Liu Xiaomeng, founder of a chain of restaurants called Fortune Garden based in the northeastern metropolis of Tianjin, China, has bought one of Seattle's premier seafood restaurants, Flying Fish.
Launched by Christine Keff in Belltown in 1986, the Fish (as everyone calls it) moved to South Lake Union three years ago. Keff had worked at McCormick & Schmick and the Hunt Club in Seattle, and at the Four Seasons in New York before that. Her flavors at the Fish were new and honest, with unusual fish (bronzini, opah) and exotic preparations (curries, stir-fries, lemongrass).
Within a couple of years, the Fish was ranked one of Seattle's top restaurants and Keff herself was named Best Chef in the Northwest/Hawaii by the James Beard Foundation in 1999.
Liu's restaurant empire is extensive. He began with one restaurant in 1992, now has 15 stores in 8 cities, with a total of 3,200 employees. A year ago, he moved to Seattle with his wife, Sophie, "to retire," he says. He toyed with the idea of opening a steak house here (beef is hard to come by in China) but decided instead to concentrate on seafood. He started spending a lot of time eating at the Fish and became good friends with Keff.
Meanhwile, off Highway 202 in Redmond, Liu found an old bamboo farm on which he built a seven-bedroom house with what he calls a "development kitchen." He intends to make it a training base for his Chinese chefs so they can learn more about the dining habits of North Americans. Eventually, he plans to expand Flying Fish into Bellevue and Kirkland, as well as British Columbia and California.
His new chef at the Fish (taking over a spot held by Zack Foster, Angie Roberts, and Steve Smrstik) is a 30-year-old Franklin High grad named Princess Franada who did her culinary training at Renton Voc-Tech, A ten-year veteran at the Fish, she has also worked at Palace Kitchen and BoKA.
In a sample lunch for media today, a brigade of three newly-arrived chefs from China teamed up with Keff and Franada to prepare lunch. The visitors did their shopping at Costco, where they marvelled at the quantity and variety of fresh food, but they did not buy any Alaska King Crab because it's cooked before it's frozen. Instead, they used crab from a shipment of 100 cases of crabmeat that Liu had purchased frozen (but uncooked).
As for Keff, she says "I'm happy to just be a chef again, and not have to worry about running a restaurant." She'll remain on hand as a consultant for six months or so, working on changes in the Chinese custom of "family dining" to the American preference for individually plated dinners.
Flying Fish, 300 Westlake Ave N, Seattle, 206-728-8595 
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