A researched professional record. Inclusion does not confirm representation, availability or interest in a new project.
At a glance
Old Tower is a restaurant behind sliding doors on the fourth floor of Taikoo Li Sanlitun in Beijing. Chef Talib Hudda designed the room, including brass vegetable inlays in the wooden floor, and cooks pescatarian tasting menus that follow the seasons. The MICHELIN Guide highlights blue lobster with wine-braised shallots, Chinese sauerkraut, dashi beurre blanc and bonito espuma.[1] [2]
Cooking & identity
The cooking is pescatarian, seasonal and eclectic, shaped by Hudda’s upbringing and eclectic experiences. The room’s design is part of the same authorial gesture, but the guide’s description keeps the focus on the lobster and the sauces.[1]
The restaurant’s stated philosophy
Paraphrased from the restaurant, its group or a named chef’s statement.
In his MICHELIN Mindful Voices statement, Talib Hudda says 80% of the ingredients come from China, including Beijing cheese, Inner Mongolian dairy and seafood from Bohai Bay, and that the restaurant supports small local farmers. High-quality leftovers become broths and sauces; menus and bags use recycled paper, and kitchen uniforms use recycled PET fabric.
The same statement links sourcing to daily operations rather than a separate sustainability slogan. The MICHELIN Guide separately records that Hudda designed the room.
[1]Why this profile is included
Included through a MICHELIN star, a named chef and his own Mindful Voices statement on sourcing and waste. No dated collaboration was verified for this batch; that does not mean none took place. No separate chef page is published in this batch; the chef is named in the profile.[1] [2]
Independent observations
ChefsLanding · · Editorial commentary on the public record
A chef who designs the room and writes the sourcing statement is making a single argument across food, space and operations. That is more interesting than a restaurant that hangs a “sustainable” plaque. The test is whether the lobster and the broth actually carry it.
The risk is authorial overreach: the room, the menu and the story all in one voice can become a monologue. We would follow the seasonal pescatarian cooking, not the brass vegetable inlays.
Recent developments
- 2026
The current MICHELIN selection lists one star; the guide carries Hudda’s Mindful Voices statement on local sourcing and waste.[1]
Collaborations & guest appearances
0 collaboration projects · 0 within the two-year research window
Projects are deduplicated: multiple nights, venues or reports do not automatically become separate collaborations. Food-and-drink events and shared festival appearances are labelled by format.
- No named collaboration project has yet been verified for this profile. This does not establish that no collaboration has taken place.
Recognition over time
Restaurant ratings and individual honours are listed separately. Editorial profiles are labelled as coverage.
- 2026
MICHELIN Guide · one star[1]
Sources & dates
Public biographies, restaurant statements and named projects checked on 5 November 2026. Exact employment dates and unreported engagements may remain unavailable.
- MICHELIN · Old Tower · MICHELIN Guide selection and Talib Hudda Mindful Voices statement ↗Checked 2026-11-05
- oldtower.cn · Old Tower · official site ↗Checked 2026-11-05