Category Archives: Publication

The philosophy of restaurant design

by Qin Xie | Leave a comment

Published on host. Milano. on 17th April 2015:

The Corner Room

In London, restaurant design is surprisingly powerful in its subtlety.

Think, for example, of a restaurant with stripped back lighting, bare walls, white tiles and chrome fixtures. Who do you imagine will dine in such a restaurant? And what kind of food will be served? Now, what about a restaurant with plush banquettes, aged-wood panelling and framed paintings? Has your diner aged by a couple of decades?

As in other parts of the western world, a well designed restaurant in London might get mentions in a magazine, gain kudos in awards or even attract the right type of clientèle. Followers of restaurant psychology might even argue that the right restaurant design can increase the average spend of the diner, making restaurant design an incredibly powerful tool for the restaurateur.

Meanwhile, restaurant design in China is a wholly different ball game. Here, it’s less about the fine-tuning and more about the turnover.

Now, we’re not talking about the European restaurants in Shanghai which aspire to their international counterparts. Nor are we talking about international hotel restaurants which are inspired by a brand identity. Rather, we’re talking about restaurants for the mass market.

According to one restaurateur I spoke to last year, a successful restaurant will need to redecorate once every two or three years to maintain a sense of “newness” for its diners. A restaurant that hasn’t been redecorated for seven years or more is basically on its last legs and will have seen dwindling visitor numbers for some years.

The reason? Competition.

The number of restaurants in China is so incomprehensibly large that the only thing which distinguishes between them is that sense of newness. Here, restaurant design isn’t built to last but rather, just until its shiny edge has worn out.

Borago: cutting edge cuisine in Santiago, Chile

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Published on Matching Food & Wine on 4th March 2015:

kitchen_borago_santiago

Rodolfo Guzman, the young chief at the pass, was out foraging in the Atacama Desert to the north of Chile when I arrived for supper. The sizeable team, chaperoned by the even younger sous chef, Shannon Martincic, who I had mistaken for a stagiaire, was running on its own steam and to a good rhythm.

loco_borago_santiago

From what I gather, Guzman was with a group of international journalists. Entertaining scribes seems part and parcel of culinary stardom these days though Guzman hasn’t shirked his kitchen duties – assurances were given that the chef had foraged for the restaurant that morning before jetting off.

nest_quail_borago_santiago

Read more at Matching Food & Wine

Chinese New Year in a new age

by Qin Xie | Leave a comment

Published on host. Milano. on 27th February 2015:

Also available in Italian

typical feast dishes by Qin Xie

Chinese New Year was once a stay-at-home family affair where everyone huddled around home-made dumpling feasts and watched CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala. In the days preceding the new year, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers would flock home from all over the country, and sometimes the world, for a family reunion. The country would grind to a virtual stand still for the few days of mandatory public holiday.

Today, Chinese New Year is a much more varied affair, often taking place at the banqueting tables of restaurants. The fare inevitably varies from region to region but, rest assured, abundance is the theme. The drink of choice is beginning to reflect China’s prosperity in the last few years with more grape wines gracing the banqueting table but toasts still fall back on the traditional baijiu.

Chinese New Year is being celebrated in a big way around the world too. International hotel chains, especially those with properties in China, are sharing the celebration at their other properties around the world. For instance, W Hotels is hosting a Chinese New Year party in London, where they have a hotel just by Chinatown, to celebrate the opening of the group’s new Beijing hotel. Hakkasan, meanwhile, is taking inspiration from the wishing tree in Hong Kong and showcasing the theme at its restaurants around the world.

Wherever Chinese New Year is celebrated, there are a few similarities. Red, the most auspicious colour in Chinese culture, is used liberally whether in decorations, table coverings or little red envelopes. Symbols of prosperity such as the Chinese character 福, whole fish and lucky plants can always be found close at hand. But most importantly, Chinese New Year remains a family-focussed occasion so expect multiple generations gathering at one dinner table.

Mandarin Oriental Shanghai

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Published on Eat. Travel. Live. on 16th February 2015:

There’s an old Shanghainese saying, “I’d rather have a bed in Puxi than a house in Pudong”, referring to the gap in wealth between the western and eastern banks of the Huangpu river.

Standing under the towering skyscrapers of Pudong today, it’s hard to imagine why. Many of Shanghai’s super-structures, home to its numerous financial institutions, are based in Pudong. Shanghai’s tallest building, the 492m Shanghai World Financial Centre, and its most iconic viewpoint, the Oriental Pearl TV tower, both make up the city’s infamous skyline on, you guessed it, Pudong.

From the sanctuary of a Mandarin River View Room at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, a bed in Pudong looks pretty good too. It’s king sized with goose down pillows and luxurious linens. Of course, there is a pillow menu.

You can upgrade to a “Club” room which means that, after checking in with your personal butler in the cosy Club Lounge, you get to enjoy sweeping views over Pudong and the Huangpu river.

The breathtakingly obvious panoramic of Shanghai instantly captures your attention as you enter the room and the Mandarin has made the most of this with floor to ceiling windows in the bedroom and the bathroom. In fact, the big-enough-for-a-party tub has front row seats to the view – the perfect place to settle in with those Shanghai Tang bath salts and a glass of wine.

On the other side of a sizeable flatscreen TV you’ll find double sinks perched in front of brightly illuminated mirrors. Across from that, a dressing table is in a well-placed spot; they thought about the ladies in this one.

Beyond, a small cloister hosts a wardrobe area offering ample storage space. Conveniently, next to the wardrobe sits the coffee machine and kettle to help you settle in with a cup of something warm and comforting as you unpack.

If you did go for that upgrade, you’ll definitely be tempted to head back to the Club Lounge by the offer of Afternoon Tea and daily cocktail hour. Though of course, you can opt to enjoy some pampering at the Spa which boasts a crystal steam room, tepidarium chairs, aroma experience showers, sauna and an ice fountain.

For the gourmet, the best thing about staying at Mandarin Oriental hotels is that they always have a great restaurant offering. At Pudong, head to Fifty 8° Grill, a casual restaurant under the helm of Michelin-starred chef Richard Ekkebus, or Tony Lu’s Yong Yi Ting. And after dinner, instead of trekking across the river to The Bund, grab a cocktail at Qi Bar where local DJs play late into the night.

And should you find that you’ve stayed up way past bed time, worry not; there’s always Club late check out.