Chinese entertaining traditions date thousands of years, according to Austin Koo, who will share them with the public this week as he celebrates his 20th anniversary in Chicago.
Koo, generally credited with having introduced cuisine from the Hunan region to Chicago, emigrated here in 1972 and opened the Peking Orchid Room on Broadway.
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By 1976, he had added two House of Hunan restaurants (3150 N. Lincoln Ave. and 525 N. Michigan Ave.) to his resume. Next month, Koo will open his 20th restaurant, Szechuan Glenview, at 2857 Pfingsten Rd. But even back in his native China, he was no stranger to entertaining.
”Since Chinese families have relatives all over the country, it may take a while for all of them to visit,” Koo adds. ”So we have a `Continuous Dinner` that is a month long. The idea is some food is for eating, and some for decorating.”
Koo showed a ceremonial presentation platter. The Chinese view of the universe is symbolized by a phoenix bird cut from a carrot and a dragon carved from an Oriental radish. The home is represented by a bird`s nest of fried noodles, joined by ginger root mountains and broccoli trees.
The public can participate in this celebration Tuesday through Saturday. A 10-course banquet will be offered downtown from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily; the cost is $28.88 per person. Call 312-642-3900.