Brandon Jew, of San Francisco Chinatown’s Mister Jiu’s, wanted to offer a taste of the Chinese American foods he loved as a kid in a casual setting and at a comfortable price point. Jew, who won the James Beard award for best chef in California last year after also winning best restaurant cookbook for “Mister Jiu’s in Chinatown,” and business partners Ben Moore and Anmao Sun of Shanghai’s Hunter Gatherer opened Mamahuhu on Clement Street in San Francisco as their first foray into this style. Now we have our own Mamahuhu right here in Marin.

Mill Valley’s Mamahuhu offers some familiar dishes such as Sweet and Sour Chicken, Broccoli and Beef, and Kung Pao Chicken. You’ll find these on many Chinese menus around the Bay. At Mamahuhu, the flavors are clean and pointed. Everything on the menu is made in-house using local organic produce and transparently raised animals. The menu doesn’t shy away from spices and chilies.

Mamhuhu’s look is clean and minimalist. On entering, place your order at the desk. The menu offers a few house specials, noodles and rice, sides and desserts. Pay and find a seat at one of the blond wooden booths with high-back seats or two-top tables. There’s also a table along part of the wall with high-top stools, where you can watch the street activity.

On our way to our seats, we picked up cups and water from the buffet, and grabbed a few bowls so we could share. The utensils, including chopsticks and paper napkins, were already on the tables. When our order was ready, a pleasant and helpful server delivered it to our table.

We ordered the Rice Plate ($14), which came with jasmine rice and wok’d vegetables with a choice of any of the house specials. You can add a long Egg Roll ($2) or Jade Fried Rice ($3). We opted for the Sweet and Sour Chicken and added the Egg Roll. It can also be ordered with pork ($17) or cauliflower ($16). Both are gluten-free. The chicken was lightly rice-battered and fried, and tossed with triangles of fresh pineapple, chunks of bell pepper and onions in a honey-sweetened sweet and sour sauce. It was everything you could want in this old favorite — and it’s gluten-free.

My vegetarian friend, a fan of spicy food, savored the Mapo Tofu with Mushroom ($15), which is also available with pork ($16). The slightly thickened red sauce supported silken cubes of tofu sprinkled with scallion greens and Sichuan pepper. The numbing spice and chilies made the Mapo Tofu intensely delicious. That little red chili following the Mapo on the menu meant business. This is indeed a spicy dish. It’s also vegan.

The Crunchy Cabbage Salad ($10) cooled the heat of the Mapo Tofu. Finely shredded Napa cabbage was tossed with shaved rounds of daikon, carrots and watermelon radishes, mandarin orange segments and candied chopped cashews. There was a taste of sesame in the dressing. Curiously, the dish was adorned with a fried tofu cracker that resembled a sheet of old wallpaper.

The Tomato Garlic Chow Mein ($14), spaghetti-type noodles tossed in a tomato sauce with fried garlic, onions and peppers, was less interesting than other items on the menu. The texture was good but it lacked the punchy flavors.

Amusingly named Fish Under Water ($17) was a table favorite. Smoky pieces of wild-caught rock cod were wok tossed with English peas, snow peas, crunchy triangles of jicama, leek greens and a few fermented black beans. All of the flavors, textures and variations of green made such a satisfying assault on the palate and the eye.

If you want a quick snack, indulge in Vegetarian Egg Rolls ($3 for three pieces and dip) and the Mala YOLO Cucumber ($5). I usually skirt egg rolls since they are so often tough and greasy. Not these. They were crispy, tasty and definitely not greasy. The cucumbers do have that little red chili by their name, but they’re not too spicy. The numbing Sichuan pepper is present here as well as chilies, soy sauce and cilantro. The glistening sauce is served on top of smashed cucumber crescents. Toss the cucumbers well with the sauce.

There are a couple of nonalcoholic beverages, Red Tea Cola and Snow Jasmine Tea Soda ($5 each), and a rotating selection of hot tea, beer, wine and cider. We had a glass of the white and one of the red wines, both on tap at $11 each. The wine prices may vary.

Three desserts are available and all are made in-house. The Yin Yang Parfait ($6) is prepackaged in a compostable cup. Coconut tapioca is topped with white sesame cream, four cubes of black sesame banana cake and toasted coconut. Chinese Almond Cookies ($5) come six to a pack. Buttery, sandy-textured cookies each had a Marcona almond in its center.

Look around the restaurant and you’ll see cartoon-like pictures of horses and tigers. Mamahuhu translates as “careless” or “so-so.” There is nothing careless or so-so about this restaurant. It is well thought-out and executed.

Ann Walker is a freelance food writer. Email her with suggestions, comments and questions at ijfoodwalker@gmail.com.