James Yeun Leong Parry spent a year overseeing staffing, construction and licensing while preparing to open The Happy Crane in Hayes Valley. He endured anxiety and learned to live with the discomfort of project management before returning to the kitchen for the restaurant's Aug. 8 grand opening. The Happy Crane occupies the former Monsieur Benjamin space at 451 Gough St. and presents modern Chinese street food, dim sum and roasted meats that draw on Parry's Hong Kong childhood and training in Beijing and Chengdu. The sleek interior features rounded lamps, cement pillars and warm wood accents. The restaurant is booked for the next 30 days and emphasizes seasonal, local California ingredients.
James Yeun Leong Parry has been out of his comfort zone. The talented San Francisco chef, who never went to culinary school but learned to cook at Michelin-starred restaurants like three-starred Benu, was no longer in the kitchen - his sanctuary. He had gone to the project management side, where staffing, construction delays and liquor licenses were part of his daily repertoire. But none of these tasks excited him quite like perfecting a tender roasted quail or lacquered ibérico pork jowl.
At times, he felt discouraged, like most chefs who take on the challenging burden of opening a small business in San Francisco. And yet, to open his first restaurant - The Happy Crane, one of the city's most highly anticipated restaurants so far this year - Parry learned to live in the discomfort. He had no choice. "Until you're in it, you don't realize all of the intricacies of putting it all together," Parry recently told SFGATE.
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