“One of the most commonly misconstrued aspects of Chinese cuisine is its vast array of flavours and textures,” says Frankie Yang Tao, Executive Chef at Mott 32, atop Dubai’s Address Beach Resort. Dubai is rife with culinary outposts – La Petite Maison, Marea and Nobu – as much as homegrown concepts that have carved out icon-status and even gone abroad, such as Gaia opening in Monte Carlo, Doha and London, or BB Social Kitchen in Riyadh and soon, Abu Dhabi. Mott 32, opened in partnership with Sunset Hospitality Group, is one of the globe’s leading Chinese restaurants and since its opening in Hong Kong, has established eight locations across the world under the helm of Group Chinese Executive Chef Lee Man Sing. With his culinary guidance and vision, the Cantonese chef with 35 years of experience under his belt has built a global team that focuses on showcasing unique flavour combinations and textural play while maintaining a firm grasp on authenticity.
Mott 32’s name pays homage to the address in New York where the city’s first convenience store opened in 1891. The dining and bar areas are a sleek, darkly-hued 1930s Art Deco-meets-Manhattan urban jungle design by Joyce Wang Studio – likewise in tribute to Chinese architectural elements and Mott 32’s original location – before opening onto the striking floor-to-ceiling panoramic open terrace of its 73rd-floor location. Though provenance plays a central role in the menu creation at Mott 32, Chef Frankie notes that it “combines traditional Chinese cuisine with a contemporary twist, utilising sophisticated culinary techniques from around the world, while showcasing Hong Kong's best dishes in a unique way.” This means a perfectly runny quail egg inside siu mai, roe-covered fried rice, or sugar coating on a bao to create gentle crunch on what diners might otherwise know to be a soft bite.
“Our menu is intended to reflect modern Hong Kong culture, with touches of Cantonese, Szechuan and Beijing cuisine,” explains Chef Frankie. “It is characterised by time-honoured recipes handed down from generations, prepared using progressive cooking techniques and premium, often local ingredients.” Mott 32 wants diners to recalibrate their sensorial expectations by introducing wonder, often in the form of appealing to multiple senses, as seen with the smoky presentation of the iconic deconstructed Green Forest dessert.
While the global team of chefs rely on the guidance of Chef Lee’s vision, which incorporates global fine dining cooking techniques and draws upon Hong Kong’s “East-meets-West” culture, it is the Executive Chefs at each venue upon which the responsibility of interpreting, executing and contributing to the understanding and dialogue around tradition in Chinese cuisine lies. While many Chinese chefs will travel with a familiar team, Chef Frankie has fresh team of 30 chefs, 18 of whom are Chinese, and oversees their natural or learned ability to create culinary authenticity in a Chinese context. “It might be challenging for international chefs to work in Chinese restaurant kitchens,” notes Chef Frankie. “It takes time to adjust, cultivate and cooperate with the Chinese team and integrate into the experience. However, we are selective when choosing chefs and only bring chefs in who are inspired by the precision and technical perfection that Chinese cuisine requires.”
It is critical that the fundamental components of Chinese food are not lost during execution as much as during menu and concept planning. But Mott 32, with its global spread, also can appreciate the importance of nuancing it towards a local palette. “Adapting iconic and traditional Chinese dishes to fit the local palate of Dubai is both a challenging and creative process,” he says. “It is an opportunity to showcase the versatility of Chinese cuisine and how it can be adapted. By replacing pork with other ingredients, the restaurant can still deliver the same flavours and textures while respecting the culture here.” In Dubai, this sees a strong emphasis on duck, chicken and seafood, which have long histories in Chinese cuisine, and features adapted classics such as the signature apple wood roasted Peking Duck and jasmine flower smoked black cod. Chef Frankie, who hails from Nanjing, brings his unique perspective as a Dim Sum Master to the menu’s Dim Sum selection, and furthermore, this outpost features an extensive plant-based offering, reinforcing Mott 32’s position as a leader in sustainability in the Chinese restaurant category.
The caveat, however, is that while ingredients can be substituted or changed to create equally successful dishes, “for specific dishes such as traditional recipes handed down from the eight culinary cuisine traditions of China, they simply must not be changed,” says Chef Frankie. “Each dish has its own distinctive flavour and appeal and contains the essence of Chinese culture, representing China's long history.” Authenticity remains Mott 32’s foundation above all else, and with knowledge, skill and vision rooted in honouring Chinese tradition, Chef Lee and Chef Frankie find room to play and build dishes that are “familiar, authentic and exciting” for its latest Dubai audience.
