All through the ‘70s and ‘80s, there were only two cuisines that dominated the Delhi restaurant scene, Indian (predominantly Mughlai) and Chinese. Of course, we had our own version of Chinese food, which became so popular and famous that there exist Indo-Chinese restaurants in Manhattan and New Jersey. But we struggled with authentic Chinese restaurants.
Back in the day, there were only three restaurants for the real deal: House of Ming at the Taj Mansingh, which still exists with an almost unchanged menu; Tea House of the August Moon at the Taj Palace, which closed doors in 2009; and Taipan at the Oberoi, which has been replaced by the horribly expensive, Baoshuan.
In the last decade, there have been only two additions to this list, China Kitchen at the Hyatt Regency (which, by the way, is introducing a new hot pot option which I’ve tried and is fantastic) and Shang Palace at the Shangri La’s-Eros Hotel.
So when I heard that a new Chinese restaurant has opened at the Sheraton New Delhi, which boasts of the fabulous south Indian restaurant, Dakshin, I was very excited. Yi Jing (Mandarin for, to change the classic), claims to serve Chinese food “incorporating traditional cooking techniques… in refreshing and inventive ways”. However, despite the charming manager, Abhinav Kumar, and his colleague Teresa, the food reminded me of Mainland China, on a bad day.
The vibe: It felt as if halfway through the project, the budgets were cut. The designs are grand, a private dining room to accommodate 16 with its own bar and large balcony, a separate hot pot section and a Tie Ban (iron plate, similar to teppanyaki) counter. But then the tables, the chairs and sofas all seemed poor. The red crystal chandeliers seemed cheap, but were probably authentic – made in China?
Do try: The Sichuan Chilli Chicken, which was delicately fried and had the awesome hit you get from Sichuan Pepper. The White Chocolate and Ginger Cheesecake, which is served like an ice cream bar. Innovative and with a good balance of flavours.
Skip: The dimsums — the skin was too thick and the fillings poor. Whilst the Prawn Hargao was okay, the filling in the pan-fried lamb sticklers tasted like desi keema. The water chestnut and taro dumpling was a lump of pastry with some chestnuts thrown in and was tasteless.
The Beijing Roast Duck is also avoidable. The meat was cold; there was no crispy skin and it felt as if the condiments and duck had just been thrown on to the plate. The Crispy Pork Ribs were no better — no crispiness or crunch, and poor flavours. The exotic mushrooms in mala sauce was the nail in the coffin so to speak. Insipid at best. Mala sauce is meant to be an oily, spicy and almost numbing sauce. At Yi Jing it was definitely not any of that. Finally, the handmade noodles were more like a fettuccine (cooked al dente) than anything Chinese.
Go with: Someone you need to take to a five-star hotel, but you don’t want to pay five-star rates.
Spacebar: 6,000 sq. ft with seating for 112
How much? ₹4,500 for two excluding cocktails
Getting there: The first floor of the Sheraton, Saket. Best to cross the restaurant and enter Dakshin instead.
