2021
Hua Rong Yue Se (花茸粤色) is a restaurant specialising in traditional Lingnan (岭南) styled cuisine with a Matsutake mushroom (松茸) soup base. We were engaged to craft a new identity system, spatial design and experience for this luxury hot pot restaurant in Shenzhen’s downtown district.
Lingnan is a geographic area in Guangdong referring to the lands to the south of the Nanling Mountains in China, that includes not only Cantonese culture but also blending the cultures of the Hakkas, Teochews, Taishanese, Hainanese.
We created the brand identity, spatial design and environmental graphics for Hua Rong Yue Se, synthesising the hallmarks of traditions into a luxurious, yet sentimental experience. The logo is made up of a set of Chinese calligraphic characters infused with iconography that the namesake represents - inspired by floral gardens, fungi, Lingnan styled 'rabbit roofs' architecture and the luscious Southern China landscapes - forming the words 花茸粤色. A set of visual motifs were also created in an impressionistic Chinese ink style, for applications ranging from menus to cutlery and environmental graphics.
The dishes were served in custom trays and boxes that draws influence from Lingnan architecture and motifs.
The new branding is also translated to the store design, from the main signage and entrance, to the interior main dining and VIP areas.
Lingnan is well known for its gardens, having natural barriers such as the Ng Leng Mountains and extensive river network. The region also has strong sunlight and receives regular monsoon, thus plants are lush throughout the year in this subtropical natural landscape. With this rich natural scenery, people in Lingnan have been able to create a colorful style of traditional gardens distinct from those in other regions. For much of the past millennium, this area has also been engaged in trade activities with Western Europeans and Southeast Asians. These frequent cultural exchanges with the outside world has also led to the development of a unique Lingnan architectural style, one that is Anglo-Chinese in nature, evident through the use of elements like stained glass in their buildings and gardens.
Our brief was to take one back to the quaint, romanesque moments of being in Chinoiserie styled Chinese gardens. The store front consisted of an elaborate pavilion (凉亭) set amongst a garden, resulting in an eye-catching presentation that would draw both enthusiasts and casual passers-by to take a closer look; an unorthodox yet highly effective strategy in a high-end mall. A long curved corridor then leads customers into the main space itself as they traverse through an interactive floor pathway of koi fishes swimming in a pond.
A river runs through the length of the restaurant, with small stone bridges linking up the various pockets of spaces sheltered by cascading sakura trees. To create an enjoyable dine-in experience, different experience-scapes were meticulously crafted around the space. One of the key photogenic spots is a life sized boat fashioned into a seating area, a subtle reference to Lingnan's port history which serves as a point of entry to the brand story when curious customers ask about it.
