01x02 - One Night Only

[bunniefuu]

[Kathy Fang] Previously

on Chef Dynasty House of Fang.

I created cutting edge dishes

for San Francisco's most
elite influencers,

and faced my harshest
critic, my dad.

It went off without a hitch.

Mostly.

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

Arms crossed, pacing around.

Why don't you just
take a break?

I can feel your negative
energy from afar.

[loud bang]

So, now I have to pull
my team together

before they fall apart.

I'm Kathy Fang,

I'm the chef and owner

of steamed 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.

[cheering]

[Kathy] While most kids
grow up playing games,

I spent my childhood
studying cooking

and learning the secrets
of his success.

Get ready for service.

Today I am 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 countries
most sought after chefs.

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 ♪

♪ La la la la ♪

♪ Look at me now ♪

♪ La la la la ♪

♪ You could have chosen ♪

[Kathy] Pa!

-Hello, Papa.
-Hey!

First, I wanted to show
you what I got.

Mmm-hmm, I know what it is.

[Kathy] Well, as you know,

it's the fifth lunar
month of the year.

The fifth lunar
month of the year

in Chinese tradition

is known as an unlucky month.

My family is pretty
superstitious,

so, I brought spices to my dad

to ward off the evil spirits.

I don't feel like we do
these things much anymore.

I feel like I'm making

a lot of new changes.

We could use all
the luck that we can get.

-So, we'll hang this up later.
-Yeah. Okay.

Um, I wanna talk
to you about something.

-Maybe we could sit--
-More?

-Yes.
-Okay, okay.

Just a minute, just a minute.

You can take a rest, you know?

[Peter Fang] Okay, okay.

-[Kathy] Okay, Dad.
-Okay, okay.

My dad's in his 70s,

and he still does everything.

He will wash
the windows, tables...

Okay, all right, let's go in.

He wants to go
and do everything

because he thinks
he can do the best.

I'd like to take
the influencer dinner

one step further.

The purpose of doing
the influencer dinner

was to show my dad

that people actually want
me to expand the menu...

[lady] Mmm!

[lady] This is so good!

...and it was a huge success.

...because every dish
you made had a story.

...in your mouth
and it was unbelievable.

This is the perfect time

to get my dad's approval

to finally expand
the Fang menu.

I'm not waiting.

It's happening now.

I'd like to do one full menu

of just my dishes.

-Hmm.
-[Kathy chuckling]

The Fang menu
is something that

my dad and I developed
12 years ago.

50% of it is
actually my dishes,

and the other 50%
are my dad's dishes.

Any little change

is like moving a mountain.

I'm just praying my
dad can be open-minded.

We're gonna promote this
one night only menu.

None of the fang dishes
will be served that night.

So, this is my plan,

I'm doing a one
night only menu

where I will be serving

eight of my very own dishes

that's not on the Fang
regular menu.

...and I'd like to take four
dishes off of that menu,

and put it on to the Fang
menu permanently.

-Permanently?
-Yeah.

-Hmm. [chuckling]
-Chuckling.

Why one dish

or some of these sauce

can be serving for 30 years

in the same place
in the same restaurant,

people still coming
lined there.

Why is this?

Because they're amazing
dishes and sauces.

Because, yeah, that's
a good traditional thing.

People love it.

When you first started
out in the industry...

...you know, everyone was
doing the same Chinese food,

and you did not wanna
do the same thing.

[Peter] Mmm-hmm.

-But now I feel like...
-[laughing]

...we're kinda doing
the same thing.

[laughing]

[Kathy] My dad revolutionized
Chinese American cuisine.

He took things like
broccoli and tomatoes

and sweet potato,

not very, like, characteristic
of typical Chinese food,

and infused it into authentic
Chinese dishes.

It became popular
because my dad

didn't do the same thing,

and I think that
over the years

he's, like, forgotten that.

We're gonna need to color

outside of the lines
a little bit.

[Peter] Mmm.

Yeah. What can you do?
Let's see what happens.

Okay.

So, the last thing
I wanna cover with you,

since it's going to be
dragon boat festival,

I was thinking it would be

really fun for us to get

Fang and House
of Nanking staff

to go do some
dragon boat racing.

Ohhh!

[Kathy]
The dragon boat festival

is an age-old tradition
that celebrates

a famous poet and statesman,

and honors
the dragon river spirit

through fairs
and delicious eats.

-I've never actually
been on the boat...
-Oh!

...and I think it would be
a nice thing to do

just for all our employees.

There's a bit of fracture
between Long and Lillian,

and it's translating
down towards the staff,

and so, I thought our
own dragon boat race

would be the perfect
team-building experience.

-That's a good idea.
-Yeah, and then we can, uh,

maybe make some of the zongzi.

Zongzi.

Yeah, and wrap it
and then bring 'em over.

Chinese tamales
are called zongzi.

These are traditional tamales

that we eat during
the dragon boat festival.

It's actually a leaf

that is wrapped
around a sticky rice,

and the sticky rice
is filled with a big piece

of brazed pork belly.

You like this idea?

-Yeah, this idea
more comfortable.
-Okay.

-[Lillian] Hey, Kathy.
-[Kathy] Hi!

-How's it going?
-Good to see you.

[Lillian] What did you think
of the social influencer
dinner?

Um, that's actually something

I wanted to talk
to you and Long about.

[Long] Hey, y'all.

-[Kathy] Hi, how are you?
-[Long] How's it going?

[Kathy] The food at
the influencer dinner

was a success,

but the relationship
between Long and Lillian

is a huge problem.

Why don't you just
take a break?

I can feel your negative
energy from afar.

Thank you.

[loud bang]

What I need is
for them to really learn

how to work together.

I felt like the whole
event went pretty well,

but there were
definitely hiccups.

I feel like a lot of it

is stemming a little bit

from the interaction
between the two of you.

Look, Lillian came on board,

my team just doesn't
respect me anymore.

Like, I lost all control.

Okay, well,
that's just ridiculous.

There's another reason
why your staff

is losing respect for you,

it's not something that I did.

Long is super committed,

but he gets in the way
of his own success.

I wish he would just
focus on what's important,

and that's teamwork.

[Kathy] Long, Lillian's not
gonna come here

and take your position.

You're both on the same team.

Ultimately,
my goal is expansion,

and there's this happy medium

that can happen
between you guys

as long as you understand
the different roles, right?

You're the manager,
you manage the team.

Lillian has a vision.

She's gonna come
in and make some changes

so that we can elevate
this entire restaurant,

and that also
falls along service

and how things are
gonna be done

and that's going to change.

You have to work together.

Don't make me have to choose

between the two of you.

I need them both.

I want this to work.

I'm sorry that we have
to have this conversation,

I'll be better.

Moving forward, I'm gonna
swallow some of my pride,

going to try to give her
the benefit of the doubt.

If Kathy wants me
to work with her,

I'll make it work.

Apology accepted,

and let's just make sure
that doesn't happen again.

Besties?

[laughing]

-[Long] I'll put
one right here.
-Okay.

[Long] There's enough
tables for that.

There's all four...

Well, I mean, there's
four, three, six...

Can we get everybody

for a quick short meeting?

At the influencer dinner,

I thought overall
it went quite well,

but there were
a couple hiccups.

As we all know.

So, that said,

I still think we're moving
in the right direction,

and I wanna take it further.

I am actually working
on a very special

one night only dinner menu.

Yay!

[Kathy] We're not serving
the Fang regular menu.

We are going to do
only my own creations,

and they are going to be
pushing the envelope

a little bit more than what
we normally have at Fang.

[phone ringing]

Of course!

My dad is calling me.

He must have known that
I'm changing the menu,

so, he's, like, "Wait,
what's going on?

Something is changing!"

Um, okay, I want you guys

to promote, promote,
promote this event.

Let everybody who comes
in know about it

so that they're excited,
they're gonna book.

I wanna a full house of people

excited to try
these new dishes.

All right, so, um,

you guys can continue
on with dinner shift,

and bring your A game.

I am, like, the promoter.

Like, brand ambassador
to the core.

That's my jam.

-[guest] Thank you!
-[Christy] Of course!

And this is gonna be the drink
menu right here, okay guys?

But Chef Kathy
is doing a special

one night only
brand new menu event.

A whole menu of items
that aren't from this menu.

She's gonna custom make it.

[guest] Wow!

[Christy] Yeah, it's gonna
be on Tuesday evening,

so, you can kinda
taste her specialty.

He's in! He's in!
He wants to do it.

It never hurts
to bat your eyelashes.

Especially when you're
wearing the long whispies.

[Long grunting]

Where do you wanna put...

I'll put it downstairs.

Excuse me.

First time at Fang?

-Yes.
-It is! Awesome.

I did notice that Long
isn't really greeting guests.

Yeah.

So, mix with these two,

and then there's a ginger...

All right, do you wanna go
talk to him about that then

or should I?

What's up.

-[Lillian] Hey, Long.
-Yes.

[Lillian] How's it going?

You know, I never noticed
your new hair, is that new?

[chuckling]

No, it's not new.

-Oh, sorry.
-It's okay.

All right, what did
you wanna talk about?

There isn't anyone actually

-greeting the guests
in the front.
-Okay.

[Lillian] You need to focus
on, um, identifying the VIPs.

You know, I'm trying to be
on my best behavior this time,

and she's still
down my throat,

still giving me orders.

All right, all right,
I know, we're trying--

And then, so,
you will recognize them

as they come through the door.

I'm trying so hard
to keep this face smiling

in front of her.

...and then, you know,
if I'm here,

I would love to just
greet them

and make sure they have
the whole star treatment.

[Long] But isn't
everyone a VIP though?

[Lillian] Yes, everyone is.

[Kathy] Clearly there's still
a lot of awkwardness

and tension between them.

I mean, I can appreciate
that they're really trying

to make this work,
but the reality is...

...we've got
a lot of work to do.

To be continued.

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

[cheering and chanting]

[Kathy] We've got
Team Fang in one boat,

and House of Nanking
in the other.

Follow the drummer!
Boom, boom, boom, boom.

I was, like, "That,
I can do that."

[Kathy] We got it,
we got it, we got it!

This is serious!

[Kathy] Thanks
for coming in early.

-I am working on a couple
of the dishes...
-[Long] Okay.

-...for the one
night only menu.
-Okay.

[Kathy] I wanna give
Long an opportunity

to show the rest
of the team that

one, he's very knowledgeable,

and two, he's going to be

the person that
will represent me

while I'm busy
cooking in the kitchen.

This will be a big
morale boost for him.

So, right now
I'm making the sauce

for Nashville hot
fried pot stickers.

[Long] Wait, where did
you get that idea?

So, I always loved

Nashville hot fried chicken.

Like, the seasoning,
the spices,

and I always thought
it'd be really cool

to do a rub that's like
that on a pot sticker

-because at
House of Nanking...
-Mmm-hmm.

-...my dad is known
for his fried pot stickers.
-[Long] Mmm. Huh.

A pot sticker is, like, fried,
it's, like, comfort food,

but the filling inside
can be juicy and, like,

that sauce would work
really well on a pot sticker.

-So, it's like a take on it.
-Okay.

These dishes
I'm creating are way,

way outside
of the traditional dishes

that we have at Fang.

Most of these dishes
are influenced

by my travels
all over the world.

These dishes, you would
normally not think of as being

associated with Chinese food.

I'm gonna actually
batter this up.

[Long] This is the first time
I've seen battering dumplings.

[Kathy] Well, it'll create
that kind of extra crust
on it.

It'll pick up on
the spices as well.

[Long] Okay.

-Try it.
-Okay, I'm gonna try it.

Oh, it has a tang in it.

Yeah, this is gonna be
more, like, spicy.

There's a little bit
of, like, sour.

Do you think
it's spicy enough?

I feel like the chili
flakes for some people

might be a little too much,
but I like it.

Seeing Kathy work
in the kitchen is amazing.

You can see her brain working.

There's a kind of a joy
and excitement and anxiety

all mixed together, but that's
what makes art amazing.

[Kathy] There you go!

[Long] Awesome!

So, the original pot sticker
that everybody loves...

-...has that, um,
honey mustard sauce.
-Mmm-hmm.

-But I do think everything's
on that sweeter profile.
-Mmm-hmm.

These things are hot.

I mean, don't get me wrong,
these are really good pot
stickers,

but I don't think
these customers

are ready
for something this hot.

-It's too hot
in the kitchen for you?
-[laughing]

[Kathy] Turning
a Chinese pot sticker

into a Nashville
hot fried potsticker

is genius!

No one has done this before.

When you think
of a Southern hot
fried chicken,

you've got that crispy batter
and that juicy chicken.

Well, instead of that
crispy batter,

I've got that crispy
dumpling skin,

and inside you've got chicken,

but in a different form.

It's the ground-up chicken.

People are gonna bite into it

and totally think
of the hot fried chicken.

Flavors are all there,
it's very similar,

but it's a pot sticker
instead of the chicken.

The next dish

is the expl*sive cauliflower.

This dish was
actually inspired by

-a lot of my customers.
-[Long] Okay.

[Kathy] I have a lot
of customers who
are from India.

They always tell me
about this dish.

It's crispy cauliflower.

-It's really tender
on this inside...
-Mmm.

[Kathy] ...and it has
this sweet and sour
sauce that's spicy.

[Long] Okay.

The expl*sive cauliflower

touches upon a lot
of Indian flavor profiles.

You've got spicy heat
from chili powder,

we use our own custom
five-spice blend,

there's turmeric,

ginger powder, cumin,

so, these are all very
distinctively Indian.

[Long]
So, how's this different
than the traditional?

[Kathy] Chinese people
don't actually eat

-a lot of fried vegetables.
-[Long] Mmm-hmm.

-They want it to be crisp...
-[Long] Mmm-hmm.

-[Kathy] ...and not soft
and, like, soggy.
-Mmm-hmm.

You know, it's rich, savory,

but because it's vegetables,
like, it's not too heavy.

[Kathy] I wanna do
what my dad did,

like, decades ago.

I wanna create
a name for myself

as the Chinese chef

who puts innovative twists
on Chinese cuisine.

These exciting changes
to our permanent menu

will not only drive
in new customers

and more customers,

it'll create buzz around Fang,

it'll create buzz
around me as a chef,

and, most importantly,

it will propel Fang
to the next level.

♪ It's about to go off ♪

♪ Like a firework ♪

♪ Off like a firework ♪

So, I'm glad you can
come join my dad and I

on our little shopping trip.

Yeah, thank you
for inviting me.

You know, growing up,
I didn't know much about

my Asian culture and heritage.

My name is Katie Chungwa.

I am from Boise, Idaho,

and I am a server at Fang.

I used to be half Chinese
and half European...

-What?
-but now I'm Korean.

What do you mean,
"Used to be?"

-Because, well...
-How'd you do that?

-[Katie] ...my mom
lived in Korea...
-Okay.

...but they thought
she was Chinese,

and then I took the DNA test,

and it said I was Korean,

so, I had to break
the new to her.

-And according
to her tattoo...
-[laughing]

...she still is Chinese.

What? What tattoo?
What does it say?

[Katie] Yeah, I have
a, "Made in China" tattoo.

What? No way!

Show it, prove it!

[group laughing]

Did you know that
San Francisco Chinatown

is probably the biggest
Chinese community

outside of China?

Wow! No, I did not know that.

Aha! Yes

I don't think Kathy realizes

how special this
day is for me.

It makes me feel like
I'm part of the family.

it makes me feel like I have
a place in this culture.

Growing up in Boise,

my nickname in high
school was, "Asian Girl."

I didn't grow up knowing much
about where I came from.

I don't have
that Asian culture

that I'm able to really
pass on to my kids someday,

and so, I've really
made a point

to try and figure out more
of who I am in that aspect

and tying myself
to that origin.

[Kathy] When it
comes to Chinatown,

my dad essentially
runs the show.

There's just this
aura about him.

He walks into every market

and he just yells
out an order.

It doesn't matter
if there's a line,

they're, like, "Okay, got it!"

I'm, like, "Okay, no tickets?"

Like, "you don't need
to write down anything?"

[Katie] Thank you so
much for bringing me today.

Peter, you're very
much the boss

-when we walk into the market.
-[Peter laughing]

[Kathy] He's
the boss everywhere.

[Katie] Yeah, you're
the boss everywhere.

[Kathy] For the one
night only menu,

I'm also gonna have dishes
like seafood rice stew,

the fried catfish,
which you're excited about

'cause those are a little
bit more traditional.

I'm also gonna have
other dishes like

an expl*sive cauliflower.
[chuckling]

-[Peter] Okay.
-[Kathy] I'm gonna
fry the cauliflower...

-[Peter] Okay.
-[Kathy]...and a charred
gai lan.

-and a Nashville
fried pop sticker.
-Whoa, whoa, whoa, what?

A Nashville,

a hot fried pot sticker.

Whoa, whoa, whoa...

[laughing]

...my mouth won't accept
that kind of things.

You go ahead and do it
since last time

you did upstairs,
it was pretty good.

Now we see how that work out.

Okay, Katie, you heard that.

-I heard that.
-[laughing]

I heard that.

Dreaming!

[Kathy] All right, guys,
the dishes are ready.

[Christy] Wow!

It looks just so, so good.

[Kathy] All right, did you
guys take a look at the menu?

[Christy] We did,
I'm so excited!

[Kathy] Okay.

So, I'm gonna go through
each of these dishes.

So, I want you guys
to know exactly what's in it,

and why I created it.

Everyone who comes in tonight
for one night only menu night

can only have the eight
dishes that I've created.

This is the Sichuan
dusted catfish.

It's something you
don't really see

on Chinese menus,
if you do, it's usually,
like, the whole fish.

So this is very
atypical preparation.

It's not a Fang menu.
It's gonna be very different.

Not traditional.

We will have comment cards
to learn what

the top four dishes
are going to be,

and we're gonna put that
on our menu permanently.

This is something that
I've put a lot of years into,

a lot of blood, sweat,
and tears.

As I'm describing this,
go ahead and dig in
and try it as well.

The inspiration behind
these dishes is my travels.

[Christy] This is gonna
be a crowd favorite.

[woman]
Yeah, it looks amazing.

[Kathy]
The mapo tofu rigatoni,

I always thought that
Italian food and Chinese food

have, like, a lot of overlap.

I look at mapo tofu
as almost like a ragu.

And you put that
on the rigatoni,
the pasta can hold up

to that heavier sauce
and the pork and the tofu.

The charred Chinese gai lan
is Chinese broccoli.

The way that I'm cooking this
is very unique,

nobody actually chars
Chinese broccoli.

It reminds me of when
they fry Brussel sprouts,

-it has that same
kind of texture.
-[Kathy] Yes.

That is actually kind
of where it came from.

The crispiness with the sauce,
so good.

[Kathy] This one here
is inspired by Greek cuisine.

The yogurt and chicken
is one of my favorite.

Fried chicken paired
with a yogurt,

very similar to a tzatziki.

Tastes like
a banh mi deconstructed
with yogurt, right?

[Kathy] Yeah.

My favorite creation
is probably going

to be my dad's least favorite.

I know for a fact that
my dad's gonna look at that

and be like, "This does
not belong here."

-[all laughing]
-"Yogurt? Where am I?"

I'm gonna have two dishes that

are slightly more
traditional for my dad,

the catfish, and then
the seafood stew.

The seafood stew
is Vietnamese-inspired.

[Christy] Mmm.

When the food is good,
you do the happy dance.

-I do it and I don't even
realize I'm doing it.
-Me, too.

-They're literally rushing me
through that right now.
-I do the shimmy. Mmm.

The stakes are really high.

We've been promoting
and marketing this

to all of our patrons.

This is the first time
I've ever done

a menu that's made
entirely of my own dishes.

If something, even one thing
goes wrong,

my dad's gonna be like,

"Why did you have
to go changing things

when things are not broken?"

We got your back.

Okay, now, Christy,

tell me about the inspiration

behind the mapo tofu rigatoni.

Um...

I am just figuring out
the regular menu,

and so now I'm having
to learn this on top of it.

Ah, I got scared.

-[all laughing]
-[Christy] I blew it.

-I literally rose...
-It's okay. It's okay.

I didn't know what to do.
I feel like Kathy
can be, like,

a little bit intimidating
'cause she's so beautiful
and she looks

-at you right in the eye.
-Looks right at you.

I highly suggest you guys
look at your notes

before your shift,

and really remember
what's in these dishes.

Okay, now, something
very fun and exciting

for all of you.

On Saturday,
I have a dragon boat
race planned,

-What?
-for all of our staff at Fang.

And House of Nanking,
the sister restaurant.

[Katie] I know nothing.

-Yeah, like, cool!
-I don't know what
a dragon boat race is.

I think of Mulan and, like,
Chinese movies.

Yeah, that's, I can...
we're gonna go with that.

-Is that it? All right.
-We're gonna go with that.

[Kathy] It's kind of like
a potluck setup, so,

-[Christy] Cool.
-bring something
you wanna share

-with everybody else.
-[Katie] So we need
to cook it ourselves?

-[Kathy] That would
be preferred, yes.
-[Christy] Okay.

Okay. Let's go get ready.

[upbeat music playing]
♪ Come and get it now ♪

♪ Come and get it now ♪

♪ Adding O's to my
bank account ♪

♪ It's all a girl
can think about ♪

♪ I know the haters
talking 'bout me ♪

♪ You can flex
and think you're cool ♪

Welcome, my name is Katie.
I'm gonna take care
of you tonight, okay?

Chef Kathy
is introducing eight

completely brand-new dishes.

Yay! I know, it's exciting.

[Kathy] My hope is that

they're gonna be like,
"Wow!" [laughs]

[Joshua] That one's supposed
to have a little bit
of a Southern flair to it.

Yeah, exactly.

I wanna see the customers

loving this adventurous side.

-So it's mapo tofu,
but it's on rigatonis.
-Yes, rigatonis.

Oh, that sounds risky,
but I love it.

Then I know I'm on
the right track.

[Katie] And we just want
your feedback on everything.

You can just drop it
in that vase right over here
on your way out.

-I want your honest opinion.
-[woman] So much pressure.

So much pressure. [laughs]

[man] We're probably
gonna wanna try everything.

-Yeah, we wanna do
a family style.
-You wanna try everything?

[Christy]
Oh, my God, absolutely.
Let's do that.

[Kathy] Did you try
the hot fried
Nashville potstickers?

[man] I did, they're good.

[Kathy] Good.

[in Cantonese]

[in English]
That's all new dishes.

My dad notices everything,

and he's gonna be looking
at the reactions

and analyzing everything.

If people don't
like the dishes,

bringing up another
opportunity to do this

would be, like, impossible.

Papa, papa.

This one is the mapo tofu,
uh, rigatoni.

So it's an Italian pasta.

Bacon on the top
and then some cheese.

Parmesan cheese.

The mapo tofu is like a ragu,

-it would, like,
work beautifully.
-Oh, no, don't do that.

'Cause my mapo tofu so suffer.

It's Italian pasta?

-Yes.
-Oh, no, no, no, no.

And then I have a chicken
that has yogurt.

-Oh.
-Yogurt sauce.

How come you
bring Greek sauce?

Do you have this say
"Chinese Greek Restaurant"?

-[laughs]
-Oh, no.

What are they eating?
They eating Chinese food?

-Or eating Western food?
-Yes, they'll...

They're Chinese dishes,
but a Western take on it.

You just have to try it,
and you gotta see. [laughs]

-The yogurt sauce.
-[Peter laughs]

[Peter] It's really yogurt.

We're gonna do a little
salt and pepper.

Then I'm gonna put
the fried chicken.

The pickled radish.

Fennel.

You think you wanna
try a piece?

[laughs] You have
to try it, Dad.

You don't like
the yogurt sauce? [laughs]

I like eating yogurt separate.

Oh, come on. This is,

-this a Chinese restaurant.
-[laughs]

[Kathy] And you look,
there's a whole house

of people who wanna
come and try the food.

-We'll see what
the customers think about it.
-All right.

[upbeat music playing]

♪ I deserve it,
I work hard for it ♪

♪ Hey, gimme, gimme,
gimmie it ♪

♪ Hey, hey ♪

♪ I deserve it,
I work hard for it ♪

[Caleb] All right, all our
business tech guys, so,

no matter who you are in tech,

you are tech support
for your family.

-[laughs]
-[Caleb] Period.

Pretty sure Bill Gates
probably does tech support
for his family.

So we got cards,
we've got people who say,

"Bad", "Good",

let's just tally up
the worst and the best.

[Kathy] The moment of truth.

I am, at this point,
terrified, anxious,

my dad's gonna
be looking at these
comment cards with us,

everything's on the line here.

What if people don't like it?
What if the comment
cards come back

and it's not what I expected?

Okay, I just wanna
take a moment.

Oh, I'm nervous.

[Caleb]
Okay, how about I do this?
I'm gonna keep track.

We'll just save the top ones
and the worst ones.

Yeah. This one's favorite
was the rice salad.

Least favorite was
the Nashville potstickers.

-[laughs]
-[Kathy] This one...

Uh, catfish. "Love this dish,
was my favorite."

They liked
the seafood rice stew.
That's what I like.

They said the catfish
was amazing.

"The sauce, you should
sell in a bottle."

"Like Brussel sprouts,

however, the gai lan
can be less cooked."

They say the catfish
and the gai lan

should definitely
be on the menu.

-[Kathy] Yeah, top one.
-[Caleb] I love that.

[sighs] This top one was,
uh, yogurt and chicken.

Few people said
it was amazing. I don't...

-[laughs]
-[Peter laughs]

Just wasted my chicken.

-[laughs]
-[Peter] Yeah.

I'm surprised that the two
most traditional dishes

actually made it
top of the list.

But it'll be easier for me
to convince my dad

to put it on the regular menu.

I told you in the kitchen,
I said, "This is bad.

Too much."

[Caleb] So if you look
at the top four,

the catfish,
seafood rice stew,

number three, the gai lan,

and the last one
is yogurt and chicken.

[Peter] I don't know.

-I didn't like that.
-[Caleb] No, no, no, no.

[stammering] You, you,
you put in the dish
inside the menu,

I don't want to see
these words, "yogurt".

Everybody's saying you have
to be more adventurous, right?

-They're enjoying
the fact that...
-[Caleb] You're saying that.

...that we're doing
cool, new things.

I'm not getting rid
of the Fang menu,

I'm just adding
four new dishes.

You see, this is too much.

This is the last thing
I wanna deal with.

I need to talk to my dad.

I just need to find
the right time.

[groans]

[upbeat music playing]
♪ What's my favorite word? ♪

♪ Always, always ♪

♪ Always out here
on the ground ♪

[woman in Cantonese]

Come on.

Sit down, we are learning

how to wrap tamales.

I actually grew up

wrapping these
with my grandmother.

And my kitchen staff
actually makes them every year

during Dragon Boat Festival
and gifts them to us.

We are very lucky to have

such a loyal set of staff.

Quite honestly, without them,

none of our restaurants
would be possible.

I was thinking
for the dragon boat race,

-we should make them.
-[Katie] Awesome.

Cool.

These Chinese tamales
remind me of, like,
an Asian Hot Pocket.

[Kathy]
Sausage, there's egg yolk,

dried shrimp.

And I love Hot Pockets,
grew up on Hot Pockets.

So it's like, you unwrap it,

you take your few bites
and inside, there's, like,
more of a surprise.

[Kathy] Piece of pork belly,
this is, like, one big meal.

[Christy] This is legit
Chinese Hot Pocket, 100%.

It definitely went up
to the Hot Pocket.

Are those banana leaves?
What type of leaves are those?

-[Kathy] This is lotus leaf.
-Lotus leaf.

A Filipino version
is called suman.

So it's super similar,
like sticky rice.

And I used to roll it
with my grandma
and my parents as well

-when we were little.
-[Kathy] Oh, really?

But with banana leaf.

I love that.

-[Katie] Will you show me?
-Okay.

[Christy] And then, oh, like,
right down the middle.

[Kathy] And the pork belly.

There we go.

Need some of this.

[Christy] After you fill it
with some rice

and ingredients,
then you add it.

I don't have much
of a relationship

with my culture
or my heritage.

My mom was adopted
here in America,

from China, when she was 14,

by these wonderful
white people, and...

-Can I say that? [laughs]
-[producer] Yeah.

[Katie] She didn't have
a very good past in China.

And being around

more Asian people

and seeing these connections
that they have,

I really wish I had that.

-Oh.
-Over?

-[Katie] All over.
-[Christy] Okay. You're sure.

-I didn't even make it.
-It's okay. It's okay.

-Hi, Kathy.
Hey, hi, everybody.
-[all] Hi!

We're showing, uh,
Katie and Christy
how to make them.

With, uh, Grandma and Grandpa,

they used to sit over
a bucket with the rice

and they would make
all these different ones.

Um, because I was young,
they would make baby ones

and they would make
these little small sweet ones,

and tie them together,

-and I would, like,
run around with it,
-Right, right.

-I'm like, "Oh, it's so cute!"
-You still remember, huh?

-Yeah. Mmm-hmm.
-Yes.

So then after we wrap these,
how do you cook them?

We can, uh, steam them,
or you can boil them.

They steamed some earlier.

[Christy] Wow, that looks
so good.

Dad, do you actually know
what the reason is

that we...
these Chinese tamales?

[Kathy] Famous?

Was the guy a poet
or a politician?

Well, both.

[Kathy] Spirit.

[Christy] So we have
to make a lot of these

for the dragon boat race
this weekend, right?

Yeah, we'll be here all night.

-[Christy] Okay.
-[Kathy laughs]

[upbeat music playing]
♪ Hey, hey ♪

♪ Hey ♪

♪ Bill it, yeah, yeah,
bill it ♪

♪ Bill it, catcher,
worth it, mighty ♪

[woman] House of Nanking,
let's go!

[people chanting]

[Kathy] We're gonna go
head-to-head

across this canal.

We've got Team Fang
in one boat

and House of Nanking
in the other.

And the team that crosses
the bridge first wins.

[instructor] All right, so,
one hand above the blade,

top hand like that.

[Kathy]
Definitely Team Fang is gonna
be the stronger competitor,

we've got a bunch
of young'uns,

we've got, like,
athletes, practically.

But House of Nanking staff,

these people are machines.

And they've worked
together for so long,

so they could have
that team advantage.

[laughs]

[instructor] See if we
can do it, everyone together.

It's about teamwork.

Everyone needs to move
at the exact same time

doing the exact same thing.

[Long]
I could've sat next to Josh,
I could've sat next to Kathy,

out of all people
to sit next to,

it had to be Lillian.

Scoot over to the edge.
There we go.

What, you need more space?

They said, I'm just
listening to instructions.

You told me my flaw was not
listening to instructions.

I'm trying my best
to work with Long,

but he's just sitting there
being awkward,
how he always is.

[Kathy] All right, guys,
this is just
like dinner shift.

Bring your A-game,

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

[woman] House of Nanking,
ignore them!

-[man] Boo!
-[woman] They're not here!

[people booing]

I'm ready, I'm ready to go.

I'm a little nervous,
but I feel like we got
a good team at Fang.

Paddles up.

Lead the way.

Stay together.

Stay... look up, look up.

[Kathy] Team Fang is having
a rough start.

We are not in sync.

People are hitting each other
with the paddles.

[Lillian] We're totally off.

We're off from
the front people.

And I'm looking over
at House of Nanking,

and everyone is in
perfect sync.

Oh, damn. This is serious.

So let's go.

[upbeat music playing]
♪ Oh, yeah ♪

♪ Hey ♪

[Christy] I am getting
splashed by my partner
up here.

I am behind Long,
getting splashed
the whole damn time,

because he is just rowing
to his own Long beat.

And I'm like,
"Bro, follow the drummer."

One, two.

Boom, boom, boom, boom.

I was like,
"That, I can do that."

-[woman] Yes.
-[people whooping]

[woman] We got it, we got it,
we got it, come on.

[Caleb]
Yo, they're catching up.
They're catching up.

[Christy]
We're giving it our all.

[woman] We don't lose,
we don't lose.

Let's pick it up.

[Long] We are neck to neck
right now

with House of Nanking,

at this point
it's anyone's game.

[woman] To the finish line,
we're almost there.

[upbeat music playing]
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪

[all cheering]

So we in the race,
obviously, because--

Obviously, because
we're winners.

[laughs] We are winners.

Wow, they overtook them.

I actually think
House of Nanking
technically won, but, yeah.

[clears throat]
I don't think so.

I think it was...
It was really, pretty...

it looked like
it might've been.

It was a photo finish, yeah.

Oh, my God.

I have never seen
anything like this.

It's, like, such a cool vibe.

Remember how I was saying
how I wanted to be the...

-[laughs]
-She wanted to...

-...she wants to be the end
of the dragon--
-I wanna be in the dragon,

I wanna be the end
of the dragon.

-She wants to be the butt
of the dragon.
-Just twerking the whole time.

Thank you, everyone.

Some of you may not know
that some of the staff

has been with us for over
20-plus years.

-Some of them have actually...
-[people applauding]

[Kathy] Yes. [laughs]

Some of them have seen me
as, like, a highschooler.

And we just can't
thank you guys enough.

[in Cantonese]

[in English]

[Kathy] Doing an event
like this can

bring in a positive light,

that look at where we are now.

I think that
that should boost morale,

and that should also
just bring everyone
closer together.

We had the Fang staff wrap

some Chinese tamales
for you guys,

zongzi, so, let's eat, guys.

[all cheering]

[Christy] Okay, I think,
I think I've got enough.

-[Christy] I don't know.
-[Katie] Look at over
here, though.

-[Katie] You still got a lot.
-Yeah, um...

While the Dragon Boat Festival
is a Chinese tradition,

I wanted my staff
to actually bring

food from their own cultures,

to celebrate and learn more
about their heritage.

-[Katie] What's this one?
-[man] That one's mine,

so it's anko,
and then it has shrimp.

[Christy] I brought
Filipino lumpia,

which is Filipino eggrolls.

So very small, bite-sized
pork eggrolls.

And that's actually
what I used to roll
with my family growing up.

[Katie]
So I brought potstickers,

pretty much the only
Asian dish I can make.

And I learned it
from my mother,

who learned it
from her mother.

This buffet and spread
was a total feast,

and I feel like it was
a true representation

of every single one of us.

Wow, these tamales
are so good.

Hey, thanks.
Me and Katie made them.

-[Joshua] Oh, you did?
-[Christy] Yes.

-[Joshua] Oh, good job.
-We didn't wanna say
anything at first,

until everyone said
they were amazing.

-Say we liked it or not?
-Yeah. [laughs]

I know it's gonna
be a little awkward
between us.

Today was kind of a reminder

of how we can all excel
if we just work together.

And we have been, together.

Even though things
are a little awkward
between me and Long,

I am very inspired
to just make it work

and hope that
he can reciprocate.

Well, the funny
thing is, like,

I think people that
are very similar,

they don't like each other.

-[laughs]
-So I think that's why maybe
we're not getting along.

It was fun to be right
next to you

-working on the boat, right?
-Yes.

No more animosity.

-I definitely wanna just
work together and have fun.
-Cheers.

Cheers.

-Hug?
-Hug?

-Hug it out?
-All right, all right,
all right, all right.

I don't know if we can
be good friends one day,

but I hope that, like,
after a long shift after work,

we can just have
a drink or two

and just be normal.

It feels amazing to see

the staff coming
together as a team.

I finally feel like everyone

is gelling.

[Katie laughing]
Like, I, I know.

But there's still just
a lot more work to do.

-Why don't we, um,
talk about it over there?
-Okay.

[Kathy] Next on Chef Dynasty:
House of Fang...

Do you wanna wake up,
like, 24 years from now
and be like,

-[laughs] No, not at all.
-and still do the same thing,
the same menu?

I think it's absolutely time
to just put my foot down.

I wanna bring those
four menu items
on our menu.

I can't wait any longer.

I'm gonna be cooking
for Kristi Yamaguchi.

I'm gonna have Long
and Krista be in charge.

I'm trying to execute
an extremely high-end dinner

for very refined guests,

out of a cafe
that generally serves

French fries and hot dogs.

This kitchen is a nightmare.