Sourdough Scallion Pancakes & Roast Duck Under Chinatown Lanterns
A birthday table at Mister Jiu’s in San Francisco, where Cantonese banquet memory meets Northern California farms.
Growing up going to noisy weekend Cantonese banquets in Scarborough and Markham gives you very specific opinions about roast duck skin, ginger-scallion oil, and steamed whole fish. Walking up the stairs onto Waverly Place at Mister Jiu’s feels like stepping into a love letter to those exact rooms—reimagined with Sonoma duck and heirloom Marin greens.
Do not skip the sourdough scallion pancake: the wild-yeast tang cuts right through the flaky laminated layers, especially dragged through whipped fermented tofu butter. When the whole dry-aged Liberty Farms duck arrives lacquered and accompanied by paper-thin mandarin pancakes and house plum-quince sauce, time slows to a crawl.