Crispy Fried Chicken
Dongyuanxuan Restaurant’s name evokes “a garden pavilion of tea in the East District.” Its grounds are modeled entirely on the architecture of Jiangnan gardens, synthesizing the finest elements of those famed landscapes. Visitors are invited to discover how scenery, tea, and dining can merge into an experience as poetic as it is refreshing.
The signature “Crispy Fried Chicken” is a Cantonese-style bird familiar in teahouses throughout Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau. Rather than immersing the chicken in hot oil, the marinated raw bird is hung and repeatedly ladle-basted with boiling oil until the skin turns glass-crisp while the meat stays silky. Though the process is laborious and time-consuming, the result is surprisingly ungreasy—just finger-licking, memory-making flavor.
