Hulu Wa China Bistro

My neighbor and I stopped in to try the new restaurant today for lunch and it was a good time!The restaurant itself is small and holds maybe 10 people. There are stairs to the side, but I don't know if there's upstair seating or not. I tried to make a reservation and their website took me to Yelp, but the page didn't work. Fortunately, we showed up and were able to get a seat. The ambiance was relaxing and chill with very mellow instrumental music. The big screen TV perched above the bar displayed beautiful photographs of Spain - a screensaver basically - which is fine.The service was good. The waitress was on top of everything and our food/drinks came out at a good pace. She was definitely busy with all of the DoorDash and Uber Eats orders.As for the food, I had the Beef with Spicy Garlic sauce. I asked for extra spicy and it was sort of medium. I love spicy food and sometimes restaurants can't meet my spicy standard and that's OK. The flavors were great and it's definitely something I'll order again. The garlic sauce wasn't spicy, but actually sweet which was a surprise. I enjoyed it though! My neighbor had chicken with mixed vegetables. She really enjoyed that. We both really loved the hot & sour soup that comes with the lunch special. It very much had a black pepper flavor to it which we both loved. I loved it so much that I'll need to order that a la carte next time. It's probably the best hot & sour soup I've ever had.All in all, we both really loved our lunch experience and will definitely return with our friends. I hope this restaurant sticks around because the food is great! People must already know because of all the DoorDash/Uber Eats drivers in and out while we were eating

Amazing Chinese food, (better than the nearby kung food)Decent pricesThe food isn't coveted in oil or sauces like other Chinese places do

I didn't realize this place was super central in the Castro area. The price for the lunch combo was really good... super affordable. The fried crab rangoon was filled with crab... super well balanced. The soup that came with the lunch combo was also really flavorful. And the lunch combo I got was very protein (sweet and sour pork) heavy. My only feedback for it is that I wish there were a little more veggies. Otherwise, great if you need to eat a lot of protein and on a budget. The service was great. Quick and easy. Nothing special about the service from what I noticed. It's definitely a casual environment so no need to dress fancy or anything. Great spot if you're looking for a decent meal for lunch or if you're out during the evening and want some decent Chinese food after having a few cocktails in the area.

I went to Hulu Wa China Bistro for lunch on December 25th. The space looks small, but there is also an upstairs area. Both the food and service were really nice. The location can be somewhat difficult to find as it's located by the F line and behind the gas station.

Great spot for lunch! The sesame chicken is outstanding--perfectly crispy on the outside while staying juicy inside. If you're looking for a protein-packed meal, their other chicken lunch plates are also worth trying.

Do you feel you're always looking for your go-to Chinese takeout spot?I found it! Here it is! Tucked into the corner of 17th Street right at the cable car turnaround is this sweet little restaurant with really terrific Chinese favorite dishes like won ton soup, beef and broccoli, salt and pepper prawns, chow fun and a smattering of juicy dumplings.We had XLB that were so plump and soupy and one of the best won ton soups in recent memory with clear, flavorful broth and lots of shrimp and won tons. My son ordered in Mandarin but hastily ordered pork fried rice instead of pork chow fun. I ordered the salt and pepper prawns which were salty, hot and crunchy.They also have a good selection of vegetarian soup and entrees.All the dishes were executed to *perfection*!Attentive service, picturesque seating from the second floor (there's an elevator for wheelchair accessibility), chill ambiance. They had at least as many takeout orders going out the door as those dining in.We got lucky with street parking on Hartford, so driving was 5.5/10 on a degree of parking difficulty (2 blocks or less) and it's on several MUNI lines so very accessible.Just go! Dine in or takeaway!

Came here with a friend and wow the food here is amazing and cheap! Good: - Super nice staff and really reasonable prices for good portion sizes - The food came out super quickly- The Mongolian beef was the best I've had in the city! So much flavor, and it was really chewy but pliable - Nice place to catch up with friends, quiet interior - The chow fun was really tasty and addictive, good texture and temperature Bad: - The place is small there are only really 3 tables in the spaceOverall I liked how this was a new find and would come back.

I have been looking for my next go to Chinese food spot and I finally found it! I have had Hulu Wa a few times now and it has been great! The food is delicious and portions are pretty good for the price.We ordered:- General Tso's Chicken (10/10) Have ordered this twice and it was delicious both times. Chicken was crispy and coated with just the right amount of sauce.- Mongolian Beef (10/10)Actually has some spice to it which is great because usually other Chinese restaurants hold back on the spice. This is one of my fav dishes here!- Lumpia (5/10)It was lacking flavor and filling. If the filling has more flavor to it then maybe I'd try it again. Would recommend you pass.- Chicken Wings (6/10)The wings were just ok. Again not very flavorful and was fairly bland.- Sesame Balls (7/10)These were alright. Some of the sesame balls felt chewier while other ones were a nice texture. The red bean paste inside was a little chalky but overall I enjoyed them.Overall the actual entrees are delicious and flavorful. Skip the appetizers and just get the entrees. Can't wait to try their other dishes!

I just tried them for the first time tonight, via delivery. I'm not usually that into fried rice, but this was really the best I've ever had. Super fluffy rice instead of heavy and dense, and the veggies were really fresh. I can't praise it enough. I also had a fried tofu entree and it was excellent, perfectly cooked.

Loving the throwback to Americanized Chinese mom & pop restaurants at this place. Kinda like the Panda Express menu, but much better quality. And those lunch combos are very reasonably priced for San Francisco.Hot & Sour Soup: Pretty standard, but in a comforting way. Silky broth texture and chewy strands, like you'd expect. Nice sour aftertaste. A good way to start a meal.Fried Crab Cheese Puff: These were shaped like egg rolls rather than typical crab rangoons. And they were kinda skimpy on the crab, so it was more like eating a bit stick of fried cream cheese. I like cheesy stuff, so that was still nice against the crispy shell. But I think a typical crab cheese wonton would have been better.Lumpia: You can't go wrong with lumpia. Thin, crispy and full of minced meat. Nice sweet dipping sauce on the side. It remind me of grocery store frozen lumpia; maybe they make it in-house or maybe they don't, but it's still delicious.Veggie Chow Mein: Well worth the $3 upgrade since this is way more interesting than white rice. Springy noodles and lots of veggies. Paired with a protein choice, this really did feel fancier than fast food.Egg Fried Rice: Another choice for a $3 upgrade instead of white rice. Not as interesting as the chow mein, though still much better than boring white rice. Though it does pair well with a sauce heavy entree.Orange Chicken: Freshly deep fried to order, so it's crispy even when tossed in the sticky sweet sauce. Seemed like all breast meat, which is fine by me. Quite nice size chunks too. The sauce had strong hints of orange peel, so it tasted lovely. Very intensely filling, so I had to take some home as leftovers.Sesame Beef: I think I liked this more than the orange chicken. The beef was cut thin, nicely batter, fried crispy and had a good sauce. The long thin shape meant it was crispier than the thick chicken pieces. A must-try dish here!