On our last night in Chongqing, we didn’t really want to eat spicy food and wanted something lighter for our stomachs for the flight home, so when we saw the ad for Peking duck in the Chinese restaurant within our hotel, we immediately decided to call and make a reservation
Located on the 8th floor of the hotel, the restaurant is the sister restaurant of the famed dining institution at Grand Hyatt Beijing and serves northern Chinese cuisine. One of their highlight dishes includes the Peking Duck, prepared by a duck master in the restaurant’s custom-built wood-burning duck oven
With three Chinese-style private rooms, plus a Tea Room and a Wine Room, the restaurant’s layout is split into multiple spaces and promotes a lavish and stylish dining experience. We were given a small private room area in between all the wine and fruit fridges, so we had good privacy while eating
The table setting was fancy with both Western and Chinese cutlery. The style is both modern and with contemporary Chinese ware. There were also pickles and chickpeas given as snacks before the main meal. We ordered chrysanthemum tea, which had wolfberries to give it a nice natural sweetness
One of the main factors for us to eat here was the Peking duck, so we ordered an entire duck to be shared by 3 of us. The usual procedure follows with the staff cutting the duck in front of the guests. The condiments given here were slightly different, as there was sugar and minced ginger given on top of the usual shredded leek, cucumber and sweet flour sauce. Firstly, they will serve a small plate of crispy skin from the duck, which is eaten by dipping it in the sugar. Next, there was a plate of sliced meat with a bit of skin, which can be eaten as a wrap together with the condiments and vegetables. Lastly, we were served a plate of pure boneless meat, which can be eaten on its own. The duck was delicious, with very crispy skin, and the meat was tender and succulent without any gamey flavours
Since we had an entire duck, we only ordered vegetables for the rest of the dishes; the first was the blanched spinach with sesame sauce. This dish has a unique flavour, but I did find the overload of sesame seeds a bit overpowering as it got all over the place. The sauce was also on the thick side, which did not really coat the vegetables well
The 2nd vegetable dish was an egg fried with cabbage, which was a really simple dish but very welcoming for us after days of spicy food. The seasoning for the dish was light, but the natural sweetness of the vegetables paired well with the savoury flavours of the egg
The next dish was a tofu with creamy broth, which is also a light savoury soup with an eggy flavour and strong bean taste. The tofu texture is rougher than expected, as we thought it would be like the silken tofu kind of texture. It doesn’t taste bad, but the texture could be better
Last but not least, we were served the duck soup, and we were given a choice to take the duck rack on its own, or add some money to stir-fry the rack with spices or to have it as soup. We chose the soup option and were served 1 bowl each. The soup was comforting to the stomach after the meal since it was light and not too oily. There was a light duck flavour to the soup, but not overpowering
Overall, the restaurant serves a good selection of dishes and is catered well to foreigner tastebuds. The price is consider high end for locals as some dishes convert to similar prices in Singapore dollars. The service was attentive and friendly, with a cosy and comfortable environment
Address: No. 68 Zou Rong Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing 400010
Opening hours: 5.30 pm to 9.30 pm
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