iChina cafe opens with Silicon Valley’s first digital-reality dining room

1 of the centerpieces of Valley Fair’s billion-dollar transformation, the iChina vacation spot restaurant, will open up currently in Santa Clara with:

Two flooring of opulent eating spaces.

A glittering lounge.

Chandelier-lit restrooms.

4 non-public eating rooms, together with one particular that will immerse visitors in a virtual truth encounter.

And then there’s the food items.

Government chef Eddie Lam, who held top rated positions with the Straits Restaurant Group at Santana Row and Crystal Jade in San Francisco, has developed a “new American Chinese” menu of modern-day and good-eating can take on traditional dishes.

The Hong Kong-born and Oakland-lifted chef reimagines Cantonese-style braised quick rib as Beef Stew en Croute. A much-from-classic Sizzling and Sour Soup is loaded with Hokkaido scallops, crab and snow cloud mushrooms. Braised California Red Abalone is paired with pasture-lifted chicken. And Broccoli Beef is produced with American Kobe ribeye.

With the debut of iChina, Westfield Valley Fair’s Restaurant Assortment, which is built close to an open up-air plaza, will be midway accomplished at this procuring/eating heart. The upscale King’s Fish Property past drop joined the fashionable Shake Shack and Salt & Straw, adopted by Bamboo Sushi. Nearby, at Bloomingdale’s, is the a short while ago opened AnQi Shaken & Stirred, from San Francisco’s noted An cafe relatives. Up coming up will be Mastro’s steakhouse. The finale will come in 2022 when Eataly unveils its multi-degree Italian foodstuff emporium.

But for now all eyes are on iChina, and it might be tough to search away.

The designers — the crew at HHD Hong Kong Jap Getaway Intercontinental Layout — say they took inspiration from a famous Music Dynasty portray and translated the golds, blues and greens of artist Wang Ximen’s “A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains” into this shimmering space with jade, gold and glass factors and artwork deco stylings.

Visitors will 1st see the glittering JiuBa cocktail lounge when they walk in the door. That space, which has been operating in a soft opening manner, serves craft cocktails and small plates these kinds of as Pork Stomach Momo with Chinese sauerkraut, Albacore Tuna Crudo and XinJiang Lamb Skewers.

Upstairs, 4 private eating rooms, all with 10-class tasting menus, will supply various activities:

The Conventional Roundtable is meant to evoke a basic Chinese eating home. The Open Kitchen area places Lam and his chefs on watch for guests who want to look at the culinary magic. The Presentation Gallery is equipped for small business conferences and presentations.

And the showstopper, the 360 Virtual Truth area, characteristics imagery from eight projectors and a sensor-enabled desk to make Silicon Valley’s to start with VR eating experience — and just one of the couple these types of restaurant rooms in the entire world, according to the iChina team.

The scenes count on the evening meal remaining served for the duration of a seafood class, for instance, the display screen may possibly characteristic an ocean-themed projection. The food stuff and beverage minimal for reserving the room is $4,500.