#ChineseFoodiesofIG: Lee Man of Chinese Restaurant Awards

Lee F. Man of Chinese Restaurant Awards

This is part of an ongoing series of interviews I’m doing with my favourite Chinese foodies that I follow on Instagram. Come and follow the #ChineseFoodiesofIG hashtag on Instagram and leave a comment showing your support for these talented folk!

Where are you from? Where are you really from?

I was born in Hong Kong, but my family immigrated when I was infant. My parents left promising careers and everything they knew so that they could build a more stable life for their kids. I am in constant awe of their act of love and fearlessness.

What does home taste like?

Cantonese cuisine values vividly fresh ingredients, and so my parents loved foraging for the best that the Pacific West Coast had to offer. Rock cod caught by my father, wild watercress gathered by my mother, and locally raised chickens all made their way to our dinner table. Everything was simply prepared and absolutely delicious. My father has passed away, but I still have a small jar of tiny wild kumquats that he harvested and salted. Steeped in boiling water with honey, it makes a fantastic medicinal tea. But I can’t bear to use any of it!

Share a food memory:

Though we did a lot of home cooking, dining out was a very important part of our lives growing up. My brother and I learned that restaurant dining was an important part of how a Chinese family fully inhabited their world, and that social manners and engagement were non-negotiable when you were out in the public sphere. During Chinese New Year celebrations, my parents would slip lucky envelopes to their favourite servers and restaurant managers as a show of good wishes and appreciation. It’s a practice I carry on today, especially during the most auspicious days of the CNY - when restaurant staff give up time with their families so that we could spend time with ours.

A Chinese recipe everyone should learn:

I love humble Chinese dishes, in particular congee. There is a Cantonese colloquialism that married couples say ‘if there is rice, we will eat rice together, if there is congee, we will share the congee’. Meaning that husband and wife will stick together through both prosperous and lean times - since congee is a way to stretch out rice when there is not much else to eat. And congee comes in so many delicious forms - thick and creamy with meats and seafood; thinner Chiu Chow style congee packed with oysters and pickled vegetables; and the simplest of all, Shanghainese style pao fan, which is cooked rice heated with broth or water. As a kid I loved cold pao fan in the summertime when the heat would otherwise kill my appetite, especially with a side dish of sautéed chopped peppers, pickled turnip root, and char siu. Everyone should experiment with congee recipes and see what works for them!

Who’s your Chinese food legend?

Chefs and restaurateurs like Cecilia Chiang, Ken Hom, and Martin Yan have all shown that the rigour and skill of Chinese cooking is worthy of unfettered respect. I have tremendous admiration for Fucshia Dunlop, Hetty McKinnon, and Ming Tsai who show how to incorporate real Chinese cooking into modern life without resorting to bad shortcuts. Locally, I really am in awe of Rae Kung who is the Managing Director of the Chinese Restaurant Awards. The amount of work and toil she goes through every year is amazing – all to highlight the incredible Chinese restaurants that we have in Vancouver.

Dream dinner party guests:

I love nothing better than dining with people who love good food and so, having a great Chinese meal with Jacque Pepin would be a complete dream. I think there are some really interesting parallels between Chinese food and French cuisine, particularly with Lyonnaise dishes. True nose to tail dishes that incorporate every part of an animal, not only from the lens of frugality but respecting the meaningfulness of what it really means to be a good steward of farm animals.

Last meal on earth:

For my last meal, I would ask Chef Leung Yiu Tong, owner of the now closed legendary Hoi Tong Restaurant in Richmond British Columbia, to come out of retirement and cook for me (though he is well into his 80s now!). His sweet and sour pork with hawthorne berry juice, softly set bitter melon omelet studded with Yunnan ham, tofu skin rolls stuffed with fresh shiitakes, and his crisp skinned salt baked chicken are dishes that I still dream about.

Know any good Chinese restaurants?

The wonderful thing about Chinese food is that excellence exists at every price point. In Hong Kong, Mak’s Noodle House for their superlative old school wonton noodles, the original Fook Lam Moon for their gorgeous classic Cantonese dishes, and Australian Dairy Company for the best scrambled eggs and steamed milk of your life.  In Vancouver, I love Chef’s Choice for their superb old school dim sum, Quan Ju De for a fantastic high end Peking duck experience, and Dynasty Seafood for their innovative vegetarian dishes. When I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area - I would love going to Gourmet Carousel Chinese Restaurant, which is not fancy by any means, but had an encyclopedic menu and produced some really delicious family friendly dishes (particularly with the local Dungeness Crab) - really exemplifying how Chinese families connect over meals and everyday celebrations.

What does Chinese food mean to you?

I think of Chinese food as a huge deep bowl - full of tradition and history, but it’s a bowl that can take in many influences and still remain true to itself. The Chinese food that you find throughout the world made by the Chinese diaspora is just as valid as the classic dishes still being made in China. Authenticity does not come from ingredients, but in the care and techniques that bring out the best in local products and the spirit of communal generosity and inclusion. There is always room for another diner at the Chinese table, so pull up a seat and try everything.