New York City restaurant Hutong NYC tantalizes diners with both its design and menu.
A feast for the eyes, masterminds of the Midtown haunt blueprinted a space depicting “Chinese modernization and elegance with a twist of Western culture.” While many know American variations of the movement, Hutong takes several cues from the lesser-known Shanghai Art Deco style of architecture found in China.
The dining room catches the eyes of all who enter: polished metal chandeliers, thoughtful lighting, and dark shades of blue spawn a welcoming ambiance inside. The uber-high ceilings feature an Art Deco ziggurat design, widely seen in the Chrysler Building, with inset silver leaf panels.
The bar area rivets cocktail lovers and interior design enthusiasts alike. Guests walk down a dramatic wine hall with soaring glass fronts and a mirrored ceiling. Once entering, emerald walls and shagreen leather banquettes surround a hexagonal bar, where a white marble top, zigzag oak front, and assemblage of layered shapes pay homage to the Art Deco movement. When here, sip on the Comfortably Numb cocktail, which consists of vanilla vodka, lychee liqueur, and ruby red grapefruit; Sichuan Pepper remnants coat the rim of the glass.
Serving Northern Chinese cuisine, lauded Hutong dishes include the Yu Xiang Fried Dumplings — spicy pork with salted fish and broad beans in a crispy rice outside — as well as the Dim Sum Platter, an artful masterpiece that tastes just as amazing as it looks.
Hutong’s Roasted Peking Duck is a must-try. Delicately carved at the table, the entirety of it is carefully prepared for 24 hours using a traditional recipe said to have been developed over one hundred years ago for that epoch’s reigning Emperor; the skin is crispy, while the meat remains moist, tender, and flavorful.
Dinner ends best with the Bao and Soy Milk: a white chocolate-covered, sesame, and bao-resembling caramel mousse served atop a praline sesame crunch.
While Hutong’s New York City location is its latest, the restaurant also has London and Hong Kong posts.
