Mister Jiu's

Stopped in after dinner to grab a nightcap (and get out the rain) not knowing we should've planned to eat at this Michelin establishment. The bar is huge and super unique with fish tanks built into the liquor rack wall. These were not bartenders but exquisite mixologists for certain - gorgeous presentation. I didn't snap a photo of the drink list so sadly I have no clue what the hell I drank but it was a delight.

We wanted to try out a Michelin-starred restaurant and found Mister Jiu's in Chinatown. We had reservations for a table of 6 booked weeks ahead. We got the winter set menu and with drinks and tip, it came to around $250ish per person. The interior is modern and gave off dive bar vibes. It was however, very dark even with the lighting about the tables. It was hard to see and hear those around our table! Mister jiu's food revolves around Asian fusion foods from your childhood. (Ex. Congee, har gow, etc.) The food tasted good and you could tell they used high quality ingredients. The flavors though were lacking a bit. It was hard to tell what part of the dish was the "elevated" part and what made it "different" from getting regular dim sum/ Asian food for less. The Peking duck was delicious and crispy, but was it worth the price? We did get full off the menu, so that was a perk! I'm not too sure if we'd ever come back, but if you're new to the scene it's worth the try.

Mister Jiu's is the only Michelin-starred restaurant in San Francisco's Chinatown, run by Chinese-American chef Brandon Jew in the former location of the Four Seas Restaurant. Mister Jiu's features a buzzy, trendy atmosphere, impeccable service, and a creative take on classic fine dining inspired by Californian ingredients and Chinese-American flavors. The restaurant offers a five-course, seasonal tasting menu, and I tried their winter menu shortly after the start of the year of the snake. The amuse bouche was a pair of bites featuring contrasting textures. On the soft/gelatinous side was a century quail egg topped with caviar, followed by a crunchy nest topped with taro paste. The first course was chopped raw, cured amberjack mixed with buddha's hand citrus, crispy lotus root, mandarinquat, and chicory. The dish had a balance of acidic and bitter flavors, and gelatinous and crispy textures. Next came a creative take on har gow (shrimp dumpling)--a perfectly chewy dumpling wrapper enveloped a filling of Spanish carabineros prawn (which reminded me of langoustine), and the dumpling was drizzled with a red infused oil made with the prawn shell. My two favorite courses appeared next. First came a deconstructed congee made with foam layered with rice, wheat berries, ginger, jinhua ham, bay scallops, dried scallops, and sunchokes. The crispy jinhua ham and dried scallops had a deep, umami flavor, which complemented the subtler bay scallops, the nutty wheat berries, and the airy foam. Next came a dish constructed of a cylinder of hodo tofu, bamboo, and Dungeness crab, all topped with rock cod fish balls. At our table, the waiters poured over a silky, gelatinous "supreme broth" made of seafood and featuring a kick of spice from habanero and white pepper. The dish reminded me a lot of a traditional seafood soup served at Cantonese banquets and made for a comforting dish on a chilly night. To end the meal, we had a sorbet of fermented red rice (which had a distinct alcohol flavor), topped with honey and pomegranate, before moving to the dessert--oolong tea ice cream topped with a sheet of chewy mochi, served with yali Asian pear slices and dressed with homemade honeycomb and kinako powder. Overall, the food here was creative and delicious, and the service was attentive and impeccable. The menu prices were certainly high for the small portion sizes, but the flavors and execution were on point and made for an incredible fine dining experience!

Mister Jiu's has been raved about for years and I was excited to finally get a chance to try for myself. Unfortunately, nothing was amazing, but rather the contrary - subpar and disappointing - especially for the price point of $150 per person. While the ambiance and staff were great and extremely friendly, the food was lack luster. The tasting menu had nothing stand out or give any hints of authentic Chinese cuisine. The oxtail, presumed star of the show, was underwhelming and just decent.The only dish I liked was their peking duck, for an additional add-on of $150. There are plenty of Chinese restaurants serving amazing, authentic food for a fraction of the price. Unfortunately, I do not see myself coming back.

LOVED! We walked in on a weeknight and there was lots of seating at the bar.FOOD: unbelievable dishes! We got the shrimp fried rice (HUGE -- definitely need more than 2 people to finish this and I've never seen so many trout roe in one serving ), scallion milk bread, and the chow fun (note that it has a numbing space that may be uncomfortable for you). I would 100% get all of those dishes again and can't wait to explore more of the menu.

This Saturday evening, my wife, daughter and I celebrated our holiday dinner at Mister Jiu's. I made reservations for the autumn tasting menu and a roast Peking duck. In my special instructions, I said I don't eat beef and can't have tomatoes. They were very accommodating to my request. Instead of the ox tail, they substituted a scallop on my dish. The tasting menu was well conceived and executed to perfection. The roast duck was tough. I ate the drumstick, and several slices of duck. At $150 for a whole duck, I expected a perfectly cooked duck. It wasn't the case. I've tasted better roast duck. Overall, we had a great time and enjoyed the food (except the duck). DJ's rating (4.35/5.00). Would we come back? Very unlikely because we go to fine dining once a year and the cost of the dinner was expensive. We plan to try another restaurant next year. Most likely Four Kings.

Fine dining chinese food is an interesting concept to come by. I believe we all had the set menu and chose to add the duck. All the dishes were so beautiful and tasty, you can really see the effort in the presentation. I loved the little quail eggs with the flower. The har gow was so big and meaty, absolutely delicious in a little sauce. The fish over the crispy rice might've been my favorite dish. The fish was so flakey and soft and contradicted so well with the flavorful and crispy rice. I could probably eat a big bowl of that. The duck was also great, I love that they use every part of the duck and do not waste anything (including organs!!) of course, the service was amazing and the interior of the restaurant was beautiful (even the bathrooms). This was an amazing experience and I definitely left full.

We got the set menu with the peking duck. Unfortunately felt pretty disappointed by all the food especially with that price point and it didn't live up to the expectation with it having a Michelin star. The main entree (the peking duck) was unfortunately one of the worst peking ducks I've had. It tasted overly gamey, and just not a fun experience to eat. The restorative broth, dumplings were all decent, nothing terribly memorable.

So, it's been almost six years since my last visit. It was a landmark family event with a lot of heartfelt memories that I hold dear to my heart (with photos to cherish).In organizing another celebration with good friends, I chose this venue for our party of 18. In prepping and organizing, no easy task, it spanned two months of communication between the restaurant and guests. When the day finally came, I must admit to having some anxiety about 'what could go wrong'.So what happens?Near perfection with great memories for all eighteen who experienced this. What did I learn? In organizing a party of this size, the event was held upstairs in the Moonlight Lounge in a private area. We enjoyed drinks and snacks before enjoying a multi-course, family style tasting menu that I crafted. Having four guests with dietary restrictions, the restaurant built a menu especially to meet their needs. Everything went as planned and a good time was unanimously had. I'll spare you our meal details as it was a private party in the Moonlight Lounge held in a partitioned room. A long table for our group was set up and snacks and drinks were provided. Our meal started a half hour after our reservation time which gave our group, many who hadn't seen each other in years, to catch up on lost time. Our meal lasted a little over two hours and the food was paced very well. Being in season, black watermelons that I bought at the morning farmer's market were part of our dessert.The food was excellent. The service and attention to detail equalled the food. The atmosphere, well, please read my review on the Moonlight Lounge. *** Photos of the meal were just posted.Big thanks to Audrey for helping me organizing and holding my hand through crafting our dinner to event. Very nice to meet you in person. Thanks also to Rachel and Prabin for meeting all our needs while providing our meals and clearing our table. Thinking about holding a well crafted meal and experience? Look no further.

Incredibly creative and delicious Chinese fine dining experience that rightfully deserves its Michelin star. Attentive and welcoming service, sat immediately without a reservation on a busy lunar new year weekend evening. Fermented cabbage is a flavorful arrangement, scallion milk bread is a creative take on a familiar comfort, wok fried rice is unique and delicious, silken mapo tofu dish is creative and delicate. Perfectly executed whiskey and gin cocktails. Every part of the meal was worthy of being remembered and coming back for, replacing our other disappointing Michelin dining experience in Chicago.