A man of taste

"I realized that I could control the food, and make the food whatever flavor I want, which is amazing," Zhang enthuses.

After finishing junior high school, Zhang chose to study Chinese cuisine at Beijing Jinsong Vocational High School, against his family's wishes. At the same time, Zhang started to learn practical skills in the kitchen of his uncle's restaurant.

"I was 15 when I first entered the kitchen, the chefs were all masters specializing in Cantonese cuisine, and they were tough on me," Zhang recalls.

Each day Zhang had to wake up at 7 am to start a two-hour commute - involving a bicycle ride, the subway and a bus - to the restaurant. "In the winter, my shirts were wet before I even started work," he recalls.

"I started by carrying the ingredients each day and learning how to prepare the vegetables and clean fish," Zhang says.

Having seen his hard work and commitment, Zhang's parents gradually started to come around, changing their mind about his love of cooking.

At the age of 19, he successfully applied to be the chef for pop singer Su Xing's new restaurant.

"Su Xing was one of the most important people in my life," Zhang extols.

"He trusted me and gave me the chance to be a chef and let me try new things."

After working in Su's restaurant for two years, Zhang co-founded the high-end takeout platform Shetouhenmang (Busy Tongue). The platform received a 3 million yuan ($471,000) angel investment in 2016, but Zhang soon chose to quit.

"I realized that I don't like standard Chinese food, and I can't use a machine to make food," he explains.

"What I want is to have a small and pretty restaurant, from which I can serve and communicate with my guests."

He picked the quadrangle courtyard and decorated it for three months, finishing it in a color similar to Tiffany blue and with vintage furniture from the first half of the 20th century.