June 8 Wuhan
Zhang Xueyou(35),Chef,Sushi Zuo,China
Zhang Xueyou, the head chef at Sushi Zuo restaurant , has been cooking Japanese cuisine for 20 years. Now, he is in charge of Omakase at the restaurant. Omakase cuisine is a menuless style in which the chef decides the menu and price based on the ingredients of the day. Each day, Chef Zhang prepares fresh ingredients for the day and cooks according to the customers' preferences. When asked why he offers this form of Japanese cuisine, he said, "Omakase is the most expressive form of a chef's skill. I can serve my best and freshest dishes for my customers. I think there's a bond of trust between my customers and me: they trust me to make something that surprises them, and I won’t disappoint them.”
June 8 Wuhan
Yuli sea urchin from Hokkaido, Japan is a kind of excellent ingredient. The ownership of each piece of a Yuli sea urchin is determined at an auction. It's very expensive, but its quality is certainly worth the price. It tastes like ice cream melting in your mouth. Unlike other sea urchins, Yuli sea urchins are not fishy, but have a light fruity aroma when eaten. When asked why he chose this ingredient, Chef Zhang said, "Customers come to my restaurant because they trust my cooking, so I certainly spare no effort to satisfy them with the best ingredients and my best cooking techniques."
June 8 Wuhan
This is the first time I've ever seen all-natural wasabi. I used to think that wasabi sold at the supermarket was a good condiment. After tasting Chef Zhang's natural wasabi, which he grinds with shark skin, I realize that the bottled wasabi couldn't be more different from the natural condiment. "Mustard is often used in Western fast food, like hot dogs and hamburgers. After being ground by the shark skin, the wasabi will become more delicate and will bring out the flavor of sashimi and shrimp. Every dish has its own match. With the right match, the food will have the best taste." explained Chef Zhang.
June 8 Wuhan
The wagy beef sushi roll is one of Chef Zhang's specialties. He first kneads the rice into a fixed shape and cuts the beef into slices that are just big enough to wrap the rice. Then He fuses the beef and rice with palms of his hand to form the perfect shape. “Sushi is a Japanese dish that requires a lot of details, for example, the chef should master the shape of the sushi. For this beef sushi roll, I have been heating the fat of the beef with the temperature of my palms, so that the temperature of the beef roll reaches the perfect state when the diner starts to eat it." Chef Zhang introduced the dish to us.
June 10 Wuhan
Gong Qian(20), student, China
My girlfriend Gong Qian is a Wuhan native. She claims that she tasted eighty percent of Wuhan restaurants. She is very familiar with Wuhan cuisine and has her own unique opinions. She has a gold membership on Dianping, one of China's leading food apps, which shows that how much she loves food. In Wuhan, her favorite restaurants are all kinds of Japanese roast meat and Japanese cuisine restaurants. This time, I invite her to take me to these restaurants for a taste and ask for comments of these restaurants.
June 10 Wuhan
In the morning we decided to eat sweet water noodle. Arriving at the Dehua restaurant , shortly after we sat down, our food orders began to arrive. In a small bowl were noodles as thin as my pinkie. White and yellowing noodles are sprinkled with seasoning. When the noodles are mixed well, they turn red. When the noodles are in your mouth, you can feel the sweetness first, and then the spiciness and chewiness. The chewiness of the noodles and the richness of the seasonings gradually emerge. By the spicy garlic, sesame paste, sweet soy sauce sweet and spicy chili oil, Chinese prickly ash hemp mixes out of the special flavor, letting people feel very addictive. "Sweet water noodle is one of my favorite noodle, it carries my childhood memory.” Gongqian said.
June 10 Wuhan
We had lunch at Sai Jiangnan, a creative Hubei cuisine restaurant whose thoughtful owner explored the presentation of Hubei cuisine. The lotus root pork ribs soup looks like a French puree. The lotus root is smashed into mince. In the soup, you can't see lotus root in the soup, nor can you see the ribs. Still, the soup tastes like the lotus root pork ribs soup, but it is a condensed version. The soup, served with a spring roll wrapped in minced beef and shrimps, is delicious. “This restaurant is my favorite restaurant because it is very original, every time I come here I can taste different flaver.” Gongqian praises.
June 11 Wuhan
Breakfast in “Tianhaocai” restaurant, the crystal shrimp is the signature dish of the restaurant.Shrimp dumpling is a traditional pastry in Guangdong. Guangdong people will always order a steamer of shrimp dumplings when drinking tea and this tradition is now popular in Wuhan too. Shrimp dumpling is also one of the signature dishes of this Hong Kong-style tea restaurant, where each shrimp dumpling is freshly made to ensure freshness. The waiter suggested that we finish the steamer of shrimp dumplings within 15 minutes, so that we could better enjoy the fresh flavor of shrimp dumplings. The skin of a fine shrimp dumpling is as white as snow and as thin as a piece of paper and looks translucent, making the filling barely visible. These shrimp dumplings are very delicious to eat.
June 11 Wuhan
Only the hand cut of a roast meat can distinguish the different parts of the meat，Longyuan restaurant have the best quality of meat. Different parts of the meat can be eaten in different ways and at different temperatures. Everyone has their own standards for roast meat. As for me, I prefer to the seared meat because the golden color of the meat makes me more appetizing. This roast meat restaurant is surrounded by office buildings, so in the evenings, people who come to eat are office workers who have just got off work. A hearty roast would be the best consolation for their tired minds.
June 11 Wuhan
Wuhan is nicknamed river city because there are 38 lakes of different sizes in the downtown area of Wuhan. So Wuhan is very famous for its roast fish, among which the most famous is the Yuku roast fish.
The roast fish is a fusion of Sichuan cuisine. Collocation of fish and vegetables lets peopleenjoy the delicious and supplement the nutrition at the same time. Fish cooked at a low heat are tender but not greasy. Customers should taste the fresh, tender and fatty Qingjiang fish in the best condition. The restaurant also offers plenty of side dishes and snacks. Every time we go, we find something sweet or crispy that are designed to balance out the slightly spicy flavors.
