FINE CHINESE CUISINE AT EMPRESS BY BOON
CHINESE CUISINE AT EMPRESS BY BOON
By Gerrye Wong August 2021
The long-awaited restaurant, EMPRESS BY BOON, has finally arrived in San Francisco’s Chinatown after a long pandemic caused delay. Most of us in the Chinese community have enjoyed many a birthday, wedding or new baby banquet at the old Empress of China Restaurant which served as the restaurant of choice for large banquet style dinners of the past. So it was with regret that it closed in 2014 and everyone was elated when news that it would reopen once again to bring life and fine cuisine for San Franciscans to enjoy in San Francisco’s famed Chinatown scene.
Former patrons of the old Empress of China, which was a stellar beacon of upscale Chinese dining for the past 51 years are thrilled now that Michelin-starred Chef Ho Chee Boon has opened an exciting new restaurant with the goal of once again providing a place to gather and celebrate with family and friends. I met recently with the very personable young looking Chef Boon who said his vision is to continue the special location’s dining legacy with modern, elevated, yet approachable cuisine in an elegant, reimaged dining atmosphere.
Occupying the top floor of the historic Empress of China banquet restaurant space in the center of San Francisco’s Chinatown at 838 Grant Avenue, the place is a sight for sore eyes. As one descends from the elevator, you are met with large window displays of San Francisco’s skyline. The day I came up, the view of Russian Hill and Coit Tower was emblazoned under clear blue skites and California famed sunshine. The view alone was worth the visit, and even further into the three dining rooms, the restaurant boasts striking views of the district and the city skyline from three vantage points.
We sat in the elevated royal blue curved booths before the north facing windows which gave us a striking view of the San Francisco skyline below. To the east of us we saw a dining room surrounded by maroon, curved wood screens. I was told Elissa Ma could provide information on private events for family reunions and business meetings in the dining rooms.
The large attractive bar greets the visitor alongside the original wooden pergola which graces the new bar lounge with a welcoming flavor, as designed by Atelier LLYC. The plush seats and low tables set within the same intricate wooden pergola that used to sit inside the original Empress of China will be a welcome spot, I am sure, for businessmen as well as travelers to enjoy these special drinks and the special Bar menu Chef Book has recently introduced. I especially admired the restaurant with its features of modern elements alongside restored features from the location’s predecessor, especially the beautifully carved wood panels we always loved before. Emily Parian as bar manager, has crafted par excellence a grand selection of alluring cocktails to accompany your unique dining experience at Empress by Boon.
As Boon told my family celebrating my newlywed grandson Justin with wife Flora Matsuura that momentous evening, “We are thrilled to bring the restaurant back to its former glory and play homage to the special place it held in the hearts of the community. Our team was honored to take on the responsibility of restoring not only the important original interior-design details, but also the vital role the restaurant played in the community as a place to celebrate and gather with loved ones.” When Chef Boon stopped to greet the excited diners into his dining room, he added, “I was fortunate to visit San Francisco for the first time 10 years ago as we were preparing to open Hakkasan, and I immediately fell in love with the city. I had visited other parts of the United States but they didn’t compare with the people I met here. It created a dream for me to someday have my own restaurant in San Francisco.”
For the restaurant’s first months, Chef Boon decided to offer a prix fixe dinner. After that, Chef Boon plans to gauge diners’ reactions to develop a new menu of probably a mix of a la carte options and a seasonal prix fixe offering. My June family-style prix fixe menu included steamed shrimp with kaluga caviar, grilled ribeye with tofu and mala sauce, clove-smoked ribs with plum and lemon, crispy quail with chilis, garlic and 20-year-old Huadiao wine, salt-baked chicken and hand-pulled noodles with enoki and shitake mushrooms. Chef Boon describes his food as “modern Cantonese”, but Empress by Boon is also very much a California restaurant as he has his own Northern California farm where is grown bell peppers, cauliflowers, onions and much more.
Explaining his menu choices, he continued telling us, “I’m serving modern Cantonese cuisine utilizing ingredients different from typical Chinese food. Our menu will be seasonal and will incorporate fresh ingredients from local purveyors and organic produce grown on our own farm in Gilroy. This really will allow me to constantly change our menu to ensure our guests never get bored and are always offered a seasonal menu.” Beyond California grown produce, Ho tells us they will serve duck that’s exclusive to Empress by Boon as he has been working with renowned Pennsylvania duck farmer Joe Jurgielewicz on a bird that’s raised humanely and fed an organic diet.
Former San Franciscans Stella and Julie Wong shared the latest menu offering last week that they happily traveled from their home in Sonoma to enjoy. They told their Facebook friends they thoroughly enjoyed their fix prixe $78 menu of the following: Iberico Ham Shanghai Xiao Long Bao, Steamed Zucchini Prawn Dumpling with fresh Australian black truffle, crispy Sea Prawn Roll, Crispy Chicken with curry and milk, grilled Alaskan Black cod in soya and sha cha sauce, and lotus rice with fresh scallop and shrimp, shitake mushrooms.
Although he appears by all admirers to be a very young man, Chef Ho is a Michelin-starred chef with close to 30 years of experience at several of the most renowned Asian restaurants. Born in Malaysia, he is the former international executive chef of Hakkasan and has opened several of its most celebrated restaurants worldwide, including those in London, Moscow and Bangkok. He relocated to the US in 2012 to launch Hakkasan New York and his international culinary expertise transforms any restaurant and its cuisine into a true epicurean experience. Under his leadership, Hakkasan restaurants earned Michelin stars in both London and New York.
We are so glad Chef Boon has come to San Francisco’s Chinatown and brought the Empress of China’s vacant space to its former glory by embracing modern design elements while incorporating restored original pieces to create a welcoming atmosphere that pays homage to the history of the beloved landmark we all had so many wonderful memories within. Local community patrons and travelers alike are already discovering Empress by Boon so reservations have reached into months ahead, we are told. So plan your next San Francisco special outing soon to get your reservations logged in, advises General Manager James Minch. I agreed, for where else will diners find a modern take on Cantonese fare in a beautiful atmosphere with views of the city. Advice to readers with fine dining in their DNA, Empress by Boon should be your next choice for a San Francisco gourmet experience. Bon appetit!
