Dong Bei Mama

The name of this Inner Richmond restaurant refers to owner Kelly Zou’s origins in Liaoning province (dongbei is “northeast” in Mandarin). The cold winter region is stereotyped for its hearty food, but the preparations here, which share menu space with Sichuan ones, feel more balanced than heavy. Among the cold dishes, Chinese Bath Chap, slices of five-spiced headcheese, and the Pork Skin Aspic, whose lardy flavors melt on the tongue, distinguish themselves. Potatoes thicken and absorb savory flavors in Stewed Chicken With Mushrooms, made with shaggy mane mushrooms. Naturally fermented pickled cabbage (suan cai), Zou’s grandmother’s recipe, is a lovely complement to lamb and slippery vermicelli. The Fried Pork in Scoop (which would more appropriately be called Dongbei sweet and sour pork) maintains a prolonged crunch after absorbing a sugar and vinegar sauce. And Sweet Potatoes in Hot Syrup straddles the border between dessert and sport as customers plunge hot potatoes coated in molten sugar into cold water, which quickly forms a brittle shell around each chunk.

If you go: 4737 Geary Blvd., San Francisco, (415) 221-4278, www.facebook.com/dongbeimama/. Lunch through dinner daily.

What to order: Chinese Bath Chap, Pork Skin Aspic, Fried Pork in Scoop, Stewed Chicken With Mushroom, Stewed Lamb With Pickled Cabbage and Vermicelli, Sweet Potatoes in Hot Syrup