Sunday, March 20, 2016
Breakfast: one granny smith apple, water. Rode Muni to Embarcadero Station. Met Danny for brunch at Crystal Jade Jiang Nan at Four Embarcadero Center (415-399-1200). He gave me a blueberry-sesame muffin from Contraband. Pot of jasmine tea for two ($6); two orders of mixed flavors xiao loong bao, four per order, one each of: regular, vegetables, cheese, black truffle ($11.80 each or $23.60); applewood-roasted peking half duck ($30); spinach bean curd with mushrooms and vegetables ($16); half peking duck second course: shredded duck meat fried rice ($15). Total = $119.97 after an $18 tip. Crystal Jade Jiang Nan (CJJN) is refined dim sum and Chinese food in a modern setting with one of the best bar or restaurant views of the Ferry Building Marketplace. The space and decor is exquisite and almost perfect. We got the last four-top available indoors next to a window. These tables next to the window are the best in the house providing the most light, the best view, and protection from sun and rain. Servers were clearly trained to provide excellent service. They hit the mark on occasion but more frequently missed by some, whether in timing or rapport. The restaurant was less than a quarter full yet it was difficult to hear several of our servers who frequently did not speak loudly enough. Still, it was less noisy than the nearby alternative of Yank Sing Rincon Center, which permits very young children to play and shriek near the fountain. The XLB was perfectly wrapped, but the flavors were not strongly distinct enough to matter that you got four different ones. Thus I feel the XLB dish provided the least value. On the opposite end, the half duck provides the best value. It is wheeled tableside, and two servers spend four minutes to prepare ten small crepes filled with sauce, duck meat, and accompaniments. The crepes were very fresh and the perfect thickness. The tableside prep is fun to watch. There is clearly talent in the kitchen. All the food was perfectly prepared, but I did not feel it was worth the money we paid. It feels like the restaurant is still trying to find its footing, and I predict it will not do so. Danny left for appointments. I walked around downtown, shopped at Zara, stopped at the Apple Store but didn't buy anything, then rode Muni to Castro Street Station. Returned the part I purchased yesterday at Cliff's. Stopped at Bearbuck's for a beverage: tall London Fog tea latte. Rode Muni home. Rested. Dinner at home with Patrick: we prepared Blue Apron cod kedgeree with basmati rice, eggs, and frizzled onion; red wine. So far this is Patrick's least favorite Blue Apron dish. Watched Pee-Wee's Big Holiday (2016) on Netflix instant watch with Patrick. This film is hilarious—go see it. Root beer barrels—mmmm. Made live Patrick's new website at http://longlifegoodhealth.org , built with Grav CMS. I used the theme called Deliver which was really troublesome to work with in figuring out the negative margins and positive paddings and so forth to get it to do what I needed. I don't think it's a problem with Grav, but rather one with just this theme. Certainly there could have been a lot more comments to explain things.