story by cynthia weisfield
photos by martha rial
Sesame Inn
Plum it's a big world of Chinese cuisine
some things old,
some things new
reat Chinese food is standard fare at Sesame
Inn, 715 Washington Road in uptown Mt.

Lebanon. Opened in 1987, the restaurant
has been a culinary destination ever since,
serving food so popular that the chain
expanded to four locations by 1994. “I’m
lucky,” owner and Mt. Lebanon resident
George Lee says modestly. “I work hard, and
a lot of family members and friends and cus-
tomers helped.” He also has talented chefs
who stay with him. All are dedicated to keeping the menu both
interesting and true to Chinese regional food.

Keeping things interesting means change, which is a hallmark
of Lee’s approach to food served in his restaurants. The Sesame
Inn menu is updated every two or three years, adding some
dishes and removing others to reflect the public’s evolving food
preferences. Popular standards stay on, and some items remain
even if they are not especially popular. Lamb, an unusual option
on a Chinese menu, is there simply because Lee likes it. Health
consciousness has made an impact on the menu. A section of
“Lighter Fare” has been available for years. The restaurant uses low
saturated fat soy bean oil.

Innovation in the kitchen is also part of Lee’s approach as a
restaurateur. Peking Duck is a prime example. Most restaurants
require an order 24 hours in advance for the dish. You can have it
at Sesame Inn any time, thanks to a technique used by Lee’s chefs
that involves cooking the duck ahead of time and bringing it up
to the crispy skin standard expected prior to serving it.

Creating new dishes is a collaboration among Lee and the
chefs, although patrons are usually asked to sample and critique.

Developing recipes is a lot of work, in part because even standard
flavorings open up avenues for experimentation. Consider soy
sauce. “There are several different types of soy sauces, like thick
and thin, plus Hoisin Sauce,” said Mr. Lee. “The flavor even
varies by brand.” Each can distinctly change the taste profile of
a dish.

Staying on top in the Asian restaurant market demands offering
authentic food. For Lee, two chefs and a manager, that meant a
recent tasting trip to Thailand, Hong Kong and Shanghai. The
quartet picked places to dine by getting recommendations at the
hotel or from the taxi driver. Some food turned out to be impos-
sible to duplicate. “We can’t find the herbs here in Pittsburgh,”
Lee explains. “We’d never seen them before. Sometimes the local
cooks didn’t know the English name.” It was possible to identify
kaffir lime leaves. They are very expensive in this country but
essential for anyone who wants absolute perfection in some Thai
dishes. Lee’s vast experience with restaurants, his love of food and
www.mtlebanon.org 41



George Lee, with Sesame Inn chef Jei Ming Ho. Lee, the owner of four
Sesame Inns locations in Pittsburgh, celebrates the one-year anniversary of
Plum, a Pan Asian restaurant in East Liberty in August.

knowledge of the Pittsburgh dining scene led to him to conclude
that a Pan Asian restaurant showcasing accurately prepared dishes
from each of several Asian countries would be successful here. So
he partnered with famed chef Richard Chen in an East Liberty
restaurant that opened in 2008. The “high end restaurant with
a five-star hotel chef and managers,” as Lee describes it, made it
rather pricey for the Pittsburgh market. And the addition of some
American-style dishes diluted the dining message. The restaurant
closed in April of 2009.

Not one to give up, Lee opened Plum at the same location that
August. Getting the restaurant ready required an intense push
of 15-hour days, seven days a week. Issues ranged from decor to
artistic food presentation, a new consideration, since Chinese food
is usually served family style. So Lee went off to New York to get
ideas about plating.

All the effort resulted in a stunning, sleek, modern look at Plum,
an effect that contrasts with the more traditional “Chinese restau-
rant” look of Sesame Inn. Prices were slimmed down. The chef
who runs the main kitchen has 30 years of experience cooking
Southeast Asian food at big hotels.

A new element is the sushi bar that was carved out of part of
the dining room. It is run by a chef who has spared no effort in
presenting a huge array of sushi, sashimi and rolls. Many offerings
are classics; some are new, almost humorous. Try the Marilyn
Mon Roll with fried soft shell crab, cucumber, tobiko caviar and
sliced avocado.

Most important, the menu at Plum is Pan Asian, expanding
beyond Chinese cooking to include offerings such as Tom Yum
Goong, a coconut based soup from Thailand, sambal from
Indonesia, Indian-style egg noodles and Singapore-style rice
noodles with yellow curry.

Pan Asian should not be confused with fusion food, which
involves mixing ingredients and/or techniques from two or more
very different cuisines. Having said that, the eclectic Lee and his
chefs at Plum have ventured into fusion territory with offerings
like “Plum Style Bruschetta,” which is composed of standard sushi
ingredients including ahi tuna but is served on toasted baguette.

Desserts respond well to the fusion touch. Americans love
sweets. So Plum has a pastry wizard who invents lush creations
that are atypical for an all-Chinese restaurant. A simple treat that
turned out to have a simply
elegant taste is the ice cream
made from both milk and dark
chocolates from the Western
food canon and steeped with
Oolong tea from the Eastern.

What new eating excitement
is coming from George Lee’s
creative kitchens? He’s not
divulging too much, although
it’s bound to be delicious.

Keep your chopsticks poised!
Lettuce wrapped shrimp
42 mtl • july/august 2010