By Emma Krasov. Photography by Yuri Krasov
Empress by Boon, one or the best San Francisco restaurants with consistently great food, yummy cocktails, solid wine and beer lists, and positively imperial interior design, offers a new Sunset Menu now through the end of March.
Created for early winter sunsets shining over the city skyline through the panoramic 6th floor windows by which the cozy restaurant booths are set up, this menu (in this ambiance) is so positively romantic you’d want to share it with your loved ones every time you visit our gorgeous City by the Bay!
Five years ago, when Michelin-starred Executive Chef Ho Chee Boon revitalized the former Empress of China—a historic banquet hall, located at the top of 1966 Chinatown’s tallest commercial building—he envisioned an upscale gathering place where diners will be greeted at the door by the friendly staff, enveloped in the atmosphere of intricate décor, and treated to epicurean masterpieces that combine tradition and innovation in Asian-inspired dishes made with fresh, seasonal California ingredients.
Chef Boon’s name on the restaurant’s logo now affirms that these ambitious goals have been reached. Empress by Boon became a must-visit culinary attraction in the San Francisco Chinatown—the oldest and largest in the United States.
Rooted in Cantonese cuisine and featuring a harmonious succession of individually served cold and hot appetizers, followed by family-style main courses and desserts, the prix-fixe Sunset Menu is built with respect to traditional culinary techniques and with the clear implementation of modern creativity.
To start your feast, consider original cocktails from the full bar, like a bitter-forward Black Manhattan (WhistlePig PiggyBack Rye, Averna Amaro, Angostura bitters) or a smooth Let It Be with Pacific House Gin, Suze aperitif, lemon, and honey.
The first course of the five-course dinner menu is Chicken salad with green papaya and mango. Chicken morsels, quickly dipped in turmeric and garlic, are coated with starch, and wok-tossed utils golden and crispy, then topped with juicy shreds of fruit.
Then comes Dried Scallop Turnip Cake—a steamed savory tidbit made of daikon radish and rice flour and sprinkled with crispy onions and micro greens.
The next, additional course isn’t even on the printed menu because it’s a “chef’s surprise.” Two delicate seafood dumplings are shaped as a squid and a little red koi, swimming in a shallow pool of hot and sour broth. The “koi” shrimp dumpling has some chili inside for an added kick, and the entire dish is pure delight to behold and to taste!
Fresh Abalone with King Oyster Mushrooms presents a small, farmed abalone from Monterey Bay, accompanied by shishito pepper, red bell pepper, grilled onion, and pleasantly chewy mushrooms, making it a texture-driven indulgence.
Everyone’s favorite Grilled Black Cod with Cauliflower Purée and Wood Ear Mushroom brings to the fore the silkiest, tenderest honey-glazed firm-flesh fish that will surely linger in your gustatory memory.
And then there’s time for a complex main course that consists of Seared Wagyu Beef with Enoki Mushrooms; Braised Kurobuta and Eggplant in Aged Vinegar Sauce, and Sea Urchin Rice with XO Sauce. In addition to these reaches, your server will ask if you’d like to order a supplement of crispy duck (a.k.a. Peking duck) to your main course. It would be wise of you not to decline.
All the main dishes are served at the same time, so you could combine each of the proteins with the fragrant rice, notably flavored by the sea urchins. Wagyu beef is perfectly seared; Asian eggplant maintains its softness and flavor enhanced with rich pork in black vinegar sauce; and the duck, deboned and tender under the crunchy, rendered skin, is cut into bite-size pieces that literally melt in your mouth.
Then come the elaborate desserts. A creamiest passionfruit cheesecake served in a real passionfruit shell, shares a plate with some citrus jelly and Tahitian vanilla ice cream. A scoop of coconut sorbet rests on a bed of tapioca pudding with chunks of yuzu, pineapple, and shortbread cookies.
The restaurant’s bar manager, Christopher Yates, follows the Chef’s lead and uses kitchen-derived ingredients. He also makes his own bitters, tinctures and shrubs when putting together an amazingly varied cocktail list. Among the new up and coming libations are duck fat-washed Old Fashioned, based on bourbon infused with rendered duck fat; Spicy Margarita with chili-infused tequila, and the wonderful Lemongrass Negroni.
Besides the spacious and beautifully appointed bar lounge, there are quite a few dining areas of various sizes to accommodate couples, families, and groups in this posh eatery. For the upcoming winter holidays—Valentine’s Day and Lunar New Year this destination restaurant in the heart of San Francisco Chinatown is offering special menus that might include Dungeness crab with Kaluga caviar, stir-fried quail with lemongrass, and rib eye wok-fried with red wine, besides the restaurant staples.
It comes as no surprise that Empress by Boon carries a Diners’ Choice award from the OpenTable and gains enthusiastic reviews from the out-of-towners and San Francisco locals. To learn more about the restaurant, visit https://www.theempresssf.com/.
To make a reservation, call (415) 757-0728 or write to reservations@theempresssf.com.
Empress by Boon is located at 838 Grant Ave, San Francisco, California.
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