An oishii take on Sichuan food

Shisen Hanten by Chen Kentaro is a Sichuan outlet that belongs to a restaurant chain whose origins began in 1958. Kentaro is a third generation chef: his grandfather, Sichuan native Chen Kenmin, had arrived in Yokohama after honing his south-western Chinese cuisine in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. He then opened Akasaka Szechwan Restaurant, which became known as Shisen Hanten. The business grew into 14 outlets across six Japanese cities like Fukouka, Nagoya and Tokyo. Kenmin passed his skills to his son (Kentaro’s father), Kenichi, who became one of Japan’s famous Iron Chef winners and earned himself the nickname of The Szechwan Sage.

Excerpt from the February 2014 issue of epicure.