Perhaps Alan Yau (Hakkasan, Yauatcha) was smart to get out when he did; he was supposed to have the restaurant at this hotel. But instead Yuji Wakiya, a Japanese chef 'inspired' by China is serving up Shanghainese cuisine such as Peking duck and Sichuan chicken. Er, newsflash for the kitchen, those are different cities. But ah, you don’t care about details really, do you? Who has time for details when you’ve been informed that there is a strict two hour time limit on your table! Care for a side dish of attitude with your pricey rice? The best story we’ve heard so far about Gramercy was from a gal pal of ours who went outside the hotel to smoke a ciggie only to be barred from re-entry even though her parents (staying at the hotel) were standing not ten feet away in the lobby. Perhaps Schrager and Nobu Matsuhisa (who is behind the management of the restaurant) are hoping that a Chinese resto will do what China Tang does for the Dorchester in London, but so far the only thing this spot is doing is extending the hotel’s reputation.

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