To celebrate its reopening, the restaurant has a new menu focused on sustainably-sourced Chinese specialities. Executive chef of the hotel, Ip Tang Ying, takes the helm of the kitchen at Mei Jiang.
While the new menu focus on modern Cantonese delicacies, it is the plant-based menu that stands out. Yes, you read that right. Since the hotel’s shift to a wellness urban retreat, the food has evolved to be more health-conscious. The Health Menu (4,688++ for nine courses) is what needs to be had here.
“The concept of the new menu at Mei Jiang is a true taste of Cantonese cuisine but presented in a Western style. Each dish, though modern till retains its Cantonese flavour and heritage,” says chef Ying.
Begin with an amuse bouche of Century egg, pumpkin tart topped with black fungus (rather ominous sounding, but is just mushroom) tofu sauce, and fried dumpling with vegetarian filling. The meal begins with Celtuce and artichoke, pine nuts and chilli paste, served with black sesame vinaigrette. “It was a challenge to create a plant-based menu with Cantonese or even Chinese cuisines, though each cuisine has its own variations of vegetarian. The entire menu took me around three months to create. I have a Western cuisine background so presentation wasn’t a problem. Since I am from Hong Kong, my food is rooted in those flavours. I have created a vegetarian XO sauce for the menu, too,” explains the chef.
Wellness and ecology-minded diners can also now indulge in an array of new plant-based dishes at Mei Jiang featuring naturally sourced and locally-produced ingredients. Offered à la carte or as the plant-based set menu, these creations include a potato skin-based version of Peking duck and a char siu-style preparation of wheat gluten (seitan) that mimics barbecued pork. A line-up of herbal teas and other wellness-boosting beverages will also be offered as an accompaniment.
If plant-based isn’t for you, Mei Jiang’s menus continue to highlight the delicious Chinese dishes for which the restaurant is renowned — with a new modern presentation. The menu items, including signature dishes such as Hong Kong-style suckling pig, Braised fish maw soup with conpoy and drumstick mushrooms, Tea-smoked chicken with crispy rice, and Yin Yang fried rice (made with scallops, crab meat, and black truffle) will please the most discerning connoisseurs of Chinese cuisine. New dim sum offerings, including King crab spring rolls, Shu mai with black garlic, and Pan-fried Wagyu beef buns, are equally tempting and innovative. Call 02-020-6969 or email diningpbk@peninsula.com.
