Jiang Nan-Chinese Fusion: First Impressions

Jiang Nan, a Chinese fusion restaurant, opened its Boston location, at 177 Tremont Street on the site of the former Teatro, during early 2003. It's located just outside Chinatown, across from the Boston Common. Jiang Nan is part of a chain, the first having opened in Flushing, New York, which currently has 11 locations, and ambitious plans to have over 40 locations in the next few years. 

Their website states: "Jiang Nan inherits the ethnic cooking skills of modern Chinese cuisine, featuring Peking Duck, Xiao Long Bao (soup dumpling), Grill Fish and etc, as the signature dishes. We serve not only indulgent and comforting dining experiences featuring the best of Chinese fusion flavors from each region of China, but also consistently high-quality food and ingredients and superior customer service." They also note that they were "recognized as one of the only Chinese Fusion restaurants on the 2024 Michelin Recommended List,.." 

I recently dined there with a companion for lunch and wanted to present my first impressions. In short, it was a very good experience and I would return there again. 

As you enter the restaurant, there's an elegant bar to the right, where you can enjoy a cocktail and some food. 

The dining room also has a sense of elegance, and can be an impressive location for a romantic date or a business meeting. We sat in a small alcove, which only has two tables, and definitely is one of the prime dining spots in the restaurant. 

Every table receives a complimentary dish of Pickled Cabbage with chili oil, which looked quite fresh. 

You also receive these two complimentary items, which might puzzle you at first, but are simply Disposable Wet Wipes and Disposable Gloves. Not quite what you might have expected at first glance. 

The lengthy Menu is broken down into various categories, including Chef Specialty, Snacks, Appetizers, Featured Soup, House Special, Entrees, Vegetables, Main Dish, and Desserts. However, you might want to also consult the Menu at their Flushing location, as it contains photos of all their dishes, which the Boston menu lacks. There's plenty of options on the menu so whatever your preferences, from vegetarian to meat-lover, you're likely to find something which will appeal to you. Appetizers average around $15-$16 with most Entrees in the $20s. There are also some special dishes which cost in the $30s and $40s.  

Their House Signature dish is Peking Duck, which is available as a Half ($48) or Whole ($88). We opted for a Half, and it came with all of the usual accompaniments plus a couple which are less common. They included very thin chun bing (spring pancakes), narrow strips of cucumber and spring onion, and Hoisin sauce. In addition, there was a bowl of sugar and some pineapple chunks, which are not as commonly found, but both ingredients are said to enhance the flavor of the duck and cut through the fat of the duck. The duck slices were very good, meaty and flavorful, with some nice crispness to the skin. It wasn't the best Peking Duck I've ever tasted, but I was very pleased with what we received. It was also an ample amount of duck, with plenty of pancakes. 

If you order the Peking Duck, you can also order one of two options ($15 extra) of Processed Bones. Yes, that might not sound appetizing at first, but you need to give it some consideration. You can either choose Salt & Pepper Crispy Duck Bones or Tofu & Veggies Duck Bone Soup. We chose the Salt & Pepper Crispy Duck Bones, and I enjoyed gnawing on the salty meat, with a nice crispness, on the bones. Definitely a very good choice as an option. I've long loved duck wings better than chicken wings, and this appealed to my preferences. 

We also chose the Smoked Pork Neck Meat ($25.95), which is smoked table-side, and in the video above, you can see how they fired the wood chips, and then inserted the tray into the bottom of the box, below the level where the pork was laying. They also have a few other items on the menu, such as the Mega Lamb Skewer, which are prepared table-side. 

This was the final product, tender and flavorful pork, with a nice smoky aspect. Some crispness on the exterior, fat which melted in your mouth, and plenty of tasty pork. 

The Mapo Tofu, with minced pork ($17.95), is a classic Szechuan dish and I thought it was excellent, with plenty of silky tofu, a meaty sauce, and a nice, numbing Szechuan spice touch, although it wasn't as spicy as other Mapo Tofu dishes that I've had. So, if you prefer a lesser spicy dish, this would be a good option, providing a touch of Szechuan, but without too strong of heat. 

Our final dish was Crispy Shredded Beef with lime sauce ($26.95), maybe my favorite of the four dishes. I loved the crispiness of the tender beef, with a subtle but complex sauce, the citrus giving a brightness to the beef. Each bite made me crave another. 

Service was excellent. Overall, it was a positive first experience, with plenty of delicious food, and there's plenty more on the menu I would like to try. It's a bit more of a higher-end Chinese restaurant, although the portion size and quality of the dishes generally justifies the higher prices. 

Have you dined at Jiang Nan? If so, what was your experience?