The Fidi restaurant Tomorrow (the address is 200 Water but it is actually on Pearl between Fulton and John) has morphed into the Chubby Princess, serving dishes from northern China and some Chinese comfort food, like noodles and dumplings — and trying to be a little more mainstream (sadly) to accommodate local demand. Chef and partner Amelie Kang is an Eater Young Gun, a Forbes 30 Under 30 in Food & Drink and also has MáLà Project in the East Village — basically a regional food pioneer and star. Yet she said folks would come in looking for beef broccoli or chicken wings and walk out because the menu wasn’t “Chinese” enough. The reception surprised her, especially after the booming trend in authentic regional cuisine.

“Almost all of these customers leave because they don’t recognize our dishes and aren’t willing to try,” said Kang. “It’s extremely discouraging for me to see our customers turn away like that, and I would question: wait, but why don’t my customers know about this food already? We are in New York! We are supposed to be familiar with this kind of food now!”

After some pressure to take the whole operation to midtown, she decided instead to tweak the menu and add some more familiar dishes as a bridge to her favorites — and her mission.

“I want to get as many people to try our hometown food as possible, without losing integrity and still do it in style. By including the more common items, I can introduce the more exotic dishes such as Tomato & Egg, Beef & Potato Stew, and Tossed Pig Ear. I’m fully confident that original and regional Chinese food can go outside of Chinatown and East Village, and one day everywhere in New York, even America.”

More TK when I have the time to sit down for a bite.