Chinese restaurant Noble Palace to open in St James’s

Officially opening on 30 May, the 70-cover restaurant will serve a menu that draws on flavours and recipes from China’s eight culinary regions - Anhui, Guangdong, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Sichuan, and Zhejiang. Dishes will include braised Scottish lobster with udon and three Peking duck dishes: with Beluga caviar; stuffed with abalone or served with black truffle pancakes.

Also on offer will be a selection inspired by the food once enjoyed by the emperors of China’s final imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty, including smoked wild fish; braised Chilean seabass; drunken chicken with Chinese rice wine; and baked bean curd skin rolls with mushrooms.

There will also be a specials menu dependent on the ingredients sourced that day with the kitchen team able to create bespoke dishes tailormade to a customer’s taste preferences.

The dining room has been designed around the principles of feng shui using curved lines that are considered fortuitous because positive energy never travels a straight path. It is fully furnished by luxury Italian design company Cassina, which has created 111 hand-blown Bollicosa lights that are suspended from the ceiling, and which can be adjusted according to the seasons and the time of day.

The venue will also be home to the Mi Bar, which will serve an extensive cocktail list, and Mi Lounge, which will stock more than 200 whiskies and feature what is said to be the largest flat screen television in London.