For more than a decade, The China Kitchen at Hyatt is one of the best places to savour authentic Chinese cuisine. I remember my first dining experience at the restaurant over nine years ago when my cousins were visiting and wanted to try Chinese food in Delhi. Back then there were not many restaurants serving authentic Chinese food; The China Kitchen was still one of the hot places satiating our cravings for Chinese food. So when I got an invite to review it this year, I thought it was a good enough reason to review the restaurant and see how the place has changed over the decade.
It was a little cold outside the evening I arrived - but the restaurant was warm, quite busy and the service was welcoming. The restaurant is designed around the concept of 'dining around the kitchen.' It has a relaxed, plush and modern vibe. But along with the modern ambience, the restaurant maintains a few traditional elements of a Chinese house like a Peking duck oven, a noodle station and a permanent dessert station too. I really like the cubicles here - these allow you to have a cosy meal, while still being part of the larger, more indulgent space.
The new menu, curated entirely by MasterChef Zhang, takes its inspiration from Sichuan province which has one of the eight major cuisines of China. The menu comprises dishes like wok-tossed chicken with fresh Sichuan pepper, Sichuan seafood, and wok tossed Sichuan Tianfu lamb make the menu power-packed. Not just that, there is a selection of healthy dishes too like seaweed salad with spring onion, hand-pulled shaved noodles, asparagus, cabbage and saffron dumplings. My vote definitely goes to wok-tossed chicken and hand-pulled shaved noodles.
Where: The China Kitchen, Hyatt Regency Delhi, Bhikaiji Cama Place, New Delhi
Price for two: INR 4500 plus taxes
Look at my whole experience here: