Martin Yan Gives A Sneak Peek Of M.Y. China

Grid View

• Martin Yan stands proud just inside the entrance.
• Yan explains the kitchen layout: six live fire woks and a hand-pulled noodle station.
• A rendering of the entrance. Plans for "outside" seating are not finalized yet. Rendering courtesy of Baldauf Catton Von Eckartsberg.
• A look at the length of the space, from behind the future "bell bar"
• A head-on look at the future "bell bar," a focal point of the decor
• A look to the future open kitchen, from the right-hand side of the bar
• A rendering reveals an estimation of the finished product, from the same exact view as the prior slide. Rendering courtesy of Baldauf Catton Von Eckartsberg.

Restaurateur/TV pioneer/and Iron Chef moonlighter Martin Yan recently took Eater on a tour behind the Plywood of his forthcoming restaurant, M.Y. China under the dome at the Westfield Centre. Yan has brought in Willy and Ronny Ng of Koi Palace in Daly City as partners to help him run the day-to-day. Interestingly, Yan and the Ng brothers come from the South of China, but they share a vision to educate diners on all 16 regional cuisines of China. There will be dim sum staples, seasonal items, several kinds of noodles, and lots of Dungeness crab on the menu when it is abundant.

The kitchen will be a stage of sorts: with a hand-pulled noodle station, huge dim sum steamers, and six live fire woks facing out towards the dining room. Yan says this is the only kitchen in the U.S. with fire so exposed. (He brought architects Baldauf Catton Von Eckartsberg to China with him so they could see how it's done.) M.Y. China will also be one of the few spots where a noodle expert will dance through the dining room, twirling super-long carbohydrates in hand.

At 181 seats, M.Y. China will offer multiple vantages for the show: two dining rooms, a lounge, and an 11-seat "bell bar," where patrons will see an 1,800 lb. cast iron bell from a Chinese monastery hanging overhead. Yan plans to gong the bell when an important guest walks in, which may or may not be a problem when VIP Michael Bauer arrives. The best seats in the house will be the 15 or so high chairs at the counter, facing the huge open kitchen. Chinese artifacts, including glass snuff bottles, and surfaces lines with marble, steel and natural wood will complete the overall feel. Take a look at the snaps of the raw space and renderings of the finished product above, and be sure to read the notes in the captions.

The plan is to open on October 8 for good luck, so stay tuned to see if Yan can pull that off.

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