From Carp To Crane: Where Roots Take Flight
Chef Parry is the playful perfectionist rewriting Chinese cuisine with unexpected twists
Chef James Yeun Leong Parry. Image by Jeremy Chiu.
If you don’t know the name James Yeun Leong Parry yet, you will. Formerly of Benu and later, chef de cuisine at Palette Teahouse, he’s one of a cadre of chefs in San Francisco modernizing Cantonese cuisine. Perhaps you’re one of the lucky few who nabbed a spot at one of his sold-out and wildly popular Happy Crane pop-ups, following him and his tasting menus across the Bay Area. This summer, the Happy Crane finds a permanent location as Parry opens his first restaurant in Hayes Valley.
Ask Parry about his childhood taste memories (perfectly steamed fish and Coca-Cola chicken wings using a red braise typically reserved for meat), and the duality speaks volumes about his focus on well-executed technique. “My style of innovation draws inspiration from the familiar and is often from humble ingredients and dishes,” says Parry.
Growing up in working-class Hong Kong, Parry recalls their very small apartment where kitchen space was at a premium. He watched as his grandmother transformed a cheap fish, carp, into a delicacy, perfectly steaming it and serving very simple condiments to draw out the freshness of the fish. He accompanied her and helped select ingredients at the market. Her attention and care with humble ingredients imparted to him the importance of technique that would serve him well when he eventually worked with lavish ingredients too. Parry studied business in college and began cooking for friends—nothing fancy, he admits—but they told him they’d never had Chinese food like this before.
Fast forward to the conversation with his parents in Hong Kong as he prepared to pivot to a culinary career after graduating with a business degree. Their response: “Forget it.”
Parry traveled throughout China and worked his way up in restaurants, starting as a front-of-house waiter. He cut his teeth cooking at Michelin-starred Bo Innovation, Ta Vie, and Tenku RyuGin, before moving to Tokyo to work at Nihonryori RyuGin.
During his time at RyuGin, he met Chef Corey Lee of Benu, who was on a book tour in Hong Kong. Parry described it as the “missing puzzle piece.” Lee brought it all together for Parry—solid reputation, an Asian American former head chef at The French Laundry.
He told Lee: “I want to work for you one day.”
Lee replied, “We have visas. We can make that sort of thing happen.”
It’s been eight years since Parry first came to the Bay Area to work at Michelin three-starred Benu, cooking at incredibly high levels and volume. In 2018, he moved on to Palette Teahouse as chef de cuisine, sharpening his management skills, supervising 25-30 people before finally striking out on his own in 2023 with the Happy Crane pop-ups.
On a Sunday at a boba shop in Chinatown, his first pop-up opened to a full house. Originally, he intended the pop-ups to be a side gig while pulling together his business plan, but that changed as he met diners who had driven from as far as Sacramento or Mountain View for a taste of his food.
“I think I underestimated how valuable pop-ups were to the entire process because, okay, great business plan. But there’s no better business plan than cooking and presenting your food, and people tasting it and understanding it.”
During the pop-ups, he collaborated with local restaurants such as Nisei, Cocktail Haven, Rich Table, and Pomet in Oakland, and he met his investors through the pop-ups. It was the first time professionally that he showcased his style of food and represented something authentic to see the public’s response—something more people will get to experience once the restaurant opens.
“I do not allow myself to be limited to only Cantonese; I spent a good amount of time in Beijing and Chengdu, and so naturally, I want some of those flavors to come through as well,” says Parry. “While challenging and reimagining traditional dishes is exciting and allows me to be creative, I am equally as passionate about elevating the basics, and I would take as much pride in hearing how much one enjoys our char siu, as I would if someone liked the creativity of a dish reimagined.”
Happy Crane honors his Chinese heritage, symbolizing longevity, wisdom, and nobility. Expect authentic Chinese food with a contemporary, playful twist, imbued with seasonal ingredients—char siu and roasted meats, house-made noodles, and an array of dim sum and small plates, plus cocktails crafted to complement the food.
“We have an opportunity to be part of a new wave of restaurants that are really proud of representing their culture and heritage of their respective cuisines,” says Parry. “My feeling is that people are increasingly seeking out more authentic flavors and dishes, but that does not mean you cannot be contemporary and creative at the same time. I feel like this is what we are striving to be as a restaurant.”
thehappycranesf.com
451 Gough Street