Lion Dance Cafe

Nuggets for this Saturday were sold out so we added a few more orders! Did you know our nuggs take almost a week to make? We start with @hodofoods tofu that we freeze, thaw, brine for 24 hours, bread carefully to ensure full coverage, and freeze again. They’re finally fried to order with curry leaves, dusted with our spice blend and served with pickles (right now we have some carrots from @shaoshanfarm we lactofermented with dill and lots of garlic), herbs (mint in the winter, Thai basil in the summer), sambal belacan mayo and lime. Freezing then thawing tofu creates a more spongy texture, perfect for absorbing flavorful liquid and obtaining a juicy interior to balance the crispy exterior. Reheating tip: if they cool down on the way home, just toast them in the oven for 5-8 minutes at 400. If you have an air fryer, even better.

No service on Friday so that we can get our first shot of the vax! But don’t worry, you’ll still be able to get your Friday menu favs on Saturday -plus- the balls too. We’ll also cook up a couple specials, to be announced after our weekly trip to the Chinatown farmers’ market on Friday morning. These are always fun to come up with, we don’t always have time to make one so we’re looking forward to prepping two this time! Speaking of that, this week’s sandwich comes directly... from a special we made a couple weeks ago. We got so many requests to run the smoked potatoes with super tender flash-steamed pea shoots and @hodofoods yuba again that we decided to put it in our shaobing number 55, along with some creamy green sambal. We’ll be making extras of everything bc last time we had to skip a day, preorders for the following day went so fast. And I’ve finally made enough room on the menu to spell out fully what’s in the sundaes so if you haven’t tried them yet, you get to read all the neat things that go on there. Ordering starts tomorrow Wednesday at noon, link in bio. See more

How are you celebrating Lunar New Year? I’m so excited to be sharing my favorite Oakland spots and traditions on @goodgoodeatz as part of their showcase of Oakland chefs, artists, and community members across the 15 days of Chinese Lunar New Year (Feb 12 - 26). Follow @goodgoodeatz now to celebrate #LunarNewYear and #BlackHistoryMonth with Oakland’s finest!

! Happy and healthy Chinese lunar new year to you. This photo is a throwback to last year when we were celebrating in Singapore with my family. If you can’t be with loved ones this year because of the pandemic or for any other reason, our s are with you.

Second Sunday is coming! Time for our monthly brunch. Unlike our weekly menus, brunch is walk up ordering only! No preorders. New hours: 10am-1pm If you preordered a Chinese Lunar New Year gift box, this is the day and timeframe to pick it up! We’ll be joined by @taizhan.bake . They’re sold out, if you missed their pastry preorders stay tuned to their IG for the next one.... Make a new tradition of Valentine’s Day congee? meanwhile there’s still time to put in your orders for this Friday and Saturday See more

Thank you for coming out on a windy Sunday yesterday for our first brunch service with @taizhan.bake . Every second Sunday We’ll share this week’s menu tomorrow and preorders for Fri-Sat will open at noon on Wednesday. Our NEW OVEN is getting installed as I type so we’ll start messing around with smoked and steamed things very soon!!

#Repost @eastbaynosh with @get_repost (a day late but still stands!) Got Election Day nerves? We’ve got 8 suggestions to get some cold, creamy comfort new ice cream offerings from @miharuicecream @moodicecreamoakland @chunkybutticecream @lakechalet @grandlakekitchen @sisterrestaurant @liondancecafe and @daughtersdiner. to full details in bio.

This week’s menus! Ordering starts tomorrow (Wednesday) at noon. Our @curbsidecreamery sundae kits were just featured on @eastbaynosh . This is the week to treat yourself. Laksa and mapo tofu noods for comfort. Nuggs and balls have switched days. We’re making coconut sambal seitan for the shaobing sandwiches and topping it off with marinated kale and herbs for a fresh touch. Málà brocco, sesame Caesars, peanuts and a.s.s cookies are always here for you. Our habanero samba...l is replaced by a black cobra pepper sambal, and morita sambal is back in stock. Scroll thru the slides to see both menus and ordering/pickup info. First time ordering? View our faq, linked in bio. Need delivery? @vegantransporter is here. Sunday brunch will be walk up ordering only, first come first served while stocks last (no preorder except for @taizhan.bake ). Menu coming soon See more

Brunch starts next week It’ll be every second Sunday and we’ve invited @taizhan.bake to join us so we can eat all their eggless tarts once a month. Walk up ordering only for our menu // preorders only for @taizhan.bake (order now!), link in their bio. All takeout only as usual. We’re close by the lake! Normal schedule the rest of the week with preorders starting Wed at noon and pickups Fri-Sat 5-8pm. Sharing the menu tomorrow (honestly stoked for this week’s shaobing sandwich and new sambal).

Mapo tofu mee is back this week! We make custardy silken tofu from @hodofoods right before service and scoop it over fresh chewy wheat noodles, with a ladleful of classic mapo style sauce and veg and herbs from the Chinatown farmers’ market. Not Teochew or Singaporean (except maybe putting it on noods, and S’pore is seeing a wave of má là everything these days) but just what we wanna eat most days. Ordering starts at noon and goes until sold out at link in bio. Check out the slides in previous post for ordering and pickup instructions (or head to liondancecafe.com/faq)

This week, we’re moving into fall with variations on one of my favorite flavor combos -pumpkin and coconut- in two different dishes on Friday: the laksa and lemak balls (turns out the balls are staying a bit longer). For shaobing sandwich #42 we’re making seitan and simmering it in a savory soy broth with star anise, peppercorns, pomelo and other aromatics, and piling on a crunchy minty root veg slaw and sesame cream. Mapo tofu mee is back in its silken soybeany noodly glory.... @hodofoods nuggets aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. We micro-updated our má là oil recipe that dresses the burnt brocccoli. The sesame Caesar brings some freshness to all this. And of course we have @curbsidecreamery sundae kits! These go fast. Get a @drinkqsoo to wash it all down. Ordering starts Wednesday (tomorrow) at noon! Swipe to see both menus and our ordering and pickup instructions, and hit up @vegantransporter for delivery. See more

This week’s menu! Sundae kits are restocked The balls are here once more. Stoked to share our nasi lemak with y’all. Malaysia’s national dish, and a crowd favorite in Singapore and other neighboring countries for good reason. Ordering starts at noon tomorrow (Wednesday). Check out @smveganchefs stories for more food pics and descriptions!

This week we’re excited to launch our partnership with @curbsidecreamery in the form of sundae kits weather will be perfect to take your food and DIY ice cream sundaes a few blocks over to lake Merritt. Been wanting to work with them for a while now and v stoked for these. Refreshing sesame nori Caesar salad, a fave from pop up days, is topped with lots of crunchy things. This Friday we’re bringing back the lemak ball, a deep fried nod to nasi lemak, Malaysia’s national... dish and a Singapore staple. Saturday is for assam (tamarind) beehoon (rice vermicelli) with tofu puff satay and grilled and pickled veg because it still feels like summer. We’re celebrating shaobing sandwich #40 with our Chinese style bbq’d seitan and more pickles because Shane won’t stop pickling. Ordering starts at noon tomorrow, link in bio! See more

LDC dog: fried @hodofoods yuba-wrapped brined tofu, hot mustard+burnt scallion mayo, pickled peppers, herbs and crunchy things (peanuts, chilies, shallots...) in our sesame bun. We’ll be slinging these at Dawgs for Democracy, a hot dog party to benefit @dinefordemocracy , this Sunday at @misterjius and Monday at @kantine with @theprogress_sf and @yotambiencantina. Tickets and deets at link in bio. SF, see you soon!

This week, we’re keeping the Chinatown market chopped salad on because there’s still so much beautiful crisp colorful summer produce we want to cover in what is basically disguised ranch dressing. The laksa and brocco are even nicer eaten as the weather starts to change. A slightly spicy, very garlicky noodle combo (everything i love) is coming on Saturday and as a heads up might be a one-off, so if you’re into these things you know what to do. For shaobing #39 (!!) we're making seitan again after a few weeks of tofus and yubas. Ordering starts tomorrow Wednesday at noon and continues until sold out. Link in bio. Swipe through for how to order and pickup, and DM @vegantransporter if you prefer delivery. Can’t wait to see you!

Originally from Indonesia, sambal refers to the vast array of chili sauces and pastes that has become a staple across Malaysia and Singapore as well. With infinite variations in flavors, colors, textures, levels of spice and acidity, no meal is truly complete without them. We make ours from scratch and they’re available every week on our online menu. We currently have a creamy, hot and bright habanero, cayenne and fermented black bean sambal made from gorgeously fragrant f...resh chilies we got at their peak from the Chinatown farmers’ market, as well as a deep, fruity one made from smoky dried morita and guajillo chilies. Refrigerated, they can keep for weeks like any hot sauce, though we eat them with everything from rice to salads to sandos to mixed into beer so they never last long. Why choose? Get both! Ordering starts at noon Wednesday at link in bio, sharing this week’s menu soon. See more

Lively gai choy from Vang Farm getting grilled and shaobing sandwiched instead of gailan. Just 1 laksa newly available (and some burnt mala broccoli and last-run fiery garlicky potato salad) due to a cancellation, link to order in bio. Check your email receipt (sometimes in junk folder) for your pickup day/time, and an email from us if you had issues with picking a time slot. See you tonight!

Look at these beauties we just picked up from @taizhan.bake . We couldn’t resist eating a couple (insert quality control joke) and damn, they eat easy. If you secured a box, we’ll see you tomorrow (Wednesday 9/30) from 4:30-6pm!