Ling Long Explores a New Interpretation of Chinese Fine Dining

It’s not often we get truly excited about a new restaurant opening but having seen a flurry of effusive WeChat Moments posts about Ling Long, our interest was very much piqued. Located in co-living space Stey in the newly rebranded/renovated Bei Zhaolong Hotel, Ling Long positions itself as a modern Chinese restaurant (to vastly undersell the concept).

The kitchen is led by chef Jason Liu, formerly of Bistro 3, who has a background in French fine dining but recently returned to Beijing after a year-long sabbatical traveling across China, tasting, experiencing, and considering the beauty of his home country's many regional cuisines. Ling Long's menu then represents the result of Chef Liu combining the tastes that he holds dear from his childhood with his recent epicurean discoveries across China. Open only for dinner, the restaurant serves five-course (RMB 500), six-course (RMB 700), and seven-course menus (RMB 900), with the option to add a wine pairing to each.

As such, the presentation of his dishes is distinctly modern French, but the flavors are unmistakably Chinese, something that Ling Long is calling “re-fine dining.” For example, Chef Liu's pork belly dish perfectly evokes the flavors of traditional Dongbei-style pork and sauerkraut hot pot but is also worlds away from its usual rustic presentation, substituting melt-in-the-mouth slices of sous vide Spanish pork belly and a crystal clear consommé infused with pickled cabbage.

Another dish is a play on yu sheng (or yee sang), a Cantonese-style raw fish salad usually served for Chinese New Year. In Ling Long's version, slices of snapper carpaccio are topped with dried daikon, shallot, chili, herbs, and caviar.

Sichuan also has a major influence across the menu, both in terms of flavors, such as the fermented broad bean paste-based sauce that features in a lobster dish, and ingredients. In a nod to the modern evolution of not just Chinese cuisine but also Chinese produce and producers, Jason uses several unexpectedly Sichuanese ingredients, including caviar and olive oil.

While the food is superb, the restaurant itself is a little unconventional. A florist/modern bonsai shop by day, once it’s converted for dining at night it still feels more like a temporary event space than an actual restaurant (although we did appreciate the petal-shaped tables arranged around a central floral display, a nod to its daytime use). There is a certain minimalist appeal, which at least has the benefit of putting all the focus on the food.

And the food is where the focus should be, as Chef Liu has created several dishes and flavors that are both unexpected and delicious. With Michelin on everyone's minds recently, it's safe to say that even though Ling Long won't make this year's cut, it is raising the bar for modern Chinese-influenced cuisine in Beijing.

Ling Long
Tue-Sun, 6-10pm. 3/F, Stey, Bei Zhaolong Hotel, 2 Gongti Beilu, Chaoyang District (8635 5190)
朝阳区工体北路2号兆龙饭店3层

READ: The Michelin Guide Just Named its 15 Best Value Beijing Restaurants

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Images courtesy of Ling Long, Robynne Tindall