Ambitious New Chef at Waldorf Astoria's Brasserie 1893 Revamps the Whole Menu

The Wangfujing area has definitely become Beijing's rising star as of late, thanks in part to all the hot openings at APM. Hopefully that rising tide brings renewed attention to established top notch neighbors like the Waldorf Astoria Beijing. As if to add more incentive, the luxury hotel's Brasserie 1893 restaurant recently revamped its menu under the guise of new chef Addison Liew.

If the hotel's Zijin Mansion is a destination for family visits, then Brasserie 1893, now Brasserie 1893 by Addison Liew, is a perfect fine dining venue for dating or a fancy meal with close friends. Hailing from Malaysia, the new chef has spent 14 years at famous fine dining restaurants around the world, such as the renowned Michelin starred L’Auberge de la Charme, Le Jardin des Sens in France, Pierre Gagnaire in the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, Joel Robuchon in Hong Kong, and Guillaume Gailliot in Macau. “This will be my first opportunity to fully take charge of a restaurant, allowing me to pour over everything that comes out of the kitchen and shape the restaurant’s food to my style that embodies the class, finesse, and sophistication of French cooking. With emphasis on fresh and seasonal ingredients, natural flavor, texture, and color of local produce, we will create a refreshing and vibrant dining experience,” said Liew.

We’ve seen a lot of chefs come to China without a true understanding of the local ingredients, prompting them to give up and continue with what they are familiar with, or randomly throw some weird local products in their recipes (abalone on top of the black truffle pasta with foam, anyone? Or how about bird’s nest mille crêpe?). Thankfully, the young and ambitious Liew eschews such pitfalls with his new menu. It is full of fine French cuisine made from seasonal ingredients with local twists, and you can see he has been playing around with the ingredients and balancing the flavors well.

Currently, they offer a two-course lunch at RMB 188; a three-course lunch at RMB 218; and a four-course meal at RMB 258. Our meal kicked off with complimentary bread, which was irresistible, especially one particular loaf which was topped with dried cherry tomatoes. As for the starter, we opted for the slow-cooked organic egg. We know some of you may shrug and say “oh no, not foam again,” but we assure you that it was delicious, featuring a slow-cooked egg topped with a dash of deep-fried onions, sautéed squid, and edamame beans that gave it a strong kick. Did we mention the foam was coconut sauce, which added a touch of tropical flavor and creaminess? If we weren't at such a fine dining establishment, we would have surely licked the plate clean. Liew must've taken that into consideration, because this dish included a freshly baked Croque Monsieur, with which patrons can shamelessly sop up every last drop of that delicious sauce.

The light watercress soup was simply creamy, with a white smoked garlic emulsion floating in the green soup. It was accompanied by a piping hot frog leg fricassee, which had a crisp exterior and was dipped in a small bowl full of hot white and black sesame.

As for the main, we enjoyed slow-cooked halibut, with ginger, coriander seed, and daikon veloute. The fish was succulent and tender, with a herbal flavor from the dill. And of course, no fine French meal would be complete without dessert, in this case the Grand Marnier Li Chu Chocolate Souffle which was served in a tea cup, and paired with rich chocolate syrup and Madagascar vanilla ice cream. We also recommend their excellent soufflé, which was elevated by some chocolate flavored pop rocks along with ice cream for that hot-cold contrast. If all that sounds a bit too intense for you, try the grapefruit parfait. It's a deftly layered cake topped with sugary and nutty pistachio crisps, and comes with a side of citrusy flamingo pink grapefruit sorbet.

Brasserie 1893 is open daily for lunch and dinner with 70 seats including a chef’s table. We see no better way to chase the January blues away then indulging with friends and loved ones at this elegant restaurant.

Brasserie 1893
Daily 6.30am-10.30pm. Dongsi and Dengshikou 1/F Waldorf Astoria, 5-15 Jinyu Hutong (8520 8989)
东四灯市口东城区金鱼胡同5-15号

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Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
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Photos courtesy of Waldorf Astoria Beijing , Tracy Wang