Comforting, Healthy Dishes on Offer at New Eatery Home Grounds

Earlier in March, I blogged about the soft opening of Home Grounds, a new casual eatery from the team behind popular gym Base Fit (and also located right next door to Base Fit on Xingfu Ercun). Well, it's been a few weeks and they are now up and running with a (nearly finalized) full menu. We went along to try a selection of the dishes and came away with some very good vibes.

The menu is concise, offering brunch-type dishes and salad bowls during the day and a selection of small and large plates (that's starters and main courses to you and me, although they do encourage sharing) in the evening. The concept here is creative, healthy food, the kind that still feels kind of indulgent but won't leave you weighed down after you've eaten. The man behind the food is Australian chef Joel Bennetts, who has a background in fine dining but a passion for more casual, café-style eats (he's also a photographer, skater, and surfer – what are you doing with your life?).

Joel's pancakes, topped with bananas, poached strawberries, cinnamon cream, and pistachios

This style comes through best in dishes such as the avo smash (pictured at top, RMB 50) and Joel's pancakes (RMB 60). Both are exemplary, the finishing touches – the sprinkling of cumin-scented hazelnut dukkah on the avocado toast, the barely-sweetened cinnamon cream on the pancakes – setting them apart from simpler versions of the same dishes.

The Hawaii 5-0 bowl

This culinary "accessorizing" continues in the salad bowls, for example in the Hawaii 5-0 (RMB 70), which features a base of sushi rice topped with, variously, torched salmon, cucumber, cabbage, edamame, radish, green chili, fried shallots, tobiko roe, and toasted sesame dressing. Other salads include tofu, quinoa, and pumpkin (RMB 65), Thai beef (RMB 70), and flaked salmon and broccoli (RMB 70), the latter two sharing the slight Asian theme of the Hawaii 5-0.

Tsingtao battered fish and chips

The big and small plates are simpler, Chef Joel putting his own twist on comfort food such as fried chicken, pesto pasta, and a steak sandwich. We sampled the Tsingtao battered fish and chips (RMB 70), featuring a substantial portion of lightly battered fish on top of a pile of chips seasoned with chicken salt – those chips are a definite highlight. While we didn't try it for ourselves, we hear good things about the roast chicken (RMB 70), served with a side of roasted vegetables and chicken gravy.

There is also a full drinks menu, including juices, coffee and tea, wines by the glass and bottle, Jing-A on tap, and a selection of cocktails designed by Janes and Hooch. All this put together, we can see Home Grounds becoming a popular neighborhood spot for a healthy brunch after a workout, working lunches, and boozy dinners alike.

Photos: Robynne Tindall, Dianping

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