged ones they sell at the Chinese supermarkets or even Costco. You can definitely taste the difference. Mow Lee is located in an alley in the heart of Chinatown. This is definitely a hole in the wall kind of place that you’d probably pass by before and never seem to notice. There is little to no parking in the area, so you’re better off parking at St. Mary’s Square parking garage or the Portsmouth Square Plaza garage.
Bring cash and be prepared to get oily coins back! You’ll know what’s up if you’ve been there before or are going to go there.

My sisters and I have made numerous trips to this business in the past to purchase the lop yuk (pork belly) for my mom. If one is looking for lop yuk in SF Chinatown, this is the place.
The store is small and the aisle is somewhat narrow. At most the store can hold about 5 people at a time. It may not look all clean and spiffy in there, but it is hard to resist the aromatic seasonings of the preserved meats.
In my younger days, I ate lop yuk and lop cheung cooked along with steamed rice… very tasty. Even though I don’t buy these items for consumption because my husband is not too much a fan of preserved meats, except for beef jerky, it is still a nice place to visit with the owner and engage in conversation with her in Cantonese.

Walking into this store makes me feel super bad-​ass and hardcore Asian (I’m usually the one who gets squeamish when I see cicada moltings at the apothecary stores). I love the horrified expressions on my friends faces as I step in this hole-​in-​the-​wall shop off a narrow, alley-​like street and instantly become engulfed by the scent of cured meats surrounding me. No vegan or vegetarian should ever step foot in here unless they are looking to convert. Every which way you look, there are strings of sausages, trays covered in various parts of chickens and ducks, and tubs full of what I refer to as Chinese bacon. This stuff is amazing! I’ll usually leave this place with about 10+ pounds worth of preserved meats. My mom adores this stuff so I often freeze what I buy then jump on a plane with the frozen goods when I go visit and show her what a great daughter I am :)
Stop by an ATM as they are cash only.

= CHINESE PRESERVED SAUSAGES =
This is definitely my spot to purchase the perfect souvenir for my mom because I have heard her whine about how great MOW LEE’s preserved sausages for years. Everytime she hears that I have a friend going to SF or something traveling to LA from that area, she always ask if my friends can go get her some sausages.
Well, parking in SF Chinatown is just a nightmare, but I guess I am one of those daughters that would go out of my way to put a smile on my mom’s face.
The store is located a few blocks from the hustling Chinatown. There are different types of preserved meat available. I bought my mom’s favorite — LAP CHEONG — and they run roughly $ 4/​lb. If you ask the guy nicely, he will also seal the bags for you too.
Guess this store is very well known, because my friends were stocking up their preserved meat when we were there too.

It took my mom no time to figure out this is the best place to buy Cantonese style sausage in SF. She talked to two grannies walking on the street in Chinatown, and they both pointed out this place.
Yep, indeed the best sausage.
Good flavor and high quality meat. My whole family (Cantonese) loved it, my friends who were not very interested in this kind of sausages loved it. I simply stopped buying those packaged ones from 99 ranch after eating this.
If you add 50 cents, they will pack your sausage in a bag with their traditional pink label on it. It will make a great souvenir. The owner lady is also very friendly, so just ask her any question.
Btw, if you know enough Cantonese, «Mow Lee» is a funny name for a store and quite unforgettable.

SF is filled with unknown mom-​and-​pop shops offering some of the best cuisine in the area, and theres no better gem than the rare finds in the Chinatown district. This is the place to go for Chinese-​style sausages!
My dad picks up a bunch of their stock here every time he visits, so I got a nice staple of the standard lap chang, the duck liver variety, and the lap yuk (pork belly). All 3 items are extremely easy to cook: while your rice is halfway cooked in the steamer, add in your ingredients on the rice and let the rest steam through. The meats will be ready once the rice is fully cooked through.
My personal favorite is the duck liver sausages. It has a crumbly soft texture quite unlike the lap chang and it is much darker in color, but the flavor is overpowering. Keep in mind that the duck liver does taste a lot saltier as well.

I heard about this little shop from an old Chinese lady who won’t buy her lap cheong from anywhere else. In fact, she won’t even eat lap cheong from anywhere else because she says Mow Lee Shing Kee makes it better, healthier, and more low fat than the processed stuff you buy at the supermarket. Well, who better to get shopping advice from than an old Chinese lady? The store is a tiny hovel. If you drove faster, you’d go right past it, but the sign is pretty obvious from the street for those who are looking for it. The store is so small it only fits customers single file, but the customers do line up for the lap cheong, lap yuk, and lap gnap (dried chinese sausages, pork belly, and duck). The store owner told me she the 5^th generation to run the store, and she is surprisingly helpful and friendly for a typical Chinatown vendor (don’t know if she speaks English).
To cook the lap yuk (pork belly), she told me to start the rice in the rice cooker, and once the water comes to a boil, throw the lap yuk in. Once the rice has finished cooking, the lap yuk will also be done. Take out the fragrant rice and eat with cut up bits of the lap yuk. I cut off the fat first, my husband eats it all in one. You can also take the cooked lap yuk and cut it up into little bits and stir fry with meat and vegetables, or else if you want to cook it from its raw state, cut off the skin first, then cut it up and throw it in the wok. Cooking with the lap cheong is the same, although no need to cut off the skin as it’s in a sausage casing already. Be sure to cook this stuff first. I’ve read elsewhere that American writers have been calling this «Chinese charcuterie» and one article even suggested eating it straight up. This stuff is RAW! Do not eat it without cooking it.
Anyways the store lady told me her lap yuk is what people come into the store to buy, and although I also bought lap cheong, she told me that after tasting her lap yuk, I might never buy lap cheong again. Well she may be right. It was delicious!
You buy the meat by the pound. Be sure to buy some lap yuk, and also try the lap cheong. I’ve had the lap gnap (duck) and wasn’t a big fan. This stuff keeps for a long time in the freezer.

My family has been coming here for decades and love their preserved meats. I think the best Chinese sausages outside of Asia. Different than your typical Taiwanese sausages as this one is fattier and not as sweet. They offer not only Chinese sausages but also preserved duck and chicken meats (
).
Definitely a place I visit each time I’m in Norcal.

Mow Lee Shing Kee is known for making preserved chinese meats the old fashioned way, not by machines but by hand. Mow Kee is located in an alley (commercial) a few doors away from Eastern Bakery.
the manufactured duck liver sausage, chinese sausage, and preserved («wax») duck are either strung up by strings from racks or they are laid neatly in wooden boxes. (flies seem to like the flavor).
In my youth, i loved eating fatty chinese preserved products but no more. it’s no longer healthy food for me. even while taking lipitor, i still mostly avoid lop cheong (chinese sausage), preserved kindneys, and duck liver sausage.
the sausage is a must ingredient when making «chinese tamales» during that special time of year. (i forget when since i don’t make them, i just eat them).