Pudong Opens, A Cicerone is Crowned, Baodown Cont'd!

CASTRO - After several private test dinners, Pudong has opened just a few days later than planned in the old Mecca space on Market Street in the Castro. The concept is Chinese brasserie, with a menu that hops from salt and pepper prawns to beef tartare to dim sum specials. UrbanDaddy reports the kitchen stays open until 1:30 a.m. nightly; there's a happy hour; and the interior is sounding chi-chi-LA-meets-Castro. So that all bodes well. What say you Eater readers? [ISSF, GrubStreet, Yelp, UrbanDaddy]

BEERWIRE - Rich Higgins, face of Social Kitchen and Brewery in the Sunset passed this year’s two-day, 10-hour, super intense Master Cicerone exam, making him one of three individuals IN THE WORLD to achieve this pinnacle certification of beer expertise. This man deserves more than a beer. [EaterWire]

WESTWARD BAOUND - Remember the Eddie Haung/Chairman Bao mess? Of course you do. It was totally unforgettable. Well if you'd like to hear the man sound off on what went down, check this vid over at Feast wherein Huang reveals SF is tops on his list of places to expand to and his some friendly suggestions for new names for the Chairman Bao knockoff truck...like Long Duck Dong. [The Feast]

Pudong in the Castro. [Photo: Yelp/Genevieve Y.]