CHI-Q has opened at Shanghai’s Three on the Bund, with culinary couple Marja and Jean-Georges Vongerichten collaborating to serve innovative Korean cuisine composed of local and organic ingredients.

Well suited to largest scale business dinners, CHI-Q’s menu is comprised of dishes that were developed by marrying Chef Marja’s traditional Korean homemade-style recipes with Jean-Georges’ modern spin to satisfy the taste of an international clientele in search of culinary adventures. Signature dishes include roasted foie gras bibimbap; and charred beef tenderloin with gochujang butter, while the menu also carries recipes served in Marja’s New York home, including a spicy chicken stew.

An important feature of the menu is Korean BBQ, an elegant yet playful sharing style experience, where guests grill fresh and savory meats, seafood, and veggies, customising each mouthful with a vast variety of homemade kimchis, seaweed, and pickled veggies, while bonding with their friends and family around the table.

The design concept by Neri & Hu celebrates the beauty of the dramatic yet hidden three-story atrium of Three on the Bund. It created an abstracted landscape and interiors, providing guests an architectural experience to complement the unique gastronomic journey. Clad in charcoal wood slats and concrete floors, the entrance of the restaurant is reminiscent of the discrete and private entrances found in traditional Korean houses. Upon crossing the threshold of a wooden gate, guests are lead naturally into the long bar, where they may relax with a drink before entering the dining hall.

Chef Marja, born in Uijeongbu, South Korea to a Korean mother and an American father, was adopted and raised in the US and spent most of her adult life reuniting with her Korean roots. Learning how to cook, and eating Korean food with her Korean family, became a bridge between the past and the present and united her American and Korean cultures.

Renowned chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten is responsible for the operation and success of a constellation of three and four-star restaurants worldwide. His early exposure to Asian flavors began in Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Singapore and proved influential to Vongerichten’s developing style. With 23 restaurants worldwide, CHI-Q will join Jean- Georges and Mercato in Three on The Bund.

South Korean native, Chef Bina Yu helms the kitchen. She studied cuisine both in South-Korea and in the USA before joining Jean-Georges in New York City. www.threeonthebund.com