The Edge Singapore 25/04/2011 Page: 10 Section: Options Region: Singapore Circulation: 17870 Type: Singapore - English Newspapers Size: 457.00 sq.cms Frequency: -----S
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W's first Chinese restaurant stirs things up Sunita Sue Leng savours classic fare with a difference at Taipei eatery
C
sPiloena se, 11,7 oj et rtehminek
Le-
ung tells us as I gingerly try to pick up a triangle of foie gras mousse and
sour plum jelly with my chopsticks. These dishes are not de-
signed for foreigners; they're for locals, he says. But it's hard not to think fusion or at least some sort of nouveau variation of Chinese food. Bright orange pan-fried mullet roe, a Taiwanese delicacy often eaten during the Chinese New Year celebra-
tions, is paired with green ap-
doors on Feb 14. More significantly, we are lunching at YEN, which is the very first Chinese
restaurant the W Hotel group has opened.
Piloting this adventure is Leung, who was born in Hong Kong. These roots show up in
the strong Cantonese style of his culinary creations. Leung grew up in Singapore where he did his national service, he tells me, and started out in the restaurant business washing dishes. Over his 30 years in the business, he has been executive chef
ple and crisp rolls instead of the traditional combination of radish and leek. The steamed garoupa comes with tangy star fruit while crispy jumbo prawns are accompanied by kumquat. It's different but at its core, it is good, classic Chinese fare
at several leading hotels in the region, including the Mandarin Oriental Jakarta and Four Sea-
with a twist. However, it's not
nancial Street, Beijing. Merging traditional Chinese cuisine with
such a big twist that the original
dishes, handed down through generations, have been lost in translation. Comfort food such as mee sua is given a taste-lift
sons Singapore. In 2002, he headed to China,
where he started the Whampoa Club restaurants at Three on the Bund, Shanghai and Fi-
contemporary crowd-pleasers such as goose liver and serving up the dishes as pretty palettes of art won him fans. They with Thai basil leaves while pork are unlikely to be disappointgets an unorthodox pairing with ed with what he's rolling out betel-nut flower. We are lunch- in Taipei. ing at the premiere of the W Perched on the 31st floor of Hotel Taipei, which opened its the W Taipei, with a view of 101,
the city's emblem, YEN is a dra-
matic new take on the Chinese restaurant. The glossy dark lobby leads to a sleek open kitchen stacked with baskets of steaming dim sum. Seats are arranged in cloud formations surrounded by bungee ropes mimicking bird cages. One wall installation features hundreds of metal spoons in geometric circles. Another has Chinese ceramic spoons arranged in an intricate design. There is a
bar in a corner, with a mirror of eyes that appear to be winking at you, under the glow of "flying saucer" lamps individually cut for the hotel. The W is a little late getting
into the Chinese fine dining scene, but it is showing its commitment by making YEN the sig-
nature restaurant at the Taipei hotel, which is its 39th globally. That also shows just how far Chinese cuisine has come on the world stage and in this case, how it has evolved to bridge heritage recipes with tastes that are in vogue today. 0 Sunita Sue Leng was art associate editor at The Edge Singapore. She is now based in Taiwan.
Mirror of eyes at the bar at YEN, the W's first Chinese restaurant worldwide
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The Edge Singapore 25/04/2011 Page: 10 Section: Options Region: Singapore Circulation: 17870 Type: Singapore - English Newspapers Size: 457.00 sq.cms Frequency: -----S
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W Taipei
31F, 10, Zhongxiao East Road Section 5,
Taipei 110, Taiwan
Tel: +886 2 7703 8888
Opening hours 11.30am to 2.30pm; 6pm to lOpm Pan-fried Mullet Roe with Green Apple and Crisp Rolls
Provided for client's internal research purposes only. May not be further copied, distributed, sold or published in any form without the prior consent of the copyright owner.
Ref: 00099819132