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Sesame Soft Serve, Mango Shaved Ice
I’m not sure why China Live removed it from the menu, but they need to bring it back. It’s a delicious, beautiful, and refreshing dessert. The shaved ice is, “Taiwanese ice,” which is an infused mango ice that’s shaved into thin layers giving it a velvety texture. The ice is layered on top of the delicious sesame soft serve and tapioca balls that burst in your mouth. They really need to bring this dish back.

Siu Yuk
The pork skin has a nice crunch and the meat is juicy and tender. The pork is cut into bite size cubes which makes the dish consumed even quicker. 

Sichuan Blistered Green & Yellow Wax Beans
The beans have a nice bite and are cooked well, but overall the sauce is a bit sweet for my taste. Overall, it’s a good dish but not as rememberable as the others. 

Sheng Jian Bao
A must order. The skin isn’t thick on the Bao, so it doesn’t feel like you’re biting into a loaf bread. The bottom is pan-fried to create a nice crisp crust to give the Bao a bit of structural rigidity for the soup and meat inside. The meat literally melts in your mouth, which then is washed down by the pork soup inside. It’s an amazing dish of porky goodness. 

Taiwan “27 Spice’ Braised Beef Noodle Soup
A solid beef noodle soup. I’m not sure I can taste 27 spices, but the broth is delicious with great depth. The beef is tender with a mixture of tendon and regular cuts. The relish garnish on top is a nice light complement to the meaty and savory broth. If there is a bit more spice or a kick I believe it would take this dish to the next level. 

Basket of Fried Scallion Bread
Imagine a scallion pancake and “mantou” had a kid – this is what the dish would be. It’s flaky and crunchy like a scallion pancake but fluffy and dense like the mantou. This is a great reinterpretation of two classic Chinese dishes. 

Lu Rou Fan Braised Minced Pork Rice Bowl with Egg
A must order. The dish is served with each of the components separated which needs to be mixed together on the plate. The “Lou Rou” is bursting with flavor and the spices are well balanced. A nice compliment to the savory dish, is moments of sour and crunchiness from the pickled relish. I’m a bit disappointed that you have to order the egg separately, however, the egg adds a richness and creamy texture to the whole dish. 

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China Live is a pioneering destination for the Asian community – imagine the Asian version of Eataly. It brings a mixture of a restaurant, a cocktail bar, a tea stop, and a retail store that supports Chinese designers. China Live concept is to foster an environment that elevates Chinese culture and food to the same level of perception of that of Western cuisine. Why is it acceptable that French and Italian food can be expensive but not Chinese food? What better place to do that in the heart of China Town. 

China Live takes traditional street Chinese/Taiwanese dishes and modernizes them into interesting but familiar flavors. Each dish has the right amount of experimentation with a strong foundation of simply being delicious. The dishes on the menu are readily accessible for everyone with a few that could be considered “acquired taste.” 

Much like their food, China Live’s interior is modern and hip but with touches of traditional elements. It’s balanced mixture of concrete ceilings stamped with Mandarin characters, contrasted by porcelain cladded walls, copper counter tops, and designer wooden furniture. It’s definitely a much different restaurant than their surrounding neighbors. 

I admire China Live in their mission to not just create a restaurant but a destination. A destination that challenges the antiquated Western perception of Chinese culture – where Chinese food has to be cheap or the Chinese restaurant has to be raggedy. As China Live continues to expand, I hope they are able to also bring their community with them.

Website – https://chinalivesf.com