Sunset Profile: Handmade Dumplings with a Side of Inspiration

 

Dumpling expert Shubo Wang takes authentic Chinese cooking to another level at Happy Family Gourmet, her cozy restaurant at Taraval and 21st Avenue.

 

The Sunset has plenty of restaurants that offer tasty dumplings on the menu. But dumpling expert Shubo Wang takes authentic Chinese cooking to another level. You can find Shubo making everything by hand at Happy Family Gourmet, her cozy restaurant at Taraval and 21st Avenue.

Customers love her flavorful dumplings filled with ingredients like Spanish mackerel, lamb, pork, and fresh vegetables she buys directly from farmers. Shubo insists on making all the dough and fillings herself. To mix the fillings, she only uses chicken or bone broth — never water.

“They are most important to the quality and taste,” Shubo says. 

From school dropout to self-taught chef
Shubo knows how to make food from scratch because she’s been doing it for decades. Growing up in poverty in Shandong province in eastern China, she dropped out of school after seven years to help support her family — despite being a good student who had hoped to go to college.

But dropping out gave her the chance to learn how to cook. When she was old enough, she moved to western China’s Xinjiang Province and opened a restaurant serving local Uighur specialties like lamb skewers and Big Plate Chicken.

“I would only sleep four hours a night,” she recalls of those early years.

After seven years in Xinjiang, she returned to Shandong because she missed her young son, who was being cared for by her parents. She opened another successful restaurant there, driven by the same strong work ethic, tasty cuisine, and ebullient personality.

A new life in the Sunset
But Shubo soon heard opportunity knock again — this time in the United States. Sixteen years ago, sponsored by her sister, she came to the Sunset and began working in her sister’s real estate business. But after a year, Shubo says, “I decided that if I was going to work so hard, I’d rather be working for myself.”

With a loan from her brother-in-law, she and her husband opened Happy Family Gourmet. At first, they ran the place by themselves. But soon, word of mouth brought in loyal customers and enough business to hire help.

Today, they serve a wide variety of Chinese specialties. Some customer favorites include hand-pulled cold skin noodles, lamb stew with vermicelli, and beef pancakes.

 

Shubo Wang

 

Loyal customers keep coming back for more
Shubo still puts in long hours, though things are a bit easier now than they were in Xinjiang. She now sleeps six hours a night and has help to make the dumplings and other dishes.

Her customers are loyal, saying the food is delicious and very reasonably priced. At lunch recently, a couple from Bernal Heights — Maryann Hoffman and her husband — paid a return visit for the hand-pulled cold skin noodles, green beans, and of course, dumplings.

Another diner, a young man from the neighborhood, Chris M., said he was instantly attracted to the restaurant when he walked by and “saw them making dumplings and pulled noodles, and that was all I needed to see.”

Chris raved about the fresh ingredients.

“When they recommend something, I try it,” he said.

A new generation and a new dream
Shubo’s husband says he’s ready to retire, and loyal customers often tell her she works too hard. But Shubo loves what she’s doing and won’t hear of quitting the business.

“If I had to stay at home, I’d be bored,” she says.

In fact, Shubo has big dreams. She wants her son and daughter-in-law to come to the United States with their 9-year-old son and take over Happy Family Gourmet. 

Looking back on the past 16 years, Shubo says the work has been hard but rewarding. That’s because she enjoys cooking and interacting with her customers, who often pop in just to say hello. 

Running the restaurant hasn’t left much time for Shubo and her husband to explore the area. On Mondays, her day off, they usually spend the day shopping for the restaurant. 

The busy Shubo says with a laugh that she knows the way to Costco. And, she adds, she has developed a taste for American food.

“I love In-N-Out burgers,” she says.

Reported and written by volunteer community journalist Tom Colin. We encourage residents with journalism experience, retired journalists, and student journalists in high school and college to volunteer as writers for Supervisor Engardio’s newsletter. Interested? Apply here. Do you know a story you would like to see featured in the newsletter? Tell us about it here.