Empress By Boon: San Francisco’s Best Cantonese Cuisine Is By A Malaysian-Born ChefFor years, the Grant Building in the heart of San Francisco’s Chinatown hosted one of the area’s most famed banquet halls, Empress of China. After lying dormant for an extended period, the chic venue underwent renovation and rejuvenation in 2021. Empress By Boon took over the top floor, where guests seated along the room’s perimeter are treated to breathtaking city views. If you’re here for dinner, you get to witness a romantic scene of the Bay that’s laid out before you: warm lights line up the streets of Chinatown below, with a peach-perfect sunset sky as the backdrop.