The six-episode docuseries about the father-and-daughter team behind House of Nanking and Fang is coming to the Food Network next week, as Chef Dynasty: House of Fang goes behind the scenes with one of SF’s premier Chinese food families.
Last year around Christmas time, our favorite tables-too-close-together Jackson Square restaurant House of Nanking scored a brief cameo in The Matrix Resurrections, and as seen below, Keanu has been a longtime fan of the Shanghainese home cooking spot. And this year’s Christmas holiday will also bring high-profile attention to House of Nanking, as well as the Fang family’s trendier SoMa offshoot Fang, as SFGate reports that that House of Nanking and Fang are getting a six-part Food Network docuseries premiering Tuesday, December 27.
Chef Dynasty: House of Fang chronicles House of Nanking co-founder Peter Fang, and his daughter chef Kathy Fang. The younger Kathy Fang has been a reality TV fixture on foodie shows like Beat Bobby Flay, Guy’s Grocery Games, and Alex vs. America, and is also a two-time Chopped champion. This may or may not be a proper documentary, and perhaps instead more of a manufactured-drama reality TV show. Consider the writeup for the first episode, which reads, “A private dinner for social influencers puts Kathy's new ideas to the test, but only if her guests, including Peter, approve of her changes.”
But the House of Nanking and Fang family story is certainly one worth telling. “My parents came here with less than $40 in their pocket and the first place they stepped into was Chinatown,” Kathy Fang tells SFGate, describing the House of Nanking’s 1988 opening and its eventual ascension to destination status. “We literally spend more time at House of Nanking than we do at home.”
The Chronicle also has a deep-dive into House of Nanking and Fang in advance of the show’s premiere. “This [show] is just something that I couldn't even dream of — our little story, that my dad created something with my mom,” Fang says to the Chronicle. “So I hope people actually see that, and they understand why my relationship and dynamic with my dad is the way that it is. We’ve come a long way.”
A Food Network release about Chef Dynasty: House of Fang sets the premise of the show as “This father/daughter duo is a dominant force in San Francisco’s food world and now Kathy is ready to expand their business while honoring their roots in the six-episode docuseries Chef Dynasty: House of Fang.” The show premieres on the Food Network on Tuesday, December 27 at 9 p.m., and has a few more airings over the rest of the week, before Episode Two drops on Tuesday, January 3.
Image: Sally W. via Yelp