Executive Chef Timothy Chang

 

 

Chef Chang seems to have inherited his passion for fine food from his parents, Tsu-Yun (Cindy) and Wei-Tai (Michael) Chang.  The Chang family has owned and operated a variety of restaurants throughout New Jersey during the last 18 years.  This love of food is evidenced by the home-made greenhouse built and tended to by Mr. Chang to provide the unique and assertive flavors of Asian vegetables, that until recently were unavailable in the Garden State.  The entire family loves to cook, especially Mr. Chang, who is not to be upstaged by his son when he prepares the nightly family meal. 

 

Most recently, Chef Chang has taken on the exciting venture of converting Ixora Restaurant from a traditional Chinese - Japanese restaurant to a more exciting, contemporary and upscale Japanese - French dining experience along with its Sushi Bar.  “The time is right, actually past due, to provide New Jersey with a restaurant that combines classic French culinary techniques with the finest Japanese ingredients that have become readily available in today’s marketplace”.  The successes of Roy Yamaguchi (Hawaii and New York), Tetsuya Wakuda (Australia) and Alan Wong (Hawaii) have provided the inspiration to present New Jersey gourmands with his unique culinary style that marries the Japanese philosophy of natural flavors and artistic presentation with traditional French preparation.

 

“Overall, my food is simple, pronouncing the Japanese ingredients is the tough part!  The distinct and unique flavors of the Japanese ingredients provide a natural combination with the French style of cooking.  There is a certain clarity of tastes and textures that when combined, exists harmoniously.  These dishes exhibit pure clean flavors that are decisive yet completely refined.”

 

Chef Chang is self-taught, having spent more than 16 years in the family business, he has had the opportunity to learn from the best “Grand Chefs” of Chinese cuisine and the artistic skills of the Japanese Sushi Chefs (itamae-san) who have worked with the family.  The Grand Chefs all had their own cooking styles, based on what region (Cantonese, Peking-Shantung, Szechwan, Hunan and Fukien) of China they were from.  With a burning desire to learn, young Timothy worked alongside each Chef and gleaned valuable knowledge, experience and built a solid foundation of culinary techniques and fundamentals adopted from each Chef.  Expertise in knife handling became a necessity while preparing fish and vegetables for Sushi and Sashimi.  This experience also helped to refine the simple and inviting food presentations that the Japanese are known for.

 

Chef Chang takes every opportunity to expand his horizons and has worked alongside of  Ming Tsai (Blue Ginger) at the 2000 Dinner of Hope hosted at the Ryland Inn and Russell Siu (On the Rise) at the James Beard House.  In addition to the many charity events that Chef Chang has participated in, he hosted the Chaine des Rotisseurs Hunterdon -Princeton Chapter Chinese New Year celebration in February 2000, featuring a fabulous Six-course dinner.  Chef Chang was recently awarded 4 stars by Andrea Clurfeld of the Asbury Park Press and 3 ½ stars and "Best Restaurants of 2001" runner-up by Cody Kendall of the Star-Ledger.  He was also inducted by the Chaine des Rotisseurs as Maitre Rotisseur in November 2001.

Chaine des Rotisseurs Hunterdon-Princeton Chapter : February 23, 2003

Chaine des Rotisseurs Lehigh Valley Bailliage: March 9, 2003

Grand Tastings IX-Pleasantdale Chateau: May 19, 2003

 

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Pastry Chef Melissa Chang

 

 

A native of Taiwan of Japanese descent, pastry chef Melissa Chang loves sweets, even before she was born.  For nine months, Cindy Chang, mother of Melissa could only eat ice, any form of ice, either it be sorbets, sherbets, ice cream or plain shaved ice topped with fresh fruit, caramel sauces, syrups, purees and the list goes on. Melissa’s love for confectionaries is evidenced in the awe-inspiring pastry creations she has developed at Ixora restaurant.

 

 

In the years she lived in Taiwan, her grandfather tended to an extensive garden overflowing with tropical produce such as passion fruit, lychee, longan, star fruit, Asian pear, cherimoya, papaya, mango and taro.  Seeing such an abundance of fresh produce at such an early age had a great influence on her expectation of what desserts are to be.  In creating her recipes, Melissa draws upon such childhood memories.

 

 

The kitchen of Ixora, where her brother Timothy Chang is chef/owner, is her private paradise, a place where she can transform her vision into reality.  By combining traditional techniques and established recipes with current culinary trends and exotic ingredients, Melissa has come up with signature desserts such as Chocolate volcano with ginger caramel, Tama-nishiki rice pudding, Fugi apple tarte tatin and Pear brioche with umeboshi sauce, all of which have garnered her with rave reviews from patrons and critics of numerous papers. Much like her insatiable appetite for sweets, her creativity astounds guests with satisfying cutting edge pastries made from ingredients at the peak of their season.

 

 

"Melissa Chang's desserts are fitting finales, tightly constructed poems to the dessert gods."

Andrea Clurfeld, Asbury Park Press

 

 

"Melissa Chang can take her place beside any of the state's top pastry chefs."

Valerie Sinclair, NJ Monthly

 

 

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IXORA, a jungle geranium known as the “Flame of the Woods”, invites you to provide your own wines and sake to enjoy with lunch and dinner.