Four Kings 四大天王

Four Kings comes from the Mister Jiu's lineage, and it shows in the ambition: Cantonese technique run through a French and American filter, served loud. Flames jump off the wok station, squab hits hot oil with a sizzle you can hear from the door, and the Canto-Pop stays cranked. This is a kitchen that knows the classic repertoire well enough to bend it without breaking it.

The XO escargot with milk bread is the kind of dish that justifies the whole premise — French snails, Cantonese funk, bread built to mop up what's left. The mango pudding closes things out with real precision, sweet and tangy and floral at once. Not everything lands at that level; the bacon-topped claypot rice tips into heaviness, and the snap peas with tofu dressing exist specifically to counter plates like it. That's a kitchen managing its own richness, not failing to.

Service and energy get it right most nights, with enough inconsistency on busy ones to notice but not enough to undercut the case. A James Beard Best New Restaurant semifinalist nod and a spot in Michelin's current San Francisco selections back up what the room already tells you. Go hungry, go loud, order the escargot.