YUE XIN - Indulge Your Dining Senses

Specializing in authentic Cantonese and Sichuan cuisine, YUE HIN at Niccolo Chengdu strives to capture the natural flavours of fine ingredients and essential produce - potentially from the local farmers and supplies throughout the country, mastering the culinary and innovative dining concept to please your demanding palate as well as to indulge your dining senses to another level. mylifestylenews writes.

Dining in signature Chinese restaurants in hotels in China is always a delight, with more or less a certain degree of confidence assured guaranteed. Not only that, they really want to showcase more than just the basics in terms of culinary experience by scratching their creative minds further by adding some touches of luxury which creates an elevated and memorable dining experience. YUE HIN at Niccolo Chengdu is no exception, with some creative and delicious food to be savoured.

Tucked away at the corner on the second floor of the hotel and posing a conundrum – it is an open plan dining room with views out to the attached luxury IFS shopping mall. The striking interior design catches all eyes from passersby, thanks to the team behind the Hong Kong based Cheng Chung Design (CCD) lead by Joe Cheng with attention to details contributed to create this superlative YUE HIN’s interior and dining ambience.

The mood is cozy and with hues of fiery red chosen to highlight the entire restaurant, not only bringing grandeur of ostentation yet the extravagant space also reflects the elegance of the entire restaurant with some elements of detail gracefully juxtaposed with the entire design concept. Some exterior seating in the thoroughfare with only vertical acrylic panels designed in oriental motif in a vertical pergola style to create a “wall or partition” on two sides, there really is not much privacy (unless you book one of the many private dining rooms) but allows a more friendlier dining ambience.

These panels are very attractive and allow a view inside and outside, depending on where you are being seated, so it may be good for business, as the open view may attract walk-ins from shoppers who wander in the shopping mall and remind in-house guests going to the adjacent all-day dining Niccolo Kitchen that there is a Chinese restaurant, but for us it was a tad distracting, so the main focus was to be about the food.

The main dining room is broken up by large sofa seatings adorned with planted bonsai trees. A collection displayed art works on the back wall which was a disconnect, as they didn’t seem to fit the Chinese theme, whereas there are other delightful Chinese accents, such as the metal birdcages in a more modern take on interior design.

Tabletops are kept very simple with some attractive and colorful print show plates in red lattice patterns, so overall a modern Chinese bent rather than traditional, fitting the hotel’s design ethos of looking forward, not to the past.
 

The large menu offers some salivating and traditional Cantonese and Sichuan cuisine, from signature dishes to nouvelle gastronomy for diners to explore the unknown from the traditional dishes.
 

<Marinated Tree Tomato>
We began our dinner with two different starter platters of cold dishes to whet the taste buds. First, this trio platter came with halved marinated yellow tree tomato that offers a fresh yet stunning flavour that was almost redolent of grapes and cherries, organically delicious, juicy and burst in your mouth effect in one go. Expect the unexpected from the opening palate.
 
<Foie Gras with Caviar>
A second mouth full bite is the foie gras topped with caviar. Texture wise it  was on the grainy side and less creamy, a bit like a tasty egg yolk hard boiled in texture and the caviar added additional savoury finish on palate.

<Qing Yuan Chicken with Mixed Ginger/Shallots>
The last dish on this platter is two tender slices of Qing Yuan chicken from Guangdong province which is re-known for its local agricultural resources over thousands of years of cultivation history. Qian Yuan chickens are cage-free, raised in mountain areas, inhaling the freshest air from their surrounds. Hence, the meat are intense in flavour and taste much more tender, being well marinated with Chinese rice wine for its aromatic light crispy skin, served with the mixed ginger and shallots on the side to compliment the subtle flavour.
 

<Fried Shredded Taro>
The second trio platter came with a slaw of deep-fried Taro, light, fluffy and tasty.

<Agropyron Cristatum Salad>
A jelly cup consists of asparagus crested wheat grass foraged plants dressed with tasty vinegar that offers a delicious crunchy mouthful in one bite.

<Deep-Fried Pork Jowl with Chilli Sauce>
A rather chewy snacker that was to be expected with intense flavour from the Sichuan chilli marinade and the aromatic sesame seed. We loved it!

<Double-Boiled Pine Mushrooms Soup with Pork and Chicken>
A delicious consommé style of soup that was a clear broth with such blossoming flavours derived from the aromatic mushrooms and poultry. Perfection for such a classic Chinese soup!

<BBQ Platter>
Roasted Crispy Pork Cube

Traditionally, a 5-layer of fat and meat combination from the cut of meat to produce the most flavoursome crispy pork “belly” with a balance of meat and fat combination, while there was only three layers chosen here, but there was a lightness in the crispiness, with some juicy less tender meat and mostly fat resulted in a quite bland taste and less satisfying on palate.

Barbecued Pork with Honey Sauce aka Char Siu

The appearance was good with a charred and crispy finish, but the marinade was a little too sweet, so you could immediately ditch the accompanying caster sugar. The meat was on the dry side and not juicy enough to savour and delight the expected traditional barbecued pork palate.

Roasted Crispy Duck with Chinese Five Spices

A light and crispy skin to die for and young, tender juicy meat was well marinated. Despite all three portions were rather small but the duck was the most delicious and the best of all three on this BBQ platter.
 

<Roasted Crispy “Qing Yuan” Chicken with Mashed Shrimps and Pork>
More like a premium banquet dish with extremely crispy golden brown chicken skin minus the oily part, stuffed with minced pork and shrimps that was redolent in the main ‘mash’. A very delicious dish that was well executed.
 

<Boiled baby Cabbage with Chicken Soup & Salty Pork>
A beautifully farmer style hearty soup with a subtle chicken flavour and cured salty pork taste from its bone, boiled with baby cabbage which had been cooked just enough to remain a little crunchy in texture. This winter warmer soup was a total winner and a delicious classic!
 

<Dan Dan Noodles with Minced Pork and Pickles>
A rather safe rendition. First, the presentation did not look too inviting from a traditional Dan Dan noodles dish as expected and lacking some individuality. Instead, it looked as if it had been modified to suit the western or touristy palate from its presentation and taste. The noodle texture did not stand out, rather overcooked and also lacked the numb and peppery kick from the chilies.
 

<Braised Tofu with Minced Beef and Sichuan Pepper>
By the look at it, you just can’t wait to dive in. The rich color and taste was perfection, with the right balance of chilli oil, medium heat (to our palate satisfaction) Sichuan pepper that was not numbing and silken tofu that could not be beaten for texture and lastly, minced beef that was well seasoned, so tender and flavoursome. This was the outstanding and satisfying dish of the evening! A genuinely viva Sichuan dish to be celebrated.
 

<Deep-fried Rice with Shrimps, Coriander in Lobster Soup>
The deep-fried crispy rice is the highlight (which is added to the lobster broth at the table) and the beautifully clear lobster soup was delicate yet rich in flavour. It was simply so enjoyable. The small chunks of lobster and diced asparagus added that textural counterpoint on the palate. A winning dish!
 

<Baked BBQ Pork Puff>
The first “pre-dessert” came as a baked BBQ Pork sphere Puff which is more like a savoury than dessert. This classic modern take on the Cantonese bun had a soft, flaky, airy texture and just the right sweet and savoury filling. Perfectly executed and so moreish!
 

<Steamed ‘Panda’ Custard Bun with Egg Yolk & Cream>
You can’t go without any panda’s elements or motifs when dining in Chengdu where this fabulous steamed ‘Panda’ custard bun was sticking his head out from the basket that would win over any guest and it had a deliciously not too sweet yet rich custard filling. Kudos to the chefs.

The overall dining experience in YUE HIN was delightful. The service was very warm and friendly, even with some little English communication hiccups they were trying very hard to please, but we got there and had a very enjoyable experience. Gloria, our server on that evening was extremely accommodating and helpful. We were well-looked after by Vicky, the restaurant manager who provided excellent service to please and the Sommelier, Nick, was very attentive and showed warmth in service. Given that we were the only non-local guests, it was a great effort from the team and we appreciated the culinary and service skills on all fronts. YUE HIN is a dining destination where you can enjoy the comfort of hotel luxury as well as a classic Cantonese and Sichuan cuisine in Chengdu.

Tried & Tested:

Location: 5/5
Design & Decor: 4.5/5
Food & Beverage: 4.5/5
Service: 4.5/5
Value For Money: 4.5/5
Experience: 4.5/5

YUE HIN
Tower 3, Chengdu IFS,

No.1 Section 3,

Hongxing Road, Jinjiang District

Chengdu, China

Tel: +86 28 8220 8888

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