01x01 - Old School, New Food

[bunniefuu]

[Kathy] I'm Kathy Fang.

I'm the chef and owner

of the most esteemed
and hottest

Chinese restaurant
in San Francisco, Fang.

In this city,
my father, Peter Fang,

is the godfather
of Chinese cuisine.

Dad came from Wolfgang Puck.

That's pretty nice.

[Kathy] He owns the famous

House of Nanking
just down the street.

[crowd cheering
and applauding]

[Kathy] While most kids
grew up playing games,

I spent my childhood studying
cooking under my father

and learning the secrets
of his success.

Get ready for service.

Today, I'm a chef

that takes a lot of risks

with my own dishes.

This is one of the new dishes
that we're trying out.

Just like my dad,
I wanna revolutionize

Chinese food and take
our family legacy

to the next level.

I'm a two-time
Chopped champion

and one of the country's
most sought-after chefs.

And the only thing more fiery
than the food is my staff.

I can promise you one thing,

there is never
a dull moment at Fang.

♪ I'm a legend
In the making ♪

[upbeat music playing]

♪ I wanna dance with you ♪

♪ You wanna know the truth ♪

[woman] Welcome.
How you doing?

[guest] Good. How are you?

[Kathy] Our famous fried rice.

[Joshua] Two lychee martinis.

[Kathy] All right,
we got the dumplings.

[speaking foreign language]

Fang is the best Chinese food
in San Francisco.

And I'm not just saying that
because I think

so, so highly of myself.

It's because that's what
people have told us.

[man] Hi, guys.
Welcome to the party.

All right. These are
my signature pork belly buns.

The most popular
and the most well-known dish

is the Fang's Peking Buns
with pork belly.

It's like a twice-cooked
pork belly,

so it's been braised
and then fried,

and it has pickled vegetables
that you would

normally see in a banh mi.

So you just eat it
like a little sandwich.

I hope you guys enjoy.

The San Francisco food scene
is always evolving.

[speaking foreign language]

If you want to stay on top,
you have to be

the most exciting restaurant.

My newest goal for Fang

is to up our game
on all levels.

I wanna expand our menu
beyond the traditional dishes

that we've been offering
and I wanna attract

a much more global clientele.

My ultimate goal is to win
a James Beard Award

and gain Chinese food
world domination.

But there's one big challenge.

My father helped me open
Fang Restaurant

when I was 27 years old.

And now we're partners.

We're partners but he also
thinks he's the boss.

But I'm working on him
day by day.

♪ Aim high, dream big ♪

♪ We're gonna make it ♪

♪ Aim high, dream big ♪

♪ We're gonna make it
On top of the world ♪

♪ This is our empire ♪

[Kathy] What are your cooking?

Nanking's chicken.

Nanking chicken. Ah.

So you got your
white vinegar, garlic.

Smell that sugar
when that hits

the caramelization in the wok.

That smell makes me think
of my childhood.

I knew that I wanted to be
a chef when I was seven.

I spent all this time
in my dad's restaurant

and I was liked and loved.

My dad taught me
everything I know

about Chinese cooking.

He opened House of Nanking

over 33 years ago

and he is known as a legend.

[crowd cheering
and applauding]

Back in the day,
Chinese-American food

was very, like, saucy,

there's like a lot
of cornstarch,

it was highly processed.

And my dad was like,

"That's not what I know

as good Chinese food."

He incorporated very fresh

vegetables that were local
to California.

And this is our famous
Sesame Chicken.

This Sesame Chicken

put my father's restaurant
on the map.

There are times we sell
500 pounds of sweet potato.

He paired it
with sweet potatoes

because Americans love
sweet potato

and turkey during Thanksgiving
and he said,

"That's such
a perfect pairing.

Why don't we do the version

of orange chicken
with sweet potato?"

That's it.

[Kathy] The most popular
dish at Nanking.

[Peter speaking]

I know.
USC was very expensive.

My parents didn't really
want me to become a chef.

They didn't want me to follow
in their footsteps.

They wanted better for me.

I tried to be
the perfect daughter,

like going to business school

and going
to the corporate world.

Working in a cubicle
k*lled my soul.

I thought to myself,

"I'm gonna go into food
because that's what

my dad's taught me to do
all my life.

Why am I not doing this?"

So now, I wanna push
the boundaries more.

I wanna make Chinese dishes
that are globally influenced.

Let's go for a walk
in Chinatown.

Okay.

[upbeat music playing]

[Kathy] I'm gonna need one box
of the choy for Fang.

[in foreign language]

My dad and I go to Chinatown
on a weekly basis.

We go check out the market.
It's just the routine.

[in foreign language]

[Kathy] The Chinatown market
is very intimidating.

There's no labels
on anything.

Someone who's never
experienced buying food there,

you'd probably never be able
to buy anything.

You'll be working
the private event with me

-on Saturday night, right?
-Uh-huh.

A lot of new people
are coming.

It's the first time
they're experiencing Fang.

One of my ways
to broaden our menu

is to bring in unconventional
fusion dishes.

I've invited the glitterati
of San Francisco

to test out these dishes,

and my dad will be there.

As my partner,
I need him to see

that these new dishes
are being well received.

That way, he'll be convinced
to broaden our menu even more.

So, there's a lot
riding on this.

Social media is a really
big thing, you know.

You've seen them.

The young people would come in
with their cameras,

and they're recording
everything,

and they post it online.

Watch their phone.
They don't watch their food.

-They don't like eating.
-It's just... It's really bad.

-And... Yes.
-I say, "Hey, hey, hey."

-Eat it.
-"Eat your food. It's cold."

He's like,
"It's gonna get cold."

Sometimes, they have
a hundred thousand followers.

-Mmm-hmm.
-A million followers.

All these people come now
because of that.

So I wanna put
some dishes out there

that they will think
is really cool.

-Mmm, okay. Okay.
-Okay.

So I've been thinking
of a lot of these dishes

in my mind that are gonna be
slightly untraditional

that I'm gonna test out
at this very important dinner.

[Peter speaking]

I mean, you know,
as you can see, it is hard.

Why you care so much
about other people thinking?

[in foreign language]

What people think?

[in foreign language]

It's just... That's just
how business is moving.

Oh, no. [laughs]

[Kathy] You have to trust me.

My biggest fear
when it comes to my father

is honestly
just disappointing him.

In Asian culture,

children make any sort of big

life decisions
with your parents.

If you disagree,
you can still honor

and respect your parents.

And I've been trying
to do that all my life.

[in foreign language]

♪ I'm about to shift
This gear ♪

♪ Into automatic drive ♪

♪ Take a long ride
Through the sunset sky ♪

[man] Hi.

-How many?
-For four.

Four? Okay. Let me get you in.

Do you need me
to lychee it up?

[guest] They specifically
wanted to lychee it down.

Lychee it down, all right.

[Kathy]
A typical dinner service

at Fang is usually
pretty hectic.

Order up.

Chinese food,
a lot of it's out of the wok,

that's very quick cooking.

That means
dishes will fly out.

-[woman] Two. Table two.
-[guest] Okay.

[Kathy] The place is fancy.

But the style of the food
is family.

People are like trying
all these dishes

and different flavors
and it's loud.

It's a very
exciting environment.

[woman] Excuse my reach.

[Kathy] Besides my food,
what's known about

Fang is also our service.

This is our best bartender.
He's the only one here.

Exactly.

Chinese restaurants
get a bad rep

for having
unaccommodating staff.

Their demeanor
tends to be very stoic.

So, that's why
I hired some servers

who may be less experienced,
but are a lot more charming.

But I still expect
excellence from my staff.

They're gonna have to learn
very quickly.

And then people see my g*ns
when I'm serving big plates.

-That's all.
-Manhattan, miss.

Ah. Thank you, sir.

Sometimes, they get themselves

into a little bit of trouble.

[Christy] Okay,
that's a really big...

-More? More?
-No, no, no, that's it.

[Joshua] Okay. Okay.

My name is Joshua Chan.
I'm 41.

And I am the bartender
at Fang.

I'm also a model and actor.

We call that a mactor.

Let's do it before Kathy...

-[Christy] Okay.
-...or Long sees.

And that's why we have Long.

Long is my right-hand man.

He's actually a long time
friend of mine.

He used to be my trainer.

He's someone that I trust
a lot and very, very reliable.

[Long] Hi. Two beers?

Yes. Thank you.

He's always smiling

and there's something
about him

that's very, like,
warming and welcoming.

-How we doing over here?
-[guest] Good.

-Doing good?
-[guest] Yeah.

[Long]
My parents were refugees.

They taught me
to put my head down,

grind the stone,
just really work hard.

Have you been helped yet?

-[guest] Yeah, yes, yeah.
-You're okay. Okay, cool.
All right.

I had to work
from the bottom up.

And now, as a maitre D'
and manager,

I'm gonna be the one
that makes things

run smoothly for Kathy.

-[man] Let--
-All right. I will see...

Ooh, this makes it better.

I'll take it from here.

My name is Christy-Anne Lopez

and I am a server
at Fang Restaurant.

I have been working at Fang
for two weeks

and I'm loving it so far.

I have my own pageant
consulting business.

This one is Miss Regency
International 2017.

Miss World America petite.

[laughs]

What are you doing here?
Oh, what's going on?

I'm waiting on my juice
for A1.

Can you actually
just deliver the drinks?

She got to actually
get the food going.

[Joshua] Sure.

He's a real genuine
friend of mine.

But if Long were an animal,

Long would be
a little wild boar.

Not necessarily a grown
full adult size one

because, you know, Long,
he's a little smaller.

Sometimes, I think,
"Oh, maybe he just has

a little baby crush on me."

But also at the same time,

I think he genuinely
hates me, too.

I don't know. I don't know.

I don't know if they have
like an actual beverage menu.

-It's in here.
-No, no, but they...

-Oh, is it like on the side?
-No. We own...

Oh, it's on the back side.
My bad, my bad.

Yeah, yeah, that's good.
Got it?

I think Christy's very sweet.

But the first two weeks,

she was always making
all these mistakes.

[Christy] Do you know
where the salt is?

[Long] Salt?

You should know that.
We went over this.

So I'm trying to train her
from the ground up

and I have to, like,
be hard on her

to meet that standard
that Kathy has set.

Hey, how are the tables going?

-Tables are going great.
-Okay.

[sizzling]

-[Christy]
Looks so good, Kathy.
-[woman] Oh, that's awesome.

[Kathy] Working
in the restaurant industry

is like going to work.

Little family meal
for you all.

Many times, we have
over hundreds of customers

that come through
during one dinner shift.

And our servers at that point
are exhausted.

And at the end of a shift,
I like to make sure

that they get a little bit
of nourishment.

Little fried rice, rice, baby.

-[laughter]
-[staff] Yes!

So my dad and I
actually created

this fried rice
that we cook tableside

on this very hot skillet.

People take videos of it.

They'd share it with friends,
share on TikTok.

This fried rice became viral.

It had over a million views

and now we call it
the TikTok rice.

Have you made the TikTok rice?

I have not.

But I've made like TikToks.

I've never made a TikTok.

[Christy] You've never made
a TikTok?

We need to show them
the TikTok.

[Kathy] Do I do TikTok?

I do not but...

We have an easy one.

I'm game.

Asian Spice Girls. Here we go.

Here we go. One, two,

-three, four, five, six...
-[Joshua] Go, Kathy.

-...seven.
-Go...

Four pose, five pose,
six pose,

seven and eight and work,

slay all day.

-[women laughing]
-There we go.

-[woman] Yes!
-That's the one.

[Kathy] It's time
for big changes.

-Cheers?
-[Gabby] Cheers
to a good night.

Cheers. Good job tonight.

[Kathy] I only have
one week left

to prepare for this
influencer dinner.

This menu
needs to be flawless.

What are you doing?

I'm making a new appetizer.

[Kathy] I'm basically
showing my dad...

this works.

♪ We never stop ♪

♪ We won't hold back ♪

[laughter]

-Cheers.
-Cheers.

-Whoo-hoo!
-[Gabby] Successful night.

Yeah, I love it, hate it,
I love it, hate it.

Love it!

Let's talk timeline.

I'd really love to push out
the new menu.

Lillian is the new head
of operations.

She and I go way back.

When I moved to San Francisco
12 years ago,

she was actually one
of my first girlfriends.

She's basically
like the Bentley

of, you know,
the restaurant industry now

and that's what
we're going for.

Everyone comes in here

and gets all
of your cool dishes

but it's never
exemplified in the menu.

I have a crazy
hospitality background.

And one of the best things
that I did recently

was working
with the Mina Group.

Mina Group is one
of the most known

and recognizable brands
in hospitality.

One of the things
they love about me

is that I'm very, very
critical but honest

because most people are always
just kissing up to them

and saying
everything's perfect.

And I was brought in
to be a change-maker.

I mean, if you're good,
I'll make you great.

If you're weak,
I'll make you scared.

The thing that I've been
struggling with

is I'll do these off menu
dishes for customers.

And they'll be like,
"I love this.

This should be on the menu."

And then my dad's like,

"Oh, what are you doing?"

When I first opened
Fang at 27...

-[Lillian] Mmm-hmm.
-...I actually already
had these goals.

I came in thinking great,
business school,

I've got all
these grand ideas,

we're gonna expand,
let's put in the manager.

And my dad was like,
"Whoa, hold up."

In his eyes, he was thinking,

"Oh, you wanna already
expand things

and change our menu?

You don't wanna put in

your time at the restaurant?

You need to put in work.

You need to be here
24/7 like I did."

I'm almost 40.
It's different, right?

I wanna actually create
a new path

and, like, break
through these walls

and create something
that's more global.

And I think my dad forgot
that taking risks

is how he got
to legendary status.

Let's push this forward.

I wanna revitalize this menu

and get this all out there.

That's honestly why

I've brought you on, right?

This really important dinner
that we're doing

is going to be
that big first step

to elevate Fang
and to really, like,

push my name
and my brand out there.

I'm going to feature
all these new dishes

that are not on the menu.

They're all dishes of my own

that's pushing
the envelope more.

Trust me, I will get
this event ex*cuted well.

-It's time for big changes.
-Hell yeah, it's time.

-Cheers. Let's do this.
-Cheers.

♪ Hey ♪

♪ h*, ready or not... ♪

[Kathy] Okay.

We have to get Ava
ready for school.

We are, like, so late already.

[Caleb]
Ava, you got to change.

-[Ava] Okay.
-[Kathy] All right, Ava,
let's go.

We got to get you ready
for school.

[Ava laughing]

[Kathy] Come on,
come on, come on.

Our mornings are pretty hectic

because there's a lot going on

in a very small space.

[Caleb] Our living room
is about 1,200 square feet.

And by 7:00 in the morning,
there are six people in it.

-[Kathy] Are we almost done?
-[Caleb] Huh.

There's a lot for us to do.
But we also have help.

My parents come over
to help make breakfast,

my personal assistant
Justin comes in,

the nanny's there.

It takes a village.

Why is internet down?

This is Caleb,
my handsome husband.

[Caleb] We've been married
six years.

I walked and sat at the bar.

I asked to speak
to the owner.

And he was like,
"I didn't think

this dish was very good."

And I'm like,
"Well, next time,

you should let me
order for you

because I know
what you would like."

[Caleb]
From that point forward,

we were inseparable.

Come here, buddy.

[in foreign language]

[Kathy] Caleb and I
are sort of Yin and Yang.

When I was young,
I would always say,

"I'm not going to ever date

someone who's not into food."

And he'll always
talk about how,

"I hate having to eat food.

I'd rather just take a pill
and be done with it."

I'm like... [gasp]

And he's like not even

that big of a fan
of Chinese food.

-It's like the lowest
on my list.
-Right.

-Caleb?
-[Caleb] Huh?

What do you want
for breakfast?

[Caleb] Eggs, rice, and Spam.

That should be like
out of here.

-Not dating you.
-[laughs]

[in foreign language]

Okay. Okay.

[in foreign language]

Our upbringing
is so different.

I grew up eating congee,
fish soup,

like all kinds of delicious
food made from scratch.

I grew up
with Hamburger Helper,

Chef Boyardee,
Spam, and bologna.

Obviously,
I wouldn't want my kids

to like eat any of that.

Hmm, is it yummy?

Do you like it
when grandma, grandpa

makes breakfast
for you before school?

-Yeah.
-[Kathy] Yeah.

I still make it a point
to make

very traditional Chinese
breakfast for the kids,

because we have
to preserve tradition.

We have to remember
where we come from.

Okay, Ava. We are very late.

Okay.

[upbeat music playing]

♪ My way, my way ♪

♪ It's my life
And I do it my way ♪

♪ It's my life
And I do it my way ♪

[Lillian] Hey, Kath.

-Hi.
-What are you doing?

I'm actually making a little

tasting for you
for the influencer dinner.

I wanted to get your thoughts
on the ideas

that I've been cooking.

-Love to see it.
-[Kathy] Yes.

The inspiration is this
Indonesian chicken dish

that I had on a trip
back in Bali.

I put some of my own
spice blend on here.

It's just like
a little bit of paprika,

white pepper, garlic powder.

And then this
is just cornstarch.

And this is our house-made
sesame sauce.

Add a touch of curry powder...

little water,

and I'll pop
the chicken in there.

-[Lillian] Ooh, yummy.
-[Kathy] Wanna try one?

[Lillian] Thanks.

Hmm, I love the ginger.

A little taste
of Bali and Vietnam.

-Yeah? Awesome.
-[Lillian] Mmm-hmm.

This dinner
is so important to me

because we're inviting people

who can make or break
your restaurant,

artists, and architects,

social media influencers.

I mean, they can,
like, bring in

future investors
and partners.

If you don't get
their approval

and if you don't
get them raving

about your restaurant,

your service, your food,

you're done.

We need to talk
through who's coming.

There's the prima ballerina
of San Francisco Ballet,

Yuan Yuan Tan.
She has a huge network.

She always talks about food...

-Okay.
-...especially on
her Instagram.

There's also
Moanalani Jeffrey.

She's on the cover
of San Francisco Magazine.

-Oh, yes. I know her.
-Yes. Yes.

-[Kathy] All right.
-We have two incredible
foodie bloggers.

Also there are the two
interior designers,

-Gioi and Vernon Tran.
-[Kathy] Okay.

[Lillian] And they
are super connected.

It's gonna get so many eyes
on your social media,

on the restaurant.

It's gonna be really good
for the business.

Kath is, uh, an amazing chef.

However, when you look
on her social media for Fang,

it's nonexistent,

which is ridiculous
because it's vital nowadays.

So we can talk about food

now that we know
the guest list.

[Lillian] Yeah. Let me try it.

Yes. Okay.

This one here is a take

on sweet and sour
spicy fried chicken.

[Lillian] This is so good.

This is the kind of stuff
that I've been

wanting you to add
to the menu.

People are gonna Instagram it.

It's so delicious.

[Kathy] This one is actually

a take on an egg roll.

I did cabbage
and pastrami in there.

-Mmm-hmm.
-With a mustard sauce.

Not a fan?

It's not you. It's just...

I really hate mustard.

[Kathy] This one here,

that it is actually
the shanghai pork wonton.

Um, with pickled radish,

daikon, and mustard green.

It's very unique.

I'm sorry, unique?

Maybe pick a different dish

that has a little bit more
elevation.

-I just want prettier food.
-Okay.

-I will think about it.
-Okay... [chuckles]

I'll let that marinate.

I know Lillian is honest,

but I'm not sure I agree
with her opinions.

I've cooked for her
over a thousand times.

In fact, I did one of her
rehearsal dinners.

I'm kind of not used
to this side of Lillian,

um, who's food critique
all of a sudden.

I mean this is what I do.

I've sat through
so many tastings.

I've changed so many dishes.

It's her restaurant,
but I go out of my way

to elevate every detail

and it makes really
a huge difference.

Focus on the food,
because your food is amazing

and trust me.

[Kathy] I'm taking it in.

It's back
to the drawing board.

All right. Well, I got
a lot of work to do.

Can't wait to see
the final menu.

[Kathy] Awesome. Okay.

-So good.
-Um, maybe I'll go down

and get you some more mustard.

-Oh, my gosh. Whatever.
-[Kathy laughs]

♪ Life is a hard ride ♪

♪ Yes, but that's okay ♪

♪ I live like there's no
Tomorrow every day ♪

[Kathy] After the tasting
with Lillian Fan,

the new food critique,

I've gone back to my lab

to cook up
some experimental dishes.

Hey, Dad.

There's only one week left

for me to prepare
for this event

for these big names
and social media influencers

that have a lot
of clout and pull.

This menu needs to be
flawless.

-What are you doing?
-I'm making a new appetizer

for this party.

What is in this? What is this?

This is Italian sausage.

-[Peter] Italian sausage?
-[Kathy] Yes.

My dad became a chef by trade

to put food on a table.

He's motivated
in different ways than I am.

I cook more based off
creativity and inspiration.

I'm an artist.

Because of that,
I don't always

color inside the lines.

As partner, he wants approval

for any sort of change
or anything,

especially if it's
related to our menu.

I know... I know
what you're thinking, baba.

Why Italian sausage
and not Chinese sausage?

Well, because Italian sausage,
if done right and cooked well,

is very moist and very tender,

so it can be juicy,

and when you fry
the Shishito peppers,

the skin is really thin,

so you can't cook it
for very long.

And then you've got that
crispy coating on the outside,

you want something to have
that kind of juicy pop.

Chinese sausage
tends to be really dry.

I love to cook cuisines
from around the world,

that's how I get inspired.

[Peter speaking]

Definitely.

Not just little bit, a lot.
[laughs]

This is really important,
baba.

I really want you to be able
to trust me on this.

Don't change it too
much, okay?

Okay. Yes.

If you put a Chinese sausage,
maybe even better.

Think about it.

That's how my dad is.
[laughs]

So you might not like this one

because this is
very different.

Okay. So I have
Chinese donuts here.

Mmm-hmm.

[Kathy] This is my take

on a Jewish classic,
bagels and lox.

So instead of cream cheese,

I'm doing creme fraiche,

smoked salmon
that's got some chili oil.

-Smoked salmon?
-[Kathy] Yes.

[Kathy] Sesame oil
and chili oil

and some pickled cucumber.

Oh, that's ew.

-Oh... [laughs]
-[Kathy] Try a bite, dad.

Hmm.

Not for me.

-[Kathy] It's not for you?
-Hmm-hmm.

Any change is a battle.

And if people don't give me

the type of reception
that I'm expecting,

then my dad is gonna hold this
over my head.

This is gonna be
a huge failure in his eyes.

Can you just trust me
just for this one night?

It's gonna make it
very difficult for me

to try and accomplish

these big visions
that I have for Fang.

It's one night
with these influencers,

like, they love food that's a
little bit outside of the box.

[Peter] Oh.

[upbeat music playing]

♪ I am coming at you
Like a lightning ♪

♪ Coming at you
With the power of love ♪

♪ Gonna go, gonna go
Gonna go ♪

You guys know a champagne
is the drink of choice.

[woman] Thank you.

[upbeat music playing]

-Hi.
-Hey.

-How are you?
-How are you?

[woman]
Right behind you, Kathy.

Okay. Here's our fried rice.

-[Kathy] Do not touch this.
-[man] Okay.

[Kathy] It's very, very hot.

-Okay?
-[man] Yeah.

Ooh, over there,
over there, over there.

[woman] Okay. Thank you.

I'm good. I'm just checking on
Katie right now.

But she's doing a good job.

Good job on training her.

Thank you. Yeah.
So see I'm pulling in?

Because the egg's
gonna be up here

and you mix it in there
so it gets nice to eat it.

Okay.

The staff seems to be
doing well.

[Kathy] My goal
is to improve our service.

I want our customers
to not only have

an incredible
dining experience

through food,
but also through service.

[woman] Me too.
I'm sorry. Go ahead.

Can I take this away for you?

-Yes. Let me finish.
-[Katie] Okay.

Uh, she is slowing us down.

Can you start helping
bus those tables?

'Cause she's not getting that.

How are you guys
doing over here? Good? Okay.

A3, A3, there's so many
empty plates there.

-You got to get it, come on.
-Oh, no. Okay.

[Christy] He definitely means
well, but sometimes

his anxious energy
is chaotic.

Here I am, you know,
heading to my tables,

ooh, thank you, feeling good.
And then here's, like, Long.

Just like, here, here,
here, all the time.

You know, you can carry
more than one plate.

Thank you, Long.

[Long] Girl, you know, you had
to clear those plates, right?

So that's how you get
your tips, right?

Long, you literally
have been right behind me

for the past hour.

[Long] Yeah, because look
at all those plates. Just...

Well then why
don't you just help me?

[Katie] He's kind
of like a helicopter.

It's very loud.

-Just hover...
-Loud. A lot of noise.

A lot of noise without really
moving or doing much.

What's going on?
What's going on?

I'm just asking for salt.

-Really?
-Yeah. It's a lot of noise.

[Long] What are you
doing here?

-[Christy] I'm standing by.
-Oh, you stand... No.

-That's why it sets...
-Long, Long, get off my back.

-[Lillian] Hey, Long.
-Yes?

[Lillian]
I know dinner service

can be a little stressful

-or chaotic at times.
-Mmm-hmm.

But you should try
to not have these kind of

discussions
in front of customers.

You're literally not pulling
me out of the restaurant.

We're doing this in front
of customers right now.

I mean, I know he's trying,

but we got a lot of work
to do.

Serenity now.

Serenity now.

Serenity now.

-Okay. Well, thank you.
-Yes?

-Thank you.
-Okay.

These two come
from two different worlds.

Long started
from the bottom up,

Lillian comes from a
prestigious restaurant group.

Obviously,
they're gonna butt heads,

but ultimately, I hired both
of them for a reason.

They're gonna need to figure
out how to make this work.

[Long] I got to deal
with the tables, please.

-Okay?
-Okay.

Do you need water?

You're good?

-Do I need a water?
-Yeah. Do you need water?

-No.
-Okay. Good.

♪ Run away, run away ♪

♪ Run away
Away from this love ♪

♪ Don't run away
From this love ♪

♪ Don't run away
From this love ♪

♪ Don't, don't
Don't run away ♪

Right now, my focus
is on the influencer dinner.

I wanna prove to my dad
that I'm on the right track

and that we should
expand our menu.

I'm certain this will
take Fang to the next level.

[Lillian] All right, everyone,
we're about

to start in five minutes.

Act like this is the most
important night of your lives.

-You guys have any questions.
-No, we got it.

-Sounds good.
-Let's do it.

-[Lillian] Thank you.
-Amen.

It shouldn't be stuck
together.

When you fry it,
it has to be separate.

[in foreign language]

How long is the dumplings
gonna be?

This dinner
is so important to me

because I'm doing it
almost like

as an ode to my family.

I've pulled
a lot of inspiration

from a lot
of the traditional dishes

that I grew up with,

but I've also merged that

with a lot of things
that I'm inspired by now

that's very global,

so it's kind of a marriage
between the two.

Plus, my dad is here
watching everything go down.

No pressure here.

[upbeat music playing]

Hi. Welcome.

[Christy] Because it's my
first private event,

I don't wanna mess it up.

-Hi.
-Gorgeous.

[Christy] There are huge
social media influencers.

-Good friends.
-[Long] After you. After you.

Sorry. After you, after you.

-[Christy] Caleb's there.
-Hey, Caleb.

-Hello, bar.
-How are you?

-Good.
-Thank you for being here.

And also the prima ballerina
of San Francisco was there

-and it has to be perfect.
-[Lillian] Hi, guys.

We're gonna get ready
for dinner.

Do you wanna find your seats?

Twenty years ago,
it was super important

for a food critic to come
into your restaurant.

Times have changed,
and social media

is what really
moves the needle.

Is that...
Is that almost done?

The first dish
is very unconventional.

It's, like, Chinese donut
with smoked salmon.

I think it's risky,

but I think
social media influencers,

artists, are gonna love this.

They're gonna find it
exciting.

I wanna see everybody
in the face.

-I'm very scared.
-[Kathy] I'm scared, too,

because if any plate
comes back

and there's even
one piece left

that someone didn't eat,
I'm like,
my dad's gonna see that.

[Lillian] What is going on?

[glass clinking]

I'm, like, frustrated that
this has been sitting here.

It's supposed to be cold.

I chilled it specifically

so that I could serve
it right away.

Now, when they eat it,
it's gonna be like

warm smoked salmon

and it won't have
that fresh pop to it.

The Chinese donut
that's nice and crisp

is gonna start
to get a little soggy.

This needs to be done pretty
much like a la minute, right?

So it's cold, refreshing,
and crispy.

Okay, what is going on?

Everyone who has ever
worked for me should know

that once that dish is out,
that should be already

in your hand
and on its way to the guest.

I have to go up there,
which infuriates me.

Hi.

Food has to be perfect.

Service has to be perfect.

And it takes one bad service,

one customer that's really
important,

they may not come back again.

They may tell other friends,
and it impacts our business.

This is not
the first impression

I'm trying to make
and I'm pissed.

Everybody needs
to go down there

and grab the dishes
immediately

because it's supposed
to be cold.

We took it out of the fridge.
It's been sitting there.

It's gonna be warm
by the time they get to it.

[Long] This is kind of my
worst nightmare for Kathy

to have to come up and tell us
dinner's not been served.

If you could go down
to the chef

and come back with her.

My team isn't performing.

We look so sloppy
and this dinner

is really important
for Kathy.

Plus, I know I'm gonna hear
all the mistakes from Lillian.

[glass dinging]

Hi, everyone.
Thanks so much for coming.

We are so grateful
that you could make it.

Each of you
are so special to us.

-Grab those two.
-So cheers.

[all] Cheers.

Whoo!

[woman] Cheers!

[laughter]

[upbeat music playing]

We have here sort of a take
on lox and bagels.

But instead of bagels,
we actually have

Chinese donuts,
which we call Youtiao.

We have some creme fraiche,
some pickled cucumbers,

a everything marinated,
smoked salmon,

and then shallots,

just scoop it and put it on
top of your Yu Char Kway.

Got pickled cucumbers that
add, like, this freshness,

acidity, this pop

to the creaminess
of the creme fraiche

and Sichuan chili shallot oil.

So it's like an expl*si*n
of flavors

on a very traditional
Chinese pastry.

[Peter speaking]

This is the potato.

Potato curry croquette

is actually inspired by

this fish potato cake that
my grandmother used to make.

There are these little fish
patties with potato.

It was like very tender
and very flavorful.

[Peter] Mmm-hmm.

It's a croquette.
[clears throat]

-[woman] Thank you.
-[indistinct chatter]

[Kathy] The second course
is a curry croquette.

-[woman] Yum.
-[man] What is...

-[woman] Hmm.
-[woman] Yum. This is so good.

[woman] Oh, my God. Okay.

[Kathy] This one is a version
of my dad's shrimp packets

from House of Nanking.

I am reversing the filling.

So in here, it's gonna be
one whole shrimp

versus diced up shrimp
with vegetables.

The vegetable part of it
is actually gonna be

on the outside of the packet
made out of pineapple,

bell peppers, cilantro,
green onions.

-Looks beautiful.
-My shrimp cap is ugly?

It's not ugly.
It's just, um, photographable.

[Peter speaking]

You know, my dad's been
kind of, like, tough on me

trying to change
all the dishes.

So I'm throwing
something in there

that is an homage
to my dad's shrimp packet.

With my dad watching,

I feel this extreme amount of,
like, anxiety,

and I always look at
people's faces. Right?

What was that reaction
from the first bite?

If you bring me another,
I'll do it again.

The best is when you see...
[gasps] ...eyes light up...

[gasps] ...a gasp.
So I'm like... [gasps]

come on, someone,
someone take a gasp...

[laughs]

[Peter] When I saw
the reaction of these people

to eating this new thing,

I thought, yeah,
people like that, too.

Sometimes.

So, the napkin, can you try
to get those, it's really bad

the way the menu's
on the ground there.

You want me to, like,
bend down and grab those?

You got to get some
way to get them out.

I mean, that's literally
in between someone's feet.

I'm not gonna crawl
on the floor

in the middle
of a fancy dinner.

I don't know what's going
on with Long tonight.

I mean, I'm seeing him,
you know,

arms crossed, pacing around.

He is a distraction.

He needs to snap out of it.

[Joshua] I love the guy.
I know him well,

but sometimes he gets...
Has this crazy energy

and he just
can't help himself.

[upbeat music playing]

[cheering]

This dish is a wonton
that's filled with pork

and pickled radish.

Can you please relax?

[Long] No.
This has to be good.

It is, that's what
I'm saying like this,

you know, like,
your vibe is a lot.

[Joshua] I think
what's happening at this event

specifically is that Lillian's
got it all under control.

She's taking care of things,
and maybe

he's feeling like
he doesn't even belong.

Like, do they even need me?

-[woman] Oh, the mustard.
-Thank you.

-What's wrong with him?
-[Christy] We don't know.

None of us know.

[woman] It's good.

[Lillian] Why don't you
just take a break?

-No.
-I can feel your

negative energy from afar.

Thank you.

-[woman] You wanna...
-[bangs on door]

-[all] Oh.
-[woman] What's that?

[Kathy] Wow.

That's embarrassing.

[Lillian] Why don't you
just take a break

and then I'll come and see you

-after this dinner party?
-No.

Because it's just
pointless for you

to just stand here
and cross your arms.

I can feel your
negative energy from afar.

-Okay.
-Thank you.

[indistinct chatter]

-[bangs on door]
-[woman] Do you wanna...

-[all] Oh.
-[woman] What's that?

[Long] I messed up.

I let Lillian and my emotions
get the best of me.

[Kathy] Long's never been
sent home,

but at the same time,
I trust Lillian.

There's just too much
riding on this dinner.

I don't have
the mental capacity

to even deal
with this right now.

-[applause]
-Thank you.

[Caleb]
What's your favorite dish?

Number one out of
what you've been served?

I'm hoping all the guests
love the food,

they share it
on social media,

they tell all their friends

Fang's menu is expanding.

Every dish you made
had a story.

It was so flaky
and it just broke [indistinct]

in your mouth
and it was unbelievable.

-Thank you. Wow.
-[guest] Yes.

On that note, I'd like
to thank everyone

for coming again
and another round of applause

for Chef Kathy Fang.

[crowd cheering
and applauding]

[Caleb] I have to say that
I am the proudest husband.

When I'm with Kathy
at the restaurant,

I am definitely
Kathy's husband.

As her husband, seeing
her success is awesome.

I would love to see Kathy
grow her business bigger

or build her brand bigger.

I think this is the path
to get to that.

-[woman laughs]
-[cheers]

I do wanna thank my dad for...

[all] Aww.

...giving me the opportunity

to do this and trusting me.

[Peter] As a chef,
when I see Kathy succeed,

I'm a very, very proud father.

I'm very proud of my daughter.

[crowd cheering
and applauding]

My dad actually,
in a rare moment and occasion,

gave me that nod of approval.

That honestly is like
the best feeling ever.

I feel like that's the feeling
that I've been always, like,

looking for
ever since I've been young.

See?
I told you not to worry, Dad.

-Everybody seemed to enjoy it.
-I know.

-The reaction was...
their reaction--
-I think I'm wrong...

[laughs]

[Kathy] Tonight,
my dad is very happy.

But I know that
he's still not gonna be

completely on board
with my expansion plans.

But I'm just slowly
reeling him in

and I'll work on getting him
on board day by day.

Watch out, world.

We're just getting started.

[upbeat music playing]

[Kathy] This season on
Chef Dynasty: House of Fang.

Ultimately,
my goal is expansion.

[Lillian]
Please meet Chef Kathy Fang.

Hello.

[Lillian] We have a really
exciting event coming up

with Kristi Yamaguchi.

-Wow.
-It's stunning, isn't it?

-[Kristi] So gorgeous.
-[man] And the cherry blossom.

[Lillian] Oh, my gosh, Kathy,
we're going so fast right now.

[Caleb] It's good.

Put it on the menu without
getting your dad's permission.

Um...

The stakes are really high.

This is the first time
I've ever done a menu

that's entirely
made of my own dishes.

My dad's gonna be looking
at the reactions

and analyzing everything.

You don't like
the yogurt sauce?

He still doesn't trust me.

We're like at max capacity.

I'm trying to go
as fast as possible.

[Christy] Kathy is hosting
multiple events

at the same exact time.

It is insane.

We're short one.
What the hell?

It's a disaster.

If you don't know the menu,

I can't even have you
serve food.

[in foreign language]

I'm becoming
more like Peter Fang.

I'm doing this
because I need to expand

and grow the Fang brand
and I need all of you guys

to make sure
I have my best foot forward.

[Christy] Happy?

-I'm very happy.
-Cool.

[Kathy] I think
it's absolutely time

to just put my foot down.

Bring your A-game.

We're gonna kick
House of Nanking's butt.

So far, all these things
that we're doing

has been panning out
really well.

-Cheers.
-Cheers.

Thank you.

The future is gonna have
to be driven by me.

You're not the right person

to take my family
legacy business.

Dad?

Like, can we talk about this?

No, no, no, no.

♪ I'm a legend
In the making ♪