The Game of Life

‘If one were to trace the history of Taifeng Building, it could go as far back as the middle Qianlong Period. The founder was a Jiang surnamed Imperial Chef, who initially started Outside the Pass and then moved to Beiping during the Republican era. Due to the havoc wrought by the years and warfare, this restaurant’s fame had never been prominent, perhaps only remembered by a few of the elderly. Taifeng Building had ceased opearation for over 70 years, and alas, I myself never had the chance to witness its former glory. I learned of this establishment a few years ago, during an idle chat with Master Peng Changping across the ocean.’

Master Peng greatly admired and even revered the former head chef of Taifeng Building, Jiang Chengde, calling him the only Chinese culinary master who embodied the strengths of a hundred schools of thought. Master Peng’s father had also received guidance from Master Jiang Chengde in earlier years. And Taifeng Building’s two head chefs happened to be Master Jiang Chengde’s third and seventh sons, Mr. Jiang Weiming and Mr. Jiang Weiguo.

At first, I had not seen the true faces of these two head chefs, having only sampled a few of their dishes. Thanks to my good friend Han Guishan, I was honored to be invited to Taifeng Building’s opening. Several dishes at the banquet amazed me, all crafted by Mr. Jiang Weiming and Mr. Jiang Weiguo.

Before discussing the dishes, I must digress a bit. Mr. Jiang Weiming is 99 years old this year, and Mr. Jiang Weiguo is also 84. Due to their ages, these two head chefs generally do not cook themselves, spending most of their time in the back kitchen guiding other young chefs and overseeing everything. For this reason, even when I was interviewing the other three young chefs, I had a small personal hope to ask the two elders to cook a few dishes for me, but I ultimately held back.

From my brief conversation with the two elders, I learned that although their father, Master Jiang Chengde, was a rare master chef who almost established a school of his own by synthesizing the strengths of various culinary traditions, they did not learn all the dishes and techniques of Jiang Family Dishes because of the turbulent times, and their cooking was primarily based on Shandong cuisine.

After Beiping fell, Mr. Jiang Weiming went through various vicissitudes before eventually settling in Shu. Having worked as a chef until his retirement, he is actually a master of both Sichuan and Shandong cuisines. It is said that Mr. Jiang Weiming’s best Sichuan dish is actually chicken gravy bean curd, but since I had no opportunity to taste it, I could only briefly discuss a few dishes I did try.

The first dish was a cold dish called Splendid Chickens Singing to Spring. I seldom recommend cold dishes because, in my opinion, they often do not fully reflect the true skill of a chef. This was a colorful platter, its ingredients both rich in variety and balanced between meat and vegetables, consisting of radish strips, shrimp, cucumber strips, and sashimi, arranged to form a semi-three-dimensional splendid chicken with an upright head and slightly curved tail feathers. When it was first served, I almost mistook it for an art piece meant for admiration. The Splendid Chicken, which was the most prominent and required the most intricate knifework, took up 80% of the plate and gave the entire composition a sense of completeness. The tail feathers made of strands of cucumber and radish as fine as hair strands were such a testament to the chef’s skill that, in my book, only a handful of chefs could possess such dexterity.

I rarely feel a dish is decadent as I eat it, even if it is made with the most expensive ingredients. Yet, when consuming such an ornamental platter I usually wouldn’t pay much attention to, I felt every reach of my chopsticks was an act of extravagance and waste, because the dish was not only about outstanding knifework, but also impeccable in taste. Each ingredient in Splendid Chickens Singing to Spring was carefully prepared before being shaped and arranged on the plate, with the mix of different ingredients thoughtfully considered. This was not just a dish that provided a strong visual impact, but also one that offered a true gourmet experience.

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If I were to score this dish, it would undoubtedly be over 95 points, and I feel that a perfect score would also be entirely justified for such a stunning platter. As a diner, I highly recommend this dish, even though the price may very well send many who come on the strength of its reputation scurrying away, because this extravagant platter not only has a four-digit price tag but also cannot be ordered a la carte and is available only as part of a banquet menu. Considering Mr. Jiang Weiming’s advanced age, I believe that even as a banquet dish, the quantity available would not be large. If you happen to be celebrating a joyous occasion at home and are willing to spend a substantial amount of money to hold a lavish feast, do consider Taifeng Building; this platter will undoubtedly not disappoint.

Another dish crafted by Mr. Jiang Weiming himself is the Roasted Pig. This is certainly a show-stopping main dish, and before I describe it, I need to remind you all, dear diners, that this dish is also quite pricey and requires at least a three-day advance reservation. The price may be several times higher than the most expensive suckling pig you’ve ever eaten, but, as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for.

Nowadays, most roasted suckling pigs, or rather Roasted Pigs, have abandoned the traditional method of stuffing the pork belly with dates, opting instead for a more dazzling array of precious ingredients. There’s nothing wrong with this practice, as the old method of using dates was due to a scarcity of ingredients, and with the abundance of options available today, chefs naturally won’t stick to the old ways. For this reason, the Roasted Pig made by Mr. Jiang Weiming gave me an even greater surprise.

Although I have never witnessed the creation of this dish, Mr. Jiang Weiming didn’t keep it a secret and generously explained the general cooking method to me and answered some questions I had at the time. The Roasted Pig made by Mr. Jiang Weiming is fascinating once cut open; the pork belly contains various ingredients such as fresh bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, duck meat, pigeon meat, glutinous rice, and pigeon eggs, the latter of which are stuffed inside the duck. Aside from the pigeon, the duck’s belly also contained fresh bamboo shoots and shiitake mushrooms, while the pigeon meat’s belly was stuffed with glutinous rice and pigeon eggs—a method somewhat similar to the Huaiyang cuisine’s famous dish, Three-Set Duck.

The experience of tasting this dish is layered; the suckling pig is crispy and tender, and the ingredients inside seem like they’ve been meticulously cooked in a rich broth rather than roasted. The glutinous rice stuffed into every corner of the three types of meat is aromatic and meaty, with hints of the sweet flavor of dates. This creates a wonderful sensation of tasting various foods cleverly prepared by different methods all in one dish, unquestionably a fantastic dining experience.

If I were to score this dish, without a doubt, it would also deserve over 95 points. The only drawback is that the portion is too large for one person to enjoy alone. Wanting to feast on it alone might seem selfish, but please believe me, dear diners, when such a dish, comparable to the most exquisite delicacies, is placed in front of you, if you can manage, you will definitely want to have this Roasted Pig all to yourself.

Those familiar with my writing probably know that I like to offer personal, albeit perhaps not professional, reviews of the chefs in the middle or at the end of my articles. Mr. Jiang Weiming is undoubtedly an exceptional chef, and I would even venture to guess that he might rank in the top 5 in this year’s list of master chefs. After tasting these dishes, I have more than once regretted not meeting him decades earlier. After all, even an enthusiastic food devotee like myself finds it difficult to cheekily ask a 99-year-old man to cook specifically for me, just to satisfy my craving for gourmet food. Of course, what pleases me is that although Mr. Jiang Weiming seldom cooks these days, he is still diligently passing on his culinary skills to the younger generation, which indeed is the most significant matter.

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