Michelin-recommended Jiang Nan comes to Montclair serving authentic Chinese
Jiang-Nan, a Michelin-recommended restaurant in Queens, has opened a new location in downtown Montclair.
It is billed as “Chinese fusion” — but it’s not fusion in the way diners might expect. Rather than mashing-up Chinese and other cuisines, the food at Jiang-Nan fuses China's regional dishes to create what manager Leo Liu calls “authentic Chinese.”
“Most ‘Chinese’ food in this country is really American-Chinese, dishes like beef with broccoli,” said Liu. “Chinese food is so different.”
The restaurant’s chef is Szechuan, Liu said, so there's an emphasis on specialties like Peking Duck, Kung Pao Chicken and ox-meat dishes. Also on the menu are several kinds of soup dumplings (Xiao Long Bao), including pork and crab and black truffle and pork.
Jiang-Nan is beloved among Chinese-Americans in Flushing, Queens, where the original restaurant is located. Patrons of the brand’s newer locations in Manhattan, Jersey City and now, 379 Bloomfield Avenue, often tell Liu they’re fans of Jiang-Nan in Flushing.
The Montclair location opened on Christmas Day.
“We get a lot of Chinese customers, but a lot of Americans too,” he said. “We use very high quality ingredients from Chinatown. Others used chipped beef and pork, we use only the best parts of the animal.”
Liu is proud of the fact that Jiang-Nan's Queens location is “recommended” by the holy grail of restaurant ratings, the Michelin Guide. The only other Montclair restaurant brand with Michelin connections is Manhattan's Nami Nori, which opened at Seymour Street and Bloomfield Avenue last year. Both restaurants are recognized as Michelin "Bib Gourmand," or restaurants that "serve good food at reasonable prices."
According to Michelin, a recommended restaurant is “the sign of a chef using quality ingredients that are well cooked; simply a good meal. The inspectors have found the food to be above average, but not quite at star level.”
Michelin stars are defined as follows: One star: High quality cooking, worth a stop; Two stars: Excellent cooking, worth a detour; Three stars: Exceptional cooking, worth a special journey. The Michelin Guide was launched by Michelin, the tire company, in France in 1889 to encourage drivers to take to the road.
Michelin does not inspect restaurants in New Jersey.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Jiang Nan opens in Montclair NJ serving authentic Chinese
