Chinese Master Chef Yuanzhong Jia is a renowned name in Mumbai where he has been instrumental in making Shanghai Club at ITC Grand Central as one of the prime destinations for Chinese Cuisine. If you are based out of Bangalore and love Chinese food then you are in for a treat! Mahjong Room at WelcomHotel is hosting a pop up with Chef Jia where he himself will be present to take you on a culinary journey to experience the delectable flavours of his home province Sichuan along with Hunan, which he holds close to his heart. Read on to know more about our preview dinner.

Mahjong Room

To begin with, let us know more about Chef Jia. He specialises in Hunan and Sichuan cuisines and also has a wide knowledge of Cantonese, Beijing and Shanghai cuisines, with an experience of over 25 years working in China and also abroad, Chef Jia has been one of the key reasons for the success of Shanghai Club at ITC Grand Central where he’s been working for over six years now.

Chef Jia explaining us about the menu

Our evening at the Mahjong Room began with an elaborate chat with Executive Chef Dhawal Ajmera and Master Chef Jia who then briefed us about the tasting menu. The customary Butterfly Pea Flower Tea was served and a couple of us were fascinated by the way it changes colours from blue to purple upon addition of lime juice. First to arrive was the Chilli Butter Soup, we had the one with chicken, however, you do get options to go for vegetarian and seafood.

The Butterfly Blue Pea Tea and the Chilli Butter Soup

Congbao Yangrou and Hua Jiao Ji (Diced Chicken in Sichuan Pepper)

Next up was the Congbao Yangrou which is stir-fried lamb with onions and soy. I personally liked the fried diced chicken tossed in Sichuan pepper which is served on a bed of crispy spinach. Hunan Doufu and Ganbian Doujiao are the options that vegetarians can go for. We got to try both, Hunan Doufu is deep-fried tofu in Chef Jia’s special sauce, nice and crispy on the outside that gives out hints of tangy flavours nicely masked by the mild spiciness of the peppers, very impressive.

Gangua Shisu and Hunan Doufu

Main Course

The main course was elaborate, we paired an array of curries with almond fried rice and basil fried noodles. The highlight of this course was the Hunan Daxia which is prawn in Hunan sauce and Haoyou Xianggu (from the vegetarian section) which is mushroom in chilli oyster sauce, nicely done! Loved the array of delectable and bold flavours from each of the curries we got to try as part of this tasting session.

Chef Jia’s Pop-Up Menu

This can easily be classified as one of the best Chinese meals I’ve had in recent times, Chef Jia has managed to pull out a winner and I can only imagine how experiential it shall be dining at the Shanghai Club in ITC Grand Central. The pop-up menu is on from 19^th to 27^th July as a la carte option which is available for lunch and dinner. Go check it out, people!