

Legendary, longtime Chinatown greasy spoon Sam Wo  which earned a scene in Tales of the City and mentions in many guidebooks by way of its famous "rude" waiter Edsel Ford Fung  returned to the neighborhood in a new location last fall following a hiatus caused by inspection troubles at their rickety original spot on Washington Street. Now, in fresher ground-floor digs at 713 Clay Street, they're getting back into the game of serving into the wee hours of the morning as they always did, going back well into the mid-20th Century, alongside a number of other spots in the neighborhood. As Hoodline reports, as of this week, they're slinging chow fun and salt-and-pepper wings until midnight Wednesday through Saturday, and starting May 20 the restaurant announces on its website that the new dinner hours will be 6 p.m. to 3 a.m.

Also, they've been closed on Sundays, but starting May 1 that will change, and they'll be serving up jook and other Chinese brunch items from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The 100-plus-year-old restaurant (it was built in 1906 but had existed in another form as early as 1897), reopened in a new location in October that been Anna Bakery, and the tradition of serving until 3 a.m. dates back to the early post-earthquake days, as they tell it on their site:

Opened by three immigrant siblings from the village of Taishan, China, [Sam Wo] was famous for inexpensive barbecue pork rice noodle rolls and porridge called jook until 3:00AM. Old timers remember when Chinatown generations ago were the destination after a night out for siu yeh, Cantonese for late night meals popular in Hong Kong and South China.

Also, they'll be reinstalling their 75-year-old neon sign, and soon adding beer and wine  even though one of the original signs from Fung's days as ruler of the dining room still remains, which says, "No Booze, No Jive, No Coffee, Milk, Soft Drinks, Fortune Cookies."

Here's the Tales of the City clip with the imitation Edsel Ford Fung.