SENSE 8 Restaurant | NONG STUDIO

SENSE 8 represents a recollection of the charm of NanYang old times and an in-depth exploration of eastern aesthetics.

Modeled upon the framework of Xiguan mansions in Lingnan, the interior of the restaurant is inspired by the old-fashioned Hong Kong tea gardens. After opening an array of Chinese-style partition doors decorated with hand-drawn, gold-painted geometric patterns, one will hear the pleasant Nanguan music caressing your ears. An infinite number of details from Dongyang woodcarvings to Chaoshan gold lacquered objects are unfolded before your eyes, and the parquet floor alternating with red and green terrazzo and gold lines perfectly showcases the long history of Lingnan (Cantonese) culture. Artifacts collected here are either purchased from overseas auctions, or ingeniously reproduced, or re-invented and customized on the basis of traditions. Despite being a restaurant, the place actually has a magic to make you feel as if you were walking through the kaleidoscope of time where the complicated, infinite details of the magnificent Chinese aesthetics were unfolded layer by layer.

The large-expansion of the Chengdu IFS provides favorable conditions for SENSE 8 to create an experience teeming with a sense of rituals. Through a 30-meter passage, guests are able to access to different areas of the restaurant. It is here that a blue-and-white porcelain statue of the sitting Maitreya greets you with a mysterious smile. In the center of a number of stately banquet rooms is a hall with a height of nearly 9 meters, where the designer aptly employs the proportion of ancient Chinese wood architecture to enhance the space. A stunning difference experience thus arise from such a tensional interior space.

The sense of awe, however, does not stop here. The most striking part of the space is the colossal Japanese-style paper lantern strung across the entire hall. Featuring the images of the traditional Chinese Eight Immortals, the lantern was made by traditional Japanese craftsmen over more than a year, not to mention numerous difficulties encountered in shipping and hoisting.

The Dragon lounge that offers seats for 16 diners is nearly 4 meters high. With red walls decorated by golden furniture and carved patterns of flowers, the lounge provides supreme elegance with different sizes of Cantonese ceramic plates and solid wood structures which form up an interesting contrast.

Stepping into the terrace of the SENSE 8, one is welcomed by a palatial garden of southern China. The Nyonya-style floor tiles and iron climbing frames draw on the iron art structure of veranda architecture left behind in Southeast Asia by the French, making it a perfect complement to the Lingnan style of the restaurant.

It may sound unbelievable, but all lamps and lanterns in the restaurant are exclusively customized for SENSE 8. The exquisitely witty maid-shaped wall lanterns are 1:1 reproduction of artifacts of the Ming and Qing dynasties; the colorful octagonal crystal chandeliers were also exclusively designed for the SENSE 8 brand and have already become a popular product in the market; on the corridor walls are glazed lamps featuring the Eight Immortals, looking as if they were jades and emeralds dotted on the wall; the magnificent lanterns with patterns of the Eight Immortals are made by traditional Japanese craftsman; the resplendent French-style chandeliers in lounges offers a glimpse into the popular western decoration trend initially adopted in the Qing dynasty; the auspicious Dongyang octagonal palace lamps perfectly echo to the concept of the “Eight Immortals”, while the Chinese-style hanging or floor lamps are designed to conjure a resemblance to those collected in the Palace Museum.

The combination of the French-style Bistro rattan chairs with the Chinese-style green painted table cloth, a practice pioneered by SENSE 8, is the most eye-catching symbol in the restaurant and has inspired a wave of adoption of French coffee chairs in the catering industry. Looking around, one would perceive the resplendent lights given off by the traditional carved-lacquer, mother-of-pearl inlaid furniture of the Qing dynasty. In addition, the “oriental furniture” series designed by the French cabinetmaker Gabriel Viardor in the 19th century integrate elements from both the east and west, which features an asymmetric visual balance achieved by the exquisitely inlaid exotic ivory and the Chinese-style eave design and hollowing-out carving techniques to exhibit a classically elegant touch. Hailed as the works of the “Viardor style”, this genre of furniture has been widely collected in the west. Here, the set of furniture also demonstrates the history of “Chinese style introduced to the west”.

A variety of porcelain and ceramic works ranging from porcelain carvings, ornament pasting, blue and white to Cantonese ceramics are all gathered here to bring a feast to the eye. The porcelain statues of the Happiness, Property and Longevity convey good wishes; the porcelain ornaments depicting different expressions of the Eight Immortals create a sense of liveliness and humor to every dining table. The sitting Maitreya statue carries with it a modern style, while the plates offered in lounges are reproduced and re-created works from tableware of the period of the Emperor Qianlong’s rein in the Qing dynasty.

The combination of the exquisite gold tracing technique of the artifact repairers of the Forbidden City and the detailed and complicated carpentry represents a perfect integration of the essence of techniques of the imperial palace in northern China and the local folk crafts in Dongyang of southern China. The traditional-style ceiling décor draws on the caisson structure commonly seen in palaces or temples. Calligraphic and painting works by prominent figures are mixed with modern photography, transforming the restaurant into a mansion of a wealthy and influential family in the old times which could both accept a modern and western lifestyle and were deeply influenced by Chinese tradition, conveying a relaxing, leisurely lifestyle of southern China.  

All tableware is designed by master artists, and are exclusively fired in Jingdezhen kilns after decorated with elements of the “Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea”. A large quantity of antique silverware is also used to create a splendid visual feast for diners.