The Huaiyang Garden

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

The Godfather of a Great Tradition

Huaiyang cuisine is one of the four pillars of classical Chinese cooking, and few people alive have shaped it more profoundly than Chef Zhou Xiaoyan. Over four decades, the Jiangsu-born master — President of the Chef Committee of the China Cuisine Association, Gold Award winner of the Asia Culinary Cup, and Grand Gold Quality Award winner of the World Championship of Chinese Cuisine — has become so synonymous with the tradition that he is simply called "The Godfather of Huaiyang Cuisine." His face is familiar to millions through landmark documentary series such as A Bite of China and Once Upon a Bite. The Huaiyang Garden at The Londoner Macao is where that lifetime of knowledge takes its most refined form.

The Kitchen

Day-to-day, the stoves are in the hands of Executive Chef Jack Xiao, handpicked by Chef Zhou himself. Xiao shares his mentor's conviction that Huaiyang cuisine — with its emphasis on seasonal rhythms, precise technique, and ingredients pushed to their fullest expression — deserves to be reinvigorated rather than merely preserved. Together, they have earned the restaurant two Michelin stars, a Black Pearl Restaurant Guide Diamond, and a Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star rating, placing The Huaiyang Garden among the most decorated Chinese fine-dining rooms in Macao.

What to Eat

The signature tasting menu — available in ten or twelve courses from MOP 1,988 per person — is the clearest way to understand what makes this kitchen distinctive. Chef Zhou follows the rhythm of the seasons, so the menu shifts, but certain dishes have become landmarks: braised Hokkaido sea cucumber with shrimp roe; stewed pork ball with crab roe in superior soup; shredded bean curd with crab meat and egg white; and steamed Hilsa herring with 20-year-aged Huadiao Chinese wine. Each preparation is an exercise in restraint and exactness — the hallmarks of Huaiyang cooking.

The Room and the Glass

With just 106 seats, the dining room is deliberately intimate for a hotel of this scale. Deep, cool hues, nature-inspired wallpaper, ancient artwork, diamond-shaped lanterns, and rippled metal surfaces evoking water create an atmosphere that rewards attention. Private niches add a further layer of seclusion for those who want it.

The beverage program is built to match the food rather than compete with it. A carefully curated wine list sits alongside signature cocktails drawn from the imagery of China's central coast — among them the Slender West Lake, an aromatic blend of osmanthus-infused gin, Bénédictine, lemon, elderflower juice, and floral mist.