Taishanese-born Vancouver chef Ken Li delves into the art of dim sum at Mott 32
Building on a solid base of traditional cooking techniques, the local culinary artist gets creative in the fine-dining Chinese restaurant kitchen
Mott 32. Photo by Leila Kwok
WATCHING MOTT 32 DIM SUM chef Jian Hui (Ken) Li make hot-and-sour Iberico-pork Shanghainese soup dumplings is as mesmerizing as any mindfulness app. He uses his hands to roll out dough (that’s made with carrot juice for a bold orange colour) into a perfect sleek cylinder, then breaks it into one-inch sections that he moves about on a large wooden cutting board, dollops mingling on a dance floor of flour. Moving swiftly, he takes a wooden roller about the diameter of a dime to flatten each piece to the thickness of mere millimetres, then, as one hand continues to roll back and forth, the other shapes the dough into a circle, turning, turning, turning. He fills each one with the ingredients for the restaurant’s most popular dim-sum item and seals the dumplings, still turning, turning, turning, delicately pinching the top in a swirl so they look like blooms that haven’t yet opened up to the sun. You can get lost in this culinary trance.
After being steamed, the dumplings are served on individual bamboo discs, each with an arched handle, basketlike.
“The hot-and-sour soup dumpling to me is one of our best dim sum dishes, our signature dim sum dish,” Li tells Stir. “The taste and textures compliment every aspect of how it is put together; it’s a balance of flavours that go so well together without overpowering one another.”
Hailing from Taishan, a city in China’s Guangdong province, Li is unique among dim sum chefs in that he first mastered Northern cooking before diving into the craft of dim sum, which originated in country’s south. He’s widely considered one of Vancouver’s most innovative young dim-sum chefs, with Mott 32 landing a spot on Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants 2020. The fine-dining Chinese restaurant situated adjacent (but in no way related) to the Georgia Street hotel that no longer bears Donald Trump’s name shut down in August of that dreadful year and has recently reopened.
Chef Jian Hui (Ken) Li. Photo by Mott 32.
Mott 32 is run by Maximal Concepts, which has several restaurants throughout Asia, and originated in Hong Kong. Taking its name from the location of New York City’s first Chinese convenience store, Mott 32 also exists in Dubai, Bangkok, and Los Angeles and specializes in Cantonese, Sichuan, and Beijing-style dishes. It has won multiple other awards, including CNN’s Best Luxury Dim Sum. In addition to all-day dim sum, which is made fresh daily, Peking duck is another draw: the Fraser Valley duck is roasted with apple wood, takes 48 hours to prepare in a custom-made air dryer and oven, and is carved table-side with precision and artistry. Pieces of crispy skin are served with condiments for dipping; the meat comes with supple snow-white rice-flour pancakes and a shallow bowl of peanut and sesame sauce that a server swirls into a dazzling pattern at the table.
Along with Li, the culinary team is made up of powerhouse talent: Overseeing things is executive chef Lee Man Sing, who has a Michelin background and used to work at the prestigious Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. Vancouver executive chef Hongwei He helms the local kitchen, using premium, sustainable ingredients (including Ocean Wise seafood) and adding B.C.- inspired renditions of various dishes to Sing’s menu. Chen Sheng Hu, who worked in Vancouver Chinese restaurants for decades before retiring, has returned to the kitchen to oversee the flames as barbecue chef. Wine director Robert Stelmachuk is an advanced sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers and one of the country’s most knowledgeable oenophiles.
For Li, the love of culinary arts goes way back to childhood.
“I enjoyed cooking when I was young,” Li tells Stir. “My family opened a restaurant doing western-style Chinese food. I learned a lot of the basics from my parents, who gave me the attention to teach me classic Cantonese cooking techniques. I remember my first time having a dim sum dish called the cheung fun [steamed rice noodle roll], a very traditional dish. It intrigued me in its simplicity of ingredients yet complexity and skill to make it. The art of dim sum to me is the ability to adapt and take in creative elements from other cuisines, be they French, Spanish, or western, and make it your own. Of course you are building upon a base knowledge of traditional dim-sum techniques and cuisine first.
“I really love food,” he adds. “I love being surrounded by good food. Being able to learn and being able to taste and smell everything I’m making brings me joy everyday. It motivates me to be creative and work my hardest.”
Mott 32. Photo by Leila Kwok
Another example of the creative offerings at Mott 32 is soft quail egg, Iberico pork, black truffle siu mai. Its preparation is timed in such a way that once the meat is cooked, the egg remains soft-boiled in the middle. The egg keeps cooking during the time it takes for the plate to make it to the diner’s table. Once the lid is removed, it hardens, dim sum details worked out down to the second.
“My cuisine honours traditions while exploring new world techniques and ingredients,” Li says. “I love being able to create dim sum that packs so much diversity and tradition.
“I have some creativity that inspires me to try new things with food and test my own limits in the kitchen,” he adds. “My hope is that everyone can try and appreciate dim sum.”.
Mott 32. Leila Kwok photo
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