San Francisco’s Chinatown is the oldest in North America, a dense, rich Chinese community since the 1850s. In these charming, narrow streets, legendary Empress of China began restoration in 2019 and after a long wait and pandemic delays, opened June 2021 as Empress by Boon, a gorgeous Atelier LLYS-designed, 7,500-square-foot space with killer views over Chinatown, North Beach, Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill and the Bay. Immediately, the elegant-chic space was packed with Chinese families, dates and groups of friends of all stripes and ages.
I visited (and wrote about) Empress in its opening month last year, and again at the bar early this year. Chef Ho Chee Boon crafts upscale Cantonese tasting menus utilizing organic ingredients from their Gilroy farm, and he came from SF’s now-closed Hakkasan, having helped the global group open many of their restaurants. From the beginning, Empress by Boon reminded me more of modern Chinese dining I might find in China or across Asia, whereas nearby Eight Tables at China Live is modern Chinese with a global mindset, or at Michelin-starred Mister Jiu’s, chef Brandon Jew expresses a Chinese-American viewpoint.
In SF’s pioneering Chinatown (still with the densest Chinese population, as it is across our city in the Richmond, Sunset, Parkside districts and beyond), there is room for all of the above. When I moved here in 2001, there was no fine dining of note in Chinatown and little that was modern or representative of the creative side of Chinese dining. Eight Tables, China Live, Mister Jiu’s and Empress each express different sides of “the coin” in upscale Chinese.
Last year at Empress, I feasted on clove-smoked baby pork ribs in plum sauce or silky seabass reminiscent of miso cod. My August return I noticed the tasting menu ($98 per person with supplemental wine pairing; no a la carte) feels more honed. More in than my initial meal, most courses pushed forward in deliciousness. Even their popular grilled Alaskan black cod pulled back on the excess honey sweetness of my 2021 visit, now given layers from ginger-aromatic cauliflower, soya, honey and walnuts.
A summer truffle “puff” filled with shimeji dried shiitake mushrooms had a mochi-esque, umami comfort and ash-gray-black color. A fried tiger prawn over a square of watermelon is coated in sesame sauce and peanuts, tasting like an elevated twist on General Tso’s with the kind of peanut-buttery-goodness and vibrant punch of flavor found at old school SF Chinatown classic, House of Nanking. Ditto on the intense kick of sweet chili sauce over New England lobster. I found little touches of whimsy — like black seeds placed as eyes on fish-shaped shrimp and squid dumplings.
The main course comes in three parts with a decadent add-on of Peking duck if you weren’t stuffed already (we were). Braised, then lightly fried short ribs with bean curd, soya and fish sauce, get veggie-green contrast from wok-fried sugar snap peas, jicama and cloud ear mushrooms. The most comforting part of the “mains” trio is dried scallop and peanut rice laced with mushrooms, dried shrimp and lotus seeds. If I weren’t full, I wanted to eat every bite of the generous bowl.
More than many of SF’s dozens of world-class upscale and Michelin-starred restaurants, Empress feels partly for locals and partly for tourists and moneyed travelers, so at moments, some elements feel more mainstream or universal, less SF’s longtime boundary-pushing palate.
Our sweet server thoughtfully explained each wine, our pairings including 2019 Hirsch “Kammern” Grüner Veltliner Kamptal with shrimp and squid dumplings, or 2017 Lingua Franca Wind & Stone Pinot Noir from Oregon’s Willamette Valley paired with the “mains.” The wine list isn’t revelatory for those of us who dine out many times a week and/or wine geeks looking for esoteric, under the radar varieties or producers, while bar manager Emily Parian crafts a range of solid cocktails. Quality wines like Liquid Farm’s lovely rosé all make happy pairings, even if they’re the kind of wines many of us started drinking years ago vs. up-and-coming finds or under-the-radar varieties one often discovers on the savviest wine lists. Still, you won’t suffer here on the drink front.
General manager James Minch still maintains gracious service, remembering us and other diners around us from past visits with his personable welcome. Pastry chef Rory MacDonald’s (formerly of Hakkasan, Gordon Ramsay) standout passionfruit Brillat Savarin cheesecake remains on the menu, while we tried her coconut sago/pudding. Served in a glass topped with yuzu pineapple sorbet, spiced pineapple and a lime financier, a paper thin caramel tuile covers the glass top, cracked tableside. It’s tropical, bright and creamy.
Up the block, the great Chinese dive bars Li Po (since 1937) and Buddha Lounge (since 1952) beckon with their glowing neon, unlike any dive bars in the world. They’re so very San Francisco and quintessential Chinatown. Hitting either of these dive legends pre- or post-Empress makes for a yin-yang, high-low kind of night… the kind of Chinatown night that wasn’t an option when I moved here 21 years ago.
Whether Eight Tables at China Live, Mister Jiu’s or now-just-over-one-year-old Empress by Boon feels like the legacy of the late Cecilia Chang, who pushed Chinese (and upscale Chinese) cuisine forward in the Western world from SF’s Chinatown. San Francisco’s deep Chinese roots and long vibrant culture since its inception expresses itself in hundreds of different shades and businesses, from Bay to ocean. It’s refreshing to see the fine dining end of Chinese cuisine continuing to grow and blossom on the lantern-lined streets of Chinatown.
// 838 Grant Avenue, theempresssf.com
