Ginkgo in Fairfield: Serving Authentic Sichuan Cuisine for Nearly 10 Years

It’s midday on a Thursday. I’m at Ginkgo Sichuan Cuisine and I’m set to interview co-owner Yingying Yan over a handful of her restaurant’s dishes. And out they all come. I can see and I can certainly smell the dry red chilies before they hit the table. I go straight for the handmade dumplings and give it a stir do the spicy reddish orange oil and freshly diced garlic coats each little pork filled pocket. I pop one in my mouth, then immediately take a forkful of crispy edged cumin beef.

I cough a few times and probably turned a few shades of red as I felt my temperature rise. This, by the way, isn’t a bad thing.

Cumin beef, also available in lamb (Roger said that’s his favorite), where each strip of beef is practically coated in cumin seeds, Sichuan peppercorns, and chili flakes. It’s aromatic and packs a flavor punch.

Yan’s husband, and co-owner, Roger Yen, tells me to skip the water. He brings over an ice-cold bottle of Tsingtao, a light, refreshing rice lager that calmed the heat, the numbness in my tongue, and my slight cough that was a result of simply underestimating the heat level.

I dug into each dish thereafter, unaffected, and no longer caught off guard.

It wasn’t something I was used to in Connecticut; Chinese cuisine that packs a spicy punch and the flavor, and not dumbed all the way down for the American palate.

And that’s Ginkgo’s whole deal…authenticity.

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When I first met Yan back in March at another restaurant she co-owns, the omakase-focused Hotaru in Southport, I didn’t get to tell much of her story, choosing to save it for Ginkgo, her first restaurant.

Yan’s restaurant journey began when she arrived in the states from China’s Zhejiang Province in 2009 when she was enrolled as a part time student at the University of Bridgeport.

“I took three courses a semester and got a job at Hao Si Chuan in West Haven, the same family as Lao Sze Chuan in Milford,” she says. “I worked there for four years, then moved to New Haven and ran a restaurant called Taste of China.”

One of Ginkgo’s signatures is this sole with tofu in Sichuan chili broth, a fiery, rich broth that’s full of dried red chilies, Sichuan peppercorns, and fermented chili bean paste. It comes with rice, and believe me, you’ll want each grain to soak up all that tasty stock.

Addictive is this salty, spicy, crunchy on the outside, juicy on the inside, crispy chili chicken.

And she did all this, she reveals, not knowing how to cook at all. This is one of the things that led her to opening a Sichuan restaurant of her very own, and for the community, too.

“I realized there is nothing here (that’s authentic), so I figured if I wanted to continue living here, I could open a restaurant so I could eat better and so my kids can have it,” she continues.  “And I don’t need to go out or drive all the way to New York City for it.”

In 2017, Yan and Yen along with a small circle of partners, including their opening day and current chef Zhihua Luo, opened Ginkgo.

For Yen, who has been a cook in Italian restaurants and American pubs, it was a return to his roots. If you’re familiar with Norwalk’s restaurant scene of the past, his family owned The Fortune Cookie in Darinor Plaza and the takeout spot, Panda Hut, where Good Hope Dumpling and Ramen House is now.

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Chicken dry pot is another crowd favorite, where the chicken is fast fried in oil with chilies and garlic and vegetables, served to guests in the wok is was cooked in.

Yan, though, said Ginkgo took a while to catch on in the area, stating that most had likely not been exposed to that level of spice and heat level, and, unless you’ve been to a legit Sichuan restaurant, proteins like tripe, pork intestines, kidneys, ox tongue, pig ears, and frog legs might not be your choice over, say, sesame chicken.

“Real Chinese dishes make us different,” she says. “Lots of people at the beginning didn’t want to try something new, so it took a while. Even still, we’re considered medium or medium spicy. Most people like General Tso’s chicken or something with that universal sauce that you see all over most Chinese menus.”

And while they do have some of those Americanized Chinese dishes on the menu, she’s happy that Ginkgo’s regulars have switched gears to appreciate their “very Chinese” dishes like chicken dry pot, chili chicken (she likens it to popcorn chicken, only coated in cornstarch and fried with dry chilies), sole with Sichuan chili sauce, and a few of their signature large format duck entrées.

“When we opened, we wanted to let people known that we have the most authentic Peking duck (the skin is air dried and spice rubbed), and we used to have the chef come out to cut it up tableside,” Yan says. “It still has to be reserved ahead of time because it takes two hours for us to roast it. Even though that’s our most popular, the tea smoked duck is another; it’s smoky and fragrant. We smoke it with tea leaves and it comes out crispy.”

But even though Ginkgo’s spicy Sichuan authenticity has caught on in Fairfield and beyond, they’re cool if you just want a guilty pleasure order of General Tso’s, fried rice, an eggroll, and a Coke.

As for what’s in store in Ginkgo’s near future, there’s their annual Chinese New Year celebration, and because 2027 will be their 10th anniversary, you can certainly expect a big party to mark that milestone. 

923 Post Road, Fairfield
203.220.9666, ginkgosichuancuisine.com
Instagram @ginkgofairfieldct