Traditional dish becoming a fast food of the future
Print Edition
WHEN Alimas Ali Polat cooked zhuafan for friends when he was studying in the United States, they all raved about it.
Recalling their enthusiastic reaction to the mutton stew, a staple dish in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, he decided to quit his job in Beijing and return to Urumqi, hoping to introduce modern restaurant management to the zhuafan cooking process.
“The taste of zhuafan in ethnic restaurants varies according to the chef’s experience and mood,” Alimas said. “But standardization is the key to modern catering.”
Alimas’ father, who has run a zhuafan restaurant in Urumqi for decades, was not fond of the idea at first. In contrast to his father’s ornate restaurant, which features ethnic decor, a floor show, delicate cutlery and many kinds of dishes, Alimas chose a simpler, more youthful theme.
Inside his restaurant, named “Wemily,” graffiti and Marvel comic heroes take the place of elaborate hand-carved patterns and fancy furniture. “The cost of my father’s traditional restaurant is way too high,” Alimas said.
“It’s time to turn zhuafan into modern fast food.”
His team puts a lot of effort into selecting and processing ingredients.
Lamb chops and shanks from free-range sheep, yellow carrots from southern Xinjiang and white onions from Hami in the east of the region add local flavor. The rice, from northeast China, is cooked in small pots to guarantee quality and taste.
Alimas opened a second restaurant in Urumqi within a year and is now planning a third in downtown Shanghai.
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