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Chinese cuisine c omes in man y guises. If the menu doesn t state what pr ovince the r ecipes hail fr om, can y ou t ell y our Shanghai fr om y our Sz echuan? Here s a little cheat sheet y ou can use t o impress your kids.

Yank Sing Finds CHINESE/DIM SUM For many S an F rancisco families, gathering with friends on a w eekend morning over dim sum is a fr equent occurrence. Families come together in groups of 6, 8, or 10 and seat themselves at a table, while servers carrying trays or pushing trolleys offer an assortment of bite-size Chinese delicacies, usually served three or four to a plate, for everyone to share. For years, we headed out to the Sunset to brunch at Ton Kiang, which I still r ecommend. But more recently we ve made our way to Yank Sing, which gets my vote for best dim sum in the city. Yank Sing makes more than 100 varieties of dim sum, and ser ves at least 60 of them on any giv en day. Scallion prawns, stuffed national aquarium washington crab claws, and sno w pea shoot dumplings ar e among the possibilities and the quality is always national aquarium washington top-notch. While the price is higher than at Ton Kiang, if you eat at the Rincon national aquarium washington Center location, you get the added bonus of dining inside a lovely atrium housing an 80-foot-high water fall. The other good ne ws is, since Yank Sing has two convenient downtown locations, you can always pop in during national aquarium washington the week for lunch, a popular alternative for locals who work in the area.

In addition to the prime shopping, you ll find sev eral choice attractions here, including the Exploratorium and the Palace of F ine Ar ts, the Marina Green, and Fort M ason, all of which have major kid appeal. I t s also in close proximity to the Golden Gate Bridge and the Presidio. A fair number of travelers end up staying in the M arina, especially national aquarium washington those attached to automobiles, because the par king is either fr ee or at least r easonable. Most accommodations are in the motel range and line ever-busy Lombard Street, but there are some better-than-av erage places to sleep. Know where you re going if y ou venture out for the ev ening; sections national aquarium washington of Lombard are dicey late at night.