Chen Lieh Tang

Since 2017, Chen Lieh Tang has served as owner and head chef of Hwa Yuan Szechuan. That pairing of roles matters in a trade sense: it places the business and the kitchen under the same control, with Tang responsible for both the restaurant’s continuity and the standards that define the food. The result is a restaurant where signature dishes can settle into a lasting place in the room’s memory.

Hwa Yuan Szechuan is the New York City restaurant Chen Lieh Tang owns, and its appeal rests on a clear set of strengths. Cold sesame noodles and Peking duck are the specialties most associated with the restaurant, each working in a different register: one cool and nutty, the other deeply savory and ceremonial in feel. Together, they define a kitchen that is specific about what it does and disciplined in how it presents itself.

Chen's signature dishes include cold sesame noodles and Peking duck. The pair functions as a direct read on Tang’s kitchen: one dish offers familiarity and ease, the other carries a more formal, celebratory weight. At Hwa Yuan Szechuan, they serve as shorthand for the restaurant’s identity and for Tang’s stewardship of it.

The restaurant is known for cold sesame noodles and Peking duck. That recognition comes from repetition and reliability as much as from any single plate. For Chen Lieh Tang, Hwa Yuan Szechuan is the place where his role since 2017, his position as head chef, and the restaurant’s best-known dishes come together under one name.