MANDARIN ORIENTAL, SHENZHEN ENTERS A NEW ERA OF CULINARY DISTINCTION

For Mandarin Oriental, Shenzhen, 2026 has brought a remarkable concentration of culinary recognition. Within the same year, The Bay by Chef Fei received two Michelin stars, OPUS 388 was awarded one, and MO Bar climbed to No. 5 on Asia’s 50 Best Bars. Taken together, the distinctions place three of the hotel’s dining destinations within some of the most closely followed international conversations around restaurants and bars.

The timing is particularly significant. The Michelin Guide included Shenzhen for the first time in its 2026 selection, giving the rapidly evolving southern Chinese metropolis an official place on one of the world’s most influential culinary maps. The inaugural Guangzhou and Shenzhen selection awarded two restaurants in Shenzhen two Michelin stars and five others one star, with The Bay by Chef Fei among the city’s highest distinctions.

At Mandarin Oriental, Shenzhen, that recognition begins with The Bay by Chef Fei. Led by Huang Jing Hui, known as Chef Fei, the restaurant explores the relationship between Cantonese and Chaoshan cooking, bringing together traditional techniques, carefully selected ingredients, and a contemporary sense of presentation. The Michelin Guide describes a menu balancing classic and new interpretations, including Cantonese and Chaoshan dishes, within a setting of modern Chinese design and private dining rooms named after mythical landscapes from the ancient Classic of Mountains and Seas.

The restaurant’s two-star distinction is particularly notable because Shenzhen’s first Michelin selection produced only two restaurants at that level. For The Bay by Chef Fei, the recognition also extends a culinary reputation already associated with its chef, whose work has earned Michelin recognition elsewhere in China.

The second Michelin distinction within the hotel belongs to OPUS 388, a French contemporary restaurant positioned high above the city. Located on the 77th floor, it approaches French cuisine through a contemporary lens, with Chef de Cuisine Alessio Durante drawing on more than two decades of international experience. Classical French methods are combined with ingredients sourced locally and internationally, alongside Mediterranean influences that give the menu a broader geographic vocabulary.

Its setting adds another dimension. At this height, Shenzhen becomes part of the dining experience without needing to dominate it. The restaurant’s culinary identity remains rooted in technique and produce, while the expansive city views provide a constantly changing backdrop.

If the Michelin recognition establishes the hotel’s credentials in fine dining, MO Bar brings a different kind of cultural conversation. Rising to No. 5 in Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2026, the rooftop destination became the highest-ranked hotel bar on this year’s list. The ranking places it among Asia’s leading cocktail destinations at a moment when Mainland China recorded its strongest showing yet in the regional ranking.

Situated on the 79th floor, MO Bar is led by Director of Beverage and Head Bartender Tiger Chang. Its cocktail programmes draw deliberately from Chinese history and culture rather than treating them as decorative references. The current Colours of China menu takes inspiration from traditional pigments and the 24 Solar Terms, with its cocktails organised around the changing seasons.

The bar’s approach has also evolved through earlier programmes, including cocktails inspired by ancient movable-type printing techniques. This recurring interest in Chinese cultural history gives the drinks a narrative dimension, while the industrial-chic interior, outdoor terrace and elevated city views create a distinctly contemporary setting.

The No. 5 ranking is a substantial rise for MO Bar, which was a new entry to Asia’s 50 Best Bars list in the previous year. In 2026, it sits within a top five that also includes bars in Guangzhou, Seoul, Hong Kong and Bangkok. Shenzhen itself has two venues in the top ten, reflecting the growing sophistication and international visibility of the city’s cocktail culture.

These distinctions are not isolated achievements within the Mandarin Oriental group. They sit within a much longer tradition of hospitality shaped by two Asian founding properties. Mandarin Oriental traces its origins to The Mandarin in Hong Kong, which opened in 1963. In 1974, the group acquired a stake in Bangkok’s historic The Oriental; the names of the two properties subsequently formed Mandarin Oriental, establishing the dual Asian heritage that remains central to the brand.

That heritage has informed the group’s international expansion, combining the refined service traditions associated with Bangkok with the modernity and pioneering spirit of Hong Kong. Today, Mandarin Oriental operates a global collection of hotels, resorts and residences, with Shenzhen forming part of its Asia-Pacific portfolio.

Mandarin Oriental, Shenzhen itself occupies Block A of UpperHills in Futian District, placing it within one of the city’s prominent mixed-use urban developments. The property’s current dining portfolio encompasses eight restaurants and bars, ranging from Cantonese cuisine and French fine dining to rooftop cocktails and more informal concepts.

What distinguishes the hotel’s current moment is therefore not simply the number of awards, but the range of disciplines represented. Cantonese and Chaoshan culinary traditions, contemporary French cooking and Chinese-inspired mixology have each received recognition from different authorities within the same property. Together, they offer a portrait of Shenzhen’s increasingly confident hospitality culture.

The Michelin Guide’s arrival in Shenzhen provides an important backdrop to that progress. As a city better known internationally for technology, manufacturing and rapid urban development, Shenzhen is now gaining visibility for another form of creativity—one expressed through restaurants, ingredients, bartending and hospitality. Mandarin Oriental, Shenzhen’s recent achievements place it naturally within that broader transformation.

The result is a property whose identity is being shaped as much by its culinary destinations as by its accommodation. The Bay by Chef Fei brings regional Chinese traditions into an elevated setting; OPUS 388 gives French technique a contemporary Chinese context; and MO Bar looks to history, seasonality and local culture for inspiration behind the bar.

For a city entering a new era of international gastronomic recognition, that combination feels especially relevant. Shenzhen’s culinary identity is still developing, but the achievements of Mandarin Oriental, Shenzhen suggest that its ambitions are already reaching well beyond the city itself. The most compelling aspect of this moment is not the accumulation of accolades, but the way different expressions of food and drink are beginning to articulate a distinctive sense of place.