The Fang Family has been synonymous with Chinese culinary excellence for the past 22 years since opening their first restaurant in 1988. Now, with the tandem of Peter Fang and his daughter Kathy, their newest culinary vision in "Fang" continues to set the bar for Chinese cuisine. At Fang, one can expect both authentic and modern Chinese cuisine but also to meet the chef and daughter to see exactly how much care goes into their craft.
Q: How did you get started in the culinary arts?
(Chef Peter Fang) Living in a household of 8 I was always the one who made family dinners because I always enjoyed cooking and entertaining. I would go and watch chefs cook in when I was living in Shanghai during my free time and go back home and recreate things I saw. I was always trying to think of new ways of making dishes that I would find at restaurants. Cooking always made me the happiest.
(Chef Kathy Fang) I grew up in the restaurant industry helping my grandmother at her restaurant and then helping out at my father's restaurant. I was always fascinated by all the action in the kitchen and loved eating. At a young age, I was begging my parents to let me cook in the kitchen. I started making all my meals, breakfast, lunch, and dinner on my own since middle school. My passion has been driven by my upbringing and obviously being around my father.
Q: As a Chef, what are three things you can't live without?
(Chef Peter)
- Balsamic vinegar
- Fermented bean curd
- Sugar
- Olive oil or chili oil
- Garlic
- Herbs
Q: What is your favorite dish?
(Chef Peter) Sen Chian Bao (Shanghainese Pan-fried Buns)
(Chef Kathy) Focccia Formaggio
Q: What's next for you?
(Chef Peter) Our restaurant is in a building with 4 floors. We currently have two floors of dining space. I would love to expand and turn the entire building into one whole restaurant, making it a rare restaurant with 3 separate floors of dining space that serves food that is exciting and new.
(Chef Kathy) Like my father, I would love to work on creating one more floor to our current restaurant, making it a multilevel restaurant. Aside from that I am working on a food blog teaching people how to make easy healthy Asian inspired dishes at home for "non-cooks" so that I can inspire people to see cooking as approachable and fun rather than time consuming and difficult. I love teaching and sharing my passion for food with people. Hopefully I'll have a cookbook of my own one day. Blog: http://myfangalicious.com
