Reserve the wild yellow croaker with the table, then build the Taizhou canon around it. Shenzhen's most serious Chinese fish house — book it.
Reserve the Wild Yellow Croaker First
One fish decides the order at Xin Rong Ji on the sixth floor of the Ping An Finance Center: the wild yellow croaker, braised home-style and priced to the day's market. It is the dish the entire group is built on, and because the kitchen only holds so many, you reserve it when you book the table, not when you sit. Zhang Yong built Xin Rong Ji into the most decorated restaurant group in China, with stars in Beijing, Hong Kong, Hangzhou and Chengdu, on the cooking of Taizhou: East China Sea fish, mountain vegetables and the conviction that the finest luxury is a perfectly steamed croaker.
The Shenzhen branch wears the group's quiet-money interior in Futian, banquet-capable in scale but a fish restaurant at heart. The room is the address the city's money prefers; the cooking stays coastal and unshowy.
What to Order After the Croaker
Around the fish, build the canon. The crispy pomfret and the crab-and-tofu soup are the plates that show the kitchen's coastal range; the braised pigeon is the meat course to add. The sha-garlic bean noodles read humble and eat like a thesis, and the famous stinky tofu is the one that converts the sceptics at the table. It is generous, precise cooking that never tips into spectacle, even when the room is set for a banquet.
What It Costs
Budgets run wide by design. Diners report around 600 RMB a head for a restrained dinner and 2,000 to 2,500 RMB when the wild yellow croaker and serious wine both arrive. The croaker itself is market-priced, so have the day's figure confirmed when it is reserved rather than at the door. Skip the headline fish and the rest of the canon, the pomfret, the crab-tofu soup and the bean noodles, keeps a table honest at the lower end.
The Shenzhen Play
Book the early seating from 17:30, put the croaker order in the booking, and treat the tower address as the feature it is. For a client dinner the protocol is a private room, tea poured before business, croaker as the closer, which is why it tops our deal-closing picks for the city. The wider map is in our Shenzhen dining guide; to land the table and the fish, read our guide on how to book Xin Rong Ji.
Not for a diner chasing a Michelin star tonight or a budget meal. Shenzhen's first guide is announced but unpublished, and the croaker night runs to 2,500 RMB a head. Wrong choice for anyone who wants fireworks over restraint, or a cheap plate of noodles.
View Xin Rong Ji on Restaurants for Kings →
Related Reading
- Our full profile: Xin Rong Ji at the Ping An Finance Center.
- Book the table: how to book Xin Rong Ji in Shenzhen.
- The wider city: Shenzhen dining guide.
- Nearby tables: Ensue by Christopher Kostow, The Bay by Chef Fei and Wu Modern Chao Cuisine.
- By kitchen: the best Chinese restaurants worldwide.
- By occasion: where to close a deal and tables that impress clients.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I order at Xin Rong Ji in Shenzhen?
The wild yellow croaker, braised home-style, is the dish the whole group is built on, and you reserve it with the table because it is market-priced and finite. Around it, build the Taizhou canon: crispy pomfret, crab-and-tofu soup, braised pigeon, sha-garlic bean noodles, and the celebrated stinky tofu that converts sceptics. It is East China Sea cooking, coastal and precise, served on the sixth floor of the Ping An Finance Center in Futian.
What is the signature dish at Xin Rong Ji?
Wild yellow croaker, braised home-style and priced to the day's market, is the reason Zhang Yong's group exists. It is the plate every branch is measured against, from Beijing to Hong Kong. In Shenzhen the supporting canon runs crispy pomfret, crab-and-tofu soup, braised pigeon and the stinky tofu. Reserve the croaker when you book, since the kitchen only holds so many and the day's price follows the catch.
How much does dinner at Xin Rong Ji Shenzhen cost?
Wide by design. Diners report around 600 RMB a head for a restrained dinner and 2,000 to 2,500 RMB when the wild yellow croaker and serious wine both arrive. The croaker itself is market-priced, so confirm the day's figure when it is reserved rather than at the door. The rest of the Taizhou canon, the pomfret, the crab-tofu soup and the bean noodles, keeps the lower end honest for a table that skips the headline fish.
Does Xin Rong Ji Shenzhen have a Michelin star?
No. Shenzhen had no Michelin coverage at all until a combined Guangzhou-Shenzhen 2026 guide was announced in October 2025, and that selection is not yet published. The group holds stars in Beijing, Hong Kong, Hangzhou and Chengdu, but stars do not transfer between branches. Our Xin Rong Ji review still ranks the Shenzhen room the city's most serious Chinese table, a claim the forthcoming selection will test.
What is Taizhou cuisine?
Taizhou cooking comes from the coast of Zhejiang province, built on East China Sea fish, mountain vegetables and the conviction that the finest luxury is a perfectly steamed wild yellow croaker. Zhang Yong built Xin Rong Ji on it, and the Shenzhen branch keeps the style intact even in a banquet-capable room. It reads humble on the menu, the bean noodles and the stinky tofu among them, and eats like a thesis on restraint.