Jiang’s Kitchen is now open in downtown Orlando at 27 E. Robinson St., Orlando, FL 32801, bringing hand made Chinese style dumplings, noodles and sushi to downtown Orlando.
The restaurant’s signature is xiao long bao, hand-folded soup dumplings mad, alongside dishes such as dan dan noodles, wonton soup, pan-fried dumplings and sushi rolls. The space is elevated, with an open display of dumpling-making, private dining rooms and an omakase counter.
Jiang’s Kitchen is part of a much bigger plan from restaurateur Eric Jiang and his wife, Miaozhen Zhang. Jiang got his start in his father’s Chinese takeout restaurant in Utica, New York, before opening his first Mitsuba sushi restaurant at age 23. He and Zhang went on to build multiple Mitsuba locations in Central New York, along with Papa Tea, Moochi and Orlando omakase restaurant Sushi Izuki.
In this interview with TastyChomps, Jiang talks about why they chose Orlando, how each Jiang’s Kitchen location will have its own personality, the upcoming Mills 50 location focused on handcrafted noodles and dumplings, and Fan Hwa, their planned Cantonese dessert and bao shop.
The Mills 50 Jiang’s Kitchen is being developed around regional Chinese noodle dishes including biang biang noodles, while Fan Hwa will introduce tong sui, traditional Cantonese sweet soups, along with handmade bao.
Jiang is also looking further ahead at ideas including a Japanese charcoal-grilled eel restaurant and another kappo/omakase concept. – instead of trying to serve every kind of Asian food under one roof, he wants each restaurant to focus on a particular style, technique or part of the cuisine.
Interview with Jiang’s Kitchen’s Chef Eric Jiang
1. For those who don’t know you, give us some background about yourself and your wife and your training and history. What restaurants do you currently own now?
My restaurant journey really started with my family. My father opened his first takeout Chinese restaurant in Utica, New York, in 2006. I helped him for several months as a delivery driver, and that experience made me realize that I wanted to build a restaurant of my own…