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Yingtao, a Chinese fine-dining restaurant named after the owner’s grandmother, is tucked away amid the bodegas and bars on Ninth Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen in a neighborhood that is the right kind of gritty meets Insomnia Cookies.
The Michelin Guide shared our sentiments, noting that “Owner Bolun Yao's beloved grandmother serves as both the namesake and culinary inspiration for this stylish Hell's Kitchen hideaway, an unassumingly ambitious project that aims to reinterpret Chinese cuisine through the lens of Western fine dining.”
Yingtao is part of the generation of high-end Korean and Chinese-fine-dining that has exploded in the City, and today (December 5) coincidentally is its two-year anniversary.
When you walk from the bar area to the dining room you pass by fish and duck hanging in the window of the fridge. It has a seven-course tasting menu, plus some add-ons -- well worth the $165 pp price -- and an efficient but well-chosen wine list.
The dining room sits right in front of the open kitchen, so you have a bird’s eye view of the many chefs at work.
We started with three-week aged tuna in a spring roll with candied ginger, and nearly fell over with a dish called Bao, sea urchin, truffles, sitting on top of a mini purple sweet potato. Next up was a Montauk fluke with kumquat, ginger and chili.
Somewhere between appetizers and entrees was Jiao Zi, Kurobuta, corn and black truffle (while in season). From the Hudson fish farm, seared trout with chamomile, sake and celtuce. Then for the last entrée the wagyu, with hoisin, snow fungus (which we were unfamiliar at first but now love it!) and pear. For dessert, we had apple with winter melon and lemon grass. And lastly, Baba, a fermented sweet rice.
We thoroughly enjoyed it, so add it to your list!
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