CDL Group and Elite Concepts Ltd have entered into a joint venture to operate the elegant Ye Shanghai at CDL's King's Centre in Havelock Road. Ye Shanghai will celebrate its official opening today. The venture City Elite Pte Ltd, is made up of a subsidiary of Republic Hotels and Resorts (a listed subsidiary within the CDL Group) and Elite Concepts. Ye Shanghai is the first direct venture in F&B business for the CDL Group in Singapore.
"This move into the restaurant business will build on the success of CDL in the management and operations of hotels. It was a natural decision to venture into the restaurant business", said Mr Gerry De Silva, Group Corporate Affairs Manager of Hong Leong Group, CDL's parent. CDL has property and hotel interests here and in 13 countries around the world.
"With this new venture, CDL hopes to bring a new dining experience to Singapore," added Mr De Silva.
Ye Shanghai (literally means " Shanghai Nights") is located at Level 1, King's Centre, next to Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel by the Singapore River. It brings to Singapore the elegance of Shanghai when its was known as the Paris of the East during its heyday.
At more than 10,000 sq ft and with a seating capacity for over 250 diners, Ye Shanghai is one of Singapore's largest restaurants. It offers a variety of authentic cuisines from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions and a variety of Shanghainese dim sum. It also houses a gift shop featuring seasonal specialties, preserved meats, fine Chinese and Western wines, teas and cigars.
Although its design has been adapted from Hong Kong, the first location of Ye Shanghai, the Singapore version is definitely a larger proposition. There are intimate private dining rooms and dining booths with views of the Singapore River. Art pieces, from Shanghai and other parts of China, adorn its walls. There is also a special mahjong table complete with bamboo tiles, the type popular in Shanghai in the 1930s. The other "secret" recipe is the live night entertainment. Mr Hsu said, " Dining during the pre-war era Shanghai usually includes entertainment. So we decided to incorporate a live band to serenade to the patrons who may also want to take to the dance floor."
Since starting in 1991, Mr Hsu's Elite Concepts has become a leading name in Asian hospitality, specializing in the conceptual development, design and management of restaurants, clubs and leisure venues.