When Beijing resident Cheng Gong saw a dark-blue tablecloth with a pattern of white fish in Wuzhen, an ancient town and tourism destination in East China's Zhejiang province, he bought it without a second thought.

That was in early 2013, and now it is a favorite backdrop for serving fish in his part-time private kitchen, where he serves two to six people at prearranged dinner parties on weekends. The 27-year-old works in a news website, and started his weekend service last May, encouraged by friends he had entertained at home.

Born in Southwest China's Sichuan province, he didn't discover his passion and talent for cooking until 2009, after he had graduated from college and began to eat meals off campus.

"I was fed up with the food that I could afford at small restaurants every day," Cheng says.

"It was oily and tasteless, and I was always concerned with the freshness of the ingredients."

He began cooking for himself - first following his memory of how his mother had cooked huiguorou, or "twice-cooked pork".

To his surprise, he succeeded at his first try.

"I was happy and decided to cook food by myself from then on," Cheng says. "I just wanted to eat healthy, and didn't realize cooking would become increasingly important to me."

He asked his mother and aunts for cooking tips, studied online recipes, and watched TV cooking shows.

Whenever and wherever he ate something delicious, he would try to talk with the cooks to learn from them.

He cannot remember how and when he started hosting dinner parties for friends on weekends and holidays. Eventually, he started the business of a private kitchen, but not to make money, he says.

He charges 128 yuan ($21) per head, and says that price barely covers the ingredient cost.

"The private kitchen works in this way: I would learn how to cook better and how to run a restaurant, while customers would enjoy eating something special that they may not find somewhere else," Cheng explains.

On a recent visit with a colleague, I found the experience to be good value. When we sat down at the only dining table at his living room, we didn't know what to expect: Customers tell him their likes and dislikes while making the reservation, then Cheng decides on the courses, waiting to tell customers the menu as the dishes are presented on the table.

We started with a soup made with a small fish and bamboo chunks: The white soup was smooth and sweet, the fish was tender and fresh, and the bamboo tasted nutty.

The fish was huazi fish (Leuciscus waleckii), which is famous for its tender and fresh flavor. The dish was my favorite among the four dishes (plus a dessert) that night.

My second favorite was the fried vegetable zicaitai, literally purple vegetable stalk, which I ate for the first time. Soft but chewy, it had a special pleasant flavor tinged with a light bitterness. Its stalk is rich in vitamins and dietary fibers, and is very healthy, according to Cheng.

Next came a dish of sweet-and-sour pork ribs, which got over-fried as we talked to Cheng, and tasted a bit bitter. I did like the sugar-pickled tomatoes that had moderate sweetness and paired nicely with the sourness of the pork.

We were also served roasted duck legs with baby purple potatoes. The meat had been marinated for half a day before cooking, and the legs were tasty and tender. The potatoes were sticky and dry, a good foil against the rather salty duck leg.

The dessert was boiled sticky black rice with sesame and brown sugar, decorated with mulberries in small wooden bowls.

Cheng also served us jiaogulan tea made from Gynostemma pentaphyllum, an anti-aging herb, which is said to help cleanse the body.

Right now, Cheng says, he is just eager to get experience in cooking and ingredient sourcing as he runs the private kitchen - hoping one day to open his own restaurant.

liuzhihua@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 01/20/2015 page24)