Chef Xu's Restaurant
We’re in the restaurant set up by Chef Xu’s (read: ‘Shu’) student/protogé in the ancient town of Pinglu. It’s amazing to see the inner workings of the restaurant. They don’t care much for heating, probably since these are the only few months of the year where they have to seek out warmth (a real benefit of the chillis!). The waiting staff are all well presented with modernised oriental suits, in fitting with the modern building, but all wear thick bomber jackets over the top throughout the day, the huge doors and windows are mainly left open in the corridors. They’re still renovating the restaurant; as a group of staff stand around the step ladder and assess the straightness of the sign for this private dining room’s name, Georgina explained that it’s called ‘two moons’, because of the 2 round tables in here.
The most interesting part however is where the magic happens, the kitchen. On our first look in this morning, the staff were deliberating over and weighing the huge bundles of yams, carrots and wild greens. Not until later did I notice the huge tank with live fish, crabs and frogs in the corner. At both of the meals we had yesterday, the chefs explained that the swan and the goose were from a local farm at which we stopped by with Shu on our way here from the airports I. The food is nothing if not fresh!
In the rest of the kitchen there are chillies everywhere, only one type of knife, and the cross section of beautiful hunks of tree trunk form the chopping boards. The dumpling chef has her own room to focus on the pastry. In the far corner, 5 chefs surround a stainless steel cauldron peeling potatoes with their cleaver. As Chef Shu calmly and confidently creates his intricate dishes in front of the camera, the shelves of peeled veg are filled with crates and the bins filled with all manner of spices that have done their job of marinating and firing up the meat.
It’s a long day of cooking tasting and filming, and we retire to one of Xu’s earlier restaurant ventures in the village for some much needed spicy fish stew and a cup of warmed soy milk.
