Latest news with #LinZihan
South China Morning Post
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Wild Yeast, the Michelin-starred restaurant redefining Taizhou cuisine
In the grand arena of Chinese cuisines, some that have achieved fame on the global stage include Cantonese, Sichuan and even Xinjiang. But seafood-centric Taizhou cuisine, which is centred on the coastal city of Taizhou, in Zhejiang province, and is championed by the legendary Xin Rong Ji restaurant , still remains obscure, and some would say criminally underrated – even within China. This obscurity, however, is being challenged by young chefs such as Hangzhou-based Lin Zihan , whose self-styled 'Tai-French', Michelin-starred restaurant, Wild Yeast, has become a laboratory for redefining what Chinese fine dining can be. A recipient of the Young Chef Award in the 2024 Michelin Guide Hangzhou, Lin, born and raised in Taizhou, took an unconventional path to cooking. While he studied design in university, he opted for a career in the culinary arts after graduation, 'because I thought I wouldn't need to talk much in a kitchen', he says with a chuckle. His journey took him through multiple French restaurants, including Michelin-recognised The Pine in Shanghai, before returning to his hometown to open his first bistro. When he was forced to close it after a year due to Covid-19, Lin decided to relocate to Hangzhou to open his next concept. The kitchen at 'Tai-French' restaurant Wild Yeast. Photo: Penn Wang 'We started with Japanese-French fusion at Wild Yeast,' Lin recalls, 'but then we realised that we could keep importing French produce and techniques, only to end up with 'copy and paste' dishes. But with local Taizhou ingredients? They don't just taste better because they're fresh, but because we are better at unlocking their full possibilities as we grew up with them. That familiarity lets us innovate in ways outsiders can't, just as we'd struggle to fully unlock the potential of French produce.' While Lin has created the portmanteau of Tai-French cuisine to capture his style, he says, 'in reality, we borrow techniques and flavours from other regions of China to let our seasonal ingredients shine. We are better at unlocking their full possibilities as we grew up with them Chef Lin Zihan 'We believe that the best representation of Taizhou cuisine isn't necessarily the most traditional method, but rather a way that honours the ingredient and lets the natural flavours sing. At the end of the day for us, it's less about whether it's French or Chinese technique, but more about whether it tastes good. Our team finds the best way to make our natural bounty taste good, and we keep learning new techniques and flavours from all cuisines every day to do so.' So what exactly is Taizhou cuisine? Lin summarises his native cuisine as 'small seafood, carb-heavy delicacies'. Think petite yellow croakers and wheat flatbreads.
South China Morning Post
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
This week in PostMag: HK's underground ballroom scene and Chinese fine dining
Over the decade I lived in mainland China, one of the most exciting things was witnessing the rise of a new generation of Chinese chefs. In 2013 Beijing, contemporary fine dining meant course after course generously showered in black truffle, accompanied by thick medallions of foie gras or, should the kitchen be quite forward-thinking, perhaps there would be hints of molecular gastronomy present on the plate. It was almost definitely Western or perhaps it was Dong Zhenxiang at Da Dong – most known for his roast duck but also one of the first Chinese chefs to weave in Western culinary influence. Advertisement Chinese cooking, as delicious, fascinating and boundless as I found it, seemed frozen in time. Masterful in its technique, complexity and artistry? Yes. 'Authentic'? Yes. But where was the young energy looking to innovate, evolve and push the limits, especially in the world of high-end dining? This changed over the years – and at 'China speed', no less. By 2017 and 2018, up-and-coming talent across the country was beginning to experiment with what a new way of Chinese cooking might look like. I found this thrilling. So for me, it was exciting to read about Lin Zihan at Wild Yeast in Hangzhou, where Hei Kiu Au discovers his ever-evolving, nuanced approach to what it means to be a young Chinese chef in the fine-dining world. It's a restaurant for the bucket list. I'll tell you, the ginger brown sugar soufflé inspired by a snack from his hometown of Taizhou looks absolutely scrumptious. Exploration of identity courses through this issue. In our cover feature, Hsiuwen Liu experiences Hong Kong's underground ballroom scene. It's a subculture I knew little about – a platform for queer self-expression grown out of 1970s New York – and I'm glad to see it blossoming in its own way here. The photos of the evening capture a fearlessness and pride that are inspiring. Advertisement In some way – though a very different time, place and context – I was reminded of this same level of fearlessness in physicist Wu Chien-shiung, whose story Samuel Porteous tells. Facing all odds in mid-century America, she changed our understanding of a fundamental rule of modern physics.
