Susur Lee's Shang at the Thompson LES Hotel by Lia Chang

By Lia Chang/www.liachang.wordpress.com
Chinese-Canadian Chef Susur Lee knows a thing or two about pleasing discerning palates; after all he has been doing so with great success for more than 20 years, since the debut of his first restaurant Lotus in Toronto in 1987.

The Hong Kong native is often compared with New York-based chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and Drew Nieporent of Nobu refers to him as the pioneer of fusion. The toast of the international culinary scene with Lotus' ten year run, he spent three years in Singapore as a food consultant to the Tung Lok Group.

Refreshed and ready to share the recipes he gathered in Singapore, he returned to Toronto and opened Susur in 2000. His innovative reverse tasting menu created a food revolution, and New York foodies trekked to Toronto making Susur a destination in fine dining. In 2004, he opened the trendier and casual Lee next door.

Television audiences may be familiar with this tall and strikingly handsome ponytailed Chef, whose battle with Iron Chef Bobby Flay on the Food Network's Iron Chef America in 2006 resulted in a tie.

Tapped by Jason Pomeranc of the Thompson LES Hotel to make his move to New York as the head chef and partner of Shang, his new boite opened in December 2008 and is located on the second level of the Thompson LES Hotel. Chef Lee is a great host and when he invited me to chat about what he's serving at Shang and the concept of his reverse tasting menu, I could hardly refuse.

It's a winter wonderland in New York on this Saturday night in January, but at Chef Lee's newly opened Shang the room is abuzz. Asian carved latticework screens frame the dining room. A soft amber glow emanates from the parachute fabric lanterns hanging over the circular booths in the center of the room, and banquettes line the walls. I've invited Lillian Ling, the assistant director of AALDEF and her husband Arlan Huang, a glass sculptor and painter, because Chef Lee's Pan-Asian fusion dishes are served family style, and there are too many things on the extensive menu that I want to try.

Lee's Singapore Slaw featuring 19 different ingredients includes edible pansies, daikon, tropical ginger, pickled onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, daikon sprouts, cilantro sprouts, toasted sesame seeds, red onion, rice vermicelli, crushed roasted peanuts, fennel, hazelnuts, crowned with a birds nest of taro, served with yellowtail sashimi and tossed with a salted plum dressing was the perfect starter to whet our appetites. Lillian and Arlan loved the Crispy Taro Puffs, which reminded them of the dim sum, woo gok, but the beef curry was a marvelous twist. My favorites were the Steamed and Crusted Soft Potato Dim Sum Vegetable Dumplings served with swatow chili and soy juice and the Smoked Squab Breast and Foie Gras in Lotus Crepes with Savory Bean Djan, which were melt-in-your mouth delicious. Chef Lee blends his own soymilk for his light homemade Steamed Tofu Custard with crab, shrimp, lobster, mussels, air dried scallops and desert moss (Fat Choy), topped with a tanjin bouillon. This Asian style bouillabaisse has a velvety texture. By the time our braised beef cheeks, topped with olive preserved vegetables and a dollop of sour cream came, we barely had any room left. Chef Lee's culinary creations meld French and European techniques together with Chinese, Japanese and Korean ingredients, resulting in dishes that are truly divine.

Although we were in sensory overload, we couldn't resist the Lemon tart, served with blackberry compote and raspberry coulis, which had the additional flavor of a Chrysanthemum and Puli Tea Sauce. Arlan was delighted with the blending of the coconut crème caramel with Chantilly and black rice pudding at the bottom.

After dinner, Susur welcomed me into the kitchen to photograph some of the other dishes. I still have visions of the Mongolian Lamb Chops with glazed bananas, chili mint, carrot cardamom chutney and peanut sauce and the Chinese style Crispy Skin Hen, which I'll have to try upon my return. Read the full interview at http://newasiancuisine.com/newsletter...

Shang by Susur Lee
Thompson LES Hotel
187 Orchard St. (nr. Stanton St.)
212-260-7900