China House

[corkscrew]

The new China House at The Oriental serves an authentic (meat attached to skin) Peking Duck. A beautiful atmosphere.

PS: Also, excellent Schyuan (sp.) soup.

[bkkmei]

thanks corkscrew. I love reading your reviews and seeing your pics of restaurants which are (in present circumstances, though hopefully not future) a little bit too upmarket for me!

It looks like the duck is still as good as before, but I've heard that the renovated decor isn't so hot? A bit on the poky/cramped side?

And.... how does the duck compare with the one you had elsewhere - was it the Pen?

cheers

[corkscrew]

thanks corkscrew. I love reading your reviews and seeing your pics of restaurants which are (in present circumstances, though hopefully not future) a little bit too upmarket for me!

It looks like the duck is still as good as before, but I've heard that the renovated decor isn't so hot? A bit on the poky/cramped side?

And.... how does the duck compare with the one you had elsewhere - was it the Pen?

cheers

The new decor is...as the menu describes it..."Shanghai Opium Bed". The rooms are small and it is a bit cramped.

The Peking duck was very good but I am more partial to the one served at the Shangri-La hotel.

[corkscrew]

Last night we went to China House, the Chinese restaurant at The Oriental hotel. The last time that we had eaten there was about four years ago. At that time it was light and open. Several months ago the place was closed for extensive renovations; when it opened a few weeks ago it sported a whole new atmosphere. From Cantonese airiness it morphed into Shanghai 1930's decadence. I don't mean that in an insulting way. The dark atmosphere brightened with deep reds gives the restaurant a sexy feel...like the opium dens of pre-war Shanghai. In fact, the small dining areas are characterized by the restaurant's menu as being like "opium beds".

We started with Sichuan soup. But, the main fare was the Peking Duck. The duck was prepared in the 'old' way...with some meat still attached to the crispy skin before it was folded into its edible carrier. [The 'new' way this dish is prepared was first experimented with in Hong Kong; it involved serving the skin alone...the meat followed in a separate concoction.] Back to the China House: the service was excellent and the serving girls were beautiful.