Here, dishes will always find a way to turn your expectations on their head
2017's Top 20 Restaurants: Jade Dragon
By Charmaine Mok
November 21, 2016
For the past five years, the team at Hong Kong Tatler Dining have had the task of reviewing hundreds of restaurants to ultimately select 20 that we feel represented the year's best dining experiences. Among so many meals eaten, we're confident that these 20 restaurants have achieved just that.
Each year, the Cotai Strip is quite unlike how it was a mere 12 months before—the birth of ever more impressive and flashy casino-resorts and hotels, springing up along the thoroughfare like plants after a long winter, can certainly overshadow those already in existence. We had a thought: would Pearl Dragon, the newer sibling housed in Studio City, nudge Jade Dragon off its Top 20 perch after so many years?
With Tam Kwok-fung in charge of the dining programme at both, it seems there is room for both. The chef has managed to create a new restaurant that is distinct and thrilling all on its own, and up the game at the original—and believe us, we couldn’t help but look extra hard for things to fault at this Crown Towers stalwart, something that may help us differentiate the twin Dragons in a competitive list that is already a difficult one to assemble.
But as we found, Jade Dragon never rests on its laurels. Here, dishes will always find a way to turn your expectations on their head; flavour combinations you rarely imagined will come to life, a humble root vegetable will be the best possible version it can be, challenging and exciting the tastebuds. You can see and feel the skill that has been put into taming the elements, the conscientious control of wood and flame that is the secret behind the lilting sweet smoky flavours of a tender roast goose.
Here, dishes will always find a way to turn your expectations on their head; flavour combinations you rarely imagined will come to life, a humble root vegetable will be the best possible version it can be, challenging and exciting the tastebuds
Unafraid to bring in ingredients not commonly associated with the Chinese kitchen, chef Tam has continued to redefine what it means to be cooking on the boundaries of tradition and innovation, east and west. His love for produce and labour-intensive cooking techniques has contributed superlative dishes this year such as rich chicken broth with black garlic and wild mushrooms—the soup is thickened from hours of cooking, the umami note of quality bird distilled into a velvety cascade of flavours. Crunchy quinoa plus meaty morels and chanterelles add effective texture points while imbuing the broth with a wild earthiness.
Elsewhere, plump Fine de Claire oysters are settled into bowls of soothing soup with grains of rice, which have soaked up the flavours of the bivalve; crispy rice grains to be sprinkled over the top add the essential textural contrast, in a stunning take on a traditional Shanghainese dish.
On the dim sum menu, French carrots and Yunnan ham are married in a tender union bound by sweet strands of radish that melt on the tongue, the exterior golden-brown, crisp and greaseless despite its turn in the deep-fryer. We can’t fault the procession of dishes that arrive at our table, nor the warm and welcoming service.
While there will be no doubt even more changes to come for Macau, there is always room for the classics. As they say, fashion fades—but style is eternal.
Jade Dragon, Level 2, The Shops at The Boulevard, City of Dreams, Estrada do Istmo, Cotai, Cotai, Macau; +853 8868 2822
Read more about the Hong Kong Tatler Best Restaurants Awards and see past winners here