Lisa and Robert Wong have cooking in the blood. Their father Bor is a chef, as was his father before him. Growing up in Winnipeg and then Vancouver, they were raised on all the traditional Chinese dishes, especially those from the familys home province of Szechuan.
And now, as the next generation of Wongs in the restaurant business, the brother-and-sister duo are ready to take Chongqing Seafood Restaurant into the future. Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the W. Broadway restaurant already has a devoted following and patrons will always want and get reassurance that their favourites will be on the menu. But Robert has also honed his cooking skills in Hong Kong, where chefs are treated like rock stars for their innovative ways of modernizing the old standards. He wants to continue his exploration of tastes, working alongside his sister as their parents work their way into retirement.
It will be a delicate balancing act how do they honour the traditions of their forebears and yet embrace the culinary trends of today?
Szechuan cooking is known for the way it spices things up, with each course building in intensity and heat. Peppercorns and garlic are staples. The appetizers start off with all the delicate and nuanced flavours that one has come to expect, but as you work your way up to the finale, the full force of the spicing hits you.
Theres the Tang (land), Mah (numbness) and La (hot spice flavours that dont go away quickly.)
Lisa says that, back in the olden days, Szechuan didnt have doctors or professionals to take care of you when you were ill. [By eating the spicy foods], you perspire out all those germs and thats how you heal. Its a body flush.
Oil was another ingredient that helped to cleanse the body but North American tastes veer away from too much oil in cooking, which is why theyve adapted the water boil, with fish or beef, to make it more palatable.
Robert says, we still use the Chinese ingredients but we want to use the fresh, local ingredients, too. This is reflected not only in the seafood menu but also in his adherence to making everything from scratch. On the day before our visit, he steamed the mushrooms for six hours to bring out their natural flavours. This way, theres no need to use MSG.
Lisa has been taking wine courses to help her find the right ones to recommend. Given the strong flavours of Szechuan cooking, she gravitates towards the strong tastes of Australian wines but has also found some BC ones to complement menu choices.
While the lunch and dinner menu has extensive individual choices, they are particularly proud of the 10-course Success dinner. Each course is like setting off on a new adventure and youre soon fascinated by where it leads and astonished by the beauty. Culinary craftsmanship is as evident in the tastes as it is in the presentation a ta da! for the tongue and eyes. Each course was a destination and as full as you get, theres part of you that yearns for the journey to continue.
1688 W. Broadway | 604-734-1688 |
