We’re going to recruit some talents at the start of today’s programme. What kind of talents are we looking for ? Let me take a look at my list. If you’re not getting enough sleep and you feel listless, if your mouth feels dry, and you get headaches, “heatiness” or fatigue, if you overwork your brain, eyes or even your mouth, like me, or if you are forgetful and your memory is failing then congratulations, you’re the “talent” we are looking for.

What do we mean ? Well, no matter how talented you are, you still have to recharge yourself, rest well and take some tonics. But the idea of taking tonics may sound daunting to some . They might be worried that they don’t have the time and energy to prepare tonic soups.

Established in 1985, Jade Garden Restaurant was one of the few restaurants that specialized in tonic soups.  With over 20 years of history, the restaurant now offers 11 types of tonic soups.

The menu even lists the benefits of each tonic soup, choosing the right one for the various aliments can be done easily just by referring to the menu.

Patron: I like his tonic soups and I’ve been a loyal patron for many years.

Patron: His tonic soups are different from home-cooked ones, his soups are suitable for us and can be consumed as part of a meal. Home cooked tonic soups are bitter but these are not.

Patron: I usually drink tonic soups which replenish the blood.

Physician Huang: Our Black Chicken Soup is suitable for men and women who have a weak constitution or those who are suffering from “qi” and blood deficiencies.

Tonic Herbal Black Chicken Soup – It’s very nutritious and tasty, ten types of Chinese herbs are simmered with a Silkie hen for more than 10 hours so as to extract all that goodness. The soup is rich and sweet, and the meat is soft and tender, it pairs nicely with rice.

Patron: This tonic soup is very nourishing for women. It helps women to recover after their menstruation cycle.

Physician Huang: Strengthening Herbal Chicken Soup, it replenishes “qi”. It’s good for people with indigestion or those who are prone to colds.

Strengthening Herbal Chicken Soup – Six types of Chinese herbs are simmered with chicken, all that goodness has infused into the soup. The rich flavours of the soup are an indicator of its potency.

Many believe that taking some tonics is better than taking none at all. However, one has to know one’s body type before taking tonics because taking tonics blindly actually does more harm than good. Although the menu at Jade Garden Restaurant displays the corresponding ailments that are targeted by each soup as well as their health benefits, if you can’t understand the menu, or you aren’t sure of your body type, Physician Huang can take your pulse right here.

Patron: When I’m feeling sick, I’ll ask him to take my pulse and recommend a soup for me. He’s very accurate, he can pinpoint what’s wrong with me immediately.

Patron: Everyone would want to have their pulse taken first before eating.

Axian: Physician Huang, can you take my pulse now ?

Physician Huang: Sure. Your heartbeat is faster than normal, perhaps it’s because you didn’t get enough sleep.

Axian: Actually, I didn’t sleep a wink last night.

Physician Huang: You’re still young and your body is healthy. For you, I recommend something which is cooling and nourishing.

Axian: Is there any problem with my body ?

Physician Huang: None at the moment.

Alertness Herbal Quali Soup – Ideal for busy urban professionals. Quail is stewed with 6 kinds of herbs. Though thoroughly cooked, the ingredients still stay intact. The quail and the soup taste sweet.

Patron: I’d sleep better after taking this.

Stimulant Soothing Herbal Soup – Is popular among women. American ginseng, wolfberries and angular Solomon’s seal are simmered with chicken. This soup is sweet and refreshing.

Axian: My Alertness Herbal Quail Soup is finally ready, it looks like there’s plenty of select herbs in there. How many types of herbs are there ?

Physician Huang: Seven.

Axian: But with so many herbs, won’t the soup taste bitter ?

Physician Huang: No, it will be very sweet.

Axian: How do you include real medicinal ingredients in your soups and yet keep them tasty ?

Physician Huang: That’s because of my past experience of cooking them for my friends at home.

The proprietor’s grandfather was a Chinese physician. Having learnt traditional Chinese medicine since young, Mr Huang is very particular with the quality and quantity of the herbs used.

Now I understand the difficulties of preparing these tonic soups at home.

I’ve heard it has to be simmered twice for a total of 15 hours. Why ?

Physician Huang: the first stage will take 10 hours, as the herbs are quite tough. The process will allow them to release their medicinal compounds.

Preparing Tonic Herbal Black Chicken Soup is time-consuming. More than 10 types of ingredients are used. Half a Silkie hen, Indian mulberry root, milkvetch root, eucommia bark, wild yam, lotus seeds, codonopsis root.

Steamed Chinese foxglove and other herbs are absolutely essential. I’ll need to simmer these 8 tyoes of herbs first. Then episode I’d add the wild.

Patron: The tonic soups here undergo at least 8 hours of simmering, some have been simmered for more than 10 hours.

Patron: The tonic soups are nourishing and are suitable for everyone.

Axian: If we buy herbs and prepare tonic soups at home by ourselves, is there a real possibility of taking the wrong tonics this way ?

Physician Huang: Yes. If you don’t know much about your body and you take a tonic soup believing it will cure your fatigue, you’re overlooking the fact that “heatiness” causes fatigue too.

Herbal Purity Soup is suitable to those whose mouths feel dry and whose heads feel heavy or those who are suffering from “heatiness”.

Herbal Purity Soup – This soup makes full use of various beneficial ingredients. The soup is fresh and simple, it may have a tinge of fishiness but it’ll rid one of “heatiness” fast. That’s why many find it so appealing.

Axian: What are the ingredients ?

Physician Huang: Pipefish, kelp, raw Chinese foxglove, greenbrier rhizome and seaweed.

Axian: Why are there so many marine ingredients in this soup ?

Physician Huang: Marine ingredients aren’t “heaty”, they’re nourishing too, they reduce “heatiness”.

Patron: Pipefish and seahorses are detoxification agents.

Physician Huang is very particular about the supplementary ingredients as well as the type of meat that go into his soups. As he has inherited the art of Chinese medicine from his forebears this could be the reason behind his perseverance.

We get to see a rare item today, we’ve heard so much about ancestral medicine books. And finally, we get to see a bona fide example today. Obviously, each character has been carefully written with an ink-brush and is very detail.

Physician Huang: I learnt from my grandfather. And I observed how he’d diagnosed the illnesses, he gave me advice and he’d influenced me greatly.

Axian: Have you been a physician for quite some time ?

Physician Huang: Yes. I also went on to study more about traditional Chinese medicine.

Axian: How did you get the idea of opening a tonic restaurant ?

Physician Huang: Back in 1984. There was a recession, I often cooked tonic soups at home for my friends. They told me to open a restaurant, but I didn’t have the confidence until they egged me on. They told me that it’d be a shame if they were the only ones who could taste my soups.

Axian: Thanks to their encouragement, you finally gave it a try.

In 1985, the proprietor decided to establish Jade Garden Restaurant and offer many of his tasty herbal creations to all. He was the first one to open a tonic restaurant.

Physician Huang: My existing patrons would bring new patrons here, some of my patrons have been coming here since the day we opened 20 years ago.

Strengthening Backbone Soup – is a boon for those with waist pain. Pig tailbone, eucommia bark, black beans, wolfberries, codonopsis root and two other herbs are simmered twice for more than 8 hours in total. This soup removes moisture, strengthens the waist nourishes the eyes and replenishes “qi”.

There’re so many different types of herbs here, but there’re much more in Physician Huang’s house.

Axian: Could you introduce them to us ?

Physician Huang: We have Chinese peony root, seaweed, milkvetch root, black dates, wild yam, greenbrier root, pipefish, wolfberries, angular Solomon’s seal, kelp, red dates, poria core, eucommia bark, American ginseng, tangerine peel, Chinese angelica, black beans, reishi, liquorice root, raw and steamed Chinese foxglove, Indian mulberry root, Siberian Solomon’s seal and codonopsis root….

Axian: He indeed knows his stuff, he’s identified everything here. But after listening to him, I still can’t differentiate the herbs.

Patron: Taking the quality of the ingredients and the tedious preparation involved into consideration, I think it’s well worth the money.

Axian: The average price of your soups is around 8 to 9 ringgit, but street-side vendors are selling tonic soups at only 3 to 4 ringgit. So were you worried about not being able to attract customers back then ?

Physician Huang: I was a little worried at first, but my worries subsided after my customers had tried my soups.

Axian: Why ?

Physician Huang: They felt my soups had plenty to offer in terms of quantity and quality. They liked them.

Axian: I’ve heard Chinese herbs have become more expensive now.

Physician Huang: Yes, they have. A stronger renminbi coupled with a drop supply caused by global warming may have led to higher prices.

Axian: What are you going  to do ?

Physician Huang: I’m hoping that prices of herbs fall then I don’t have to raise my prices. Many of my patrons actually suggested that I implement a price hike.

Axian: They told you that ?

Patron: Herbs are more costly now but Physician Huang didn’t raise his prices because his patrons are mostly of the working class.

Physician Huang never skimps on ingredients and effort as customers’ health is his top priority. He also ensures that prices remain affordable for everyone. He’s held onto these principles for over 20 years. His attitude is extremely rare in this profit-driven world today, he said he had been influenced by his kind and helpful grandfather.

Jade Garden Restaurant offers 11 types of tonic soups as well as a variety of side dishes. But Physician Huang would never sell 4 types of items here. That is cold drinks, tea, sour food and spicy items, because these will counteract the effects of the tonics.

Patron: There are no chillies and cold drinks here.

We’ve learnt a lesson from Physician Huang, no matter which business you’re in, conscience is the greatest asset you can count on. Physician Huang makes nourishing dishes to improve the health of his patrons. He keeps his costs low so as to keep prices affordable. He takes the pulse of his patrons to find out which tonics they need, his hard works is the reason why Jade Garden Restaurant enjoys brisk business in spite of its remote location.

Address: 6011-C, Blue Boy Mansion, Jln Tong Shin, KL

Tel: 016-9109117

GPS Coordinate ：N  3∘  8.696’      E  101∘  42.381’

No related posts.