Culinary taste-maker Sue Zhou has come a long way since first arriving in Beijing four years ago, with nothing but a backpack and a vague sense of adventure. Undisputed queen of Instagram (don’t follow her if you suffer from food envy), co-owner of exceedingly popular Yunnan restaurant Hani Gejiu, and organic food proponent, Sue is now preparing to expand her burgeoning empire once again, with the creation of ‘Sue Zhou Does Food,’ a creative catering and culinary consultancy service. Intrigued, we sat down with the ever-friendly chef to get the low-down on her next step.
—How did you get into the culinary scene?
I was born in Wenzhou in China, and then my family moved to the Netherlands when I was 7 years old to open a Chinese restaurant. It was a family-run business, so, of course, everyone was expected to help out, including me. I worked in the kitchen from the age of 11 until I left for university – not that I really liked it! I was always fascinated by food though. As a child I was always cutting out articles about interesting and unusual dishes and putting them in a scrap book. But the restaurant business seemed so tough. There’s no spare time. I could see that my parents worked flat-out, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year round. I was completely turned off by that. That’s why, when the opportunity came, I chose to study business and economics rather than hospitality at university.
—So you never had any aspiration to work in the food industry?
I wanted to, but I wasn’t sure how. All I knew at that time, was that I didn’t want the stress of running a restaurant – which is ironic, as that’s exactly what I’m doing now. While at university, I began to focus on Asian business, and was given a chance to study abroad, so I came to Beijing in 2002 for a year and really liked it. But afterwards, I went back to Holland and got a job in the food trading business, visiting factories and negotiating deals. I worked at the company for several years, but I was never really happy, I was never really passionate about it. I was approaching 30 and I realized I needed to change things up. I asked myself, ‘where have I been really happy in my life?’ And of course, it was during that one year in Beijing.
—And so you moved back?
Yep, via Hong Kong on a one way ticket! But when I arrived here I didn't really know what to do. Fortunately, someone suggested I begin teaching Chinese cooking classes at the Hutong [community cultural center]. That prompted me to start doing my own research on Chinese food – and that’s how I came across Yunnanese cuisine. Chinese food is so interesting and varied; it’s so fun to explore. I started traveling to Yunnan – which at the time, I knew so little about – visiting rural areas, going to the markets, talking with local people, trying the herbs and spices. It was all so new to me, especially the deep fried mint – that was a real eye opener!
—How did the idea of Hani Gejiu come about?
I was introduced to Wen Juan – my current business partner – through a friend. Wen is a Yunnan native and her mom is from the Hani minority group. She asked me if I’d like to join her at her previous restaurant, which was also in Gulou. But that was three years ago, and at that time I was very happy at the Hutong, developing their culinary courses – exploring Chinese food, researching recipes, and training other teachers.
And then two years ago, she asked me again, but this time, I felt ready for a new challenge. So we went to Gejiu, her home town – and studied the food. It’s famous for its fresh rice noodles, which really are incredible. We tried to replicate them here – we brought the rice machine back and the specialty rice, but the water in Beijing was wrong – and it just wouldn’t work. So instead, we started vacuum packing the rice noodles and flying them in – and that’s now our signature dish. Along with lots of original herbs and spices. It’s very family style.
—Is the menu all authentic Hani style dishes – or have you improvised?
Everything in here is sourced from Yunnan, where possible. Our head chef is Hani. Even the tables are old reclaimed Gejiu doors! In fact [looks around the restaurant], the lampshades are Hani steaming lids, and the paintings are similar to what you see on the outside of farm houses in villages in Yunnan.
—Have you been surprised by the restaurant’s success?
Gulou has always been really welcoming to specialty restaurants, but still, I’ve been extremely surprised by our popularity. We have so many regulars who bring their friends, who then bring their friends. We’re quite hidden away, so people only really find us through word of mouth. We were quite clear at the beginning when we first opened two years ago: ‘We’re not going to copy anyone!’ We wanted to do our own thing. So we focused on the rice noodles and the quality of the ingredients.
I think people can taste the difference when you take the time to prepare and source your food. Anyone can drop some flavor enhancer in a dish. But it’s not really cooking. It may sound cliched, but I believe that the attention and love that has gone into our food really shows – and the customers can taste that. It also helps that Yunnan food is naturally healthy and balanced.
—So your new venture is separate from the restaurant?
Yes, Sue Zhou Does Food is entirely separate, it’s more my style of food – those dishes I want to share with people. The focus is on sharing what I’m passionate about and sharing my love for food. I didn't want to be fixed on the restaurant. I saw what it did to my parents growing up and I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to keep my passion for food, and not turn food into a drag.
—What types of cuisine can we expect?
Sometimes I will focus on classic Chinese, sometimes it’s fusion, and sometimes it’s Western. Sometimes I am inspired by people around me, sometimes it's the places I visit. I borrow a lot from Indonesian foods – I grew up eating a lot of Chinese-Indonesian dishes, because of the historic colonial Dutch-Indonesian connection – it’s almost like comfort food for me. I borrow a lot from Yunnanese, of course. Sometimes I’ll see something new on Instagram. It really depends!
The concept itself is varied. I’m hosting small private dinners, and giving cooking classes, as well as providing private catering services. The whole thing right now is super flexible. There’s no fixed menu. It’s more a case of me talking with the client and finding out what they want, and for how many people. So far I’ve worked with small groups of around eight people, creating specially-prepared private dinners at their homes, but I’ve also worked with the Dutch embassy, catering for 200. It’s really about having fun, experimenting and creating new, healthy and interesting foods.
Hani Gejiu, see listing for details
For more information about Sue Zhou Does Food, visit her website at www.suezhoudoesfood.com
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