Yan Dining Room is an exclusive eight course dining experience, hidden away inside a popular Chinese restaurant.

Described by its creators as a "secret supper club", Yan Dining Room is from chef Eva Chin and restaurateur Colin Li.

Eva is known for her work at Kojin, a now-shuttered Japanese steakhouse, while Colin runs Hong Shing, a Chinese restaurant with nearly thirty years of history.

The pair came up with the concept while discussing their heritage over drinks. Both Eva and Colin are of Chinese descent and feel that many people their age have lost touch with their cultural identities.

In an effort to help their friends and families reconnect with their roots, the duo created a menu that mixes classic Chinese cooking with avant garde preparation and plating techniques.

Eva explains that this type of cooking, which she calls "neo-Chinese cuisine", is meant to show off a different side of Chinese culture.

"I want people to look beyond beige and styrofoam," Eva tells us. To her, this means treating Chinese food as something delicate, something precious.

These values are reflected not only in the dishes she prepares, but in the environment where they're served. Yan Dining Room is housed in a small, intimate space, decorated with intricate floral patterns.

Yan Dining Room's eight course tasting menu costs $88 per person. Baijiu pairings can be added for an additional $50.

Though the menu is set to change on a monthly basis, some items are permanent fixtures of the dining experience.

One such dish is the Sichuanese scallop crudo, which consists of thinly sliced scallops, fermented kohlrabi, nasturtium and Asian pear, seasoned with spicy salsa verde.

The dish is served in a seashell-shaped bowl, which helps to highlight its delicate composition, as well as its connection to the ocean.

The thrice frozen pear with preserved plum is frozen and thawed multiple times in order to break down its fibers and draw out its flavour.

Eva explains that these particular pears came from "an old woman at Dundas and Spadina", who had grown them in her backyard.

The lingcod with fish ball farce is a bit like an oversized sushi roll, swimming in a pool of cherry sweet-and-sour sauce.Mui choy braised pork with sesame shaobing is a deceptively simple dish, made with braised pork belly and unleavened bread.

Originally a "poor man's meal", intended to stretch a small amount of meat over a long period of time, Eva's take on the dish emphasizes the tenderness of the meat and the texture of the bread.

Yan's Garden is a mixture of baijiu, chardonnay, dill, seedlip and genmaicha tea, garnished with a cucumber twist. It has a dry, slightly bitter flavour that almost reminds me of a strong herbal tea.The General Tao is a cocktail that shares its name with a popular chicken dish.

Like its namesake, this drink combines sweet, spicy and sour flavours to create a satisfying whole. Its main ingredients, aside from baijiu, are reposado tequila, hawthorn, cherry juice, and black Chinese vinegar.

The dining room is open three days a week — Friday, Saturday and Sunday — with one seating per night. Though Eva and Colin have discussed the possibility of opening a fourth slot on Thursdays, the team has yet to reach a consensus.

If you're interested in snagging a seat, you'll have to wait until the new year: as of this writing, Yan Dining Room is booked well into 2025.

Yan Dining Room is located inside Hong Shing Restaurant, at 195 Dundas Street West.