If you want to travel back to the Manhattan of the 70’s—in
terms of restaurants that is, take I-81 North of Syracuse to the town of
Mattydale. Just as Syracuse hearkens back to the Roman Siracusa, Simon Teng who
was the executive chef of such chichi establishments as Auntie Yuan, Uncle
Tai’s, David K’s and Pig Heaven has become the curator himself of a certain
kind of Szechuanese food, a moment in the evolution of the sensibility of
Chinese-American cooking which has become as rarefied as the Cantonese
cuisine—served by white jacketed waiters lifting heavy silver lids—that it once
replaced. His China Road is a little like Pompeii. When you go there and taste the
smoked duck, ma po tofu, twice cooked beans, spicy dumpling, daikon radish
cakes, and spicy crispy tilapia you feel that time has stopped and you have
rediscovered the fountain of eternal youth—minus perhaps some of the other
sensual delights that that the ill fated inhabitants of Pompeii enjoyed before
the deluge. The curious thing is that the Chef Teng has reinvented himself as
the proprietor of a roadhouse that’s a far cry from the auspicious cosmopolitan
establishments he once presided over. China Road is housed in a modest shingled
structure that's hardly distinguishable from the cheap motels, bars, Dollar
Discount Stores and adult video shops that are scattered along the main
thoroughfares in this modest part of the country. Teng’s original restaurants
attracted a high ticket clientele way back when. Now the anonymity is what
creates the exclusivity. You don’t have to be someone or have a fat wallet to
enjoy China Road. You only have to know where the restaurant is, to savor its
delights.
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