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Ningbo specialties like a signature crab dish marinated in a heady mixture of aged rice wine and vinegar are the best reason to dine at YongChuan. But according to Li, the restaurant derives its Chinese name from the fusion of “Ningbo” and “Sichuan.” Meaning its head chef, Xing Zhong Qiu, also excels in familiar Sichuan hits like like ma po tofu and crisp ma la shrimp.

“Ningbo cuisine is salty and delicate, Sichuan is spicy and bold,” Li explains. “Combined, they create a very harmonious menu.” Sometimes the two regions even meet in one dish here. Case in point: YongChuan’s la zi chicken, featuring chewy rice cakes prized in Ningbo and spicy bits of fried chicken that arrive buried inside a scarlet heap of dried chile.

This being Lower East Side, the food at YongChuan comes with downtown vibes in a dark, moody space designed with handsome elongated light panels, walnut wood furnishings, and a sleek metallic grid on the ceiling. The wine list sports some Chinese-food friendly Rieslings and white Burgundies. And for dessert, there’s a sweet Hungarian tokaj with seaweed-filled mochi and delicately poached glutinous rice dumplings filled with black sesame.

Recently, YongChuan’s repertoire of regional Chinese cuisine expanded even further than Ningbo this April, when Li opened Async, a new bar tucked in the back of the restaurant. It has a slightly clubby vibe — think electronica music and a lava-lamp-like ceiling fixture — but as soon as you’re seated, you’re presented a rolled-up leather scroll depicting a map of China and a list of nine signature cocktails, each seeking to evoke a particular region of the country. Looking to experience the flavors of Beijing? Try the Peking duck-inspired Imperial Smoke. Curious about the famous teas of Fujian? Order the Jasmine Breeze, which features multiple varieties of tea.

To come up with Async’s inventive menu,  Li enlisted Droveen Zhang, the head bartender at the acclaimed Shanghai bar Epic. “China is a vast country with 54 ethnic groups,” says Zhang, for whom this is a first venture into the U.S. “Its expansive lands and diverse climates have given rise to a wide variety of unique cuisines and rich cultural histories. We wanted to use the traditional hometown flavors of China as inspiration to create this cocktail menu — it’s both a celebration and an expression of pride in our roots.”

Below are six dishes, and six drinks, you don’t want you to miss.

The post YongChuan and Async Celebrate Underrepresented Regions of Chinese Cuisine in the Lower East Side appeared first on Resy | Right This Way.