We four kings

Four Kings (Chinatown)

RESTAURANTS • First Person

Four Kings, which opened in Chinatown in March after a year as a pop-up, has quickly established itself as a Restaurant of the Summer contender. It’s run by a couple of cool kids from the Mister Jiu’s alumni club, chef buddies Franky Ho and Mike Long, plus their partners Millie Boonkokua and Lucy Li. They’re into new school Cantonese inspired by Hong Kong street food, alongside a solid bar scene (and vibes to spare).

From the outside, it looks like a standard Chinatown storefront: double windows, gold lettering, and a bobbing red lantern. But even on a recent Monday, ’90s Cantopop blasted from the speakers in the cozy wood-lined space, which was packed with friends, couples, and a rogue baby up past its bedtime. My companion surreptitiously popped in her earplugs like she was at a Beyoncé concert.

Regardless, it was the best time we’ve had in a while. Seated at the counter — arguably, the best seats in the house — we watched whole squabs swing like a curtain in the kitchen, already smoked until succulent, ready to fry until crackly. Butter-bomb escargots get a kick from XO sauce and come with milk bread to jam into the shells and soak up all the juices. Mapo spaghetti features the fiery sauce slicking al dente noodles and crumbled beef. A jellyfish salad pops between your teeth, and tender pea shoots rock whole cloves of garlic confit.

Flip over the cheeky, illustrated menu for a visual rundown of the bottle list, which covers sake, sochu, and wine, as well as a selection of three highballs, with flavor twists like sour plum and almond milk. For dessert, you can opt for the mango pudding shaped like a fish, but the showstopper is a snowy volcano of shaved ice holding a crater of red beans.

We slipped out into the fog with our ears ringing and our minds racing. Four Kings might be loud, but it’s also making the right kind of noise. –Becky Duffett

→ Four Kings (Chinatown) • 710 Commercial St • Thurs–Mon 6–11p • Reserve.