Classic Chinese Fine Dining at Z&Y Peking Duck

For those seeking fine Chinese food in San Francisco, head to  Z&Y Peking Duck restaurant. The street signs near the restaurant in the heart of Chinatown display dual names. The plethora of colorful neon business signs reflect the cultural influence and historical significance of the oldest Chinatown in the U.S. The storefront of Z&Y Peking Duck announces the restaurant’s mission from the get-go.

Z&Y Peking Duck opened to acclaim in March 2024 and was named one of USA Today’s “10 Best New Restaurants” in January 2025. Arriving after sunset, we stepped into a bright space with a long bar area with small tables at one side.

Our dinner was set downstairs in the secluded dining area with modern décor tastefully mixed with heritage touches. Z&Y Peking Duck is a venue for special occasions, date nights, and group meals. On the evening that we dined, guests were all smiling with food-laden tables.

Owner and Executive Chef Lijun Han hails from Beijing where he studied culinary arts. After cooking for two Chinese presidents, he relocated to San Francisco as executive chef at the Chinese Embassy. In 2008 he launched Z&Y restaurant which raised the bar on fine dining at Chinese restaurants. Z&Y specializes in Sichuan (Szechuan) food. Along with the Michelin Bib Gourmand award, Z&Y is also Zagat rated.

During the pandemic, a space became available across the street from Z&Y. Chef Han immediately pursued the opportunity to return to his culinary roots and launch a restaurant highlighting Peking duck, a Beijing specialty. After renovating the space and hiring a chef who knew how to carve the fragile skin of the Peking duck for presentation, Han began serving his favorite food.

You will notice that Z&Y Peking Duck is not an average restaurant when the server places a carafe of water on the table with fresh mint leaves. Our feast began with two delicious appetizers—five-spice seasoned tofu and chives on traditional crackers and a refreshing avocado and jalapeño salad made with homemade vinegar. The pièce de resistance, the Peking duck, soon arrived. An ancient tradition once reserved for the emperor, dignitaries or for the most special of occasion, the Z&Y versions encompass 48 hours of prep.

The duck is served with thinly sliced scallions and julienned cucumber plus house-made sweet bean sauce. After placing a thin spread of sauce on the accompanying wrap, we layered on thin pieces of meat, crispy skin, the and slivers of vegetables. We then created a handheld gastronomic delight by folding the filled wrap into a packet.

The savory, umami crunch of the skin contrasted with the tender meat and cool cucumbers was a special Beijing cultural treat. The duck had a wonderful texture without visible fat, opined my friend. The elevated version of the duck arrives with squares of the duck topped with skin and crowned with a dollop of caviar.

Our feast continued with full-flavored, black truffle xiao long bao or soup dumplings which were among the best I have ever tasted. The savory, plump Beijing-style pot stickers arrived pan fried in rectangle shapes rather than pleated crescents.

Next came crispy honey prawns. Our server encouraged us to eat the thin prawn shells which were coated with the crispy sweet-savory coating. The tender beef with spicy rod chilis, Sichuan peppercorns, and thin, stem-like enoki mushrooms was a hit with my spice-lover friend. We also enjoyed fried rice and shrimp with truffles. But of all the dishes, we devoured the Peking duck and could have taken another portion home.

 

The menu offers many other choices. For appetizers, Z&Y Peking Duck offers various skewers, crispy egg rolls, dumplings and buns. There is miso sea bass, stir-fried crab with house spicy sauce, clay pot braised lamb ribs, Sichuan-style twice cooked pork with sautéed cabbage and leeks, and Beijing style shredded pork with wraps.

For dessert, we enjoyed the creamy almond tofu, a Beijing specialty made with almond milk whose texture resembles silken tofu.

Shaped in traditional style like a cat with black sesame eyes. the sweet almond tofu was a cheerful ending to our delicious array of food. After all, a ceramic cat had greeted us at the bar when we arrived. Though the style of ceramic cat with red ears, a Maneki Neko or “beckoning cat”  originated in Japan, many Chinese restaurants and businesses adopted the cat as a symbol of luck and prosperity and display them prominently. But at Z&Y Peking duck, the Maneki Neko sits next to a friendly-looking white ceramic duck.

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