Chef Brandon Jew has made a mark on San Francisco’s food scene and Chinese-American cuisine at large. His ample, celebratory culinary style doesn’t hold back on spice, tang, texture or fun. I recently got a look—and taste—of the country’s largest Chinatown through Chef Jew’s eyes to celebrate the chef’s new partnership with Alaska Airlines.
As of August 28, Alaska Air’s first-class passengers traveling between JFK and SFO can choose Chef Jew’s menu items for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I sampled the offerings, and not only was this the best food I’ve had at 40,000 feet, but it was better than many meals I’ve had at sea level.
How did Brandon Jew rise to such heights? The Michelin-starred chef was born and raised in the nearby Richmond neighborhood and traveled the world to pursue culinary training, including stints in Italy and China. While working in a series of world-class restaurants, including fine dining destinations in the Bay Area like Zuni Cafe and three-Michelin-starred Quince, Jew honed the Chinese-American cuisine he’s now known for.
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Brandon Jew left his role as executive chef at the now-closed Bar Agricole in San Francisco’s Mission district to open his first restaurant, Mr. Jiu’s, in 2016. The restaurant’s location was formally home to the iconic Chinatown restaurants Four Seas and Hang Far Low, where community members would gather around expansive round tables to catch up and celebrate life milestones. With Mr, Jiu’s, the chef wanted to capture the interactive, lively spirit of Chinese banquets. He opened with an ample five-course menu served family-style, with optional add-ons. Jew’s tea-smoked Liberty Farms duck served with delicate pancakes and homemade nutty hoisin sauce became an instant hit. Though the menu has evolved into a more refined tasting menu, the duck remains a staple.
Jew opened Moongate Lounge in the space above Mr. Jiu’s in 2019. Here guests sip on unique craft cocktails overlooking lantern-laden Chinatown or reserve the event space. I had the opportunity to enjoy a banquet at Moongate Lounge in August to celebrate the chef’s recent collaboration with Alaska Airlines and was blown away by the quality (and amount) of food.
The space is colorful and inviting with a swanky retro flair, thanks to low velvety couches and glowy technicolor mood lighting. The cocktails, led by bar director Garrett Marks, are constantly changing with the seasons and always enticing (especially this summer’s snap pea and menthe-spiked pisco concoction), and the wine list is biodynamic and organic (it is San Francisco, after all). There’s also plenty of Jew’s Chinese-American heritage seeped into the drink menu with ingredients like osmanthus and lapsang (a Chinese tea).
Jew earned his first James Beard nomination for Best Chef, California in 2018, two years after opening Mr. Jiu’s. He was nominated again in 2020 and 2021 and finally won the award in 2022. He’s also been awarded a Michelin star for Mr. Jiu’s every year since 2019.
Jew is now also the chef/partner of a three-location casual concept called Mamahuhu, which serves Chinese-American lunch plates using quality ingredients from the Bay Area. He’s also expanded his career outside of restaurants.
In 2021, Jew released a cookbook showcasing recipes from his restaurant for the home cook, called Mr. Jiu’s in Chinatown.
The breakfast choice, available in both directions, is a luscious brown rice congee topped with with a soy-cured egg and tender braised pork belly. The turnip cake on the side, a traditional dim sum treat, is wonderfully fluffy and just a tad sweet. For lunch and dinner, Jew included his signature braised duck leg over sesame egg noodles with wilted gai lan. The side dish, of wood ear mushrooms with tofu skin and cucumbers is light and refreshing (not an easy feat on an airplane). The final entree option is an incredibly moist and flaky black cod filet topped with an herb-packed ginger scallions sauce with velvety tofu over a bed of nutty farro and quinoa tossed with shitake mushrooms. If anyone can achieve Michelin dining in the skies, it’s Chef Brandon Jew.
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