SFReview
Included In
You can’t miss China Live. It’s in a massive building that takes up what feels like half a block in North Beach, and is made up of the titular upscale Chinese restaurant (which we’re reviewing here), plus a fine dining tasting menu spot, a semi-hidden bar, and a store with China Live branded chili crisp, cookbooks, and stuffed animals (unlucky diners, many of whom are tourists who took a plane to get here, are relegated to one of two random tables in the aisles). The dining room itself is an overstimulating maze of a few open kitchens, tables, and shelves stocked with more China Live jarred goods. Sound like a lot? It is. This place has so much going on that the food feels like an afterthought.
Like the restaurant’s set-up, the menu is also all over the place. There are Chinese staples like xiao long bao and Peking duck, and dishes from the Asian diaspora, like chicken satay and Singapore-style curry. As much as we want to love it, the food doesn’t deliver. Instead of being wowed by flavor or presentation, you’re underwhelmed. The soup dumplings lack soup, the Peking duck is served with cardboard-like sesame-covered bread pockets, and the stems on the charred broccoli are served too hard. The stronger-executed dishes, like wok-fried egg noodles or kung pao chicken, are nothing you’ll be dying to return for. If the “stylish vibe” of a restaurant is more important to you than the quality of the meal—then by all means, come here to watch staff fold dumplings, and pick up some hot mustard or a bamboo steamer while you’re at it. Otherwise, there are better Chinese restaurants just blocks away.
Food Rundown
Our #1 Seller Famous Sheng Jian Bao
Famous, sure. But at the end of the day, these are just your average shengjianbao.
“Peking Duck,” Traditional Condiments, Sesame Pockets
We can think of better ways to spend $29, like going to an up-and-coming artist’s concert, or donating it to a sea otter rehabilitation center. The sesame pockets are too full of air to be enjoyable, and the duck is just okay.
Char Siu BBQ Pork “Dutch Crunch” Baked Buns
These lean sweet, but ultimately we’d order them again—it’s hard to hate a pork bun topped with sugar.
House Famous Kung Pao “Firecracker” Chicken
Not spicy by any means, but not bad.
Charred Chinese Broccoli
These are some of the most disappointing vegetables we've ever ordered in a restaurant. They’re undercooked and taste like nothing.
Shanghai Xiao Long Bao
Fine, but they have little to no soup—and isn’t the soup the whole point? If your bar for Chinese food is anything frozen, packaged, and stamped with a Trader Ming’s logo, they’ll probably taste great.