Hangzhou Cuisine Popular in Singapore

2010 Hangzhou Gourmet Festival opened in Singapore on September 8 in celebration of the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Singapore. The four-day festival not only demonstrated the profound culture and exquisite cooking art of Hangzhou cuisine but also promoted culinary exchanges between the two nations.

Hangzhou cuisine， together with Hangzhou restaurant industry， is going national and international hand in hand in recent years. It was the fifth gourmet festival Hangzhou has beyond the city. The first festival ushered Hangzhou tastes in Hong Kong in 2007; Hangzhou chefs visited UN Headquarter in 2008; Taiwan welcomed Hangzhou chefs twice in 2009 and July 2010; and now， the festival brought Hangzhou’s best taste to Singapore.

A media reception was held in Jin Shan Lou on September 7， the day before the opening ceremony. Different from the other activities hosted before， this time top chefs of Hangzhou and Singapore jointly presented journalists with cooking on the spot.

Hu Zhongying， the leader of Hangzhou delegation of chefs， prepared “Golden Stewed Pork”. A master chef， Hu cut the pork so fine that the special-size pork was spread out for more than 30 meters. Twenty-one people including some waitresses， journalists and some bystanders helped spread the pork to display Master Hu’s excellent cutting art. It was not a showoff; it was an expression of a best wish that the two countries would have more effective culinary exchanges.

Wong Ching-piao， one of the most popular chefs in Singapore and winner of many international culinary honors， took only half an hour to prepare a dish called “Romance of Two”， marking the festival and friendship of the two countries. The master’s artwork received cheering.

TUNG LOK RESTAURANTS (2000) LT， a famous catering enterprise operating a number of restaurants all over Singapore as well as in Beijing and Wuhan， invited master chefs from Hangzhou to their restaurant to cook in Tong Lok Classics for three days during the festival.

“Though we don’t run any advertisement and Hangzhou dishes we serve here are high-end， people still come in flocks!” says Candy， the chief operating officer of Tung Lok Classics. She was greatly surprised by the diners’ familiarity with and preference for Hangzhou cuisine. “We didn’t expect so many guests， and our supply is unable to meet the demand. Some of our guests who have been to Hangzhou even order those dishes they tried there but we don’t have. Hangzhou chefs invited to our restaurant are overloaded with work.”

According to Wong Ching-piao， the same went for Jin Shan Lou Restaurant. Its turnover doubled on the same day.

The spread of Hangzhou food culture in Singapore is actually two-way communication. Foodies and chefs there get to know and fall in love with Hangzhou; while Hangzhou dishes have also absorbed the cultural elements of Singapore. Chefs from the two countries forged bonds of deep friendship through the communication. By visiting Singapore， Hangzhou helps Singapore become a real “gourmet paradise”.

Chefs from Hangzhou were happy to learn from Singaporean masters. Li Nanru， a chef with Zhiweiguan Restaurant in Hangzhou， learned to make two dishes under the guidance of Wong Ching-piao. She wowed at the mater’s great art.

At the end of the festival， chefs of the two countries finally were able to relax and sit down to enjoy a dinner together at Tung Lok Restaurant. At the end of the dinner， they shared moon cakes served in a large plate. The moon cakes were presented with a poem written by the executive chef of the restaurant. Surprisingly， the poem had been set to music and four waitresses at the restaurant sang the song in both Mandarin and Canton dialect.

Hangzhou cuisine has become quite popular in China in recent years. The popularity is further promoted by Hangzhou restaurant industry， which has been expanding all over the country rapidly. In 2005， the annual output of Hangzhou’s restaurant industry passed the mark of 10 billion and in 2009 it jumped to 20 billion. The cuisine and the way Hangzhou restaurateurs operate their chains of restaurants are now viewed as a national business phenomenon.□