Woks sizzle at Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver's dedicated Chinese kitchen

The Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver’s YEW restaurant + bar has received praise lately for its revamped focus on seafood served in a laid-back West Coast style.

Lesser known is that back in February, the hotel opened a dedicated Chinese kitchen to cater formal Chinese banquets and weddings for up to 500 people. It’s the only hotel in Vancouver with a completely separate Chinese kitchen, kitted out with the high-powered burners necessary for Chinese cooking. (The five “turbo-wok” burners pump up 125,000 BTU; they’re so hot that they can boil water in about five seconds.)

The Four Seasons is running the kitchen under its own name, partnered with a Chinese restaurant group headed by executive chef Tony Leung from Grand Dynasty restaurant in Burnaby.

The kitchen caters corporate events and weddings. Dishes include eight treasure winter melon soup, deep-fried squab, green onion and ginger sautéed lobster, and whole abalone with oyster sauce. (No shark-fin soup is served.)

Pastry chef Bruno Feldeisen provides fusion desserts such as black sesame- and matcha-flavoured macarons and duck egg crème brûlée. Customized Chinese décor, and items such as traditional Chinese “cake cards” and wedding favours can be arranged.

For info, see the hotel’s website.

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