Hard to believe, but in the 10 years that the Park Hyatt Shanghai has been open, it’s never had a dedicated Chinese restaurant. Two weeks ago, they corrected that oversight, opening Yue Xuan (悦轩) on the 87th floor, in what used to be The Dining Room. (Oddly, they didn’t change the English name and so it also remains known as The Dining Room.) They recruited a chef, Yang Chao, who has a background cooking in private kitchens for our dear leaders; implemented an extensive regional tea program; and have chosen to serve exclusively Chinese wines. I went on the hotel’s dime last night. Here’s what I thought.

Chef Yang Chao (photo supplied by hotel)

Yang is a confident, talented young chef. He’s been cooking the food of Jiangnan — Shanghai, southern Jiangsu and Zhejiang — for more than a decade and he’s got a firm grip on it. What I tried last night was beautiful in both presentation and technique.

Crispy pork cheek, soy sauce, vinegar, chili, 58rmb (photo supplied by hotel)

Yang transforms pork cheek into savory, crispy fried tiles that are reminiscent of the region’s sweet-and-sour pork ribs but pulls back on sugar to leave just the bite of brown vinegar with the hum of chili. The knife work on his chilled celery dish turns the green stalk into a stacked flower, drizzled with soy.

Celery, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, 38rmb (photo supplied by hotel)

The centerpiece of the night, though, was the slow cooked Chongming chicken and fish maw in superior soup. The soup, yellow as an egg yolk, is made from a stock of old duck, pork shoulder, and chicken, among others, according to Yang, that gets reduced down and down and further down until it turns into a thick, rich broth that drapes the chicken. It’s the same stuff that Lou Shang hotpot got famous for (and countless other hotpot places have since copied), but given the five-star hotel treatment; it’s ridiculously good. Expensive too, at 1,288rmb before taxes and service. Still, it probably serves 4-6, if that helps justify it.

Slow cooked "Chongming" chicken and fish maw in superior soup, 1,288rmb (photo supplied by hotel)

I’d come again just for the last dish, a silky, chilled white sesame pudding (28rmb) with the texture of a creamy custard and a swirl of black sesame on top. By any measure, this is excellent cooking, but especially impressive given that the restaurant is less than a month old; that Yang has never worked in a hotel before, which comes with its own challenges; and that he, is in fact, from Henan, which is definitely not part of Jiangnan. Take my opinion with a grain of salt. Dinner was an invite, and the service staff made a fuss over our table, adjacent to the hotel GM’s table. I didn’t pay. That affects the experience. How much it affects the food? I suspect not so much. Yang is clearly a talented chef, and it’d be a shame to downplay that for a few (well, several) hundred rmb. If you’re a fan of Chinese food, as I am, consider putting Yang’s food and Yue Xuan on your to-eat list. Yue Xuan (The Dining Room), 87/F, Park Hyatt Shanghai, 100 Shiji Dadao, near Dongtai Lu. Full listing here.