The Glam
and the Tradition
The glitz and buzz of Chengdu’s upscale Tai Koo Li neighbourhood belies its humble origins. Crowds gather at the street corner opposite the giant curved LED screen waiting for the 3D-efffect pandas to come onstage and tumble off screen. Nearby, the Gucci building glows with enveloping LED walls, and around the corner are the branded European luxury-goods shops.
Hidden in
this mecca of bright lights and retail worship, is the historic Daci temple,
where the monk Xuanzang – whose epic journey seeking Buddhist scriptures is
enshrined in Chinese literature in “Journey to the West”, was ordained. It is a
sanctuary of the ‘old’ China, and not the only one.
Small
family-run shops along neighbouring East Kangshi street sell everyman meals,
from dan-dan noodles to stewed rabbit heads, to simmering pots of
wicked-looking ma’la stews.
At the end
of this bustling row, in the shadow of glamour and tradition, Ma’s Kitchen is
easy to miss, were it not for the queue of people patiently waiting outside,
holding numbered tickets.
Blending
Tradition and Modern
Ma’s Kitchen blends traditional and modern. The bamboo-blind cladding can be slid aside to reveal the glass walls of the restaurant, which is sleekly, yet not ostentatiously hipster. Cool, contemporary, understated ambiance within, like any upmarket restaurant, with an open kitchen, and old-fashioned brass kettles on the countertop. Details pop out, like the raw bamboo chopsticks with knobby nodes, with chopstick holders being peanuts to be eaten.
Ma’s
Kitchen has been serving homestyle Sichuan cuisine since 1923, from a stall in Meishan,
Sichuan. The Chengdu branch opened in the mid-2010s, and is run by the fourth
generation of the family. The upmarket chic of the restaurant is a far cry from
its humble stall beginnings.
The
restaurant has earned a Michelin One-star since 2022. It is one of the most
popular and ‘touristy’ of the Michelin-rated restaurants in Chengdu, earning its
share of online debate and controversy, since everyone with an appetite weighs
in on these things.
The
restaurant is always full for lunch or dinner, and reservations are a must, though
you can always wait in the queue outside. Turnover is quick, with brisk and
solicitous service.
Sichuan has always been known for its wealth of natural resources, the lush, humid weather and fertile soils birthing a distinctive cuisine, well-known for its bright colours, brash flavours, and violent energy.
Exemplified
by the tongue-numbing Sichuan peppers, Sichuan food, contrary to popular
perception, is not uni-dimensional, but carries multiple, complex flavours and a
degree of sophistication that earned Chengdu the title of “World Culinary
Capital” bestowed by UNESCO in 2010.
How does a restaurant
specialize in authentic traditional cuisine, yet maintain authenticity and
fidelity while elevating the culinary experience to world-class
sophistication? After all, how creative
can a dish of fried pork slices with greens be, without alienating
traditionalists?
To its
credit, given the cornucopia of Sichuan dishes, the menu at Ma’s Kitchen is
streamlined, with a modest regular and a seasonal menu. Pricing is remarkably
modest, for the service and upmarket surroundings.
The menu features
simple, home-style cooking, eschewing the grand, complicated dishes befitting a
banquet. This is the sort of cooking you
might turn out from a household kitchen, with everyday ingredients, and skill –
hence, Ma’s kitchen.
We chose a
mixed selection of appetizers, mains and desserts. Service was quick, the food
arriving more or less at the same time.
The food
was presented tastefully, in clay pots and bowls, without ostentation or show. The food – generally excellent, moderate in
oiliness and spiciness, restrained and refined, with no grand flourishes.
Take the
Signature Sichuan Pan Fried Pork (RMB 69), a daily sort of dish, but cooked
with evenly-sliced slices of twice-cooked pork belly, with bright, green
sprigs, and a thin sauce, without the thick oiliness one often finds in these
stir-fried dishes. The fragrance of smouldering smokiness clung to the pork
slices, quick-fried to translucence, with the garlic shoots still tender,
crunchy and sweet.
Or the beguiling Fish Flavoured Eggplant Cake (RMB 48), the fish flavour being a Sichuan specialty, although the thin meat stuffing in the eggplant cakes was minced pork and shrimp. The dangerous-looking bright red-orange sauce was restrained, oscillating between sour, sweet, salty, spicy with a slight tingle on the tongue – a blend of the doubanjiang sauce, dark vinegar and other seasoning.
The very
simple Bibimbap with Mushroom (RMB 59), which was called Fresh Mushroom Mix Rice
when I visited last year, was rice in a sizzling hot pot, cooked to pearly
perfection with fragrant burnt bits at the bottom of the pot. The mushroom mix
was an excellent complement for a dish good enough to be standalone.
The Chicken Nuggets in Red Oil (RMB 59) came closest to the usual idea of a Sichuan dish, but rather than exploding in the mouth, provided a tantalizing tingle without overwhelming the senses, nicely balanced in saltiness and sweet, and definitely best taken with rice.
The Steamed
Mushroom Bun (RMB 5) appetizers weren’t much to shout about, but were above
complaint. Homemade Clear Glass Jelly with Red Sugar Syrup (RMB 10) was a
common dessert – I tried it in one of the small shops outside on the street for
about the same price or more, but the two were worlds apart – Ma’s Kitchen’s
version was far more refined in the smoothness of the jelly and the syrup,
which was rather raw in comparison for the shop version.
In this hyper-competitive city, many restaurants serve outstanding food, yet for Sichuan homestyle cooking, Ma’s kitchen is stylish, contemporary and would sure do Ma proud.
Ma Wang Zi (Ma’s Kitchen)
No 1, Wast Kangshi Street, Jinjiang District,
Chengdu, China
Business Hours:
11:30-14:00, 17:30-20:30
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