From Hong Kong to The Shard and now DIFC: Hutong to open in Dubai in January

The contemporary restaurant is known for its lively vibe and its inventive and modern take on northern Chinese food

The view from Hutong in London, left, and Hong Kong, right. 
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One of the world's most renowned modern Northern Chinese restaurants is opening in Dubai's DIFC in January 2020. Hutong is known for its spicy food, roast duck, dim sum and Chinese-apothecary-inspired mixology.

The first Hutong is in Hong Kong's Tsim Sha Tsui in the One Peking building and opened in 2003. London's Hutong opened in The Shard in 2013 and is particularly renowned for its location and views.

In Dubai, the restaurant will be on the ground and first floors of Gate Building 6 in DIFC. There will be an indoor restaurant, a lounge bar, a private terrace and two private dining rooms.

The design of all Hutong restaurants are inspired by the imperial palaces of Peking, and menu favourites around the globe include roast duck, braised squid, beef fillet in hot and sour broth, crispy soft-shell crab with dried chilli and dan dan noodles in a sesame and peanut broth.

The Dubai restaurant will feature global favourites, but there will also be some dishes exclusive to the UAE on the David Yeo-designed menu.

As in most Hutongs, there will be a distinct wishing tree in the DIFC restaurant. Here's the one in London:

The restaurant's namesakes, hutong, are traditional residential thatched-roof-lined alleyways and courtyards that were once very common in northern China, particularly Beijing.

The restaurant has a smattering of spicy Sichuan dishes, but focuses mostly on contemporary Northern Chinese, and more specifically Beijing, cuisine. This is quite distinct to Cantonese (or Guangdong) fare. Northern Chinese cuisine generally uses more wheat – breads, buns and wheat-based noodles – than its southern counterpart, and meat is also more prominent in the northern cuisine.

The DIFC outlet will be the fifth global branch of the brand: while the Hutong in London and Hong Kong are the most renowned, there are also branches in New York and Miami.

In New York, Hutong serves a bubbles and bao Sunday brunch, in London they serve a four-course 'experience' lunch menu for 35GBP (Dh168) and in Hong Kong they serve an 18-dish Feng Wei brunch for 468 HKD (Dh220) per person.