Yong Yi Ting’s autumn menu honours the season’s quiet poetry

Chef Fu Yueliang’s recent elevation to the world’s most celebrated culinary circles finds its natural expression in the dining room of Yong Yi Ting, the Michelin starred restaurant at Mandarin Oriental Pudong Shanghai. His new autumn and winter menu speaks to the season not through proclamation, but through restraint: earthy flavours, warming preparations, ingredients layered with purpose rather than spectacle.

The menu arrives at a moment when his own restaurant in Hangzhou has joined the global conversation about contemporary Chinese cuisine. That recognition reflects a philosophy built on deep respect for raw materials and the rhythms of the calendar. At Yong Yi Ting, diners encounter this wisdom plate by plate: delicate tofu slices topped with pickled ginger, bordered by crackling sheets of seaweed; a whole crab, burnished orange and glossy, nestled into a bed of chestnut and chive studded with red Sichuan pepper.

The room itself contributes to the experience. Golden afternoon light filters through floor to ceiling windows, warming the pale surfaces and casting the Pudong skyline into soft focus beyond the glass. A chef in white works attentively at the table’s edge, the space arranged to honour both the guest and the craft itself. Porcelain vessels hold broths and condiments in measured abundance; chopsticks rest between courses with quiet formality.

This is the work of someone who understands that seasonal cooking requires no apology for subtlety. The autumn harvest does not need embellishment. It needs recognition. Reserve your table through the hotel.

Imagery courtesy of Mandarin Oriental Pudong Shanghai (@mo_pudong).