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Mar
23rdThe Beijinger’s 2011 Restaurant Awards: Blabbers, Ramblings and Alternatives.This past Monday, The Beijinger announced their winners for the 2011 restaurant awards, all voted on by readers. I might not agree with a lot of their selections or with the winners but i must respect them as the popular choices by that species known as the Genus-Expatus. Looking at the list, one can’t help but notice that Chaoyang in General and Sanlitun more specifically still reigns supreme. Establishments like Mosto, Le Petit Gourmand, South Beauty, Haidilao, Middle 8th and more. Like it, love it, hate it or whatever, it’s just a reality. To get exposure and food traffic, you wanna be in the holly quadrant: dongzhimen, liangmaqiao, guomao, jiangguomen. Interestingly enough, this year, there doesn’t seem to be much controversy/comments or reactions to the results. Last year’s edition caused quite a few stirs online and offline with people agreeing/disagreeing with over 30 comments on the original post as well as enough reactions around Beijing to keep the conversation going for a while. This year, it’s pretty darn low key so far! I was really pleased last year with extra categories for Chinese restaurants but unfortunately, that has gone by the wayside. GM Mike Wester explained that there wasn’t enough nominations to warrant a real category for many types of Chinese cuisine…. how about that Beijing? There’s more of you having an afternoon tea than eating Xinjiang food? really? wow, I had no idea that we got so posh in a year. That said, joking aside, what do you expect [...]
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Mar
9thRuxiang Piao Piao, Ordos Representative Office: Taste, Smell and Sound of the Grasslands, right here in BeijingThis was one of the first “provincial” restaurants I wanted to try in Beijing, especially after i read about their yurts and the famed lamb that fell right off the bone. Alas, all my attempts to find the original location, as outlined in the insider guide to Beijing, fell by the wayside… until now. A few weeks ago, on my regular dianping sweep, I saw pictures of this place that had yurts in the yard and i jumped in excitement. To make things even better, just a few days later, the restaurant showed up in CNNGO’s list of most bizarre restaurants in Beijing. Ruxiang Piao Piao 乳香飘飘 (Ordos Hotel Restaurant 鄂尔多斯宾馆内): The place is apparently managed by the Ordos Representative office and would be more genuine that the official Inner Mongolia rep office restaurant. I had to gather the troops and go… The restaurant is located inside a hotel. The hotel itself is in an obscure alleyway. The alleyway is hidden at the back of a hidden street… Let me tell you folks, finding the place ain’t easy the first time around…. heck, it’s almost faster/easier to head over to inner mongolia for a meal! Good luck! Patience little ones, for it shall be rewarded! I was a bit disappointed that we couldn’t get to sit in a yurt but that’s what you get for trying to organize a dinner party for 14 people last minute. The staff was nice enough to set us up with a table in the [...]
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Dec
28thLord of the Xinjiangs: One Yogurt to Rule them all at the Urumqi Representative OfficeA little over two years ago, I embarked on a journey to try all the provincial restaurants in Beijing. I’m still going strong but after such a long time, I was overdue for a pilgrimage to place where my infatuation with various Chinese cuisines started: Xinjiang Fanzhuang 新疆饭庄 inside the The Urumqi Representative Office Restaurant 乌鲁木齐驻京办. Pre-BeijingDaze days, most of my reviews ended up on the Beijinger and i was lucky that the review was still there even though i forgot all about it! What stayed with me however was the memories of great food, the best yogurt I’ve ever had in China as well as the lousiest pushiest staff i had encountered. I was anxious to see how the memories would stack up after having been to Xinjiang a few times and trying some of the better alternatives in Beijing itself. The plan was set in motion for 8:00 pm on a saturday, giving us enough time to sample the good and order what we needed before the kitchen closed. It wasn’t a problem getting a table for 10 at that time! I had tried calling to reserve earlier but they said they couldn’t do it for that hour. Location: Whereas two years ago we had all sorts of problems finding the place, it turned out to be a breeze this time around. Most people ended up taking the subway and getting off on the line 2 stop of 车公庄chēgōngzhuāng. From there on, it’s a 10mn walk and trust [...]
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Dec
2ndXinjiang Islam Provincial Restaurant: Found the Cream of the Crop?A little while back, I’ve finally managed to gather the troops and head over to the west side of town for the last of the Xinjiang Provincial restaurants in Beijing that had managed to evade me: The Xinjiang Islam Restaurant 新疆伊斯兰饭庄, attached to the provincial representative office, inside the Xinjiang Hotel. It is located inside the courtyard of the Xinjiang Hotel, not to be confused with the other establishment that is right on the street. I headed over there on a cold november saturday night with some of the usual suspects that were willing to brave the temperatures and tag along for a meal on the less travelled western side of Beijing. The restaurant was quite busy on both floors but we still managed to score a table for 10 persons around 8:00 pm which is usually their busiest hour. I’m gonna take a slightly different approach on this review and try to have it organized! The Menu Probably the biggest and most extensive menu out of all 3 Xinjiang provincial restaurants. Not only did it have all the classic dishes but it also boasted a few options I had not seen at the other two especially as far as their variety of fish and beef dishes. Dishes were listed both in English and Chinese with good pictures, clearly organized according to meat type and what not. It’s very much foreigner friendly! The Service Probably the biggest surprise of the night: The staff was amazingly on the ball with a [...]
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Sep
9thShaanxi Provincial Restaurant: Of noodles, noodles, more noodles and meats.. love itFor some reason, a few weeks ago, I just started developing a craving for noodles, and not just any noodles… I wanted Shaanxi style Yangrou Paomou 羊肉泡沫 and I kept trying them in various establishments until i got tired of average quality and decided to head for the Shaanxi Provincial Restaurant in Beijing: 陕西省驻京办. I gathered the usual suspects for a little Friday night extravaganza with a promise of noodles, roujiamou, roasted lamb and other delicacies then we proceeded to make a booking. It was a bit harder than expected as the staff refused to take 8:30 pm reservations at first. They mentioned that the kitchen closed at 9:00 and it was greatly inconvenient for them. After a bit of forcing, we did secure a table for 8:15. K-hua got there first and proceeded to order an array of traditional goodies before the kitchen closed so that we could start eating right away…. and it was a nice feast! Now, we gotta separate Shanxi from Shaanxi as they’re not created equal. Shaanxi with 2 A is home to Xi’An and the terracota warriors. It’s also the recognized home of the yangrou paomou as well as the chinese burger known as roujiamo 肉夹馍. They have a bit of a Muslim tradition and do great noodles! Shanxi with 1 A is home of Taiyuan, one of the most polluted cities in China. A lot of their restaurants are also doing similar items but not as well IMHO. We ordered a whole assortment [...]
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Jul
26thShudu Binguan: Sichuan Flavor, Capsicum Sins and Cozy Atmosphere at Chengdu Representative Restaurant.Chuan Ban gets a lot of press all around Beijing as far as the authenticity and quality of their Sichuanese fare! As official representative of Sichuan, they do an amazing job bearing the flag. However, they are not the sole carrier! usually forgotten and overshadowed by its bigger brother, Shudu Binguan, in the Chengdu representative office is not a place one should dismiss when searching for good Sichuan fare. Let me start by saying that this place is HARD to find and you’re better off just giving them a phone call to get directions. To give you an idea, you’re basically gonna be north of the forbidden city,across from the east gate of jingshan park. Once you’ve been there, it’s easy enough to find again. On the evening we picked, it was raining cats and dogs! Once of those sundays when i might have been better served staying home. Anyways, plans are plans and the ganng made it to Shudu Binguan at various times and various levels of wetness… yours truly was beyond soaked. Still, we managed to get to the restaurant and they tried their best to accommodate poor cold us and didn’t complain too much as we dirtied their floors and chairs (and that’s a big ups in my book). The Dining area is small with room for about 8 big tables if memory serves me right so it’s definitely a much cozier affair than Chuan Ban. Ok! so.. how’s the food I hear you ask? Food was [...]
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Apr
2ndAnhui Provincial restaurant in Beijing: Yep, it was representative!Ah Anhui.. home to Huangshan Moutains as well as 3 months worth of memories from my life circa 2004 when i spent a summer living in the capital of Anhui: Hefei. Hefei stood out for many reasons, 3 of which remain vivid recollections that I don’t think i can forget ever: 1- Abundance of coffee houses all around the city! I was extremely grateful to have access to proper blended mocha lattes in that heat. 2- huge German influence with a few shops selling exclusively German-made goods and products. Never quite understood the connection there 3- Not a single freaking good Chinese meal in 3 months unless it was dumplings/dico’s…. So, fast forward a feeeeeeeew years later, I felt i was slightly better equipped to try and visit the Anhui provincial restaurant 安徽大厦中餐厅 (map) to give it a chance at redemption; after all, Anhui Cuisine ( Hui Cai 徽菜) counts amongst the great 8 culinary traditions of China. The restaurant is a bit out of the way on the north side of the 4rth ring road, near Anhui bridge strangely enough. It’s sits in the lobby of the Anhui representative hotel as you walk in to the left and consists of a huge banquet room with a whole bunch of big tables around. You can tell right away that this is not meant for a couple of diners but for groups. The menu brought in the first surprise of the evening: The first few pages boosted their Cantonese dishes as [...]
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Jan
12thKashgar provincial restaurant revisited: One Xinjiang to Rule them allThis past saturday, after failing to locate the no-longer-there Dunhuang Shifu, I rerouted the troops towards the Kashgar Representative Office Restaurant 喀什饭庄 (map) as they had never been there. That was all the excuse I needed to get my hands on some Chuan’r, dapanji and other mouth watering goodies. The restaurant was busier than last time with most of the tables on the first floor occupied but were able to get a table for 10 without any problem. A quick glance at the menu reminded me of their extensive selection of meats and veggies, not to mention all the bazaaresue goodies in the stalls. We managed to get some polo (xinjiang rice with meat) before they ran out and ordered the mandatory chuan’r (kebabs), da pan ji ( spicy chicken over noodles), tudou niurou (stewed beef n potatoes) along with a slew of other dishes! While everything was great, the highlight of the evening had to be the dapanji along with with the baozi.. those two just stood out and delivered. The Dapanji especially was balanced in its spiciness with meaty chicken cuts along with the mandatory hand pulled noodles at the bottom of the dish which is how the Uighurs intended for it to be! I didn’t remember it standing out so much last time This time around, the service was also fantastic! The staff was friendly and available which is not always the case in provincial restaurants. An even bigger better surprise was that when they forgot our [...]
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Jan
12thGetting lost for Dunhuang Shifu or where the hell is the Gansu Provincial RestaurantI love my provincial restaurants and keep trying to get out and discover them as much as possible and with the cold that is hitting Beijing this winter, I figured some steaming hot Lanzhou noodles would be exactly what the doctor ordered. I rallied the troops and plans were made to hit the less-traveled roads of Beijing and head over to Fuchengmen where Dunhuang Shifu 敦煌食府, the Gansu provincial restaurant, supposedly stood. To make a long story short, it no longer is there and the new location is in the third floor of the Feitian Hotel. the new location is : Fetian Dasha (map) Gansu Provincial Government Office 5 Guangqumenwai Nanjie, Chongwen District 飞天大厦 甘肃省驻京办 崇文区 广渠门外南街5号 Tel 6777 8000 To be noted is that the restaurant at this point only has private rooms, no common dining area is available so reservations are highly highly recommended to avoid disappointment. so, rest in peace, dunhuang shifu! we never really knew ya! I will definitely be shooting for the Fei Tian Da Sha in the near future.
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Dec
9thOf Spice & Pain: a Trip to Chuan Ban, the Sichuan Provincial restaurant!Sometime ago, I learned that every province in China had a representative office and restaurant in Beijing where one could go and sample authentic cuisine from the region. The most famous of these was Chuan Ban, the Sichuan Provincial restaurant(map). Having had my share of Sichuan food in various establishments, I was more curious about other cuisines so I decided to put Chuan Ban on the back of the list and search for the more obscure ones. I ended up being a Chuan Ban virgin for way too long! I’m proud to say that I am a Chuan Ban virgin no more! Along with 3 other Chuan Ban Virgins and a little assist from some veterans, I set out this past Monday to see what the fuss was all about! Chuan Ban is conveniently located in the jianguomen area of Beijing but nevertheless hidden in some back streets. It’s around the corner from Yu Xin Sichuan that I wrote about a few weeks ago. The restaurant is pretty much standard Chinese style with no fuss or whatsoever, much like most other provincial restaurants i had been to in the past. For this particular visit, we stuck with the main classics of sichuan cuisine : 麻婆豆腐 mápó dòufǔ 担担面 dàndàn miàn 水煮鱼 shuǐzhǔ yu 辣子鸡 làzǐ jī 魚香茄子鱼 yúxiāng qiézi 宫保鸡丁gōngbǎo jīdīng The food and conversations were so good I actually forgot to take pictures of the dishes so I’m borrowing some samples from dianping ‘s user submitted pics. The gongbao [...]
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