JAAN
BEIJING HOTEL NUO
Dear Cherry,
I have been hearing a lot of good things about the new Chinese luxury hotel group called NUO, and I was happy to have the opportunity to do my first review of a restaurant in a NUO property. From NUO’s website and press releases, “On September 20th, 2012, NUO Hotels was officially launched during an inauguration ceremony at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. The brand derives its name from the Chinese characters “诺金” (Nuo Jin) meaning ‘the golden promise’. In pioneering Chinese luxury hospitality as one of the country’s first homegrown five-star hotel brands, NUO Hotels interprets its ‘golden promise’ by drawing inspiration from the country’s 5,000 years of history and cultural heritage and its commitment to serving as a custodian of traditional Chinese culture.
NUO’s brand identity is symbolized by a Chinese vase, representing hospitality, prosperity, and commitment to a bright future. Inspired by China’s rich heritage, NUO Hotels’ core philosophies, as fully exemplified in the group’s properties, are encapsulated by four key brand pillars: Chinese, Luxury, Contemporary, and Green. At the same time, NUO Hotels is equally focused in promoting contemporary Chinese art and promises to offer a full range of modern luxurious travel experiences with NUO Travel whilst retaining characteristics of ‘low-carbon green intelligence’ in all its hotels. With a mission to ‘build a Chinese national brand, forge an international path’, NUO Hotels stands as a pioneer in symbolizing ‘The Chinese Dream’ for the hotel industry. Entirely owned by Beijing Tourism Group (BTG), NUO Hotels represents the novel lifestyle and attitude of modern China, whilst honoring its cultural heritage. Since the launch, the building of NUO Hotel Beijing, the group’s luxurious flagship hotel opened on 5 June 2015 as a contemporary lifestyle destination in ‘Modern Ming’ design. In addition to Beijing, NUO Hotels has development plans in China and rest of the world. 1 December 2016, Luxury Brand NUO added a second hotel to its portfolio. Key International Hotels Management Co., Ltd has been appointed to manage one of the oldest buildings in the capital. The former Raffles Beijing Hotel was rebranded as Beijing Hotel NUO, which is located at the southern end of Wangfujing Street, at the corner of East Chang’an Avenue. The hotel features 171 rooms and suites with various function room spaces. It is also well known for the afternoon tea at its Legendary Lobby Bar and the classic dishes at the French Restaurant, JAAN.
The hotel has a rich history and was considered one of the finest hotels in the Orient, formerly known as Grand Hotel de Pekin in 1917, which featured a tea hall and had its own orchestra ‘dancing every night’ and classic music during a fine French dinner. This grand hotel has been at the center of Beijing’s social, cultural and political scene for over a century. Cherished icon of Beijing’s heritage, Beijing Hotel NUO reveals its majesty in its regal Franco-oriental façade. Beyond the brass-bedecked doors lies a heritage interior of sweeping spaces, vaulted arches and inlaid marble and polished timber floors. As a dazzling social venue and glamorous gathering place, Beijing Hotel NUO simply has no match. Since it first threw open its doors to the city’s glitterati in 1917, the hotel has played a stellar role in Beijing’s social life, and its majestic formal rooms have been privy to a hundred years of socialite parties and state events. Today, the hotel grants a sense of occasion to a new generation of cultural and corporate events”. Upon entering the beautifully decorated lobby, I stood still, absorbing the classic luxury surrounding me and I appreciated the quiet and understated elegance before me. Straight ahead is a grand staircase, and to the left is a long hallway consisting of a series of big square marble pillars with archways coming from the tops, going in four directions, every 90 degrees. Between each archway the ceilings are domed and in the center of each dome hangs a beautiful chandelier, creating a long string of all crystal chandeliers down the center of the hall. As I walked down this hall to the restaurant I felt like I was taking a leisurely stroll in my own mansion.
Entering the large rectangular marble entranceway to JAAN, in what was formerly a grand ballroom, I was greeted by another scene of striking beauty. Straight ahead is a French style, spring loaded polished dark wood dance floor. Built in 1920, it was Beijing’s most luxurious dance floor in its heyday of the roaring 1920’s. It was restored in 2000. Curved at each end, it is made of strips of dark wood. Hotel historical literature says “the dance floor is the witness of the hotel’s early heydays when the hotel was the preferred venue for social events, both foreign and on the Chinese calendar. The frequent gourmet parities, concerts, and dances were patronized by all communities so that the hotel served as an important point of social contact between Chinese and foreign celebrities including the late Dr. Sun Yat-Sen and his wife, Chiang Kai-Shek and young marshal Zhang Xue Liang. Now, the historic timber sprung dance floor is the proud centerpiece in JAAN Restaurant”. It caused me to ponder as to who danced to the melodious renderings of past musicians in this room. I could feel, and almost visualize those romantic scenes of the past as dancers danced and lovers loved to the soothing accompaniment of the lovely music. On one side of the dance floor is “The Writer’s Bar”. I had to wonder if the famous English novelist, W. Somerset Maugham, sat there sharing his fleeting presence with this hotel so many years ago. Adorning the walls in the lounge area are several nicely framed photographs of Chairman Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and others hosting foreign dignitaries at banquets in the hotel in the 1950’s and 60’s. I can almost see the Chairman and his guests dancing effortlessly around the elegant dance floor.
Back to the present, it was time to get my evening started! I took a seat at The Writer’s Bar where I was greeted by Hilda Li, Supervisor of the French restaurant JAAN, and The Writer’s Bar. I requested a dry gin martini, which was expertly prepared by Albert Zha, also a Supervisor in both JAAN and The Writer’s Bar. While I enjoyed my drink, Hotel Manager Gerrit Thesing came to the bar to say hello and wish me well for the evening. We had a pleasant talk and then he left for a dinner engagement. When I finished my drink the Assistant Manager, Jack Li, escorted me to my table in JAAN. The restaurant is located on the other side of the dance floor from The Writer’s Bar in the same elegant open room. The Chef De Cuisine of JAAN is Allen Xu, who has 15 years of culinary experience in top French restaurants in Beijing. Once seated and organized, Eugenio Iraci, Executive Western Chef joined me and explained that he works closely with Chef Allen monitoring and elaborating on the a la carte menu. I had the privilege of allowing Chef Eugenio to recommend all of my menu selections to include some of the new summer dishes and I was so happy to be able to try these newest culinary creations.
My first taste for dinner was an Oyster “La Boudeuse” from David Herve served with a shot of Champagne Vinaigrette, accompanied by a glass of Alfred Gratien Brut Champagne. Chef Eugenio explained that David Herve is unique in the oyster industry because he allows 1 square meter of space around each oyster while it develops. The impact of the waves on the fully exposed oyster allows more build of the meat in the shell. He uses this same method with other lines of high quality oysters, so if you see David Herve is the producer, you can be assured of exceptional quality in your oysters. Charged with this information, I poured some Champagne Vinaigrette and squeezed a little lemon juice on the oyster and I was excited to try it. Lifting it out of its shell I found it to be plump and creamy in taste with a lot of flavor and the classic sauce was excellent, made from the highest quality classic ingredients: No. 5 LORENZO Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Italy, and J. LEBLANC Champagne Vinegar from France. I followed this with the delightful glass of Champagne, which was cold and crisp with a fine bead, most refreshing on this hot day. I am always happy to have oysters with Champagne and even the olive oil tasted great with the Champagne as Chef Eugenio advised me. WOW, I was so excited already, just on the first bite!
Hilda brought 4 kinds of bread to choose from, all homemade in the kitchen, with little dishes of olive oil and Normandy butter. I selected a piece of flat bread and a dinner roll to get started and enjoyed both of them with the fine Normandy butter. Hilda opened a bottle of 1421 Classic Chardonnay from Xinjiang Province, China, to go with my next course, Quinoa Salad topped with Green Pulses, Champagne Vinaigrette served with Bayonne Ham & Grilled Halloumi Cheese. A ring of quinoa grain, enveloped in a cream of charred eggplant, 1 inch high and wide was in the center of the plate, topped with a composition of mixed leaves dressed with a cumin, lemon, and honey dressing with North African resemblances. Leaves, which are intervolved with discs of grilled Halloumi cheese, shaved Bayonne ham, baby corn tips, fava beans, basil, scallions, and parsley cover the ring of quinoa, a grain originating near the Basque region of France. It was a pretty and colorful circle in the center with a dusting of tomato powder around it on the white plate. The quinoa was hearty and well textured with strong grain flavors. The ham contributed good salted meat flavors while the halloumi cheese was full bodied and excellent with the hearty quinoa grain and the vegetables and herbs on top. This was a fantastic salad with a variety of flavors and textures, unique in my dining experience. These fresh summer flavors were begging for a well-chilled glass of Chardonnay, which I thoroughly enjoyed with every bite.
Waitress Celine Zhang brought my next course, “Louis” Foie Gras with Dry Fig Terrine, 15 years old Balsamic Vinegar, & Mesclum Leaves in Shallot Dressing, while Jack poured another glass of the chilled Chardonnay. The dry fig terrine was flavored with spices such as cinnamon, star anise, fennel seeds, another Moorish North African influence, and coco powder, wrapped in fresh figs. The vinegar was 15 years old Mengazzoli IGP Aceto Balsamico di Modena, and the salad was dressed in a shallot vinaigrette to which was added pomegranate molasses, also North African. I cut a small piece of the foie gras and tasted it with a tantalizing combination of the sweet fig and other ingredients on top. The foie gras was tender and flavorful and the fig provided the sweetness usually anticipated with foie gras and there were some crispy little bread discs and flat rings that added texture. The combination of all these ingredients together gave a big, complex flavor and texture experience, and the wine was fun with it, so good! This was an interesting and delicious foie gras preparation! For my next course Celine brought Asparagus Soup with Foie Gras Agnolotti & Summer Black Truffle. The soup was warm and green in color and the asparagus flavor was obvious. Thin slices of fresh asparagus cut both long and cross cut added some crunchiness to the soup and the little raviolis stuffed with foie gras were exciting bursts of flavor. The soup was richly flavored and thick and I was surprised by the complexity of flavors alive in what I thought was going to be a simple soup. It was everything, except simple!
Albert brought my next course, New Zealand Wild Salmon with Sweet Pea and Broad Bean Ragout with Clams, Potato & Shallot Cake. It looked great! Stacked on the base of ragout was a fillet of salmon topped with a slice of fresh fennel and a few little greens and 2 pieces of crispy skin from the salmon. The fish was warm and cooked just right; it was tender with rich salmon flavors and I liked it with the light acidity found in the cool Chardonnay. I alternated bites between the salmon and the ragout and I liked the unique taste of each ingredient. I enjoyed the salmon alone and with the different elements of the ragout and it was fun to finish each taste with a small bite of the crispy skin that was displayed on top of the stack. The ragout could make a meal alone, both hearty and refined with great flavors, so well seasoned that I added nothing. It was a very interesting combination and the little clams in the ragout repeatedly surprised me with their little bursts of big flavor and the crispy skin was the finishing touch!
I relaxed with my last glass of cool Chardonnay while Hilda opened a bottle of 1421 Classic Cabernet Sauvignon from Xinjiang Province, China, to go with my next course, Port Wine Braised Beef Short Rib served with Puy Lentils & Truffled Mashed Potatoes. On the plate was a square shaped portion of the mashed potatoes and in the center on top of the potatoes was a square of beef short rib sitting in a stew made with Puy lentils from France. Around the beef were some carrots, snow peas, and one small baked tomato. It looked and smelled so tempting as Jack added some freshly ground black pepper, and I could resist no longer! The mashed potatoes were rich and smooth from the high butter content whipped into the mix and the carrots and snow peas were fresh and tasted good. The 250 days grain fed beef short rib was very special from Stockyard, one of Australia’s top commercial beef producers. The beef was slow cooked and very tender, placed on top of the Puy lentil stew, which was so nicely prepared and flavored and tasted great with the mashed potatoes. The port wine sauce, so richly enveloping the beef, was both meaty rich and a little sweet. Taken all together this was a powerful mix of flavors and very rich. I loved taking a bite of the beef with some lentils and mashed potatoes for an explosive flavor burst and I chose to work my way through this delightful arrangement by doing this until it was all gone and this was so good with the medium bodied dry red wine. I relaxed with another glass of wine while I reflected upon the full array of flavors I had just experienced in this most satisfying dish.
And now it was time for my dessert. Albert brought Marinated Strawberries Romanov with Grand Marnier and Vodka Infused Strawberries topped with Whipped Cream & Lime Zest. To accompany this, Hilda poured a glass of 10 Years Old Tawny Port by Niepoort from Portugal. The strawberries were fresh and cut in half to better absorb the Grand Marnier and Vodka. The resulting flavors were delicious with a long finish and since they were topped in whipped cream and lime zest there were both creaminess and zesty acidity elements in the taste and finish. I tried a sip of the sweet port wine with it and found it to be a perfect match. Normally I like a dry red wine with dessert, but with the complex array of flavors in the strawberries contributed by the Grand Marnier and Vodka based marinade, and the addition of the rich fresh whipped cream, I decided that the port was the right wine in this case, and for this I have to thank the Chef’s talent in deciding to marinate the strawberries in Grand Marnier and Vodka. Actually, I never tasted strawberries this good! Just when I thought I was finished for the evening Albert brought NUO Mignardises, 3 little desserts on a long thin white plate. Serving miniature sweets at the end of a dinner is a tradition dating back to 18th century France.
The name mignardise comes from the old French word for precious or cute. Having finished these little treats with my remaining wine it was time to say thank you and good night to my new friends. I am very grateful to the service team for taking such good care of me throughout my evening and I must compliment the Chefs for my fabulous dinner in JAAN, amongst the most historic and elegant dining environments in China. I am confident the new management team at Beijing Hotel NUO will succeed in bringing this historic hotel to new levels of luxurious living and I plan to continue to enjoy my luxurious evenings in JAAN.
SANTÉ!
My Best as Always,
Randy