Chinese restaurants around the world

Have you noticed that everywhere you go around the world, you will find a Chinese restaurant? Cheuk Kwan, a Canadian film-maker and now author, explores this global phenomenon in his new book, Have you Eaten Yet? The book follows Kwan’s exploration of family-run Chinese restaurants from the Arctic to South Africa, from Trinidad to India. The restaurants symbolize the Chinese migration. Kwan tells the stories of these immigrants and how they adapted to their new homes while maintaining their Chinese culture.


Last weekend, Kwan was in the Bay Area to promote his new book. The best way to discuss a book about Chinese restaurants is over a good Chinese meal. So we shared lunch at the Hakka Restaurant in San Francisco. The book records his journey he took over two decades ago when he produced the documentary series Chinese Restaurants. He goes behind the scenes and reveals the feelings, emotions, and soul of these Chinese migrants.

I first met Kwan, shortly after his film series was released in 2004. My daughter had seen one of his episodes at a film festival and suggested I see his series for my book research. I ordered his 15 episode DVD set. Many of his restaurateurs were Hakka, like my father, immigrants looking for a way to make a living.

I contacted Kwan and asked him about his Hakka chefs. He suggested we meet because he would be in the Bay Area for a film festival next week. Our projects shared a similar focus on the global Chinese diaspora.


I was still in the early days of research for my Hakka cookbook. Kwan told me I needed to go to Toronto. He said he could set me up with a Hakka friend who could gather many contacts for me. Within a few weeks, I was in Scarborough, a suburb of Toronto, sharing a meal with a dozen new Hakka friends. They came from all over the world. I interviewed them, asking about their stories and their food. Many of their stories and recipes found their way into The Hakka Cookbook. I’m so grateful to have met Cheuk Kwan.


I asked him about his documentary series, Chinese Restaurants. He said he has posted the episodes on YouTube so everyone can see it. Read “Have you eaten yet?” then view his series to see their faces. It’s an insightful view of the Chinese diaspora. Click this link to see.

The next day at a book signing event at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, Kwan shared some of his experiences writing the book. Martin Yan also interviewed him about the Chinese diaspora. Read the book and enjoy the historical and revealing journey of Chinese migrants who dared to open a restaurant across the world.

Happy Year of the Rabbit!

Happy Chinese New Year! Khiung Hee Fat Choy! It’s a time of renewal and feasting. In 2023, January 22, marks the start of the Year of the Rabbit. You are a rabbit if you were born in 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, and 2023. On the Chinese horoscope, each year is dominated by an animal sign: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey rooster, dog, and pig. Each animal has special characteristics. This year looks generally positive and favorable for Rabbits, especially in the first quarter. There could be some challenges later in the year.

Chinese zodiac horoscope


A family reunion feast is central to the Chinese New Year celebration. The table is traditionally filled with foods that send auspicious messages to attract wealth, luck, success, unity, and longevity.


As I plan the menu for our family’s new year feast, I’m looking through The Hakka Cookbook for ideas. I like our meals to be a cooperative effort, sort of an organized potluck plus cooking lesson. It’s easier to share cooking duties and hopefully everyone can learn something new. For my grandchildren, I try to include one cooking activity. In the past, we have made won tons, dumplings, and pot stickers. This year we may make Stuffed Tofu (pages 31, 33), sort of a Hakka version of dumplings. The Hakka invented stuffed tofu when they could not find wheat flour in their new home in the south to make the dumplings they ate in the former home in northern China.

Noodles with Mushroom Pork Sauce


Noodles represent long life. I like the dark, umami-rich flavor of Noodles with Mushroom Pork Sauce (page 104). Or perhaps we’ll cook Garlic Noodles and Shrimp (page 193), sort of a Hakka-style Chow Mein.

Steamed Fish with Green Onions
Steamed Fish with Green Onions

Fish is a must-have on Chinese New Year table. The fish brings surplus and abundance to the new year. I like the Steamed Fish with Green Onions (page 39) or the Braised Fish in Black Bean Sauce (page 137). Steaming or braising keeps the delicate flesh moist and is so easy. A green vegetable represents growth in business. I love the simplicity of the stir-fried Chinese Broccoli in Sweet Rice Wine (page 230).

Hakka Egg Roll

Egg or spring rolls look like gold bars, signifying wealth. We could make Spicy Egg Rolls (page184) or the Hakka Egg Rolls (page 170).

Braised Chicken Stuffed with Preserved Mustard Greens

Possibly we may cook the famous Hakka Salt-baked Chicken (page 64) or some of the easier variations. For a special dish, consider making the Braised Chicken stuffed with Preserved Mustard Greens (page 233). Or maybe we’ll buy a Chinese roast duck.


For me, Chinese New Year is about food and family. Khiung Hee Fat Choy! Happy New Year!

Happy Year of the Tiger!

Art by Alan Lau

Happy Chinese New Year! Khiung Hee Fat Choy ????! It’s a time of renewal and feasting. In 2022, February 1, marks the start of the Year of the Tiger. On the Chinese horoscope, each year is dominated by an animal sign: Rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey rooster, dog, and pig. Each animal has special characteristics. This is the year of the tiger. Some horoscopes predict this year symbolizes spontaneity, novelty, and determinism.

A family reunion feast is central to the Chinese New Year celebration. The table is traditionally filled with foods that send auspicious messages to attract wealth, luck, success, unity, longevity.


As I plan the menu for our family’s new year feast, I’m looking through The Hakka Cookbook for ideas. I like our meals to be a cooperative effort, sort of an organized potluck plus cooking lesson. It’s easier to share cooking duties and hopefully everyone can learn something new. For my grandchildren, I try to include one cooking activity. In the past, we have made won tons, dumplings, and pot stickers. This year we may make Stuffed Tofu (pages 31, 33). The Hakka invented stuffed tofu when they could not find wheat flour in their new home in the south to make the dumplings they ate in the former home in northern China.

Natalie Com Liu's Tofu topped with Pork
Natalie Com Liu’s Tofu Topped with Pork from The Hakka Cookbook page 33
Hakka Noodles with Mushroom Pork Sauce
Noodles with Mushroom Pork Sauce from The Hakka Cookbook page 104

Noodles represent long life. I like the dark, umami-rich flavor of Noodles with Mushroom Pork Sauce (page 104). Or perhaps we’ll cook Garlic Noodles and Shrimp (page 193), sort of a Hakka-style Chow Mein. Fish is a must-have on Chinese New Year table. The fish brings surplus and abundance to the new year. I like the Steamed Fish with Green Onions (page 39) or the Braised Fish in Black Bean Sauce (page 137). Steaming or braising keeps the delicate flesh moist and is so easy. A green vegetable represents growth in business. I love the simplicity of the stir-fried Chinese Broccoli in Sweet Rice Wine (page 230).

Hakka salt-baked chicken
Hakka Salt-baked Chicken from The Hakka Cookbook (page 64)

Possibly we may cook the famous Hakka Salt-baked Chicken (page 64) or some of the easier variations. For a special dish, consider making the Braised Chicken stuffed with Preserved Mustard Greens (page 233). Or maybe we’ll buy a Chinese roast duck.

For me, Chinese New Year is about food and family. Khiung Hee Fat Choy ????! Happy New Year!

Good luck symbols of Chinese New Year
Symbols of good luck and prosperity for Chinese New Year

Best Chinese cookbook in the world

Give The Hakka Cookbook, Chinese Soul Food from around the World, recognized as the Best Chinese Cookbook in the World in 2012, to Hakka family and friends. The book outlines the Hakka history and defines Hakka identity. Or give the book to a cooking enthusiast who loves Chinese food and history. It’s a great holiday gift for the Chinese foodie.

The Hakka Cookbook awarded Best Chinese Cookbook in the World by Gourmand World Cookbook Awards
The Hakka Cookbook was recognized as the Best Chinese Cookbook of the World by the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in 2012.

Through recipes and stories told by Hakka from all over the world, discover the unique Hakka history, culture, and cuisine. Find 140 recipes, including Hakka classics such as stuffed tofu, lei cha, and salt-baked chicken as well as easy Chinese comfort food. The beginner cook will find sections on cooking techniques, equipment, and ingredients. Paintings created by artist Alan Lau gracefully illustrates the book.

Check this link for sources on where to buy The Hakka Cookbook. It is widely available online. Some of the major sellers are Amazon.com, Books Kinokuniya, and University of California Press. Or ask your local book store to order The Hakka Cookbook for you.

A new Hakka restaurant

July 31, 2022: Unfortunately this restaurant looks like it has closed. Please let me know, if it has moved or re-opens

Closed????

Please let me know if it has moved or reopens.

It’s rare to find a Hakka restaurant in Northern California. We were lucky last week when we discovered Hakka Cuisine located in Fremont, California. Although I read about the restaurant in the San Francisco Chronicle’s Chinese Regional Guide a few years ago, I had not yet tried it. I’m so glad we stopped by when we were in the area. Although we only tried a few dishes, Hakka Cuisine will bring me back with its comforting home-style dishes. With strong direct flavors, a bit of salt and fat, and generous use of all parts of the pig, this menu echos traits often found in Hakka cuisine, especially in Taiwan and Canton.

Hakka Salt-Baked Shredded Chicken

An earthy sauce made with camphor-scented sand ginger (aka ground galangal) generously coats coarse shreds of moist chicken attached to bits of smooth, silky skin. Hidden underneath, a bone-in wing and a section of the back bone, prop up the mound of boneless chicken and offer the bone lover, as I am, gnarly pieces to chew on. Other restaurants usually serve this Hakka classic as bite-sized pieces of bone-in chicken with a meager portion of sauce on the side. I like Hakka Cuisine’s easier-to-eat and more flavorful saucy presentation. I’m a bone lover, so I even appreciate the extra bones to chew on. Nothing fancy about the accompanying cabbage dotted with roasted peanuts, it is just simple comfort food that I can’t stop eating.

Hakka Salt-Baked Shredded Chicken

House Special Braised Pork Belly

Chunks of pork belly braise in a dark sauce until soft, succulent, and infused with a sweet salty flavor. The glossy morsels melt in our mouths. Sop up the plentiful sauce with the rice and cabbage.

House Special Braised Pork Belly

Hakka Pork Dumplings with Egg Skins

The pork dumplings with the egg skins catch my eye on the menu. I have seen similar dumplings posted on Facebook but have never eaten them before. Small, rather thick egg pancakes loosely enclose a pork filling. The dumplings float in a comforting, deeply satisfying white broth, laden with carrots and bean thread noodles, enlivened with white peppercorns. The flavor of fried egg imbues the broth with warm familiarity.

Hakka Pork Dumplings with Egg Skin

More to try

We can’t wait to return to try more…perhaps the Pan-fried Stuffed Tofu, Steamed Pork Ribs with Sticky Rice, Emperor Chicken with Scallion Sauce, Braised Pork with Preserved Vegetables, Lion Meatballs, Golden Braised Pork Feet and so much more. Explore the menu.

Hakka Cuisine menu

July 31, 2022: Unfortunately this restaurant looks like it has closed. Please let me know, if it has moved or re-opens.
Hakka Cuisine
43755 Boscell Road (near Auto Mall Parkway)
Fremont, CA 94538
510 668 0898
https://www.orderhakka.com/

Another Hakka restaurant closes

Chinese Bacon with Preserved Greens
Chinese Bacon with Preserved Greens from Zhong Shan Restaurant

Last year, the owners of Ton Kiang, a Hakka restaurant with a long history in San Francisco, retired. Today Zhong Shan Hakka Restaurant closes. Chef/owner Jin Hua Li, who I featured in The Hakka Cookbook, has been one of my favorite Hakka chefs. I first met him in 2011 just a few months before I submitted my cookbook manuscript. I knew very few restaurants that served Hakka food. This one proudly announced it in their name, Hakka Restaurant. The menu offered many of the popular dishes served at most Chinese restaurants, but under “Chef’s Special” many Hakka dishes were listed.

Hakka Restaurant became our go-to restaurant in San Francisco for banquets and meals with family and friends. Over the years some of our favorite Hakka dishes were the Chinese Bacon with Preserved Greens and the House Special Pan Fried Tofu. The restaurant drew local neighborhood customers as well as outliers as their reputation grew.

A couple of years ago, I heard that Chef Li had retired but now was opening a new restaurant. Apparently retirement grew boring. Chef Li and his wife, Bonnie returned to the business with Zhong Shan Restaurant on Taraval. Our favorites remained on the menu but there were new dishes to try. We had eaten several banquets there and was looking forward to returning once the pandemic ended.

But just last week Serena Dai, the San Francisco Chronicle food editor called to ask about the restaurant and its impending closure. Apparently they sold the restaurant. We went last Friday to order my husband’s favorite Chinese Bacon with Preserved Greens, Salt-Baked Chicken and some extra dishes for my daughter. Hopefully, Chef Li will come out of retirement once again.

Fortunately, we still have access to good Hakka food when eating out. A San Francisco friend who has eaten at both Zhong Shan and Li’s first location said that the original Hakka Restaurant continues to serve good food. Chef Li had sold the restaurant to his sous chef so the food maintains much of the quality of the original chef. Hope to be back to Hakka Restaurant at Cabrillo and 45th Avenue soon.

Hakka chicken wings, savory and peppery

Hakka braised chicken wings in bean sauce
These chicken wings braise in an umami-rich bean sauce, punctuated with black pepper.

With chicken wings in the freezer, I turned to a recipe in The Hakka Cookbook, Braised Chicken Wings in Bean Sauce. I love this recipe because it takes little effort but yields a big payoff. My Hakka friend, Fah Liong, taught me how to make these Hakka chicken wings. Dark salty fermented bean sauce permeates the soft, silky chicken flesh and resulting sauce with intense savoriness. A generous measure of freshly ground pepper adds a spicy kick.

Bean Sauce

Look for bean sauce in Asian markets. If you can’t find the Chinese bean sauce (aka known as bean sauce or ground bean sauce) use the more available hoisin sauce but omit the sugar. Bean sauce is the base for the sweeter, more seasoned hoisin.

To cook, simply brown about 2 pounds meaty chicken wing sections in oil, then add 2 tablespoons minced garlic. Add 2 cups water, 2 tablespoons ground bean sauce, 1 tablespoon each soy sauce and sugar, and about 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Cover and simmer until wings are tender when pierced, 35 to 45 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the wings to a serving dish. Skim fat off pan juices, and if sauce tastes watery, boil, uncovered, to concentrate flavor and reduce to about 1 cup. Pour over wings. For more details, see page 203 in The Hakka Cookbook. Serve with rice and stir-fried greens. Enjoy!

Chinese potato stew

Ingredients for Chinese five-spice potato stew: arrowhead, Chinese bacon, and green onions
Fresh arrowhead and dark strips of Chinese bacon simmer together to make a fragrant, dark stew.

Khiung Hee Fat Choy! Happy Year of the Ox! For our Chinese New Year’s family feast, I cooked Five-Spice Potatoes and Chinese Bacon from The Hakka Cookbook. This Chinese potato stew comes from childhood memories of Popo, my grandmother and a master forager and cook.


Long ago on a drive through the flat rice fields near Oroville, California, Popo suddenly shouted to my father to stop the car. She had seen a stand of plants growing in an irrigation ditch along the road. Sensing wild potatoes grew underneath, she directed us to plunge our hands through the cold water into the muddy silt. We found plump bulbs attached to the stems and pulled them out.


That night Popo cooked the wild potatoes, better known as arrowhead (ci gu), with Chinese bacon to make a dark fragrant stew. The sweet spicy perfume of five-spice powder and smoky bacon filled the kitchen and our memories of that day.

Chinese five-spice potato stew
Five-Spice Potatoes and Chinese Bacon


That was the only time I remember Popo using arrowhead for the Chinese potato stew. Often, she simply substituted thin-skinned potatoes from the supermarket. Look for arrowhead in Asian markets. Make sure the bulbs are firm and fresh. Or use potatoes as my grandmother did. Chinese bacon, dried soy sauce and five-spice marinated strips of pork belly, also contribute to the dark, fragrance of the stew. You’ll also find the dried smoked pork belly in Asian markets.


Her stew was relatively easy to cook. Simply slice the bacon, lightly brown, and add garlic and ginger. Add water, a little dark soy sauce, sugar, and five-spice powder and simmer, covered, until the bacon is almost tender. Then add peeled and sliced arrowhead and cover and simmer until tender. Serve with hot rice and enjoy.

For a detailed recipe, see page 19 of The Hakka Cookbook.

Chinese banquet in one big pan

Poon choi at Chung Shing Restaurant in Tai Po, New Territories of Hong Kong
Puhn choi at Chung Shing Restaurant in In Tai Po, New Territories of Hong Kong in 2005

A Chinese banquet in a wash basin? We gasped when the waitress set a huge metal pan filled with a mountain of food before us. The pan, literally a wash basin, held a layered multi-course feast known as basin feast (puhn choi, pen cai, poon choi). It’s a popular choice for family gatherings such as Chinese New Years, weddings, and family reunions because everyone eats from one dish which symbolizes unity. Guests gather around the basin and literally eat from the top to the bottom, working their way through the different courses.

This specialty comes from the New Territories of Hong Kong where many Hakka live. One story about the origin of puhn choi suggests that when Emperor Bing of Song moved south in the late Sung period, his large entourage overwhelmed the small villages. Inventive villagers simply didn’t have enough dishes to feed the large group so they piled the food in the biggest containers they had–wash basins.

Basin Feast (Puhn Choi) from The Hakka Cookbook
Basin Feast (puhn choi) from The Hakka Cookbook, page 84

Centuries later, the basin feast has morphed into a popular celebration dish in Hong Kong. Now, this one-pan Chinese banquet finds it way to San Francisco. This recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle lists several local restaurants that offer puhn choi for take-out for Chinese New Year. Because a multi-course feast comes layered in one big pan, it works well for a portable take-out Chinese banquet for a family. Restaurants go upscale, serving up expensive ingredients for these special occasion feasts. Or if you like, make this humbler, make-ahead home-style version featured in The Hakka Cookbook, page 84.

Happy New Year! Khiung Hee Fat Choy! ????!

Hakka recipe in art exhibit

“Your cherished family recipes could be featured in a museum exhibition,” read the Facebook post. I thought this might be a great opportunity to share our Hakka recipes and story. I signed on immediately.

The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) features a new virtual exhibit RECLAMATION: Recipes, Remedies, and Rituals. The exhibit focuses on women around the kitchen table. Nine women artists use videos, photos, and stories to show how they use food and ingredients. Recipes submitted by the public supplement the artist’s presentations.

Hakka Steamed Black Bean Spareribs

I submitted a Hakka recipe that I previously shared on this blog, my mother’s Steamed Black Bean Spareribs. I loved the pungent savory goodness of the fermented black beans, garlic, and the pork as they cooked together in a steam bath. This dish bears resemblance to the Cantonese version, although my mother’s version reaches deeper, darker flavor levels. Because many Hakka and Cantonese lived side-by-side in southern China, they often borrowed and adapted flavors and techniques from each other. Perhaps that’s why Hakka food is often considered a branch of Cantonese cuisine.

I hope you enjoy the exhibit and the many recipes and stories.