3 minute read
COVER STORY
Country-Style Chinese Food
Mao’s Kitchen is a step back in time to 1970s China PHOTOS BY CHRIS MORTENSON
Mao’s Kitchen
1512 Pacific Avenue, Venice 310-581-8305 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 to 10 p.m. daily maoskitchen.com
Jake Li is the owner of Mao’s Kitchen, a well-known Chinese eatery in Venice that serves country-style dishes.
By Sara Edwards
Venice has changed a lot over the past 22 years with more fine dining and high-end stores coming to the area. But one thing that has remained consistent throughout all the change is the authentic “country” Chinese cooking at Mao’s Kitchen on Pacific Avenue. Owner Jake Li said that even as times change and Venice continues to grow, he still wants everyone to feel welcome in his restaurant. “I just want to have good, decent food for everyone and that’s reasonable for every income,” Li said. Li came to the U.S. in 1992 after teaching at one of China’s top universities. When he came to Los Angeles, he was interested in filmmaking and enrolled in a few classes while working in a restaurant to make ends meet. He did everything from chopping up meat to making fried rice, and after eight years he decided to open his own restaurant in Venice and has been going strong ever since. Since money was so limited at the time, Li and one of his friends redesigned the interior to look like a memory of Li’s time growing up in 1970s China, with propaganda posters and memorabilia of the Cultural Revolution decorating the space to reflect his childhood. “All the propaganda posters are original and I just wanted the atmosphere that’s from that period,” Li said. “That’s what I want to show people is where I grew up. I grew up in a hard time, but it’s also a sweet time and I think for everyone, childhood has very fond memories. But I also have very sad memories and we have been through very harsh times.” Food and cooking have always been a major part of Li’s life. He remembered when he was 12 years old back in 1976 when the Cultural Revolution was ending and Chairman Mao Zedong died, Li would cook lunch for his parents and his friends. When he was 14, he remembers reading a cookbook in his free time. “I have a very big passion for food,” Li said. “When I opened the restaurant, I really wanted to have more authentic Chinese food.” Mao’s is open every day for lunch and dinner, and on weekdays customers can enjoy a “Lunch Combination for the Masses” with a choice of entree, steamed rice, salad and spring roll for around $9.50. Some of Mao’s most popular foods feature Li’s own spin and are free of artificial flavors and preservatives. The orange ginger chicken is served in Li’s sauce made with fresh oranges, ginger, tangerine peel, green onions and Sichuan peppers with a side of blanched broccoli. Growing up in China, Li made fried rice all the time and serves it in the restaurant with fresh snow peas, carrots, bean sprouts, onions and a choice of protein and perfectly cooked shredded egg. Li said that whenever someone comes into the restaurant to apply for a line cook position, the first thing he ask them is to “show me how you make fried rice.” “Our fried rice doesn’t sound fancy but it’s all in the details, all the skills and all the ingredients we put in there,” Li said. “I want my food to be enjoyed by everyone.”
Some of the most popular dishes include the orange ginger chicken and fried rice with fresh snow peas, carrots, bean sprouts, onions, a choice of protein and perfectly cooked shredded egg.
