I am sad to report that the owner of Tian Jin has sold the restaraunt to a friend of his at the beginning of this year. Ryan and his wife Yin brought authentic Sichuan and Manadarin cuisine to the exurbs of Chanhassen. While Ryan's enthusiasm for authentic fare will be missed I am hopeful that Tian Jin will remain one of the Twin Cities best Chinese restaurants. The head chef who headed up Crystal Palace, a four star restaurant, in Tian Jin, China is staying. The new owners have also added to the wait staff which was always one of the problems at Tian Jin, the bad service always compromised the cooking. One of the new owners is from Shanghai and hinted that we may finally have good Shanghai soup dumplings in Minneapolis. On my last visit under new management I ordered the double cooked pork intestine which is pictured above. This dish really defines why Tian Jin is special. Think about it...Intestines. What could be more nasty. But in the hands of a skilled chef he has created a dish that is delicious. A dish that tastes like slow cooked pork belly that is all the rage these days. To make good Offal (Stomach, Intestines, Kidney's, etc..) is a thing of beauty. Anyone can cook a tenderloin or a filet Mignon but a truly good chef can work magic with the parts that only a peasent would eat. Below is a review that Jeremy Iggers (Former food critic for the Strib) did after I let him know that there was actually authentic Chinese in the Suburbs.
Tian Jin
Dave: I hope Tian Jin survives the transition. I haven't eaten there, but my brother lives nearby, had take-out from there last week, and said it was excellent.
ReplyDeleteIn town, the Zen restaurant on Lyndale just south of Lake has reopened with a Hunan-Sichuan menu. My wife and I had lunch there today, following a tip from Jeremy Iggers in his blog, and it was great. The cold noodles and tofu-skin "salad" were very good, but Mao's Braised Pork, belly chunks long-simmered with black mushrooms, pepppers, and what looked like about a head of sliced garlic, stole the show. Lots of intestines, feet, etc., on the menu, too!
Cheers~ Brett