Huntress Grill delights high-end diners

THE Huntress Grill Western Restaurant, located on the second floor of Yindo Hotel in Gongbei, provides a typical European atmosphere and a range of exquisite French food with a fine selection of wine.

The restaurant has been heralded by word of mouth since it opened in 1991. People waited in long queues for dinner and took pride in eating at the restaurant in the 1990s, said Vice Executive Chef Luo Weihang, who came from Meizhou, Guangdong Province, and has been working in the position for 16 years. One of the first disciples of western food in the city, Luo began his career as a chef in 1985 at Zhuhai Hotel, the city’s first hotel offering western food.

“We have turned out more than 50 executive chefs for Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan and other areas in the Pearl River Delta since operating,” Luo said, adding: “We encourage career shift in the circle, as western food is developing and we always need some new blood.” Young, smart and industrious novices were recruited to work in the restaurant and some find another better-paying job upon finishing apprenticeship. It takes at three to five years for an apprentice to learn basic skills of cooking continental cuisines though.

“However, what counts most is to learn to be before learn to do,” he added.

With stone-laid fireplace, rough wood, oil paintings, white tablecloth, leathered chairs and interior furnishings, the restaurant looks like an old, warm European castle. Comfortable, cozy and warm atmosphere make customers feel at home.

“Our chef’s signature dish is grilled fillet steak out of the A5+ Kobe Wagyu beef, which is known for its excellent marbling and taste,” Luo explained. Many people consider it a delicacy, he added. Apart from the authentic material, the dish concentrates accumulation of know-how in cooking, skills, expertise and devotion of the chef, he noted.

Typical dinner menu includes appetizer, soup, salad, main course featuring fish or meat, dessert and coffee, which is the full course of a French cuisine, Luo explained. “The dinner normally takes around two hours. It takes time to enjoy the very best of authentic western hospitality, especially a generous and exquisite dinner,” he said.

PR Manager Nancy Liu said: “We never serve stir fried or flat rice noodles like some other restaurants that serve modified western food in town. Rather, we maintain the quality and authenticity of western food. Moreover, we serve each course to a table only after everyone at that table has finished the previous course. It is not proper etiquette to serve guests at the same table at different times.”

Having worked with the executive chef, Han Yongjin, as partner for 21 years, Luo is satisfied with their high degree of rapport. “Our collaboration in work is flawless,” Luo said. The two chief executive chefs keep supervising every process in person, from the quality of beef to cooking and quantity. They use their own hands for VIP customers or important feasts, from beginning to end.

“A summary will be made to encourage the bon and to point out shortcomings when the restaurant is closed everyday,” Luo said. “It is a routine through which we examine and improve our service.”

“Western food has very bright prospects,” Luo still remembers what his master told him in the 1980s and feels happy that he has made the right decision. “In the background of fierce competition, price is the next to consider when the quality is great,” he noted, showing obvious confidence in his restaurant.