An ongoing food festival in Coimbatore lays out Cantonese, Sichuan and Hunan fare

Master Chef Lian Yun Leif lays out some of the timeless delicacies of Cantonese, Sichuan and Hunan, at an ongoing Chinese food festival

Master Chef Lian Yun Leif, who is from Nanjing in China, recalls a fond childhood memory where a bowl of flat noodles, tossed with sauces and a helping of pork made for a delightful treat. “We love pork, particularly pork ribs,” he grins adding that innovating with simple ingredients is his forte. Chef Lian, who specialises in Sichuan and Cantonese cuisine at Golden Dragon restaurant in Taj Coromandel, Chennai is in Coimbatore to lay out authentic Chinese fare for gourmands here. He curates a special menu as part of an ongoing food festival at Red Pearl Chinese restaurant in Vivanta by Taj.

Over Chengdu lotus stem (thinly sliced, tender, lotus stem stir-fried with garlic, ginger), and Hong Kong-style lemon chicken where fried, thin chicken slices are served with lemon sauce with a hint of sweetness poured on top, he elaborates that sauces matter in Chinese cuisine. “Whenever I visit China, I bring back Sichuan pepper corns, five-star anise, whole black beans, oyster sauce, and also a sauce made with soya beans. The cuisine keeps varying. In Shanghai, people like food with a tinge of sweetness while in Nanjing they like to have it fresh with minimal spices. In Hunan cuisines, pickled dried spices and dried pepper corns are used generously,” he explains.

According to Sarathchandra Banerji, the executive chef at Red Pearl, the objective of the festival is to offer a treat for the regular diners with Chef Lian’s curated menu. There will be crab meat and onion soup, crispy aromatic duck, hula tang (a spicy, hot pepper soup), lobster and tausi potato.

The menu includes dry cooked haricot beans, assorted steamed dimsums, braised asparagus and yang chow fired rice. The yee mein noodles (tossed with vegetables or assorted seafood like fish and prawns) in a delicious sauce is spongy and one can have it with smoked fish served in sweet-sour sauce. “In North China, people prefer dumplings and wheat noodles while in the South, it is about a high carb diet of rice and noodles made from potato starch.” As far as desserts go, they prefer a bowl of fresh fruits and wash it all down with white tea. I round off the meal with a creamy Alphonso mango pudding and many cups of flavourful jasmine tea.

On till June 25 at Red Pearl restaurant, Vivanta, Race Course. Open for lunch and dinner. For reservations, call: 9895053224. A meal for two costs around ₹2500