One of the best meals on my brief stopover in Chengdu was Yu Zhi Lan, the 2-Michelin-starred private dining destination helmed by owner-chef Lan Guijun.
Sichuan cuisine is regarded as one of the four major cuisines of China (Lu, Chuan, Yue and Su). It dates back to antiquity, giving it one of the longest histories of any food style on record. Chef Lan is known for his updated interpretations of traditional Sichuan technique, giving his dishes a very refined and individualistic flavour.
He proudly asserts that his cuisine is based on a superior stock as base, with premium seasonal ingredients to determine the flavour. This hews closely to the tenets of The Book of Rites or 禮記, a collection of texts describing the social, ceremonial and lifestyle rites of the period, which contains the passage “鉅鑊湯，以小鼎薌脯於其中，使其湯毌減鼎，三日三夜毋絕火，而後調以醯醢。” translated as “soup was slowly boiled or braised in a tripod-vessel for 3 days, then seasoned before consuming.”
Over the course of the 2-hour dinner, Chef Lan took pains to explain every dish in detail. I learned a lot, especially about new approaches to ingredient.
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