Hong Fu Long

The Hong Fu Long Restaurant, owned and operated by local chef Meichen Long, is the first restaurant to open on Day Lily Lane after the new street's construction, located at the very Southern end of the street. This location was chosen primarily for its cliffside beach view. The restaurant's flavor philosophy focuses upon bold and spicy flavors from many corners of the world, and its decorative theme focuses upon fire and dragons. Its logo makes this evident, as it depicts an Asian-style, golden serpentine dragon coiling around a plump red chili pepper.

History

The Hong Fu Long began, oddly enough, as a school project for Meichen during her apprenticeship under Abryn at the Ocean Lily. The initial plans for the restaurant were actually based on ideas that Meichen gathered while working her once-famous festival stand, the Red Sun Stir Fry, when several of her patrons praised the spicier dishes that the little pagoda served. When the assignment was given to her to draw up plans for a restaurant, to include a menu, floor plan, design theme and kitchen setup. Much of the menu planning had taken place between Meichen herself and her girlfriend Ichiko Suzuki over the course of several nights. When Mei presented the plans to her instructors, Abryn included, the project was rated very highly, and toward the end of her term of apprenticeship, Mei was already plannig changes and additions to a menu for a restaurant that was still on paper.

This would change shortly after her apprenticeship ended, when a renowned chef named Lana Morningbloom was hired by Mei's guardians to further her instruction in the culinary arts. Indeed, this final phase of Mei's training as a chef would include making that very restaurant a reality for her and passing the responsibility of running it to Mei herself. A long time was spent not only building the restaurant, but also sorting through candidates for the restaurant's staff and fine-tuning the menu for plenty of tastes. A teaser for the restaurant's menu was seen during 2012's Summer Matsuri when Mei retired the Red Sun Stir Fry in favor of running a stand that would provide festivalgoers with a small and incomplete selection of the flavors of game hen wings that the restaurant would offer. The name Hong Fu Long, or "Lucky Fire Dragon", was chosen as the restaurant's name for several reasons; primarily, to honor Meichen's family guardian, as well as a subtle tribute to Ichiko's help in designing the first few plans of the restaurant.

Despite ceasing all activities during the crisis of the Eruption of 2012, staff training and preparation resumed immediately following the resolution of the crisis, and the restaurant opened its doors to the public on the 10th of May, 2012. Head Chef Meichen is in the process of building awareness among the public in the hopes of attracting new and potentially returning customers to her new business.

Layout

The restaurant consists of two seating areas: one, an indoor dining room, is designed for casual dining, and its windows and glass doors have been enchanted by local Yuriban glaziers to produce a heatless "fire" effect during the nighttime hours. The second is a deck, where diners can enjoy a more intimate setting with a view of the ocean and beach to serve as a lovely romantic background. Although the kitchen is accessible by anyone who visits, the head chef asks that they not try to bother the chefs when preparations are in progress and to obey the posted safety regulations.

Menu

The Hong Fu Long's menu is divided into several sections: Appetizers, Sides, Soups, Sandwiches, Entrees, Chef's Specials, Desserts, Drinks, and the Bar (cocktail) menu. Icons of chili peppers are provided as a guide to determine the level of spiciness in each dish before ordering, although the scale is admittedly a rough estimate; one chili pepper means that the selection has a mild level of spice, and five chili peppers means that the dish has an intense level of heat recommended only for those with the proper palate. Because of the spicy nature of the Hong Fu Long's selection of food, there are several flavors of milk available on the drink menu, among other beverages.

Staff

Head Chef: Meichen Long

Sous Chef: Rosemary

Bartender (Indoor): Lime

Bartender (Outdoor): Coriander

Waitress: Ginger

Waitress (Part-time): Olive