Mister Jiu's

General Notes

I came here with a group of 3 and ordered their $125 autumn banquet celebration menu. The duck was awesome -- I especially enjoyed the smoky flavor to it. (warning: it most definitely isn't peking-style duck, it's cooked very differently). I found almost everything else to be mediocre to good but not particularly inspiring; it's really about the duck. It's also a crapton of food (at least for 3 people), way more than I expected for a restaurant like this.

Excellent vibes, nice atmosphere, good pacing, definitely a good choice for a special occasion. We didn't do it this time, but try to get a seat by the window if you can -- it has some gorgeous views.

Dishes Tasted

• ☆☆☆☆ pear soda -- this was pretty gross, it had no flavor whatsoever
• ★☆☆☆ 8 treasures rice -- not very good, i don't like all the random stuff in the rice
• ★★☆☆ nian gao -- oolong ice cream, fig. Nice texture, okay flavor
• ★★☆☆ chrysanthemum ice milk -- sea coconut, ginger snap. this is pretty good, nice and refreshing
• ★★★★ liberty farms peking style roast duck -- this is absolutely not peking roast duck, but it's still very good in of itself (for completely different reasons). It's cooked perfectly, the smoky flavor is awesome. The skin is definitely not as crispy as peking style roast duck.
• ★★☆☆ stir-fried cheong fun -- XO sauce, clams, lots of garlic. Decent flavor, texture is okay, didn't quite have the characteristic cheong fun flavor that I look for
• ★☆☆☆ yu choy -- pretty uninspiring
• ★★★☆ taiwanese style eggplant -- basil, garlic, etc. Cooked well, the garlic crisps add a nice textural contrast, nice and flavorful
• ★☆☆☆ scarlet turnip cake -- olive-shallot relish. Not a big fan of this one, it's okay, a little over-seasoned.
• ★★★☆ kohlrabi -- shin li pear, pine mushroom, anise hyssop. I enjoyed this a lot, it's refreshing and has a nice sweet / savory combination
• ★★☆☆ yusheng -- bay scallops, wood ear mushroom, etc. flavor was good, scallops have a nice texture
• ★★☆☆ cabbage + dip -- raw cabbage served with some kind of a sesame paste dip, kind of like another dish I had at ippuku. It was decent