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Mexican Lifestyles Food & Dining Eatery Serves Up 'authentic' Chinese Sushi
Mexican Lifestyles Food & Dining Eatery Serves Up 'authentic' Chinese Sushi | Eatery Serves Up 'authentic' Chinese Sushi |
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| Written by JOY HEPP | |
| Saturday, 02 June 2007 | |
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After three years of trials and tribulation - visa problems, the death of a major shareholder and a delay in the granting of a license - the new high-end Chinese restaurant, Huayang, opened with great fanfare this week in Zapopan.
The 180 invited guests included business leaders, restaurateurs, politicians and members of the Chinese community. Before dinner they were treated to a traditional dragon ceremony complete with drummers, dragons, dogs and a precocious acrobat. They were then led into the palatial restaurant, where they seemed, like Alice through the looking glass, transported to the other side of the world. Hostesses in bright red traditional Chinese dresses led the way down the hallway/rabbit hole to the main dining area while the guests marveled at the fine collection of golden figurines and detailed Chinese artifacts that lined the walls. The journey into the Chinese wonderland continued until the guests reached their tables and found that one of featured dishes for the evening was sushi ... a Japanese favorite. Jing Dongmei, the representative for Huayang International in Mexico, addressed the room before the meal. "With the economic development that is occurring today, there is no better time to get to know the culture and history of China," she said. "We're going to offer Jalisco and Guadalajara the most authentic Chinese food." Dongmei and company have touted Huayang as Guadalajara's answer to authentic Chinese food since the idea's inception. They even brought in seven chefs from Beijing to prepare the menu. Yet on the much-anticipated opening night they served a dish that is fundamentally Japanese. The rest of the food - sweet and sour soup, fried shrimp, cashew chicken and sweet rolls that looked suspiciously like the ones found in a neighborhood panaderia - was delicious: a more delicious version of the Chinese food already available here in Guadalajara. One guest, Lee, was attending the grand opening with his young daughter. Lee is Korean but has traveled to China and sampled the food in that country. He said he enjoyed the meal on opening night, but that it appeared to be neither Mandarin nor Cantonese. "It's Tapatio," he said. To be fair, as anyone who's ever traveled to China knows, some "authentic" Chinese fare isn't exactly the most palatable cuisine in the world. One whiff of the infamous thousand-year-old egg, which tastes of cheese and is the color of old avocado, could send even the most seasoned foodie screaming for the hills. Sushi aside, every other detail in the restaurant was magnificent and authentic. The looming lion statues that greet guests at the entrance were made from granite from Chinese quarries and the tiles on the roof were designed to be an exact replica of the Imperial Palace. Among the restaurant's many opulent decorations is a fishpond set against a picturesque backdrop. It was a very nice touch, but on opening night one of the fish was already floating upside down, dead in the water. Let's hope that a lack of authenticity doesn't lead this beautiful restaurant to a similar fate. Huayang is located on Tizoc 54, a block from Lopez Mateos in Ciudad del Sol. It's open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to Noon and 1 to 11 p.m., Saturday from 1 to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 10 p.m. For more information call 3121-9888. |
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