CULTURE

Culture wok

Tszao Van // 5 Konnaya Ulitsa, Tel: 325 2715 // Menu in Chinese and Russian with pictures // Dinner for two without alcohol 1,467 rubles ($51)

By Alex Dizer

The St. Petersburg Times

There is much speculation in the West about the possible results of China’s rise in economic power and global influence. Russia seems to have mixed views toward it: On the one hand last month’s announcement of $3.5 billion worth of trade agreements across the border seems to suggest a positive mutual understanding, but the spectacle ads scattered around St. Petersburg that read “cheaper than Chinese glasses” and have an illustration of a squinting Asian man seem to suggest that perhaps this understanding is not quite so deep. Chinese food is, however, undeniably popular in Russia, and new Chinese restaurants continue to pop up all over the city.

Newcomer Tszao Van has a higher quality ambiance than many of the local cheap and cheerful Chinese eateries. Gilded dragon wallpaper, Chinese paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling, and wooden tables and chairs arranged in stalls create a cozy oriental atmosphere. On one of the walls hangs a large plasma TV screen that on a recent visit was showing a cartoon about ping-pong followed by a documentary about the Chinese military. This does not perhaps help to remove two stereotypes — sport and military might — that are strong in many minds in the wake of the Olympic Games and parade celebrating 60 years of Communism.

Tszao Van’s menu is very broad, and covers every style of mainland Chinese cooking. There are vegetarian dishes, including mapo doufu, a tofu dish known for being very rich and decadent, and a vast array of meat, from the familiar Beijing roast duck in pancakes to frog dishes for the more adventurous.

The meal got off to a good start with a friendly greeting from the waitress, and the prompt arrival of a generous serving of dumplings (120 rubles, $4.) They were fried to a crispy, crunchy, golden perfection while the pork and celery filling was soft and flavorsome. The serving was very generous.

This was followed by the hotpot (357 rubles, $12.50), or Huoguo — a kind of East Asian stew. Although there are many different types of hotpot, whose origins span from the north of China, Beijing and Inner Mongolia to as far south as Thailand and Vietnam, they generally have a few common traits. There is usually a choice of different flavorings and spices for the sauce, a selection of meat and vegetables, and an array of sauces into which to dip the cooked food. Tszao Van’s hotpot was a disappointment, as it was in fact just a small soup, and had little in common with its name.

Beef cooked in pepper (287 rubles, $10) is a traditional Uighur Muslim dish from the far west of China. While at present the ethnic minority is known for its recent conflicts with the Han population, it deserves to be better known for its fantastic kebabs. In every city in China, there are countless makeshift portable barbeques often run by people from the Xinjiang province, where meat is cooked on the spot on sticks known as chuanrs, with a choice of spicy or sweet seasonings. Tszao Van served the meat a little too heavily sauced, as it is normally quite dry. However, the familiar smoky, flame-licked, peppery flavor was there and it was readily eaten to a background of Cantopop classics, including a track by the Taiwanese heartthrob often described as the Chinese Justin Timberlake — Jay Chou.

Gongbao chicken (197 rubles, $7) is a tourist favorite in China. The dish comes from the Sichuan province in central-western China, but has since spread throughout the country. Chinese emigrants who settled abroad created a kind of Gongbao chicken that lacked the Sichuan peppercorns, reducing the mala (extremely spicy) tongue-numbing effect and making it more suitable for the Western palate. Tszao Van’s Gongbao chicken was in the Western style. The chicken was diced, marinated and served with peanuts, chili and bell peppers in a rich, thick sauce. The flavor comes in distinct waves, from the initial taste of chicken to the rich and ever so slightly sweet hit of peanuts to a spicy kick at the end — a delicious end to an inexpensive, relaxed and filling meal.

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