Time Honored San Francisco Eatery

Time Honored San Francisco Eatery
Interviewed by Cuiyin Zhang  Interviewed by Elise Krentzel

Andy Tang has been running Jade Cafe for over twenty years to an ever increasing fan club of diners who travel to this industrialized outskirt of the city just to dine at his Cantonese eatery.

During the 6th Annual Top 100 Chinese Restaurants in the USA Awards ceremony recently held in Las Vegas in this January, 2010, Jade Café received recognition as one of the Top 100 Chinese Restaurants in USA in the category of “Top100 Best Value”.

Although this eat-in seats only 50 diners in this 1,500 square foot area, with the mainstay being take-out, his customer's appetites have grown faster than the amount of items on the menu.

The brightly decorated interior is fresh with yellows and whites. Simple blond wood chairs and tables adorned with white tablecloths under glass are clean looking. Yet the décor is not why diners continually praise Jade Cafe.

Yum Yum Eats
Culinary novices may not know the difference between Cantonese and Mandarin yet most of Jade's diners are pretty savvy. Mandarin features a bolder flavor while Cantonese is light. Walnut Prawns, Mongolian Beef, Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings, Chow Mein and Asparagus w. Fish Fillet are the best selling dishes. They have a secret recipe for their Chicken Wings, which is one of the most popular dishes.

Asparagus w. Fish Fillet: This fish platter comes replete with vegetables. Controlled use of oil is quite important for this dish. Customers can choose from a black bean or garlic sauce.

Sweet & Sour Chicken, Seafood Deluxe and some traditional Cantonese dishes such as Stewed Beef Noodle Soup and Dry Fried Beef Noodle are also very popular. Healthy dining has long been accepted as the norm among white color workers in the area. Thus, Jade Café is no exception. Steaming is the best way to maintain nutrition while keeping the color of the food. Each item is prepared with little salt and fresh oil. They are all the best choices for those health-conscious people.

Preparing Chinese food is a complicated cooking process. Andy invested in research to find out how to prepare the best balanced sauces and food pairing. As the market is saturated with Chinese restaurants, he needed a special USP (Unique Selling Proposition). “I think cooking is an art and real Chinese food should be brought into to this country without any alterations," he said. There's enough room to grow the market with real Chinese cuisine he believes.

One online reviewer wrote, “Fried Tofu, Garlic Tofu with Green Bean in Dry Spicy Garlic is insanely good, even carnivores like it.” What’s more, diners’ can place customized or special orders with the waiters? As a generalization, blue collar workers care less about the health aspects and more about taste and texture. The owner tries to meet adequately all diners’ wishes, even if they fluctuate from extreme to extreme.

Gratitude as Management Philosophy
“Customers are never wrong, even if there’s a dispute or complaint, we should first apologize and then make improvements until the customer is completely satisfied,” says Andy. “Whenever there are new ideas and differing viewpoints, we hold a meeting to discuss them so long as they are good for the restaurant.”

With gratitude in mind, Andy has created very good relationships with staff members and regular customers. Gratitude makes you stronger he insists. “We try our best to make every customer feel like Jade Cafe is their home when dining here.” He adds, “It’s completely wrong to think that working in the catering industry is an inferior job. We are serving others and that’s our job. So don’t look down upon yourself.” That's his message to his staff.

Andy is very proud of the chefs’ qualifications, backgrounds and cooking skills which are fabulous according to him. Together there are five chefs, most of whom have years of cooking experience. Many have been employed for an average of 7-8 years. The daily operations work because they each know how to maneuver together as a team and as individuals.

Enjoy more Jade Café’s Delicacies…
Jade Café
Address: 18 Geary St., San Francisco, CA 94108
Tel: (415) 981-6138

Name: Jade Cafe
Location: 1688 Bryant St., San Francisco, CA 94103
Offers: Eat-in, Take-out (Accept Credit Cards)
Phone: 415-861-1688