Chef & Owner
Jeff Hsu
“Cook the dish the way it was cooked for you the first time you loved it. Then make it better.”
The story
Shaoxing, then Shanghai
Jeff grew up above his grandmother's kitchen in Shaoxing, where red-braised pork was Sunday and rice wine was in everything. At sixteen he moved to Shanghai to apprentice at a xiao long bao house, where he spent two years pleating before he was allowed to fill.
Chengdu and Xi'an
A decade in the kitchens of Chengdu taught him the balance of má and là. A year in Xi'an, under a noodle master who timed every pull, taught him patience.
Why Michigan
He came to Ann Arbor in 2019 to visit his sister and stayed for the apple orchards, the Great Lakes whitefish and a city that was curious about food it had not tasted before. Jeff's Kitchen opened in 2024.
Timeline
1998
Begins apprenticeship at a xiao long bao house in Shanghai
2004
Joins the kitchen of a Sichuan restaurant in Chengdu; rises to head of the wok station
2012
Spends a year in Xi'an studying hand-pulled noodles
2015
Opens his first restaurant in Hangzhou
2019
Moves to Michigan
2024
Opens Jeff's Kitchen in Ann Arbor
Press & awards
- Detroit Free Press, 'Best New Restaurants 2025' (placeholder)
- Hour Detroit, 'Chef to Watch' (placeholder)
Signature dishes
Kurobuta Pork Xiao Long Bao
黑豚小笼包
Six hand-pleated soup dumplings, eighteen folds each, filled with Kurobuta pork and a clear, gelatin-rich broth.
Apple-Wood Roasted Peking Duck
果木北京烤鸭
Whole duck, air-dried for 48 hours and roasted over Michigan apple wood. Carved tableside with thin pancakes, cucumber, scallion, raw cane sugar and our house hoisin.
Grandma's Red-Braised Pork Belly
外婆红烧肉
Pork belly braised for three hours in soy, rock sugar and Shaoxing wine until the fat turns to custard. Served with steamed buns.