There are very few steakhouses in Suzhou, and apart from the well-known Riva Mediterranean Steakhouse and Molton Steakhouse, Hyatt Regency's The Fireplace is also a modern steakhouse with a good reputation.
Seafood and grilled seafood are the two major specialties of Yue Lu, with grilled beef as the main feature, while seafood is more reflected in cold appetizers, salads, hot appetizers and soups. The seafood platter is the most convenient choice of cold appetizers, including shrimp, crab, snow crab legs and oyster mussels. Giraldo oysters can be eaten ready to open or charcoal-grilled, and are among the freshest in Sioux City.
Among the appetizers, Maryland crab cakes are one of the restaurant's signature dishes, but compared with Moulton's crab cakes, Yuelu's crab cakes are more starchy, softer in taste, and less seasoned. The quality of the soup is modest, and the signature lobster bisque with its fishy texture and the sweet floral and fruit nectar of brandy cream is by no means an ordinary flavor that all diners can accept calmly. The prawn salad is made in Western cuisine, and the potato chips, shrimp and orange pieces are stir-fried and poured over the lettuce. Most of the appetizers, salads, etc., are of mediocre quality.
Diners are served three grades of beef, including Australian Angus grain-fed, American beef and Australian Wagyu beef, each grade of beef is available with beef tenderloin, sirloin and naked eye, and Australian beef is served with tomahawk steak, although Wagyu tomahawk is usually ordered one day in advance. Australian Angus grain-fed beef is a cost-effective choice, the quality is above M3 in the Australian standard, the meat quality is not excellent, sirloin and the naked eye fat is more, but the taste is quite delicate, the aging is more stable, and there is no excess blood. Yuelu's Australian Wagyu beef comes from Mayura, Australia's veteran pure-blooded Wagyu beef base, with a snowflake level of M9, dense oil, fatty and tender texture, and a strong and sweet beef flavor. The restaurant is a little struggling with the grilled sauce, so it is recommended that the steak be dipped in sea salt and black pepper for flavor.
Yue Lu is the first Western restaurant to introduce American beef to Suzhou, and the highest grade of American and Canadian beef, Prime (Excellent) beef and second-grade Choice (Select) beef, have the opportunity to appear on the dining table of diners. Yuelu's U.S. beef comes from Greater Omaha Packing Omaha Ranch, the first U.S. beef supplier to resume exporting to China. In addition, the American beef used in Yue Lu is pre-cooled and acid-drained, which means that the beef has a more tender meat quality and more moisture, such as the restaurant's Prime beef tenderloin, which presents a more comfortable and extreme taste after grilling, but the texture of the beef is reduced in taste, and the metallic taste and acidity are slightly higher.
Dessert isn't Joy House's forte, and Italian chef Diego's flaming snowy mountain ice cream is nothing more than a flashy creation, with a rum-lit "snowy mountain" that catches the eye, burns until it is slightly charred on the outside, splits in two, and when cut inside, it is covered with three layers of ice cream wrapped in sponge cake. The interior shape and taste of ice cream resemble a very cheap "three-color cup", so it is criticized by diners.
The Hyatt Regency Hotel, where Yue Lu is located, has a high level of hardware, and the ingenuity of the triangular atrium is also quite aesthetic, and the dining area and kitchen of the restaurant are all open spaces, and the open kitchen has no obvious smell of oil smoke. There is a 15% service charge for meals, and the whole service is professional and thoughtful, and the waiter appears at the right time, but the attitude is slightly too restrained. In terms of wine list, Yuelu offers sparkling wine, white wine and red wine, which basically cover the mainstream varieties, and the total amount is not large. In addition, the restaurant serves brunch on weekends, with a starter and dessert buffet, the main menu is a la carte, and the American selection of sirloin, pan-fried black cod and pan-fried Boston lobster need to be upgraded at an additional price, and the mushroom menu at brunch is very popular.
