2 days Ago
Four years ago, James Island restaurant Kwei Fei swapped its Sichuan fare for Cantonese cuisine for the entire month of January. The General Tso's chicken, Mongolian beef and veggie lo mein that replaced Kwei Fei’s regular menu eventually spawned David and Tina Schuttenberg’s second Charleston restaurant, Beautiful South. This year, during one of the historically slower months for local eateries , the couple is whipping up another one-month-only menu, pulling inspiration from Hong Kong's iconic cha chaan tengs , known for their fusion of Chinese and Western comfort food in a diner setting.
Lobster yee mein noodles at Beautiful South. Will the specialty offering lead to a third Charleston restaurant? Likely not, David Schuttenberg said. “But you never know,” the chef said.
Either way, the new cha chaan teng-inspired dishes serve a purpose for Beautiful South’s chefs and diners. Preparing items such as macaroni and ham soup, a Hong Kong-style pork chop and lobster yee mein noodles will allow the restaurant’s culinary team to get creative in the kitchen — and have a little fun. And as has been the case with previous January specials like Veganuary, when Schuttenberg leaned into vegan food, the offering exposes guests to more options from the Chinese culinary canon, plus new mocktails for those abiding by Dry January .
Schuttenberg isn’t the only local chef to switch things up this month. At 167 Sushi, chef Vuong Pham is dedicating every Tuesday to a style of service that relies on ingenuity : the Japanese omakase. Starting Jan.
7, Pham will offer a meal of 13 chef-selected courses highlighting of-the-moment nigiri and izakaya preparations. At 167 Sushi, chef Vuong Pham is dedicating every Tuesday throughout the month to a style of service that relies on ingenuity: the Japanese omakase. "We’re excited to offer an omakase series featuring unique menu items that aren’t commonly found in Charleston’s dining scene,” said Pham, who orders fish from Toyosu Market in Tokyo and local fishermen up and down the East Coast.
“We always ensure our fish is line- and wild-caught whenever possible.” Starting Jan. 7, chef Greg Kurtzman is leaning into nostalgic, whimsical flavors at Kwei Fei, the Schuttenbergs’ firstborn Charleston restaurant.
Drink specials and chef-inspired items like a char siu BLT on house-made milk bread and a mapo " Sloppy Joe " on a house-made steam bun are meant to cater to Charleston’s hospitality community, many of whom worked through the holiday season. The food also subtly nods to those cha chaan tengs, which are "frequented by everyone from tough construction workers to sharp-suited bankers to roughing-it celebs craving the cheap dishes they were brought up on," according to BBC News ..
