1988
The foundation.
I entered culinary school and began learning the discipline behind Chinese cooking: knife work, fire, dough, broth, repetition—and the patience to do it properly.
ARCHIVE PHOTO PLACEHOLDER
CHEF HUANG · 1988
CHEF HUANG · 1988
OUR STORY · CHEF XINGYU HUANG
The flavor I kept looking for.
I came to America with a memory of how Sichuan food should taste: fragrant, layered, alive. This is the path that led from my first lesson to the food we make at Song today.
2000
Across the ocean.
I came to America and began again in a New York Chinese kitchen, then continued in Connecticut. I learned how to cook for a new home without losing the flavor I knew.
WORKING-KITCHEN PHOTO PLACEHOLDER
NEW YORK → CONNECTICUT
NEW YORK → CONNECTICUT
2014–17
Sharpening the standard.
Fourteen years on the line, refining my craft in American Chinese kitchens, taught me what I would—and would not—compromise on. I opened Shu Restaurant, then Han Hot Pot House.
CHEF AT WORK · PHOTO PLACEHOLDER
2018
Song.
Song brought that same Sichuan standard to the food made for sharing: handmade dumplings, wontons, noodles, pancakes, and small plates. Honest food, made to order.
HANDMADE DUMPLINGS · PHOTO PLACEHOLDER
Still making it by hand.
Every dish at Song begins with a simple question: is this something I would be proud to serve my own family? If the answer is not yes, it does not leave the kitchen.