Roast chicken is an ingenious combination of traditional Chinese roasting and Western hamburger method.[Photo by Yang Feiyue/ China Daily]

In addition to his innovations, Hu ensures that certain classic local dishes maintain their original flavor.

The chicken platter with fish sauce sticks to the letter of a traditional Xiaoshan recipe. Boiled chicken and pork are steeped in fish sauce that is brewed with Shaoxing rice wine, salt and local spices for hours. The seafood smell then merges with the meat.

"We only cut the steeping hours, because locals used to put meat in the sauce for days just so it wouldn't go bad, but that would be too salty for most customers," Hu explains.

Steamed shrimp with soy sauce follows a simple traditional recipe but remains the most popular with visitors. Local river shrimp meat is at its most tender from July to September, when females carry eggs. The live shrimps are put in hot water and steamed for two minutes. Soy sauce and Hu's secret-formula sesame oil are then sprinkled on them. The whole shrimp is used, resulting in crisp shells and smooth, tender meat.

A lake and mountains are right outside the restaurant, and a boat show featuring a traditional Chinese dance begins as the veil of night began to envelop the waterfront as we eat.

Now, Hu is offering a special service for his regular customers, who can order custom dishes beyond the menu.

"They just name some major ingredients they'd like to have or some well-known dishes they had before, and I'll do them my way," Hu says.

Contact the writer at yangfeiyue@chinadaily.com.cn