Jade Garden by Maxim

Jade Garden by Maxim

Cantonese restaurants are not lacking in Chengdu, but big name Hong Kong restaurants serving up classic Cantonese food are much rarer. We dropped into Maxim’s for lunch because we wanted dim sum (main menu only after 5:30) and ordered a signature dish of shrimp in egg white, a crispy skinned chicken stuffed with shrimp paste and a few dim sum. The shrimp in egg white was a very elegant dish, light and fresh with perfectly cooked shrimp. The green vegetable dumplings were steamed a bit on the soft side but were beautiful and stuffed with very fresh spinach. The bamboo shoot shrimp dumplings had a good skin and were generously stuffed with flavourful shrimp cooked to the perfect al dente.The turnip cake was nice and tight with a good flavour. The orange peel beef rice rolls had little of the orange peel flavour but the roll was smooth and fresh. We saw a little girl eating an egg yolk bun at the next table and ordered some. The rich, deep orange centre we guess was made with duck yolk.There were half a dozen other different dim sum dishes we wanted to try, as well as their congee, but will have to wait for the next time.

The servers are well trained, efficient and solicitous, bringing shawls for us when we found the air conditioning a bit chilly. They are still learning the ingredients and dishes, having to go back to the kitchen to ask questions about ingredients and flavours. We also felt the room’s decor does not quite match the standard of the food and the service – it’s comfortable, but the flooring and the fabric flame effect lamps around the top of the room make the space feel like an unlikely setting to be spending a few hundred per person. Maxim’s seems to be trying to cater to local tastes with their advertising and specials, but we think the minimalist elegance of traditional Cantonese food is the main attraction here.

Dim sum menu 80-100RMB per guest; Cantonese dishes around 200-300RMB per person. Lunch and dinner sets are available.

Telephone: 028-86586998

Address:4th Floor, Chengdu IFC 418-419 成都国金中心4楼418—419

Opening Times: 11am – 10pm

By Susan Johnson