Chill Out in Beijing With These End-of-Winter Dishes
The last of Beijing’s winter days are upon us but are no less frigid than what we’ve witnessed over the past few months. Thankfully, spring is around the corner, but before you completely embrace the change in seasons, here a few of Beijing’s top heartwarming dishes to try before we’re cursing the heat.
Seared Japanese Hokkaido scallops (RMB 148)
Sureno
Sureno at The Opposite House, one of our favorites for Mediterranean dishes, has released a slew of creative sea-inspired dishes to keep you warm until the very end. Our top picks of the lot are the tuna tartar (RMB 170) for its delicious zesty lemon dressing and caviar, a nice use of romesco puree, and sweet sesame cracker; the tender and juicy seared Japanese Hokkaido scallops (RMB 148) with a warm fricassee of fregola, pancetta, and sat on the cinnamon-scented pumpkin puree. As for desserts, we recommend the espresso and berry (RMB 70), which is more than just beautiful to look at thanks to the luxurious combination of blueberry sorbet, sponge cake, cocoa honeycomb, peanut butter, and espresso crèmeux.
Lin’s Dining Lounge
Lin’s Dining Lounge, which specializes in higher-end vegetarian Western and Chinese fare, has launched a novel vegetarian afternoon tea (RMB 298 for two) because vegetarians deserve afternoon tea, too. Instead of the traditional three-layered afternoon tea, Lin’s literally bring the experience to your table, laying out a special tablecloth and “drawing” with berry sauces, before placing the sweets and savories on top. The spread includes a six-inch chocolate cake as well as a range of sweets to keep you happily picking away. Although simple, we did like the salsa and guacamole with tortilla chips, once you get past the idea of scooping the sauce directly from the table. The set includes two coffees, two other drinks, and a pot of fruity tea. Make a reservation by calling 6500 6266/6766, available at midday-9pm.
Zijin Mansion
If you get a fat hongbao this holiday season, you may want to head to Zijin Mansion at Waldorf Astoria for their lavish combination of a la carte brunch and seafood buffet, stacked with 50 types of dim sum, barbecue, and desserts. Highlights include the crystal prawn dumplings, pan-fried dumplings with a scallop, shrimp, and minced pork filling, rice noodle rolls with king crab, hand-pulled noodles, and their signature crispy hand-cut suckling pig. Save some space for the glutinous rice balls. Unfettered access to the buffet costs RMB 298 per person (plus 15 percent service charge) and is available on Sat-Sun (11.30am-3pm). Add an extra RMB 40 for free-flow tea (pu’er, longjing, chrysanthemum, or tieguanyin). Call 8520 8916 for more information.
Chat Room Cafe
Sticking with afternoon tea, Chat Room Cafe (formerly Chat Room by The Rug) in Chaoyang Joy City has launched not one, but five different afternoon tea sets (RMB 65-288). Best of the bunch are the Round Tower Tea Set (RMB 208) and the Square Tower Tea Set (RMB 288, pictured above). The homemade scones, which come hot, were luckily sturdy enough to withstand the excessive amounts of jam we spooned onto them. We also liked the duck and purple cabbage quiche for its rich and savory combination of cheese, duck, and caramelized shredded purple cabbage filling, all held together within a flaky crust. The sets include a pot of Teapigs tea from a choice of 12. Available daily, 2-5.30pm.
This post first appeared on our sister site, the Beijinger.
Photos: Courtesy of featured venues