Handling thousands of pounds of meat a day — every day — since 1984 means it’s no exaggeration to say that Ken Liang feeds the Mission.
His kingdom, Yangtze Meat & Fish Market, is probably the most recognizable shop on Mission Street. All you need is a good nose; the bloody smell of meat being cut on site beats even the lingering stench of marijuana floating in the air.
Liang is aware that the meaty smell might put off some customers, but for many, he’s decided, “Cutting meat on site gives customers a sense of freshness.”
And in that, he appears to be right.
“Their meat is fresh,” said Alondra Vasquez, who was there with her mom to buy $200 worth of beef tongue to make classic Mexican lengua tacos at home. “In a lot of other stores, the meat was black and dark, but this is fresh,” said Vasquez, whose family has relied on Yangtze’s meat for 10 years.
It’s also been a go-to place for many restaurants.
At 4 p.m. on a recent Wednesday, an employee sliced and ground sirloin at the back of the shop. Within 20 minutes, he had weighed out 50 pounds to pack and load into a van bound for a Filipino restaurant in Daly City that has been Liang’s client for 25 years.
As employees used water cannons to flush away the blood accumulated during the day, another rush of business arrived in the late afternoon. Middle-aged patrons came and went, including a Chinese man who had driven half an hour from the Sunset to buy his meat. Like Vasquez, he too emphasized the freshness of the meat.
Such satisfied customers are a major source of Liang’s sense of accomplishment. “I love being in front of customers every day,” said Liang, who turned 60 this year. “I try my best to be nice to my customers and give them the freshest meat.”
To do that, the young Liang, who spoke only Cantonese when he arrived in San Francisco in 1984, now speaks Mandarin, Spanish, and English.
Despite his encyclopedic knowledge of the English words for meat and fish, Liang still seems surprised by his limitations. “I can’t read in English,” he says flatly.
Liang’s 37 years of being a butcher are visible on his hands. Every joint of Liang’s fingers are red and swollen, a result of decades of fetching meat from the cooling room, not to mention the wounds and calluses left by handling the butcher knives. But as long as Liang is free, he prefers cutting the meat himself.
“Once in a while, the employees are sloppy,” he said.
Another source of Liang’s pride is his oxtail and tilapia, which will be replaced by turkeys at Thanksgiving, crabs at Christmas, and steak at the New Year.
Liang was one of only a few Chinese when he first came to the Mission. Over the years he’s been glad to witness the Chinese community growing more confident and wealthier. But, Liang feels, “Mission Street hasn’t changed much.”
His son, who has a master’s degree from Berkeley, now works for Apple and seems unlikely to run Yangtze Meat & Fish Market in his father’s place. Instead, his nephew — who currently works as a manager— will take over the shop instead.
“We’re all like a family here,” said Baizhang Liang, Liang’s nephew, as he discussed plans for the coming employee dinner. “This shop will be here for a while.”
Yangtze Meat & Fish Market (website)
Hours: Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Address: 2026 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94110
Love the place for years.
Wish the article mentioned his source/ farms that makes if so fresh.
Lucky Pork Meats on Mission St. Was the go to meat market in the Mission for a number of yrs. It was own by Edgar an Johnnie