Mission Chinese Food (San Francisco, CA)

My dear brother, Jueyoung, graduated from law school this summer, making him the first of us to finish his education. Of course, I had to be there to help him celebrate! It was a wonderful weekend for the Khwarg family, and naturally, it involved some epic meals. Here is one of the most memorable:

Mission Chinese Food

The first pop-up restaurant, Mission Chinese Food is the brainchild of chef Danny Bowien. Not having the resources to open his own restaurant, he made a deal with a random out-of-the-way Chinese restaurant to use their facilities for a limited time during the day. The staff shares the kitchen with the old, more traditional staff, who make mainly take-out food. It's frankly a pretty fantastic idea that along with food trucks have really expanded the possibilities for talented young chefs. To read more, here's a NYT article.

Mission Chinese Food specializes in modern Chinese food that is equal parts a celebration and subversion of the Chinese-American joints that can be found all over America. Applying Western cooking techniques, more impactful flavors and fresh ingredients to Chinese classic, this restaurant offers unique and powerful cuisine that challenged my views on what modern Chinese food can be. As an added bonus, a portion of all profits go to charity. 

Ma po tofu - One of my favorite Chinese dishes. Mission's take on this spicy tofu stew was unlike any version I've ever had... Generous use of tongue-numbing Schezuan peppercorn elevated this dish to new heights, making it spicier and more pungent.

Cumin lamb - a Schezuan classic that is another personal favorite. Here they use chopped up lamb belly with bones still in rather than the usual fillet. The cut of meat is perfect, as it gives the dish a meatier and fattier flavor than usual that is tempered with a heavy dose of cumin. Delicious.

Pork belly - crispy and unctuous. This was as delicious as can be expected, though it wasn't as unique to me as other dishes.

White person taking a picture of an asian taking a picture of food.

Here, I will mention the smoked veal ribs, which were so amazing that I forgot to take a picture. These were easily the best thing I ate during my entire trip to SF. Imagine the best Southern BBQ beef ribs you've ever had, then make it more tender and fatty and douse it in a Chinese sweet&sour sauce... and you'd have only part of an idea of how delicious these were.

Thrice-cooked bacon - This struck me as a Chinese-take on the traditional Korean rice-cake stir fry. Surprisingly, rice-cakes were the star of this dish over the bacon, which was not crispy like I expected.

Kung-pao pastrami - I'm not sure how I feel about the use of potato slices. On the one hand, it gives the dish more body and texture, yet it also causes a loss of focus from the idea of parodying "kung-pao." Pastrami isn't very assertive, which also affects the power of this dish.

Overall, I think this is a must-try in San Francisco, a city filled with "must-tries." Mission Chinese Food offers a unique vision for the future of Chinese food that is innovative and delicious without sacrificing the essential Chinese quality of iconic dishes.

One note - some in my family felt the food was too greasy. I personally believe it goes with the whole idea of playing off of the Chinese-American food genre, but you've been warned. I am craving smoked veal ribs now.

-JK