Get A Taste Of Authentic Szechuan Cuisine With A Side Of Kung Fu Tea At San Francisco’s Z & Y Restaurant

Situated within the coronary heart of San Francisco’s bustling Chinatown is Z & Y Restaurant, the town’s award-winning and dignitary vacation spot for genuine Szechuan delicacies ready by Chef and Proprietor, Lijun Han. Eating at Z & Y Restaurant is an expertise to recollect.

The menu choice is huge and distinctive to the Szechuan Province and gives Chef Han’s specialties like Tea Smoked Rotisserie Duck; Hen With Explosive Chili Pepper; Sizzling Raised Silver Carp Fish Head With Chili; Crispy Garlic Crab and an enormous choice of flaming clay pot dishes starting from spicy lamb to octopus, and even frog.

There’s a choice of dim sum; fried rice and noodle dishes; in addition to beef, pork, lamb and poultry dishes with basic gadgets like Szechuan Chili Lamb; Ma Po Tofu; Peking Roast Duck; Inexperienced Onion Beef; Kung Pao Hen and extra. The seafood choice can be expansive, starting from Salt and Pepper Prawns to Fish Filet Cooked Reside With Flaming Chili Oil. The tofu and veggie possibility are equally flavorful and embrace Pea Sprouts; Dry Sautéed String Beans; and Eggplant With Garlic Sauce.

Although among the gadgets might sound a bit intimidating, like maybe the Pork Kidney With Spicy Numbing Sauce, Chef Han’s preparation of those genuine dishes are scrumptious and stuffed with distinctive flavors and spices and positively one thing to attempt right here, if anyplace.

“I wish to proceed educating folks on Szechuan delicacies. Such as you talked about, many categorize this delicacies with spicy, Szechuan chili pepper, and pungent. Not a lot of them really perceive what Szechuan delicacies is,” explains Chef Han.

“I additionally want that friends who dine at my restaurant can stroll away with a memorable expertise, both it’s the Kung Fu Tea, the Face Change or the meals, I would love them to recollect Z & Y Restaurant as a singular and genuine Szechuan restaurant within the Bay Space.”

Additionally essential to notice? This restaurant has one thing that you just’re unlikely to search out anyplace else: Kung Fu Tea.

Kung Fu Tea, often known as Gong Fu Cha, is an historical custom that originated from the Szechuan area of northeast China. Sizzling tea is a staple of conventional Chinese language meals and right here, it’s additionally a type of leisure. In home is a Kung Fu Tea grasp who pours scorching tea from an extremely lengthy spout, utilizing lengthy, flowing physique actions and pour strategies that few can do.

We chatted with Chef Han on Szechuan delicacies, Kung Fu Tea and extra. Right here’s what he needed to say.

Educate us on Szechuan delicacies since there’s a notion that every one the dishes are very spicy.

Szechuan delicacies, a Chinese language delicacies originating from Szechuan Province, consists of seven flavors: bitter, pungent, scorching, candy, bitter, fragrant and salty. This delicacies is all the time recognized for its daring flavors, particularly pungency and spiciness, as a result of using garlic, chili peppers and Szechuan pepper. Szechuan delicacies can be separated into 4 totally different delicacies types: Chongqing, Chengdu, Zigong and Buddhist vegetarian model.

At Z & Y Restaurant, we deal with the primary two: Chongqing and Chengdu. Chongqing model is the well-known daring flavors with liberal use of the chili peppers and oil. Chengdu model has a extra delicate style with much less chili peppers. We characteristic each types on the menu to welcome friends that get pleasure from spice-centric meals in addition to friends that choose gentle flavors, however wish to expertise Sichuan delicacies.

How does Z & Y Restaurant stand out from different eating places in Chinatown? What sort of expertise are you able to get on the restaurant that you could be not have the ability to get elsewhere?

Once I was in Beijing, China, I educated and specialised in Szechuan delicacies. After shifting to the Bay Space, I realized that there have been not many genuine Szechuan eating places, so I opened Z & Y Restaurant in 2008. Whereas serving on the Consulate Common of the Folks’s Republic of China in San Francisco, I needed to herald Szechuan tradition and introduce it to the US.

Nonetheless, I by no means had the possibility to till Z & Y Restaurant. In 2017, I launched two Szechuan performances to our friends: Gong Fu Cha (Kung Fu Tea) and Bian Lian (Face Change). So far as I do know, we’re the one restaurant in California who has these performances. When you’ve got not seen them, make sure you cease by and verify them out!

We did must put a pause on each of those performances through the pandemic, however now that the CDC has eased the rules, we plan to carry each Kung Fu Tea and Face Change again to the restaurant. Comply with us on our social media so you realize when these performances start!

Why did you select Szechuan delicacies? What about it, in comparison with different Chinese language cuisines types, drew you to it?

Once I was nonetheless finding out in Beijing, China, I used to be appointed to be educated as a Szechuan chef. After three years of coaching, I had fallen in love with the number of Szechuan dishes and the totally different flavors that it brings to the palate. This delicacies can go from pungent and scorching to recent and fragrant and serves friends who get pleasure from extraordinarily spicy meals but additionally friends who love the freshness of Chinese language delicacies. It’s the excellent delicacies for everybody!

You’ve got cooked for a lot of Chinese language presidents up to now. What was that like and what did you serve them?

Throughout my time in China, I served two presidents: Deng Xiaoping and Hu Jintao. They each love Szechuan delicacies! Deng Xiaoping’s favourite was Tan Tan Noodles, which is one among our fashionable dishes on the restaurant. Hu Jintao, alternatively, loved a extra delicate taste. His favourite was Wensi Tofu Thread Soup. It is a luxurious soup that includes hand-sliced tofu simmered in rooster inventory.

Speak about Kung Fu Tea. The place did it originate? Is it a standard factor to see within the States? How distinctive is it to your restaurant?

As an alternative of being a sort of tea, Kung Fu Tea is a means of brewing the tea. It’s each distinctive and entertaining for spectators. These Kung Fu Tea masters have been finding out the artwork of the tea ceremony for a few years in China, so there are solely only a few masters in the US.

As to the origin, there are lots of speculations about how this ritual started. Certainly one of my favourite speculations is the teapot with the lengthy spout was created when the Chinese language would go to tea homes to debate politics and companies. As an alternative of strolling subsequent to the desk, the servers would pour the tea via the lengthy teapot spout, so they might not hear any confidential conversations on the desk.