China Live, tucked away in an unassuming building in the heart of San Francisco’s Chinatown, is one of the city’s newest (and hottest!) foodie destinations. Designed by renowned firm AvroKO, China Live is an aesthetic and culinary adventure celebrating multiple facets of Chinese food and drink – with a distinctly modern twist. From the bright and cheery Oolong Café, with its unique blue tile wall, to the Eight Tables restaurant, which features a prix-fixe, 8 course tasting menu, exploring all that China Live has to offer is a true feast for the senses.
We spoke with China Live partner Doug Collister to get the lowdown on the team’s design inspiration, as well as tips on brewing the perfect cup of tea, straight from the experts at the Oolong Café.
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How was the idea for the restaurant born, and what was your team’s vision for the space?
In short, the mission of China Live is to demystify Chinese food. The restaurant was the vision of George Chen, the founder and executive chef of China Live. After opening many successful restaurants in the Bay Area, as well as a steakhouse in Shanghai, George saw an opening for a unique, modern space. It’s fairly standard practice to have an open kitchen, especially in a foodie hub like San Francisco. In China, however, that’s not the case. It was one of our goals to show what’s happening in a Chinese kitchen – it’s unique, and prepared in interesting ways, and we’re proud of how we prepare our food.
What was on the mood board when designing the space?
The design firm AvroKO created a very unique design for us. The project was complex – there are several different aesthetics going on. Each space within China Live is unique, and we wanted to create a real sense of place that they are very different as you go through them. The cold drinks bar is a nod to San Francisco Chinatown’s heyday, the downstairs in a super lively environment, and the event space upstairs is a much more clean and flexible slate. Still, there is a cohesiveness to the entire design aesthetic as you move through the space.
Tell us about the design elements you chose to balance the old and new world aesthetics.
The China Live team took a trip to Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taipei before opening. We wanted to get up to speed on what modern Asian restaurants were doing with both food and design. China Live is anchored in the Chinese tradition, but it’s also up-to-date, and in San Francisco. It was really important for us not to lose those ties. We are modern and serving farm-to-table, and wanted that to be reflected in the clean and modern aesthetic.
These elements are infused throughout the space, in a lot of the design details. The stencil graffiti we put on the ceiling; some of our tables are actually river stones that we brought all the way over from China; our antique drawers that we use for non-traditional display purposes. We are a restaurant of San Francisco, and of today. The Oolong Café blue tile mural is a perfect example of this, and of who we are. The tiles were hand-painted in China, but the landmarks are of the Bay Area. The tables in the cafe are reclaimed elm wood from China, but the design feels very much of San Francisco with its modern and farmhouse feel.
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4 Steps to Brew The Perfect Cup of Tea
The China Live team let us in on the Oolong Café’s expert method of brewing tea. China Live offers some seriously amazing and fragrant brews (not to mention beautiful!). According to Doug, “one of the most popular teas at China Live ins the 8 treasure tea – it’s something we created and very unique. Another favorite is our dragon long green tea, which is imported from Taiwan and has a robust, clean flavor.”
1. Keep it fresh: store your tea properly!
“Tea is fresh – just like spices and herbs. The fresher it is, the stronger the flavor profile. If sealed in an airtight container, it can last up to 18 months.”
2. Filter for the flavor
“We use a strainer in our teapots. Other methods include loose leaf tea balls, and filtered tea bags that you can purchase to put your loose leaf tea in. While we like the traditional methods of brewing tea, we believe that if we don’t make the tea making process quicker and easier, people aren’t going to adopt it. With a tea strainer already in the teapot, it’s a simpler process to enjoy the tea, and you can brew it 2-3 more times within the teapot.”
3. Make it hot (190 degrees, to be exact)
“In the Oolong Café, we have three different water temperatures at the ready, depending on the type of tea selected. 185 degrees for green tea, 195 for pu’er and oolong tea, and 200 for herbal teas and some of our oolongs. As a general rule of thumb, 190 degrees for any tea is great.”
4. Let it steep – and enjoy!
“With the tea around 190 degrees, brewing time is anywhere from 2 to 4 minutes. Once you’ve finished your tea, you can reuse your strainer and brew it again – a lot of people actually prefer the second or third brewing, which will be a little more mild.”
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Photography by Poppy Lynch
