YINGTAO 櫻桃 (’cherry’ in Mandarin)
Yingtao takes its name from Bolun’s late grandmother. The restaurant’s cherry-red design accents serve as a subtle homage to both her memory and the cultural symbolism of the cherry itself.
BOLUN & LINETTE YAO - OWNERS
Within New York City’s hospitality landscape, our goal is to innovate and explore new possibilities, infusing hip-hop influences and contemporary Chinese cultural elements into the fine-dining experience. As partners under August Hospitality Group, Yingtao represents our first concept envisioned as both a dining destination and a cultural platform. Through collaborations with Asian and AAPI chefs, artisans, producers, and creatives, Yingtao champions representation and visibility within fine dining. Our restaurant serves as a space for dialogue and collaboration, using food and beverage as a medium to amplify diverse voices and reframe how Chinese cuisine is seen, valued, and experienced at the highest level.
In a city as diverse as New York, we are filling a long-standing gap in the market by introducing the genre of contemporary Chinese fine dining that reflects heritage, the present moment, and our identities.
Within New York City’s hospitality landscape, our goal is to innovate and explore new possibilities, infusing hip-hop influences and contemporary Chinese cultural elements into the fine-dining experience. As partners under August Hospitality Group, Yingtao represents our first concept envisioned as both a dining destination and a cultural platform. Through collaborations with Asian and AAPI chefs, artisans, producers, and creatives, Yingtao champions representation and visibility within fine dining. Our restaurant serves as a space for dialogue and collaboration, using food and beverage as a medium to amplify diverse voices and reframe how Chinese cuisine is seen, valued, and experienced at the highest level.
In a city as diverse as New York, we are filling a long-standing gap in the market by introducing the genre of contemporary Chinese fine dining that reflects heritage, the present moment, and our identities.
EMILY YUEN - EXECUTIVE CHEF
Chef Emily Yuen is the Executive Chef of Michelin-starred Yingtao in New York City. A Vancouver native, she has built a career shaped by global experience and a deeply personal culinary point of view rooted in heritage, technique, and storytelling.
Emily’s culinary journey spans Michelin-starred kitchens across Australia, London, Singapore, and New York, including the iconic Le Gavroche and several restaurants under Daniel Boulud. After settling in New York City, she continued her work with Boulud and further refined her approach during her time at Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant, Kajitsu.
She later served as Executive Chef at Bessou in NoHo and most recently opened Lingo in Brooklyn in 2023, a Japanese American concept that blends familiar flavors with inventive, globally inspired twists. Her work at Lingo earned the restaurant a place in the Michelin Guide, and she was named a 2025 James Beard Foundation Best Chef: New York State semifinalist.
At Yingtao, Emily brings together her Chinese heritage and international influences drawn from her career abroad as the next chapter to the restaurant’s contemporary Chinese tasting menu. Her leadership reflects a broader commitment to representation in professional kitchens particularly for Chinese and Asian women and to redefining what leadership can look like in fine dining, while actively contributing to the broader conversation and future of the Chinese culinary scene.
As a mother, Emily is deeply motivated by the example she sets for her daughter. Her career is not only an expression of her craft, but a testament to the possibility of building a life around one’s passion. Through her work, she hopes to show the next generation that ambition, creativity, and family can coexist, and that women can lead at the highest levels of the culinary world without compromise.
Chef Emily Yuen is the Executive Chef of Michelin-starred Yingtao in New York City. A Vancouver native, she has built a career shaped by global experience and a deeply personal culinary point of view rooted in heritage, technique, and storytelling.
Emily’s culinary journey spans Michelin-starred kitchens across Australia, London, Singapore, and New York, including the iconic Le Gavroche and several restaurants under Daniel Boulud. After settling in New York City, she continued her work with Boulud and further refined her approach during her time at Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant, Kajitsu.
She later served as Executive Chef at Bessou in NoHo and most recently opened Lingo in Brooklyn in 2023, a Japanese American concept that blends familiar flavors with inventive, globally inspired twists. Her work at Lingo earned the restaurant a place in the Michelin Guide, and she was named a 2025 James Beard Foundation Best Chef: New York State semifinalist.
At Yingtao, Emily brings together her Chinese heritage and international influences drawn from her career abroad as the next chapter to the restaurant’s contemporary Chinese tasting menu. Her leadership reflects a broader commitment to representation in professional kitchens particularly for Chinese and Asian women and to redefining what leadership can look like in fine dining, while actively contributing to the broader conversation and future of the Chinese culinary scene.
As a mother, Emily is deeply motivated by the example she sets for her daughter. Her career is not only an expression of her craft, but a testament to the possibility of building a life around one’s passion. Through her work, she hopes to show the next generation that ambition, creativity, and family can coexist, and that women can lead at the highest levels of the culinary world without compromise.