Jiang Nan, a Chinese dining grande dame from New York City, arrives in Duluth just after receiving a 2024 Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand award.
Much like Dubu Gongbang, also part of Duluth’s GW Marketplace, Jiang Nan provides an instant atmospheric change from the busy strip mall parking lot. A peaceful fountain greets customers in the entryway, and the decor is calm, modern and stylish. A large bar extends along the left wall in the front dining room but sits mostly unused as the restaurant awaits its liquor license.
Diners at Jiang Nan order their meals on a tablet — a technological double-edged sword that provides customers with lots of information and photos but also comes with a learning curve. The staff is well-trained, though, and servers quickly will provide assistance if you catch their eye.
Credit: Henri Hollis
Credit: Henri Hollis
Jiang Nan’s menu is encyclopedic — the PDF version on its website is nearly 30 pages long — and can feel overwhelming, but it also provides options for nearly any type of eater.
Peking duck, steamed soup dumplings, spring rolls, kung pao chicken, fried rice and stir-fried noodles all are approachable options, while adventurous diners can sample deep-fried bullfrog, cold jellyfish salad and sliced ox tongue.
Credit: Henri Hollis
Credit: Henri Hollis
Jiang Nan’s Peking duck is a major draw and a feast unto itself. Although a popular social media post had shown a cook pouring flaming alcohol over the whole duck tableside, our server warned us that the pyrotechnic show is no longer available. And while the duck — served with the traditional thin Chinese pancakes, scallions, hoisin sauce and pineapple — still satisfied, it wasn’t the star dish I had expected.
Another large dish on the menu outshone the duck and offered better value. The simply named grilled fish looked and tasted spectacular. It was a whole fish swimming in sauce and served in a large, steaming, rectangular hotpot. I ordered the striped bass in spicy Chongqing-style sauce — the hottest of the sauce options, thanks to the inclusion of a mountain of chopped dried chiles.
The fish was cooked beautifully — tender and mild, even as it danced with the crackling heat of so many Sichuan chile peppers. The cooks at Jiang Nan have achieved that perfect balance of spice and addictive flavor; you can’t help but take another bite.
Credit: Henri Hollis
Credit: Henri Hollis
Stair-stepping down the Scoville scale, Jiang Nan’s fish is available in a less spicy Sichuan sauce, an aged pickle sauce and garlic oil or tomato broth. It costs about $55 (depending on which fish you choose) versus $88 for a whole Peking duck.
Other highlights on the menu include many of the vegetable dishes and a surprising number of items that feature black truffle. Humble side dishes, such as sauteed pea sprouts and eggplant in garlic sauce, were deeply flavorful, while a few small slices of truffle infused their earthy flavor throughout a small pot of silky, custard-like stewed egg.
That same black truffle flavor also elevated Jiang Nan’s already excellent pork soup dumplings.
Credit: Henri Hollis
Credit: Henri Hollis
However, a few dishes didn’t quite hit the mark, including the Sichuan classic mapo tofu. Jiang Nan’s version had good flavor but very little texture; it was difficult to tell whether it included any minced pork at all. Similarly, sauteed tofu with crabmeat had too little textural contrast and was overly sweet.
Duluth’s Jiang Nan can’t offer the grandeur of the original location in Queens, and some diners likely will find its menu too much to deal with, but it does offer a few moments of brilliance. I know I’ll be dreaming of that spectacular grilled fish for months — and there still are quite a few menu items I’d love to try.
JIANG NAN
2 out of 4 stars (very good)
Food: Chinese, from various regions
Service: typically very good, but with a learning curve because of tablet ordering
Noise level: moderate
Recommended dishes: Peking duck, steamed pork and crabmeat soup dumplings, steamed black truffle and pork soup dumplings, stewed egg with black truffle, grilled fish spicy Chongqing-style, sauteed eggplant in spicy garlic sauce, sauteed pea sprouts
Vegetarian dishes: smashed pepper with eggplant, vegetarian spring roll, deep-fried tofu with black truffle, okra in garlic sauce, steamed lotus roots stuffed with sticky rice, stewed egg with black truffle, matsutake and mixed mushroom soup, spicy and sour shredded potatoes, stir-fried loofah, sauteed water spinach with fermented bean curd sauce, sauteed pea sprouts, stir-fried vegetables and udon
Alcohol: not yet available
Price range: $50-$100 per person, excluding drinks
Hours: 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays
Accessibility: fully ADA-compliant with street-level entry and low tables
Parking: free lot
Nearest MARTA station: none
Reservations: call-ahead only
Outdoor dining: no
Takeout: yes
Address, phone: 2180 Pleasant Hill Road, Duluth. 470-275-4995
Website: jiangnanny.com
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s dining critics conduct reviews anonymously. Reservations are not made in their name, nor do they provide restaurants with advance notice about their visits. Our critics always make multiple visits, sample the full range of the menu and pay for all of their meals. AJC dining critics wait at least one month after a new restaurant has opened before visiting.
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