Yong Yi Ting

Verdict: Book It; But Plan Around the Season

If you have been to Yong Yi Ting before, the version you return to has changed more than you might expect. A renovation reimagined the space to evoke the water towns of Jiangnan, with perforated screens referencing Suzhou gardens and sheer curtains printed with ink strokes dividing the room into distinct zones. The food has kept pace: Jiangzhe classics receive a refined, creative treatment, signatures like the Hangzhou-style minced fish ball with green peas (pre-order required) reward diners who come prepared. For a first-timer, this is one of Shanghai's most credentialed Chinese restaurants at the ¥¥¥ price tier. For a returning guest, the question is whether the kitchen's seasonal sourcing has cycled in something worth the trip back. Most of the time, the answer is yes.

The Room

Yong Yi Ting sits roughly 21 feet underground at the basement level of Mandarin Oriental Pudong, in Lujiazui along the Huangpu River Promenade. That description sounds unpromising, but the execution is striking. Floor-to-ceiling glass looks onto a sunken patio that pulls natural light into the dining room during the day, making this feel less like a basement and more like a stage set designed to blur the boundary between interior and garden. Ceramic lanterns shaped like Chinese wine jugs line ceilings that reach eight feet. An extensive wine cellar anchors the bar end of the room.

The main dining area works in pale, creamy tones; a deliberate contrast to the dark mahogany, black marble, crocodile leather of the European-inspired wine bar at the opposite end. Silk dividers partition smaller parties into individual booths; larger round tables of heavy wood with white marble tops fill the centre. If you are booking for a group, the eight private dining rooms are accessed through a separate private entrance: moody, 18-foot-high corridors lit by pebble-shaped chandeliers lead to rooms that mimic floating glass boxes over black marble and slate. Some open onto the patio. One is a chef's table overlooking the kitchen. The design, delivered by New York-based Dash Design and Brandimage, has been in place since 2013 but the post-renovation refresh has given it a second life.

The Food

The cuisine sits in Jiangnan territory, specifically the Shanghainese and Jiangzhe traditions that emphasise delicate flavours, seasonal produce from surrounding fields and lakes, restrained aromatics rather than the punchy heat of inland Chinese cooking. Chef Fu Yue Liang leads the kitchen, with Tony Lu, the chef behind Shanghai's Fu restaurants, serving as consultant. That combination gives the kitchen credibility in both classical technique and modern refinement.

Dish format lends itself to sampling: portions are deliberately small, so a table of two or four can move through several preparations without committing to a single large serve. The crispy pomfret in sweet soy, deboned, deep-fried, glazed in a sweet-savory finish, is a regional classic worth ordering. The braised boneless beef rib in soy with hickory carries a smokiness that comes from the hickory rather than the cooking method, adding a layer of complexity to an otherwise clean preparation. For lunch, the dim sum programme includes Qiandaohu rice flour dumplings and four-colour dumplings, both worth noting for visitors who want to sample the kitchen at a lower spend than a full dinner.

Current seasonal sourcing drives the menu more than most comparable hotel restaurants in Shanghai. The kitchen draws on ingredients harvested from the Jiangnan region's fields and lakes, meaning the menu in spring reads differently from the menu in autumn. If you are planning specifically around what is available now, contact the restaurant ahead of time to understand what the kitchen is working with before you arrive.

Credentials and Recognition

Yong Yi Ting holds a Michelin one star (2024) and ranked 228th on Opinionated About Dining's Leading Restaurants in Asia list in 2024, moving to 241st in 2025. The OAD ranking places it within the top tier of fine Chinese dining in Asia, alongside venues like Xin Rong Ji (West Nanjing Road) and Taian Table in Shanghai. For the Jiangzhe category specifically, it sits alongside regional specialists like Ru Yuan in Hangzhou and Dai Yuet Heen in Nanjing as a reference point for refined Jiangnan cooking.

Who This Is For

Yong Yi Ting suits diners who want to eat serious Jiangzhe cuisine in a room that matches the ambition of the food, without crossing into the ¥¥¥¥ price tier that venues like Fu He Hui operate at. It also works well for business dining: the private rooms, the hotel setting, the wine programme make it a reliable choice when the occasion calls for a venue that signals care without requiring explanation. Solo diners are accommodated, though the dish format, small portions designed for sharing, rewards a table of two or more. For explorers specifically interested in Jiangnan cooking, the seasonal sourcing and the regional depth of the menu make this a more considered choice than a general Chinese hotel restaurant.

If you are building a Shanghai dining itinerary across multiple meal types, pair Yong Yi Ting for formal Jiangzhe against 102 House for Cantonese, Taian Table for modern European, 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana for Italian. Our full Shanghai restaurants guide covers the broader field if you are still deciding on priorities. If you are also planning accommodation and evening programming, see our Shanghai hotels guide and Shanghai bars guide.

Further Afield: Jiangzhe Cooking Beyond Shanghai

If the Jiangnan culinary tradition is what drew you to Yong Yi Ting, it is worth tracking the same regional cooking at other points along the circuit. Xin Rong Ji in Beijing and Xin Rong Ji in Chengdu offer comparison points for how the Taizhou-adjacent tradition translates across different cities. For adjacent fine Chinese dining in the region, Imperial Treasure Fine Chinese Cuisine in Guangzhou and Chef Tam's Seasons in Macau are worth referencing. If you are curious how tasting-menu architecture compares across formats globally, Le Bernardin in New York City and Lazy Bear in San Francisco offer useful reference points for how different kitchens structure a progression-driven meal.