Across China: Young Uygur updates traditional dish for fast-food fans

For Alimas Ali Polat, a bowl of mutton pilaf is more than a meal -- it's a work of edible art.

In northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, traditional mutton pilaf, or zhuafan, is a staple dish that blends steamed rice, mutton, carrot, onion and sometimes dried fruit. The pilaf is popular among local ethnic minority groups.

When Alimas was studying in the United States, he cooked zhuafan for his friends, who raved about the dish and asked him for the recipe and where they could order it.

The young Uygur was inspired and decided to quit his job in Beijing and return to Urumqi, hoping to introduce modern restaurant management to the zhuafan cooking process.

"The taste of zhuafan in ethnic restaurants varies according to the chef's experience and mood," Alimas said. "But standardization is the key to modern catering."

Alimas's father, who has run a zhuafan restaurant in Urumqi for decades, was not fond of the idea at first.

In contrast to his father's ornate restaurant, which features ethnic decor, a floor show, delicate cutlery and many kinds of dishes, Alimas chose a simpler, more youthful theme.

Inside his restaurant, named "Wemily," graffiti and Marvel comic heroes take the place of elaborate hand-carved patterns and fancy furniture.

"The cost of my father's traditional restaurant is way too high. It's time to turn zhuafan into modern fast food," Alimas said.

His team puts a lot of effort into selecting and processing ingredients.

Lamb chops and shanks from free-range sheep, yellow carrots from southern Xinjiang and white onions from Hami in the east of the region add local flavor to the dish. The rice, grown in northeast China, is cooked in small pots to guarantee quality and taste.

"Whether a bowl of Zhuafan can be regarded as a piece of art depends on the chemical reaction when ingredients meet cooking methods," Alimas says in English in a video advertisement on his microblog account.

"In order to guarantee the quality of every zhuafan that Wemily produces, we are planning the world's first limited sales in China. It will not be sold in any other country," Alimas says in the video, an imitation of Steve Jobs's famous Apple product launch speeches.

Thanks to a warm reception among the young and working classes, Alimas opened a second restaurant in Urumqi within a year and is planning a third in downtown Shanghai.

"It is not just the zhuafan we make. It is heritage and embracing our traditional ethnic cuisine," he said. "My goal is that someday, in countries other than China, you might be able to order a bowl of zhuafan."

"Wemily" is short for "We are family," according to Alimas. "I really hope more people can taste our traditional food. Whoever you are, once you step into the restaurant, we are family." Endi