Turning the Corner: Jun Trinh Presents 4corners

With his new restaurant 4corners opening in the former Orange Tree space near Houhai, we asked Canadian chef Jun Trinh what’s cooking.

Give us a quick introduction to 4corners.
The name 4corners has a few meanings, but it breaks down to four words: food, drinks, arts and people. It also comes from the four different rooms we have. The front will be the bar and dining room, with a small stage for music, and the back is a lounge room with Lao/Thai-style seating and a fireplace. The side room will become a tatami room, and then we have the sunlit atrium on the second floor.

So what’s going to be on the menu?
The seasonal menu will reflect my own upbringing and cultural background – mostly Southeast Asian with a contemporary North American twist. Expect to see a very international brunch menu, a deli section and a rotisserie section. Every four months, I’ll be leaving to film for my TV show and will incorporate new dishes from whichever country I’m traveling to into my specials menu.

Tell us a bit about your TV show.
My first show is called Kitchen Quest (谁借我厨房). It ’s about me traveling to different countries or provinces, using culinary arts, art and music to form a sort of cultural exchange with locals. You can follow it on The Travel Channel or watch it online on Youku or Tudou.

Do people ever recognize you on the street in Beijing because of the show?
People recognize me on the street quite often, usually more outside Beijing.

What are their reactions?
“You seem bigger on TV” or “You’re more shuai on TV.”

Does it bother you there aren’t more good Vietnamese restaurants in Beijing?
It does, but what’s even more infuriating is restaurants that try and pass their food off as Vietnamese. One has decorated its walls with movie posters like Apocalypse Now and other Vietnam War movies – a very strange reference if you are Vietnamese or have any Vietnamese heritage. This place has also named itself after the ubiquitous rice noodle soup dish which it does not even come close to doing justice to. It’s in Gulou. That’s right. That place.

Any dishes, Vietnamese or otherwise, that you miss in Beijing?
I miss a lot of food from home, like banh mi and banh bao, Montreal smoked meat, Korean kamjatang, Jamaican rotis and doubles.

Click here to see the February issue of the Beijinger in full.

Photo: Nature Zhang