Brasserie 1893, formerly known as "Rong Zun 1893", is a French restaurant owned by Waldorf Astoria Beijing. "Brasserie" is derived from the French word for a relaxed French bistro, and 1893 represents the year when the first Waldorf Astoria opened in New York.
With the renaming of Brasserie 1893, the restaurant welcomed a new head chef, Addison Liew. The Malaysian chef worked as a sous chef at two of Hong Kong's most prestigious French restaurants, Pierre with two Michelin stars and L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon with three Michelin stars, before hosting The Tasting Room, a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in Macau, for five years. The chef specializes in seasonal ingredients, and his arrival brings a hint of Japanese and Asian flavours to Iris Palace 1893's French cuisine.
Due to the distinctly seasonal character of the dishes, the menu at Iris Palace changes according to the season, and the menu is very simple and smart. On the winter dinner menu, appetizers include low-temperature slow-boiled hot spring eggs, duck liver, smoked wild lobster, Alaskan king crab, grilled Hokkaido scallops and winter truffles, while soups include cauliflower bisque and a selection of French lobster soups. French Lujae duck liver is a classic French appetizer, French Lujie duck has the best quality duck meat and duck liver, its duck liver is delicate and rich, Iris Palace uses duck liver with latte potatoes, green onions in milk sauce and truffle cream, with Pagani white pepper to brighten the flavor, the taste is soft and delicate, soft and tender, and it really melts in the mouth, full of rich aroma. Smoked wild lobster is also outstanding, apple wood smoke brings a faint smoky taste, the entrance of the fruit wood fragrance first laid the bottom on the tongue, followed by the strong marine freshness of the wild lobster, coupled with the refreshing taste of cucumber slices and sea urchin, the lobster meat is delicate and flexible, provoking people's revel, sweet aftertaste.
Tender French blue lobster and grilled Mongolian lamb are the main dishes. Tender French blue lobster is selected from Brittany, France, the production area strictly controls the catch every year to ensure the ecological environment and growth quality of the lobster population, the shrimp meat is full and tender, the taste is flexible and sweet, with angel hair noodles and chanterelles, full and juicy. The roasted Mongolian lamb is made from Mongolian natural milk-fed breast milk lamb, the meat is soft, and it is served with roasted eggplant puree and cumin sauce, which is a real meat main dish that combines French cuisine and Asian style.
In dessert, Waldorf Astoria Beijing's Head Pastry Chef Nancy has nearly 20 years of experience and is well-known in the pastry industry. The red velvet cake is the restaurant's signature, with a red velvet shell colored with beetroot and cranberry juice, and a layered white cheese and crimson cake inside. Chocolate soufflé with vanilla ice cream, Wuliangye tiramisu, passion fruit mousse, etc., each with its own characteristics.
Just like the name of the restaurant, Brasserie, Iris Palace also has a vague bistro and café style, and the open kitchen is located in the middle of the restaurant, the table distance is slightly narrow, there is a lot of noise, and the dining is not private enough. However, the overall look and feel of the restaurant is quite comfortable, with the copper-colored hollow screen and the calm overall tone making the style of the restaurant elegant and stable, and the decoration occasionally has the finishing touch of Chinese and Western blending. The service of the restaurant is basically in place, and there are many foreign waitress. The service charge is 15%. In addition to the à la carte menu, the restaurant offers two set menus at RMB488 and RMB788 daily, as well as two-course, three-course and four-course lunch sets priced at RMB188, RMB218 and RMB258 respectively.
