Meet Zhang Cheng...
Zhang's story starts in Nanping, a prefectural city in the shadow of Fujian's famed Wuyi Mountains. It's a region better known for its oolong tea than its noodles. Zhang was born into a family of humble means in one of the city's outlying rural areas. But, like so many in his generation, he couldn't get out of the countryside quickly enough. He joined China's massive urban migration, and in 1998 made it to Shanghai, where he worked a few odd jobs for four years before enlisting in the People's Liberation Army as a paratrooper.
After his tour was up, he spent a couple of years roaming around China. The postcards that festoon his restaurant are evidence enough; the travel bug bit him hard.
The very personality trait that would compel one to jump out of an airplane is probably the same one that would compel a guy with zero experience to open a restaurant. Zhang had no formal kitchen training. He took a week-long stage, if you will, at some random noodle shop in Chongqing -- just enough to learn the broad strokes of the business. The rest he simply learned by doing. He cobbled together a team of cooks and they started experimenting with different noodle recipes, playing around with all that he tasted in his travels throughout China. The sum total of all this came to fruition last March when he opened Quan Mian Sheng.
Unlike most noodle shops in town, Quan Mian Sheng refuses to be pigeonholed by any specific regional identity. "All of the flavors on the menu are from different places in China," he proudly declares. "It's a collection of my memories." And indeed, the menu runs a surprisingly wide gamut. There are plenty of hongshao options to please the Shanghai palate, but Zhang also ventures to Southeast Asia with dishes like his cold noodles with Thai-style shredded chicken (泰式鸡丝冷面). But the house specialty draws inspiration from a nearby locale: Tianmu Lake in Jiangsu Province. It began with a bowl of fish noodle soup he had ordered in a restaurant there. He was convinced that they were cutting corners. "I could tell that they were just adding milk to get that creamy color and consistency," he says. "I knew I could do it better." And thus was born his signature dish, Shang Tang Lu Yu Mian (上汤鲈鱼面).
Quan Mian Sheng has built quite a reputation on this bowl of noodles. That's owing partially to Zhang's personality. He's immediately likable, passionate and energetic. And he's clearly quite media savvy. He's already been featured on several of those local television programs that tout restaurants for Shanghai's 20-something set. But it's also pure laws of economics: supply and demand. He only makes 10 orders a day. That's because each bowl is made to order -- 100 percent from scratch.
It's a remarkably involved process. Here's how he does it...
Zhang Cheng's Shang Tang Lu Yu Mian goes for 28rmb a bowl. He only does ten portions a day, and it supposedly has a loyal following. If you want to try it, you'll have to reserve a bowl at least two days in advance.
For a listing, click here.
