philippine tatler. august 2018t’s like coming home,” explains Grand
Hyatt Manila’s General Manager, Gottfried
Bogensperger, looking about the
commodious, informal space accented
with pretty Oriental touches. Not only is
the number “8” considered lucky in Chinese culture, but
the intended storyline here is tinged with warmth and
familiarity. An address of sorts, No. 8 China House is
where one comes home, so to speak, to a soul-
gratifying, authentic Chinese meal.
It is also of no numerical happenstance that
eight lavishly decorated private rooms, perfect for
entertaining and hosting auspicious occasions, are
found under the same roof. Each one features plush
lounge areas and massive round tables outfitted with
automated Lazy Susans for decadent dining.
Though the main thrust here is Cantonese, seven
Chinese chefs, including Hyatt-grown chef de cuisine
Carson Luo, stick to their territorial specialities, and do
it utterly well. Three are dedicated to its far-reaching
Cantonese bill of fare; one is a Peking Duck expert;
another hails from the Szechuan province; and a sixth
focuses on wok specialities. The various cooking
stations spread throughout the well-designed space
(one for the Peking Duck, one for the dim sum, andthe other for the Cantonese dishes), create a relaxed
atmosphere. Glass walls and the calibrated exhaust
system, meanwhile, prevent kitchen aromas from
permeating the air and clinging onto diners’ apparel.
“Anybody who likes authentic Chinese or Asian
food will love coming here. The idea is very healthy
Cantonese-based but then, Chinese food is so diverse—
and so is our menu. Diners will experience first-
hand how all these dishes from the various cuisines
are actually prepared the traditional way,” shares
Bogensperger, who spent eight years in Shanghai prior
to his move to the Philippines where he honed his
palate’s proficiency in modern Chinese cuisine.
To start, the fiery chilled black fungus with Thai
chilli and homemade soy sauce is a flavourful way to, as
the Chinese say, “open the stomach.” Another appetiser,
the sour and cooling cucumber with garlic and black
vinegar, on the other hand, “opens the mouth.” A crowd
favourite is the char siu barbecued pork, which goes
down all too easy with the refreshingly sweet No. 8
special tea blend of green tea, lychee, and passion fruit.
The house speciality—the Peking Duck—is a must-
try. As master chef Luo’s ancestors would have it, the
centuries-old recipe certainly makes it the pièce de
résistance of the entire Middle Kingdom experience.
A poultry dish that originated in Beijing in the early
1400s, we are told that this is the only authentic Peking
Duck in the whole of Manila. The restaurant consumes
an average of 500 ducks a month, but Bogensperger
assures us that their birds are consciously and
sustainably fed and bred by a specialised duck farmer.
In fact, all of the 5-Star property’s F&B outlets work
closely with local farming communities to bring about
livelihood support, while simultaneously providing the
finest and freshest quality products to its discerning PHOTOGRAPHY: KAI HUANG60