Hakkasan (San Francisco, CA)

Hakkasan
1 Kearny St
San Francisco, CA 94108
Dining date: 3/16/18

Hakkasan San Francisco opened at the end of 2012, but I didn’t have a chance to visit until this most recent SF trip. I’ve dined at Hakkasan’s Las Vegas and now-closed Beverly Hills locations a couple of times and have enjoyed my prior meals. I was interested to see how the SF location’s upscale Chinese food would compare.

Our party of four ordered a handful of prior favorite dishes, along with a few new ones.

Crispy duck salad with pomegranate, pine nut and shallot

Pan-seared Shanghai dumpling

Roasted duck pumpkin puff

Jasmine tea smoked pork spare ribs

Spicy prawn with lily bulb and almond

Szechuan mabo tofu with Wagyu beef

Black truffle roasted duck with tea plant mushroom

Hakka noodle with mushrooms and Chinese chive

Feeling more than satiated, we passed on dessert. We enjoyed the meal wholeheartedly. The crispy duck salad was as strong as in other locations, with bright acidity balancing the crispy duck skin and meat. The dumplings were satisfying with a nice crispy sear, though could’ve been served warmer. We saw the roasted duck pumpkin puff at a neighboring table and had to get an order. The “dumplings” were filled with a delicious salty pork filling; the pumpkin puff added some nice texture without being too thick. And the black truffle roasted duck was as good as I remembered in other locations. Its skin was crispy and the meat exuded a strong truffle essence. Hakkasan is definitely one of the most expensive Cantonese restaurants around, but it really finds a way to elevate its cuisine to justify the price point.