Presentation, scent, flavor
Today’s three chefs, Lingling, Mama Chen and Big Sister Wu, started their workday early. They bought the meats and veggies they needed from familiar markets near their homes before making their way from their homes to the restaurant, bringing with them seasonings and condiments that they had prepared themselves.
Though Shi Yi is still empty at 4 p.m., the kitchen is already warming up.
Today’s three chefs may not have any previous experience with restaurant work, but they have Jimmy, a professional executive chef, there to supervise. He acts as the kitchen’s director, barking out commands to the rookie senior-citizen chefs and deciding when each gets to use the four wok ranges.
At half past the hour, guests begin filtering in. Today’s cold appetizer (Mama Chen’s special drunken chicken) is already prepared.
The restaurant performs an “opening ceremony” each night before service begins: Cherry shares the restaurant’s guiding philosophy with the evening’s guests and introduces the chefs who are working that evening.
Once the “ceremony” is complete, the kitchen gets rolling, hastening to get dishes out to the tables. Soup; rice and noodle dishes; and poultry, meat, fish, and soy-based dishes follow the cold appetizer in quick succession.
The chefs take a moment midway through to make the rounds of the tables and chat with the guests.
Coincidentally, all of the chefs today are wearing lucky red, matching the restaurant’s energetic atmosphere. The colors and excited clamor make it feel as if we’re attending a big clan’s New Year’s banquet.
It’s then that we realize that dining at Shi Yi is like attending a remarkable performance, one that uses food and connections that reach across ethnic and generational lines to call forth the boundless yearning for family that exists within each of us.
One of tonight’s chefs checks in with diners, and is thrilled by their enthusiastic response to the meal. (photo by Jimmy Lin)