Freshly stir-fried organic vegetables and brown rice black bean cake, grown and ground by the KTV owner himself

A grandfather goes to the fields for his grandson, so people can sing karaoke and still eat organic ingredients! Shencai Feiyang KTV, in business for 28 years, began using crops from "Kantian Tian Farm" in its dishes five years ago. Guo Mingxian, who runs both the farm and the KTV, rolled up his sleeves and farmed himself for the sake of his grandson's food safety, turning the harvest into cakes and dishes, creating a great place to sing your heart out and eat well.

Regulars at Shencai Feiyang have joked, "This is a stir-fry restaurant held back by a KTV!" The signature braised minced pork is a must-order for regulars, and the generous home-style dishes are made with impressive ingredients. "We only serve what we're willing to eat ourselves, so guests eat the same dishes as the staff." Guo Mingxian, a food lover, has batches of ingredients and wild clams sent over from the farm and served up as fresh stir-fries.

For his grandson, the KTV owner went to the fields himself and built a 22-hectare organic farm

Shencai Feiyang KTV on Bo'ai 2nd Road in Kaohsiung, China sits among chain KTVs such as Daitangdian and Xiang Wenxin. Its white exterior resembles a castle, with two floors and 40 private rooms inside. Guo Mingxian, who has an engineering background, went from investor to KTV operator 22 years ago. He demands the highest standards for every detail in the venue, thoroughly overseeing everything from decor, environment and hygiene to food, staff and even customers, overturning the era's impressions of KTVs.

Five years ago, Guo Mingxian made a major life change for the sake of his one-year-old grandson's diet. "At that time my granddaughter wanted snacks, and I kept telling my daughter-in-law, 'Don't buy this,' 'That one has additives, no.' Then I realized I had never told her what she could buy." He began researching how to make cakes and how to choose ingredients, seeking help from Xie Shengyou of Haoshiji and consulting university professors about food processing knowledge.

Guo Mingxian traced ingredients all the way back to their places of origin, but still wasn't reassured. In the end, he decided to farm himself and open a bakery, using crops harvested from the fields to make cakes and send them to the KTV for dishes. "At first I thought 2 jia of land would be enough, and I asked friends to help find land, but in the end the only options were 2 fen or 20 jia." And so, the 22-hectare "Kantian Tian" organic farm in Biegu Wetland came to be.

The KTV's third floor becomes a bakery, grinding brown rice and black beans on site to make cakes

Besides the farm, Guo Mingxian also opened a bakery. Sharp-eyed visitors will notice the bakery and the KTV share the same address. "For the bakery, all 8 private rooms on the third floor were torn out and converted into a baking space in line with food processing standards." said Daren Ge, who has worked there for 10 years. Originally responsible for the KTV's electronic equipment, he studied baking out of interest and got certified 5 years ago to help run the bakery.

The third floor of the KTV is a restricted area. Apart from baking staff, no one may enter freely, and even entering requires changing shoes and wearing a hairnet. "We don't use wheat flour. This is rice flour ground from the farm's brown rice." Daren Ge brought out the ground rice flour. An assistant mixed the rice flour, flaxseed oil, milk and other ingredients into a batter, while Daren Ge took out the yolks of animal-welfare eggs, preparing to make a light cheesecake.

Kantian Tian Bakery's two signature items are brown rice light cheesecake with lemon and black bean brownies. "Grinding black beans directly releases oil, so before grinding they have to be dried for 7 days using the residual heat of the oven, dried until they can be ground." Daren Ge carefully checked the black beans on the baking tray. In addition, the eggshells from the eggs used are hygienically treated, crushed and mixed with lemon to replace baking powder.

The daily grinding amounts of brown rice and black beans are 10 kg and 5 kg respectively, so at most 200 cakes can be produced per day. "If you want some, call and ask. If there's none in stock, I'll ask the customer to wait 2-3 days, because cake is only good when made fresh." Daren Ge opened the refrigerators and freezers. There weren't many cakes inside. Apart from pre-orders, the rest of the stock is provided for KTV guests.

A hotel head chef cooks home-style dishes, balancing taste with food safety and health

Beyond singing at the KTV, what leaves the deepest impression is the food. The venue's head chef, Hong Shishen, is in his fifth year on the job and has been a chef for more than twenty years, having previously worked at well-known hotels such as Brother Hotel. He returned to his hometown to care for family and came to Shencai Feiyang KTV. "Cooking at hotels in the past was very wasteful. Many dishes used only a small part of an ingredient." Hong Shishen recalled. Unlike his past use of ingredients, he thinks handling them is not troublesome; instead, it cuts down a lot of food waste.

Besides tasting good, the choice of ingredients and cooking methods must balance food safety and health. "We don't dare use things of unknown origin." Hong Shishen always shops in person. Even seasonings use certified brands. Other ingredients, apart from those from Kantian Tian organic farm, are sourced locally.

Hong Shishen's arrival changed the menu, work flow and systems. He introduced the hotel kitchen management system, making work smoother for colleagues, and to design the menu he repeatedly surveyed staff and guests for feedback and made adjustments. "Dishes aren't decided by the chef alone. What the diner feels matters most. Any dish can be adjusted." The menu is redesigned every year so diners always have a surprise.

Sing and eat well, and the environment is non-toxic too

The electronic display above the KTV's main entrance shows the current total number of people inside. Manager Xiao, who has worked there for more than 12 years, explained that for escape safety, every space has a legal occupancy limit. Once exceeded, guests are asked to wait or go elsewhere. All building materials and paints in the venue are fire-rated. He said, "More than 10 years ago, when I was here wiping tables and washing rags, it was already like this."

The venue holds fire drills every month, and all staff must take part at least once. "We have three shifts, and each shift's staff rotate through once." In other words, the KTV holds at least three fire drills every month.

Passing through corridors like a palace, the cleaning cart parked in front of the private rooms has two boxes of rags. "One box is clean, one box is dirty. Every room you wipe, you change rags." Manager Xiao explained that the cleaning supplies for tidying private rooms are only three things: alcohol, baking soda and homemade cleaning enzymes. "Mr. Guo requires that all ingredients in cleaning products must be safe and harmless. We can only use these, so our cleaning takes longer."