London chefs come together to celebrate Golden Week

With an increasing number of Chinese people living in the UK, and more arriving, upscale Chinese restaurants are making inroads into British restaurant culture.

This autumn, executive chef of Hakkasan Tong Chee Hwee and chef Dabiz Muñoz, owner and executive chef of Street XO in Mayfair, will come together in a unique and innovative collaboration to celebrate the Chinese festival of Golden Week at Hakkasan.

To mark the week, Hakkasan Hanway Place and Hakkasan Mayfair in London will launch a limited edition menu, featuring brand-new dishes bringing together their collective and diverse influences to create a one-off dining experience at Hakkasan.

Tong said: "The presentation of the dish is very important when it comes to authentic Chinese cuisine as every dish has its own character and when each dish is developed, all of the details of presentation are applied accordingly."

He believes diners nowadays are more health conscious and are more aware of nutritional value.

"We are using more organic ingredients than previously, and using more seasonal ingredients to get the best of our dishes at the restaurants," Tong said, adding there is more emphasis on plating and the restaurant environment, which wasn't, previously, given much importance.

The new menu fuses the two culinary masters' Cantonese and Spanish influences. The Tortilla dim sum with truffle and quail egg is a Spanish twist on a Cantonese classic dish, using one of Spain's most famous and beloved dishes in a unique Hakkasan style. Traditional Peking duck, with crunchy skin and juicy meat, is served with a beetroot pancake, lychee and rose.

Inspired by the flavors of Hakkasan's signature Crispy duck salad, the Hakkasan and Street XO bar teams have developed a new cocktail called the Oriental Frontera. The cocktail is made with Belvedere vodka, plum sauce infused Fino Sherry, pink grapefruit, chilli and Hakkasan's own sweet and sour sauce.

Hakkasan will celebrate the annual Chinese festival Golden Week from September 25 to October 22 at Hakkasan Hanway Place and Hakkasan Mayfair in London.