Jing restaurant review: Experience Chinese cuisine and culture in tandem via an eight-course menu accompanied by stunning visual and historical narrative elements in Hong Kong
- Private dining room Jing – next to Auntie Ayi in Pacific Place – takes ‘dinner and a show’ to a new level with its immersive experience exploring the Tang dynasty
Dinner and a show. It’s a traditional phrase used to describe a good night out, but what if dinner is the show? Dinner theatre might not be anything new, but there does appear to be a growing trend in Hong Kong where the focus is on more than just what’s on the plates.
Fully invested in this concept is Jing, a private dining area next to Auntie Āyi in Pacific Place. The circular room is illuminated by projectors to give diners an immersive experience with the current theme exploring Chinese culture and the cuisine of the Tang dynasty (AD618 to AD907). Apparently the theme will change but we’re not sure how regularly given the current menu and visuals supposedly took a full six months to devise.
Our eight-course menu (HK$999) begins with a presentation on the Tang’s golden age of Buddhism, with visuals displaying the history of the era. After, we were presented with Tang Sancai Dharma scrolls, crispy bean curd sheets wrapped around celeriac roots, mushroom and pickles. This vegetarian dish was extremely well executed – the rolls were fried to an appealing golden hue and the fillings were expertly seasoned. A great start.
Each succeeding dish was similarly presented with visual and narrated elements relevant to the Tang dynasty. For instance, the duck pear symphony was served alongside a passage about the first recorded Chinese opera troupe, the Pear Garden, while beautiful visuals played of purple wisteria trees with golden fish swimming between their branches. On the palate, this dish was also a winner. The Chinese pear was poached in broth and stuffed with duck meat. The duck jus poured on top tied it all together – the fruit acquires an extra gaminess while the meat receives a refreshing twist.
The theatre continued accompanying more delicious dishes such as fragrant char siu gunpowder lamb, Yang Guifei lychee lobster and spring song seafood, all served and executed excellently.
