Address: 446 Washington St.,Wellesley, MA 02482-6211

Cuisine: Chinese native cuisines

Seats/Capacity: 60

Offers: dine-in, take-out, delivery, catering, function

Signature Dishes: Peking Toast Scallop, Stuffing Chinese Eggplant with Shrimp, Sautéed Shredded Pork with Celery and Dried Tofu, Salad Soup 

Phone: 781-235-1111

Year of Establishment: 1992

Website: www.gotianfu.com

Few restaurants can attract customers without even advertising their food. The beautiful garden in front of the Tian Fu Restaurant entices many passersby to stop in and try the food. The garden has won numerous awards from the local community and serves as a landmark in the area. However, the garden is but a small taste of the Tian Fu experience—the wiser person knows that the real beauty is the traditional Chinese cuisine offered within.

Once you get past the exquisite garden, the décor focuses on bright, bold colors accented by Chinese lanterns and antique Chinese ceramic paintings portraying splendid landscapes, which cover the walls. The traditional mahogany screen is set up to separate one elegant function from the other areas. In addition, in the main area sits a beautiful oil painting depicting three Chinese girls wearing traditional Chinese dresses. This was presented to Yu several years ago by one of her many loyal customers.

The interior was designed by an Italian designer. In order to make an elegant restaurant, the owner, Lizhen Yu, told the designer about her own grand schemes. To her surprise, the designer created a perfect demonstration of Yu’s dreams.

In Focus

The owner’s main objective is to prepare healthier meals for her customers by using traditional Chinese cooking techniques. Her style of Chinese cuisine is designed to be more nutritious and to introduce Americans to a wider range of fresh ingredients.

Traditionally, these dishes are fried several times, which causes too much fat to be absorbed and is therefore very unhealthy. Typical Chinese restaurants also put too much emphasis on meat and not enough on vegetables, explains Yu. While General Tso’s Chicken is an ordinary dish offered at most Chinese restaurants, Yu’s version is a much healthier dish. Yu has also introduced numerous dishes that come without sauce, include more chives or are vegetarian.

However, not everyone is eager to change, and this initiative will only truly work if the public accepts it. To make customers understand and get used to the new style of Chinese cuisine, Yu has redesigned the menu and now offers detailed nutritional information of each dish. Customers enjoy knowing what kind of nutrition they are receiving from certain dishes.

The menu redesign was a two-year process. Having traveled through various parts of the U.S. and China, Yu learned other’s strengths to help supplement her own. In addition, the owner gained much knowledge from culinary books, magazines, online reviews and television programs detailing the finer points of cooking. The management team of Tian Fu constantly updates the recipes to fit with the differing tastes of their clientele. When creating new dishes, the chefs first present the dishes to the staff and listen to their criticism and suggestions. Only when the dish is deemed perfect will the owner present the dish to customers, and even then, she encourages customers to offer suggestions to improve existing dishes.

One particular creation that is very popular with diners is the Sautéed Shredded Pork with Celery and Dried Tofu. An ordinary yet healthy Chinese dish draws from a family-oriented tradition, and each ingredient is fine-tuned to be as healthy as possible. Celery is a vegetable rich in fiber that can reduce blood pressure; dried tofu is rich in protein, and even though the entrée contains meat, it is a healthy and nutritious creation. This home-style dish is a harmonious and savory combination that is sure to whet your appetite. Sautéed Shredded Potato, also a very popular home-cooked dish in China, is highly acclaimed at Tian Fu. The potatoes are delicately shredded and then seasoned with Chinese spices; the dish is a manifestation of the chefs’ conscientious and attentive attitude towards cooking and preparing dishes.  

Another remarkable dish is the Stuffing Chinese Eggplant with Shrimp. Eggplant is low in cholesterol and rich in iron, and the special preparation renders it a wonderful creation. The eggplant is stuffed with shrimp, steamed, and then pan-fried until the eggplant is tender and the shrimp is crisp. Peking Toast Scallop with Vegetables is another palatable and healthy offering that remains a favorite with many customers. 

Dishes for vegetarian diners were also given a thorough examination, and many dishes were created with unique dietary restrictions in mind. The Sautéed Green Beans with Dried Tofu has been well received among Chinese diners and health-conscious diners of many backgrounds. Yu knows the initiative has a long way to go, but she still backs this new style of Chinese cuisine and is sure it will delight customers and food critics alike.  She seeks to present healthy dishes to diners in her own restaurant and upgrade the image of Chinese cuisine itself within her restaurant and beyond. 

When Yu sets out to create a new health-conscious entrée, she strives to accomplish several feats. Yu explains that it is not simply a matter of simply steaming dishes, as many of her competitors do.

“The steamed dishes can’t be a symbol of healthy dishes. The steamed dishes are tasteless and [are not] a solution to a healthy dining experience. Most Chinese dishes are healthy … we should extend them to a wider area and make Americans accept it,” said Yu.

She now uses vegetable oil without MSG when preparing dishes, will change the oil frequently and will only use as much sauce as necessary to maintain flavor. Moderation of sauce is key, for sauce should wrap the chicken or beef pieces but never drip. Similarly, the cornstarch should also be used moderate quantities. When asked about traditional and modern cooking styles, Yu explained “nowadays, people are obsessed with sauce. Every dish and meal has to have a sauce. Some customers put sweet and sour sauce in rice, and even noodles. The addition of sauce makes the food greasier, thicker and unhealthier. These days, most people also consume too many deep-fried dishes. The current way of cooking Chinese food focuses too much on the meat part of the entrée and pays less attention to vegetables. On the other hand, the traditional Chinese cooking method places less emphasis on the sauce and more on the taste.” Keeping such proportions in check requires a keen eye and an artist’s touch. Luckily, Yu possesses both of these.

The Owner  

With Lizhen Yu’s eye for detail and mastery of creating unique dishes out of healthy ingredients, it is no surprise that she has a creative background. In fact, when Yu immigrated to the United States in 1983, she came not to cook, but to pursue her dream of becoming a violinist. After graduating from the Boston Conservatory, she found that there was a huge existing market in improving Chinese cuisine and hoped to extend Chinese culinary culture to a wider area and help the locals gain a deeper understanding of Chinese cuisines.

In 1992, she began a fresh and challenging career and opened Tian Fu Restaurant. Although she was not a professional in the restaurant industry, Yu dedicated herself to the restaurant’s operation. To this day, she is constantly learning new things to enrich her knowledge about restaurant management. When asked about the secrets to her success, Yu replied “Study, study and study. I learned this from school when I was very young. We should never stop learning. It will help you gain an edge on your competition. Many restaurants go out of business because they do not do their homework. I hope to bring Chinese tradition to this society. I want to make healthier food for people. It is still an ongoing process and needs a lot of research.”

Yu is also an active member in her community. Each year, the town holds a celebration with fireworks, and the restaurant is a loyal sponsor in terms of both food and money. For the last 16 years, Tian Fu has been honored as the location of the ceremony.

Ever diligent in her pursuit of perfecting dishes, Yu has other big plans as well. She hopes to continue to improve the quality of Chinese dishes to afford more recognition for her restaurant. She would also like to import several Chinese dresses from the Tang Dynasty and to showcase tea etiquette to promote Chinese culture in the area.