Chen Kenichi at Susanna Foo

[cinghiale]

I was fortunate to snare a reservation for a one-night-only U.S. appearance of Chen Kenichi at Susanna Foo on Sunday night.

The event was sponsored by the family-owned firm General Ecology, Inc. of Exton, PA, maker of the (IMO) somewhat unfortunately named Seagull IV Water Purifiers. The back story is that while on a business trip to Japan a number of years ago, the owner of the firm was introduced to "Doc" Hattori, who installed the purifiers in the Nutrition College. He was so impressed that Hattori arranged for the purifiers to be used in Kitchen Stadium. Chen now uses them in all his restaurants, as does Morimoto at his restaurant here in town and now Susanna Foo. The filter is installed at the source for the restauarant, so all water is purified: for tap, ice, cooking, and washing. The water at dinner seemed fine to me. On Monday, GE had planned a publicity stunt for the local Fox affiliate, where water from the Schuykill would be poured into the filter, then pumped through into a glass and consumed on the spot.

To promote its product, apparently, GE brought Chen over for this sole dinner in the states. Foo told me that she'd never met Chen before this event, so its puzzling why and how this all came about. There were large TV screens throughout the restaurant, where diners could watch Chen at the wok and courses being plated. There were a couple of cheesy interviews in the kitchen, but Chen was his usual high-energy, goofy self. One question prior to service of the shark's fin soup: Q: "Oh, it's a delicacy? Do you make this very often?" Chen [via translator]: "When I do, I always hum {theme from "Jaws"}."

On to the food. We were seated upstairs for the 6:00 seating; the main floor held the 7:00 seating. So with 150+ dinners coming out in that time frame, I guess I shouldn't have expected Iron Chef-level food. But I did, and I was a bit disappointed.

First course was Szechwan Bon-Bon Chicken Salad with Organic Micro Greens.

Chen explained that "bon bon" reflected the sound made when hammering "hard" chicken. The dressing, a spicy sauce based on roasted sesame, was underneath the greens, so we were advised to mix as we ate. A quite nice starter.

Next came Braised Shark's Fin Soup with Essence of Crab Roe.

The soup was very delicate and silky. The crab flavor was very subtle. A good version.

Then Tiger Prawns with Shrimp Sauce and Fall Vegetables.

Things started to decline with this dish. While the prawns were delicious -- sweet and tender, a winner -- the presentation was sorely lacking. "Fall vegetables" were two mini broccoli and two mini cauliflower florets -- rather uninspired. And the saucing was pretty amateurish, though tasty.

I was really looking forward to the Stuffed Bamboo Pith with Seafood Sauce.

The stuffing was shrimp mousse. The broth was composed of ham and chicken stock with peppers and (I think) soy bean. The bamboo was very limp (perhaps this is normal -- it was the first time I had had this), but the overall dish was exceedingly bland. Major disappointment.

Next up was Kung Pao Beef with Green Pepper and Szechwan Chili.

This wasn't as spicy as I expected. However, the dish also contained lemon pepper. Our server said to try "just one". I misunderstood and ate the entire mini, charred "branch", rather than just one of the berries on it. My God! I got an overwhelming rush of super-intense lemon -- not spicy but stupefyingly lemon-y. Salivation kicked in and my mouth was sort of numbed for a few minutes, not unlike the effect a certain party powder once (for me) had. As the sensation cleared, the rest of the dish was quite good. The beef was very tender and nicely accented by my lingeringly lemonated palate.

Finally, an Iron Chefish dish: Szechwan Ma-Po Tofu with Minced Pork, Spicy Chili Sauce and Steamed Rice.

Chen said he decided to make this dish, one of his favorites, sort of at the last minute. I believe he brought the chilis with him, and he warned that it would be spicy. It was. The creamy tofu was great and attenuated the heat of the chilis. The rice on the side was a bit odd. Some diners scooped theirs into the bowl to cut the intensity of the dish. Others tried to push the rice individually onto the spoon. All in all though, a wonderful dish.

Last up: Lemon Mascarpone Cheesecake with Fuji Persimmons.

Nice finish. Not at all sweet. The pomegranite seeds were a nice touch.

Finally, Chen was animated the whole evening running back and forth through the dining rooms, stopping for photos and autographs.

Ms. Foo and the sponsors also went table to table. The food and atmosphere made for a very entertaining evening.

Edited September 21, 2004 by cinghiale (log)

[Laksa]

cinghiale, thanks for the pictures and the description! I wish I could've been there. It makes sense to me too that they wouldn't be serving Iron Chef level food, but it would've been cool just to meet Chen Ken-ichi.

[mrbigjas]

aw, my favorite iron chef! i'm sorry i missed it.

[Laksa]

Q: "Oh, it's a delicacy?  Do you make this very often?"  Chen [via translator]:  "When I do, I always hum {theme from "Jaws"}."

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Do you by any chance know if he spoke Japanese or Chinese?

[herbacidal]

Hmm. I personally figure him to have picked up a little Japanese in his time there. I wouldn't figure him to pick up anything close to fluency though.

[Laksa]

For some reason, I have the impression that he had spent a long time in Japan. Wasn't his father, Chen Ken Min, the person who introduced Sichuan cuisine to Japan?

[percyn]

Laksa,

I think you are correct about Chen's Father.

When did this event take place? I did not hear anything about it and don't live to far from the sponsors either.

I have been to SF's for the wine dinner series, but would have loved to attend this event....next best thing to being in Kitchen Stadium's tasting panel.

Cheers

Percy

[GordonCooks]

Grear words and pics - thanks!!!

[herbacidal]

Well, according to this , he was born and went to university in Japan, so I suppose there is a good chance he is fluent. I stand corrected.

Edited September 25, 2004 by herbacidal (log)

[Sartain]

Chef Chen spoke mostly in Japanese, with English translation provided by the young woman who was trailing him with a microphone all night, who also served as photographer for enthusiastic fans. I did hear, at the end, him say thank you in Mandarin.

I agree that the prawns were surprisingly ordinary. But I liked the Stuffed Bamboo Pith with Seafood Sauce. I thought that the sweetness of the shrimp and seafood came through nicely, and the bamboo pith / shrimp mousse had a nice contrast in terms of mouth feel. The Ma Po Dofu was out of this world.

Thanks for the pictures!

Stephenie