Patio Dining & Wine Pairings!
By Chef Lijun Han, Owner & Head Chef, Z&Y Peking Duck
There is something I love about this time of year in San Francisco. The fog pulls back a little. The afternoons get longer. People start opening their windows, dragging chairs onto the porch, calling up friends they haven’t seen since the holidays. Spring has a way of reminding us that sharing food with the people we love is one of the great pleasures of life.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately — about how many of our guests take our food home and turn it into something truly special at their own table. A backyard dinner party. A quiet Sunday lunch in the garden. An impromptu gathering with a couple of good bottles of wine. It happens more than you might think, and it makes me happy every time I hear about it.
So this spring, I want to share something a little different — a guide to hosting at home with Z&Y Peking Duck. Five dishes, five California wines, and all the confidence you need to set a table your guests will be talking about for weeks.
The duck at the center of your table
Peking Duck (Whole or Half) + CADE 2024 Sauvignon Blanc
If you’re going to anchor a spring gathering around one dish, let it be the Peking Duck. Order it whole — the presentation alone will stop conversation the moment you bring it outside. The skin arrives lacquered, deeply golden, and impossibly crisp. The pancakes, hoisin, cucumber, and green onion are all included. Your only job is to set out a cutting board, pour the wine, and let everyone assemble their own wraps.
For this dish, I recommend the CADE 2024 Sauvignon Blanc from Napa Valley ($44). It is bright and structured, with citrus and fresh herb on the nose and a mineral finish that cuts beautifully through the richness of the duck skin. It is the kind of wine that feels like a special occasion without requiring any occasion at all.
A dim sum moment, reimagined at home
Crab & Kurobuta Pork Xiao Long Bao + B. Wise 2024 Rhonda Rosé
Our Crab & Kurobuta Pork Xiao Long Bao are, in my opinion, one of the finest things on the menu — and one of the most underrated dishes to bring home. Keep them in the steamer basket. Set them in the center of your patio table still warm. Watch your guests lean forward. The soup inside each dumpling is rich with sweet crab and Kurobuta pork; that first careful bite is one of the great small pleasures of the table.
The B. Wise 2024 Rhonda Rosé from Sonoma ($36) is the wine I’d reach for here — dry, elegant, and full of strawberry and watermelon brightness that plays beautifully against the savory depth of the crab. A chilled glass of rosé and a bamboo steamer basket on a warm afternoon is, quite honestly, a perfect meal. No tablecloth required.
Something golden for your guests to pass around
Honeydew Crispy Shrimp + Whitehall Lane 2023 Sauvignon Blanc
If the duck is your centerpiece, our Honeydew Crispy Shrimp is your crowd pleaser. Six (or twelve) golden, perfectly crispy shrimp arrive coated in a honeydew glaze that is sweet, savory, lightly floral, and completely irresistible. Set them on a platter at the center of the table and watch them disappear before anyone has had a chance to sit down. They need no reheating, no plating, no effort — just a platter and a little appetite.
Whitehall Lane Winery’s 2023 Sauvignon Blanc from Napa Valley ($30) is exactly the right companion. Bright and vibrant with tropical citrus notes, it echoes the sweetness of the honeydew glaze without competing with it. The clean acidity keeps each bite tasting fresh and light. This is the bottle you open first, the one everyone keeps pouring from, the one that’s empty before you’ve thought to open anything else.
The dish that always surprises people
Braised Fish Maw with Crab Meat in Yellow Sauce + Subterra 2024 California Chardonnay
Braised Fish Maw with Crab Meat in Yellow Sauce is not the first dish people think to order — but it is often the first one they talk about after the meal. Fish maw has been prized in Chinese cooking for centuries. Braised slowly and finished with sweet crab in a glossy golden sauce, it becomes silky, rich, and deeply comforting. It travels beautifully and reheats gently with a few spoonfuls of hot water in a covered pan.
I pair this with the Subterra 2024 California Chardonnay ($17), and I mean it when I say this bottle punches far above its price. The rounded body and gentle stone fruit notes mirror the richness of the yellow sauce, while its clean acidity keeps the palate fresh through every bite. It is the kind of wine you stock a case of without guilt — and one you’ll keep reaching for all season long.
The dish for the guest who wants something serious
Sous Vide Black Pepper Beef Short Ribs + Wente Family Vineyards 2023 Baily Hill Pinot Noir
Every gathering has one — the person who wants something hearty, something with depth, something that feels like a proper dinner. Our Sous Vide Black Pepper Beef Short Ribs were made for them. We cook the beef low and slow until it reaches a tenderness that feels almost impossible, then finish it with a bold black pepper crust that gives it backbone and heat. It holds up well at home, and it fills the whole table with a wonderful smell the moment you open the container.
Wente Family Vineyard’s 2023 Baily Hill Pinot Noir ($20) from Livermore Valley is the perfect companion — earthy, silky, with red fruit and gentle tannins that complement the pepper crust without fighting it. At $20, it is one of the great values in Bay Area wine. That it comes from California soil, to share with California guests, feels exactly right to me. There’s a sense of place in that bottle that I find genuinely moving.
A few final notes from the kitchen
Ordering for a home gathering is easier than most people expect. We recommend placing your order at least 24–48 hours in advance for the Peking Duck, and calling us at (415) 986-1899 if you have any questions about quantities or timing. For most other dishes, same-day ordering works beautifully.
Keep the food covered and warm during transit. Give the duck ten minutes in a 375°F oven if it needs refreshing. Set the XLB in a steamer basket over boiling water for two minutes. Everything else is ready to go straight to the table. The wines just need to be chilled — and a little patience.
From my kitchen to your table — I hope this spring brings you many evenings worth remembering.
With warmth and gratitude,
Chef Lijun Han
Z&Y Peking Duck
Call us if you have questions:
📞 Z&Y Peking Duck: (415) 986-1899
