Michelin-Starred Chef Set To Open Another Affordable Chinese Restaurant

Mamahuhu is nearly ready to open its second San Francisco location, this time in Noe Valley. Michelin-starred and James Beard Award-winning chef Brandon Jew of Mister Jiu's will lead the kitchen at the latest outpost of his more affordable Chinese American eatery.

Co-owner Ben Moore told The Standard that his team is currently finishing up renovations at the new location and expects to open in February or sooner if all goes well.

The Noe Valley Voice first shared the news back in May that Mamahuhu had landed a storefront at 3991 24th St. The space was formerly occupied by breakfast cafe Toast, which shuttered in 2019. Before that, a beloved diner called Herb's Fine Foods had continuously operated there since the 1940s.

Designed to celebrate Chinese takeout and diasporic cooking in America, one of the most popular dishes on Mamahuhu's menu is the mapo tofu, a spicy Sichuan comfort dish. Along with the original Mamahuhu location on Clement Street in the Inner Richmond, which debuted in 2020, Jew and two partners also unveiled another restaurant in Mill Valley this past September.

As of this week, Jew's flagship restaurant, Mister Jiu's, retained its one Michelin star. Among the most upscale restaurants in Chinatown, it first received a star back in 2016, becoming the first Chinese restaurant in San Francisco to earn this distinction.

Mamahuhu is only the latest in a spate of new restaurant openings in Noe Valley, including Malaysian laksa house Damansara and Inle Burmese Cuisine.

"Noe is a great fit for us because it has such a strong neighborhood and family-oriented vibe," Moore said. "Plus, we feel our menu will contribute something new to the community that folks can get excited about. There are fantastic restaurants in Noe Valley but all very different from what we offer."