Peaceful Restaurant rings in the Year of the Dog with auspicious and culinary dishes created by owner and Master Chef Charlie Huang. We were invited to check out Traditional Chinese New Year foods and dishes to ring in the new year. They currently have 7 locations across the Lower Mainland and you can get all these items on their regular menu.
Master Chef Charlie Huang
Owner-chef Charlie Huang’s culinary inspiration stems mainly from his upbringing in Xi’an, an ancient Silk-Road city in North-Western China. The cuisine in the city-region reflects the fusion of various cultures over the course of several thousand years, which Charlie has sought to bring to Vancouver and share with others. His cumulation of his various experiences and the desire to spread the experience and diversity of Chinese cuisine – he calls ‘homecooked comfort food’ – has led to the creation of Peaceful Restaurant.
He even did a dumpling demonstration to see how it’s all made by hand.
Sichuan Cucumbers 麻辣黃瓜
Woodear Mushroom Salad 涼拌木耳
Xi’an White Lamb Soup 羊肉泡饃
Sichuan Broth Braised Fish 水煮魚片
Xing-Jiang Cumin Lamb with Sesame Flatbread 孜然羊肉加燒餅
Mu-Shu Stir-fried Noodles 木須肉炒面
Chinese Rice Cakes 炒年糕
Sichuan Thousand Chilli Chicken 四川辣子雞
Sichuan String Beans 干煸四季豆
Dan-Dan Noodles 擔擔面
Sizzled Hot-Chilli Noodles 油潑辣子面
Xi’an Cold Steamed Noodles 陝西凉皮
Northern Pork Dumplings 北方水餃
Xiao-Long Bao Steamed Buns 小籠包
Peaceful Beef Rolls 牛肉卷餅
Pan-Fried Vegetable Dumplings 素菜鍋貼
Hand Pulled Noodles
I love hand pulled noodles especially when its freshly made. A piece of dough is repeatedly stretched and folded onto itself in order to align the glutens and warm up the dough for stretching. This dough is then pulled to about an arm span’s length. The puller then makes a loop with the dough, joining the two ends into one clump of dough, and inserts his fingers into the loop to keep the strand from sticking to itself. Doing this, the pull has doubled the length of the dough while fractioning its thickness. This process is repeated several times until the desired thickness and quantity is achieved.
Blade Sheared Noodles
With one hand holding the dough pointed downward at a 30º angle, and the other hand clutching a special sharp knife specifically made for this purpose, the noodles are shaved directly into a large pot of boiling water. It’s fast and has been described as an endless loop.
Final Thoughts
Traditional Chinese New Year foods and dishes include noodles, dumplings, fish and nian gao (glutinous rice cake). They symbolize happiness, longevity, an increase in wealth and prosperity.
A few of my favourite items of the night were:
- Sichuan Thousand Chilli Chicken
- Xi’an White Lamb Soup
- Mu-Shu Stir-fried Noodles
- Sichuan String Beans
- Peaceful Beef Rolls
If you’re looking for a very casual restaurant for Northern Chinese cuisine, check out Peaceful Restaurant. There are many locations, but this particular one we went to is on West 4th Ave in Kitsilano.
Address:
2394 W 4th Ave, Vancouver
Website:
http://peacefulrestaurant.ca/
1 Comment
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