After opening his eponymous Chef Guo in August of 2022 with a 19-course tasting menu, Chinese Master Chef Guo Wenjun is now launching a new 10-course menu. To fully immerse guests in Chinese culture, Chef has refreshed the restaurant’s interior, adding 200-year-old artifacts from his personal collection, and imported grand cherrywood chairs with silk-embroidered cushions that set the tone for the eclectic menu.

Chef Guo

Chef Guo’s offerings are unlike any other, as he has created his own category of healthy, royal Chinese cuisine. He uses traditional Chinese dishes as the base and inflects the different culinary techniques he has learned from tireless experimentation throughout his illustrious career, accenting them with Western ingredients like caviar and foie gras to create innovative dishes with organic, nutritional ingredients that are sourced fresh daily for each seating.

The restaurant is hidden on the ground floor of The Randolph House luxury residences and is accessible only by ringing a doorbell at the entrance. Guests are greeted by a server dressed in a traditional red robe and led through a vestibule sealed off from the restaurant by wooden doors, adorned with traditional Chinese carvings. They are then transported to an intimate dining room that resembles an imperial courtyard that is dimly lit and centered by an artificial Ginkgo tree (China’s National Tree). The dining room accommodates just 10 for each seating, and the servers take their time to carefully explain each dish, its ingredients, and the story behind its invention, creating the atmosphere of a private dinner party.

The menu was inspired by its featured entrée, Eternal Bliss of QianKun Pot, which originated from Emperor Chengzu Zhu Di who moved the Capital to Beijing. He regarded Beijing as the Land of Dragon Rising and the center of the world. To celebrate the grand event, he ordered the imperial chefs to gather the best ingredients and serve them in a handmade Cloisonne Pot from the Jingtai era.

The 10-course menu begins with a Four Appetizer Platter, a sampling of small bites, moving quickly on to the following course of Roasted Peking Duck with Foie Gras Cherry, a beautifully plated and colorful dish consisting of sliced Cape Gooseberry, especially crispy Peking Duck topped with Siberian caviar presented with foie gras rolled in beets to resemble a cherry, and sliced mango with purple sweet potato puree; followed by Creamy Golden Pea Soup with Black Truffle; Gung Bao Premium Lobster Tail, warm water lobster tail sourced from Australia in a traditional Gong Bao sauce that has elements of spiciness, sweetness, umami, and sourness; Bi Feng Tang Sea Bass, inspired by Hong Kong sea boat fishermen who filet and fry their fish on the boats, is lightly fried in batter seasoned with Chinese spices, garlic, and parsley, served over fried noodles; and Fragrant Stuffed Morel Mushrooms.

The show-stopping course is Eternal Bliss of QianKun Pot, served in a handmade Cloisonne pot that is a piece of art in itself. Qian Kun means Ying and Yang, and symbolizes the balance of nutrition in Chef Guo’s culinary system. It has more than 20 ingredients including: abalone, sea cucumber, fish maw, which is rich in collagen, Chinese prawn, scallops, bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, lean pork meatballs, crispy fried pork, brined quail eggs, green bean noodle, Chinese cabbage, and crispy tofu, cooked in a broth made from chicken and pork simmered for 10 days.

The savory courses conclude with Wild Green Stir Fried Rice, wild millet rice cooked in a Chinese chive sauce, served in a wafer shell adorned with an edible red lotus mandala.

Desserts are Honey Glazed Golden Nest BaBao Sweet Rice Pudding, sweet rice pudding with eight premium ingredients in bird’s nest soup, a Chinese delicacy; and a final course of Assorted Fruit, artistically cut fruit like cubed melon, heart-shaped dragon fruit, and a ring of pear.

To complement the menu is a concise list of Champagne and wine that leans French and is accented by New World selections from California. A seven-course wine pairing is available to accompany the 10-course menu.

Chinese Master Chef Guo Wenjun began his culinary training at the tender age of 14 under the mentorship of Chinese Master Chef Ding Guangzhou, a seventh-generation disciple in the line of royal chefs, in the discipline of Chinese Imperial Cuisine. In his forty-year career, Chef Guo has held posts as Executive Chef at the Platinum Seven-Star Beijing Palace International Hotel, the Diaoyutai Garden Villa International Club, been recognized by China as an Elite Master of the Chinese Culinary Arts and won the Gold Medal at the Asia Cuisine Competition.

chefguo.com
135 East 50^th Street, New York, NY 10022
@chefguorestaurant
Tuesday – Sunday: Seatings at 6:00pm and 8:30pm