Beijing boasts of old courtyards turned hip and yuppifed restaurants mostly frequented by expats rather than locals. And last Tuesday, we were invited to one on the outskirts of the city near the airport. My, never thought one would find a place like that in the middle of fruit orchards. It’s kinda cool though, not what our Chinese Clients would call ‘elegant’ (when they say elegant they actually mean “expensive-looking” or “filthy rich”) but simply cool or “China modern” it reminds me of Cool Hotel books. But the food, oh the food, is such a delight that doesn’t disappoint.
The main restaurant wasn’t open until late afternoon so we killed time drinking tea at the adjacent pastry and cafe bar. It is actually the restaurant’s pastry branch. Our interpreter ordered pink rosebud tea and A chose the cake to go with it – chocolate truffles, mocha mousse and tiramisu. The place has ‘no picture-taking allowed’ signs but I said to myself… who cares? Hehehehe not for foreigners, I guess.
Aaah… that’s the wonderful Rosa Francese tea though I don’t think the buds are French. I guess they’re the famous Chinese imperial rosebuds from Anhui Province believed to be beneficial to heart and skin.
Dinnertime and we ordered to our hearts’ delight. As shown on the 1st pic above with my son, we had clam soup with zucchini (very similar to our halaan soup but creamy instead of clear) and sauteed green leafy veggies. Of course, our favorite steamed fish.
Below is similar to our Lechong Kawali but sweet, with a hint of Chinese flavor that goes with sweet and sour sauce as condiment. Sinfully delicious!
Never complete without chao fan (fried rice)! Hao chi!
i’ve always loved chinese food, but to have it in all its authenticity (and in this lovely “filthy rich” setting to boot) must be sooo wonderful! btw, nagulat ako sa roses, i thought they were siomai (like molo soup), hehe.
Hi, Iska! That rose tea looks mighty intriguing and appears to be sooo deliciously fragrant. Oh, and I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like steamed fish or Chinese fried rice.
Oh my they look all gorgeous! I heard before that roses are indeed good for the skin. Now I miss Chinese food
Naku lang talaga… the buds are pretty, fragrant and yeah… so invigorating! Good for the skin pa… yun ang sabi nila.
The steamed fish… oh well I know some guys who hate “basang isda.” They just don’t know what they’re missing….