Yong

Verdict

Yong earns its 2025 Michelin star, and more to the point, it earns the price of admission. This is fixed-menu Sichuan dining at a level that Guangzhou rarely sees from a cuisine more commonly associated with Chengdu — and the Cantonese inflections woven through the menu make it worth the trip even if you eat Sichuan regularly. Book it for a special occasion, a client dinner, or anytime you want to understand what happens when serious technique meets a cuisine built on bold flavour. Walk-ins are not an option; this requires planning.

Portrait

Yong sits on the third floor of the Xianjian Business Building on Yanjiang Middle Road in Yuexiu District, a heritage stretch of central Guangzhou that runs along the Pearl River. The building itself provides visual context before you even sit down: this is not a restaurant designed to disappear into a hotel lobby or a shopping mall food floor. The setting signals intent, and the room carries it through.

The menu here is the argument. Yong operates exclusively on fixed-price menus, which means the kitchen controls the sequence and pace of what you eat. That structure matters because Sichuan cooking, at its most considered, is not just about heat — it is about layering. The Michelin citation calls out the "multifaceted Sichuanese menu" and "deft execution," and the architecture of the meal reflects that: small plates anchor the early stages, allowing the kitchen to establish flavour range before the main courses make their case.

What separates Yong from a direct Sichuan tasting room is the deliberate Cantonese cross-pollination. The kitchen, supervised by celebrity chef Lan Guijun, uses house-made pickles , salted lemon is the cited example , to introduce Cantonese acidity into a cuisine that typically relies on vinegar and fermented bean pastes for its sour register. That is a specific culinary decision, not an accident, and it reads clearly on the plate. If you are coming from the Sichuan canon expecting pure Chengdu-style flavour, Yong will reframe some of those expectations in interesting ways. If you want a direct Sichuan reference point in Guangdong Province, Song operates at ¥¥ and offers a more accessible, less structured version of the cuisine.

The small plates , dishes such as five-colour noodles with lobster and chilli chicken feet , show what the Michelin guide means by "great delicacy." These are Sichuan formats handled with precision rather than abundance. The lobster application in particular suggests a kitchen that is willing to spend on ingredients and expects diners who will notice. At the ¥¥¥¥ price tier, that expectation is reasonable.

Service, per the Michelin assessment, is "thoughtful" , a word that carries weight in this context. In Chinese fine dining at this level, service choreography is part of the fixed-menu contract: the staff manage the pace of a meal you did not choose dish by dish, so attentiveness to timing and explanation matters more than in an à la carte setting. Yong appears to meet that standard.

For Guangzhou diners building a mental map of where Yong sits in the city's fine dining landscape: it occupies a specific niche between the Cantonese fine dining institutions and the newer wave of modern tasting-menu restaurants. It is not trying to be Jiang by Chef Fei, which anchors the prestige Cantonese end, nor is it Ease (Yuexiu), which operates in the same Yuexiu neighbourhood at a different register. Yong's proposition is specific: serious Sichuan cooking, fixed menu, star-credentialed, with enough local character to justify choosing it over flying to Chengdu and visiting Yu Zhi Lan or Fang Xiang Jing.

If you are tracking Michelin-starred Sichuan across China, the comparison set extends beyond Guangzhou. Xin Rong Ji in Beijing and Xin Rong Ji in Chengdu offer a different cuisine entirely , Taizhou , but sit in the same price and occasion tier. Ru Yuan in Hangzhou and Chef Tam's Seasons in Macau offer useful regional benchmarks for what starred Chinese tasting menus can do when a kitchen has a clear point of view. Yong has that point of view. See also our full Guangzhou restaurants guide for broader context, or if you are planning the wider trip, hotels, bars, and experiences guides are also available.

Ratings & Recognition

• Michelin Star: 1 Star (2025 Guangzhou Guide)
• Google Rating: 5.0 (limited sample)
• Price Tier: ¥¥¥¥

Booking

Booking is necessary , the Michelin listing states this explicitly, and the fixed-price-only format means there is no dropping in for a single dish at the bar. Expect this to be a hard reservation, particularly on weekends and around holidays. Book as far in advance as your plans allow. No phone or website data is available in our records; check current booking platforms or the venue directly for reservation access.

Practical Details

Reservations: Required; no walk-ins. Book well in advance. Format: Fixed-price menus only; no à la carte. Budget: ¥¥¥¥ price tier , plan for a significant spend per head. Location: 3/F, Xianjian Business Building, 259 Yanjiang Middle Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou. Dress: Not specified in available data, but the occasion and price tier suggest smart casual as a floor. Group size: Fixed menus work for couples and small groups; confirm larger party logistics when booking. Nearby: Xing Fu Yi Zhan (Yulei Third Street) and Imperial Treasure Fine Chinese Cuisine are alternative options in the broader Guangzhou dining scene.

Pearl Picks Nearby

• Song , Sichuan, ¥¥, easier to book
• Ease (Yuexiu) , Yuexiu District, different register
• Imperial Treasure Fine Chinese Cuisine , Cantonese, ¥¥¥, à la carte option
• Jiang by Chef Fei , prestige Cantonese
• Xing Fu Yi Zhan (Yulei Third Street) , neighbourhood alternative
• Guangzhou wineries guide , if you are extending the trip
• Dai Yuet Heen in Nanjing , regional comparison for starred Chinese dining
• 102 House in Shanghai , tasting menu comparison across cities