Tag Archives: San Francisco Chinatown restaurant

The Name Says It All at Z&Y Peking Duck

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Maybe the best Peking duck you'll ever sink your teeth into.
Maybe the best Peking duck you’ll ever sink your teeth into.

Z&Y Peking Duck in San Francisco’s Chinatown serves what might just be the holy grail of ducks.

As a Chinese American who grew up in San Francisco, where Peking duck was the star attraction of many a celebratory banquet dinner, I rarely recall a version that was this outstanding as the one I enjoyed when I dined at the restaurant last week.

We’re talking duck meat that’s not dry or tough in the least, but juicy and tender throughout, and skin that’s incredibly crisp with all of its fat underneath completely rendered out, a rare feat in and of itself.

Chef-Owner Li Jun Han, who formerly was the executive chef at the Chinese Consulate-General in San Francisco, opened Z&Y Peking Duck in 2023. USA Today recently touted it as one of its “10 Best New Restaurants of 2025.” It is the sister restaurant to Han’s Z&Y restaurant, across the street that opened in 2008 and has garnered a Michelin Bib Gourmand distinction.

Ducks hanging in the window are a familiar sight in Chinatown. But these are actually fake ones. You'll have to snag a table to enjoy the real deal.
Ducks hanging in the window are a familiar sight in Chinatown. But these are actually fake ones. You’ll have to snag a table to enjoy the real deal.

At Z&Y Peking Duck, it pays to dine as a party of 4 or more. That’s because that’s the minimum you need to make a reservation. Otherwise, you take your chances as a walk-in, which can be dicey, especially on a Saturday night as when I was there and people were crowded inside the entryway, waiting for tables.

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Bow Down to Four Kings

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The signature fried squab at Four Kings. Only 15 are offered each night.
The signature fried squab at Four Kings. Only 15 are offered each night.

The food of my childhood has been stunningly reinvigorated at the new Four Kings in San Francisco’s Chinatown.

If you’re Chinese American and of Cantonese heritage like myself, one taste of the dishes here will take you back nostalgically to many a celebratory Chinese banquet meal of long ago, as well as just plain ol’ homey weeknight gatherings with family at Formica-topped tables at local hole-in-the-wall joints.

Four Kings, which officially opens to the public on March 14, is the brainchild of chefs Michael Long and Franky Ho, former sous chef and chef de cuisine, respectively, of Michelin-starred Mister Jiu’s a block away. The duo, along with Millie Boonkokua, general manager of Liholiho Yacht Club in San Francisco, and Long’s wife, Lucy Li, an accountant, pooled their money along with that from friends and family to open this brick-and-mortar, following a series of sold-out pop-ups last year.

The open kitchen with counter seating.
The open kitchen with counter seating.

Last week, I had a chance to snag an early pre-opening reservation at the u-shaped counter that surrounds the open-kitchen — the best seats in the house if you enjoy seeing all the action up close.

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Mister Jiu’s Heavenly Parisian Dan Tat

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Just-baked Parisian Dan Tat that's like a giant Portuguese custard tart.
Just-baked Parisian Dan Tat that’s like a giant Portuguese custard tart.

When I was a kid, my dad would often tote home a pink box tied with red string from his shopping trip to San Francisco’s Chinatown.

Inside could have been anything from pudgy dim sum dumplings to triangles of airy buttercup-yellow sponge cake to a double-crust apple pie so shiny and bronzed that it nearly looked lacquered.

More often than not, though, what was hidden inside was a custard pie.

It had a simple crust, which honestly, wasn’t anything to write home about. The real star was the smooth, eggy custard filling, almost the pale hue of eggnog, soft and just barely jiggly, and with a taste of both comfort and lavishness all at the same time.

It was my dad who gave me my first taste of this nostalgic pie, proferring an affection for it that I still possess to this day.

So, when I baked this “Parisian Dan Tart,” I couldn’t help but think of him immediately.

No doubt he would have loved this majestic version of a custard tart.

And no doubt he would have been tickled to know that its origins are also from Chinatown.

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