It looks as if André Fu is rarely out of a hotel these days, his schedule is so packed with projects for the likes of Waldorf Astoria in Bangkok, the Kerry in Hong Kong and the Andaz in Singapore. His latest work is Yu Cun for the Grand Hyatt’s Haitang Bay Resort in Sanya.
Drawing lightly on the style and traditions of the local Hainanese and Dan minority, Fu has created a slicked up version of a fishing village, for which the restaurant is named. Three private dining rooms and eight private pavilions are theatrically strung out along the lagoon, the approach to the two-storey restaurant announced by meandering slate paved timber bridges.
The interiors are furnished with Fu’s trademark fondness for textures and burnished trims, in particular bronzed bamboo screens, smoked oak, beige marble, rattan panels, and pendant lamps made of woven straw. The colour scheme, too, is suitably muted – a mix of sand, purples and dark orange.
All of which is a perfect backdrop for the kitchen’s repertoire of regional cuisines from Shanghai, Guangdong, Dongbei and Sichuan. With the sea just steps away, chef Steven Chen’s menu spotlights seafood-based dishes such as fish head casserole braised in a claypot, though it pays to investigate the Hainan black pork stir-fried with local white peppers.
