Sun Wah BBQ Rings in the Chinese New Year
Over the weekend, China celebrated its New Year, beckoning the Year of the Horse with a variety of events and familial feasts in Chinese cultures around the globe. In Chicago, none were greater than the lavish affair hosted by Sun Wah BBQ. Uptown's quintessential Chinese restaurant, the family-owned Sun Wah celebrates the Chinese New Year in grandiose style, in the form of a 13-course degustation served family-style and swiveled around communal lazy Susans. As the Year of the Horse trots onward, here's a recap of Chicago's preeminent Chinese New Year feast.
(Cherry Blossom Upon the Snow)
The 13-course dinner featured elusive dish names describing the story behind it, rather than a straightforward explanation of the food. So for each course, diners did not know what they were in for until food was delivered and Kelly Cheng, daughter of founder Eric Cheng, delved into the stories. As a result, the event was more story time than standard degustation, which made it all the more enlightening. Some dishes were so named simply for their color and appearance, others for how similar they were in shape to boys' penises...? Like the "Children & Wealth Arrive Together," a smattering of pork and maca root, the latter of which allegedly bears resemblence to small penises, which of course mean good luck and fortune in Chinese culture in terms of gender roles. A dish named "Wishing Wealth Bags" was actually an assembly of vegetarian spring roll-like creations, while "Cherry Blossom Upon the Snow" was so named for the cherry-esque hue of the crab meat and fish roe atop silken white tofu. "Green Jade Dotes Upon Double Jade" featured an amalgam of green asparagus and pea pods strewn atop pristine shrimp and scallops, whose white colors symbolized the double jade. Other dishes included a fork-tender Flinstone-sized pork knuckle served with dried oysters and moss, the only item I was too afraid to try because it looked like witch's hair. One of the biggest hits of the evening was a deep-fried whole Dover sole heaped with sweet 'n' sour papaya. Nuggets of fried sole interspersed with the tangy, piquant papaya ribbons made for an invigorating dish. Even a super simple plate of steamy, toothsome lettuce was tasty. For dessert, the matriarch of the family made a robust raspberry sorbet, absolutely exploding with fresh raspberry flavor, even in the midst of winter.
(Fried sole with sweet 'n' sour papaya)
Sun Wah was packed for the dinner, with communal circular tables at capacity with families and friends supping on Chinese dishes rich with lore. The dining room was surrounded by Chinese Zodiac artwork created by Chicago elementary school students. Naturally, the Horse was front-and-center.
- Matt Kirouac