Peking Duck and Penfolds Grange by the Glass: Inside Yù & Mì at Mandarin Oriental Downtown, Dubai

As Dubai’s high season begins, the table to book at Mandarin Oriental Downtown, Dubai is Yù & Mì. It sits 36 floors above Sheikh Zayed Road. The hotel’s modern Chinese bar and restaurant pairs Cantonese and Sichuan cooking with a two-course Peking duck ritual. Its cellar, meanwhile, pours Penfolds Grange by the glass.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Mandarin Oriental Downtown, Dubai

The duck is the reason to come. First, the lacquered skin arrives with Chinese pancakes, cucumber, melon, leeks, hawthorn jelly and duck sauce. Then the rest of the bird returns, minced for lettuce wraps or wok-fried in black pepper sauce. A half duck is AED 298, and a whole bird is AED 588.

Two chefs split the menu. Executive Chinese Chef Yang Guojian brings the fiery Sichuan heritage behind its spice-driven signatures. Dim Sum Head Chef Jade Lee, who honed her craft at Mandarin Oriental in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, handles the delicate side. Her Supreme Dim Sum Selection includes a caviar-topped prawn dumpling and a lobster dumpling.

Beyond the duck, the kitchen leans indulgent without losing its roots. Foie gras finds its way into the mapo tofu and into a duck and chive spring roll. There’s also a Wagyu black pepper puff and hoisin-glazed smoked Chilean seabass. Order widely, since the menu is built for sharing.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Mandarin Oriental Downtown, Dubai

The cellar, however, is the quiet surprise. Titled Secrets of the Cellar, the wine list runs from Burgundy to Georgia and Greece. A Coravin selection pours rare bottles by the glass, from 2015 Dom Pérignon to 2012 Opus One. The showstopper is a 1983 Penfolds Grange, at AED 1,400 a glass.

The evening is designed as a slow reveal. Yù, meaning jade, is the bar at the front, with deep hues, glowing jade accents, live music and Asian-inspired cocktails. Mì, meaning discreet, is the dining room hidden behind it. One side feels intimate and refined, while the other wraps around the drama of an open kitchen.

That theater suits the building. Mandarin Oriental Downtown, Dubai opened in November 2025 as the group’s second hotel in the city. It rises inside the 303-meter Wasl Tower, designed by UNStudio. The hotel holds 259 rooms and suites, 224 private residences and ten dining and nightlife venues, including Chitarra on the same floor.

A few house rules apply. The bar opens at 5 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday, and pours until 1 a.m. Dinner begins at 6 p.m., and dress is smart casual. After 8 p.m., the restaurant welcomes guests aged 12 and over. Our advice: start with a drink at Yù, then let the duck set the pace.

Yù & Mì is on the 36th floor of Mandarin Oriental Downtown, Dubai, Wasl Tower, Sheikh Zayed Road. Reservations: +971 4 777 8895 or [email protected].

For more of Haute Living’s Dubai coverage, see the night Dubai earned its first three-Michelin-star restaurants and the city’s most expensive hotel suites, from $30,000 to $100,000 a night.