Best Food In China

Location

On this particular visit, I was treated to a casual and relaxing dinner at the Butterfly Laguna Restaurant. With its interior of off-white painted brick and matching wooden framework, I could see that this was a place for people to simply enjoy the time spent with friends as they took a little break from the power-shopping experience of walking up and down Hangzhou's bustling Nan Shan Road. With a host of bars, clubs, and seemingly endless shopping, this street wraps around the west side of the lake, and promises to tire out even the most resilient of shoppers. Thanks to Butterfly Laguna, there is a place to cool your heels, cool your credit card, and perhaps even cool your self down with any one of their freshly-squeezed juices... especially during the hot summer months.

XiHu TianDi is arguably one of the brightest focal points of Hangzhou's famed West Lake District, and for many, the area enshrouded by tree-lined walkways and tiny halogen spotlights along the footpath is a favorite spot for visitors to find a wide variety of foods and venues that cater to virtually anyone's tastes. In a sort of glass, wood, and steel collection of modern Japanese architecture, the restaurants that inhabit the tourist attraction offer up some truly unique cuisines, as well as boutique shops, service centers, and other odds and ends that make a trip to the lake worth doing time and time again.

On this particular visit, I was treated to a casual and relaxing dinner at the Butterfly Laguna Restaurant. With its interior of off-white painted brick and matching wooden framework, I could see that this was a place for people to simply enjoy the time spent with friends as they took a little break from the power-shopping experience of walking up and down Hangzhou's bustling Nan Shan Road. With a host of bars, clubs, and seemingly endless shopping, this street wraps around the west side of the lake, and promises to tire out even the most resilient of shoppers. Thanks to Butterfly Laguna, there is a place to cool your heels, cool your credit card, and perhaps even cool your self down with any one of their freshly-squeezed juices... especially during the hot summer months.

However, it's currently winter at the time of this writing, and the Butterfly Laguna doesn't disappoint with its selection of spicy foods and hot dishes to bring warmth back to your body after braving the cold outside. There's a convenient and well-arranged buffet line in the main front room, and seating for dining starts with a few tables to the left of the building, with extended seating wrapping around towards the back, where diners can get a terrific view of the lake's activity and its visitors as they provide a parade for people-watchers through enormous windows and a lush backdrop of trees and foliage that seems to grow from every corner of West Lake's public areas.

My first dish was the Hainan Chicken, a classic dish that has been interpreted in a thousand ways by so many other restaurants, yet never quite like this one. I was surprised to see that the components of the dish were deconstructed, with chicken, sauce, and greens all separated into individual piles, and everything organized to provide a visually pleasing composition that I found refreshing after seeing so many scooped-out pineapples with a slurry of stewed ingredients dumped inside. Needless to say, I was happy to see it done in this way, and after finding out a little about the Shanghai-trained Chef, it made more sense to me. At 68RMB, this dish represents the most expensive item on the menu.

Next up was a nice steaming bowl of Beef Curry, complete with potato, carrots, and large cubes of tender beef. The sauce is the deal-breaker for any curry, in my opinion... and this one passed the test with flying colors. Thick, not oily, and with just the right amount of heat to keep it from being boring, this curry will make any lover of the classic Indian dish glad they ordered it. With a price of 38RMB, it's sure to be a hit with both the evening tourists crowd, as well as the hungry shop workers that need to grab a bite between shifts.

Finally, I went for a trip to the buffet, to see what it had to offer. Everything was kept clean, orderly, and well-stocked, and the selection of foods was rather surprising for the size of the venue. Chicken wings, shrimp fried rice, spaghetti, street-style BBQ lamb skewers, cod fillets, scallops on the half-shell, and steamed crab were just a few of the dishes available. One thing that is certainly worth pointing out is the dessert... especially for the Crème Brulee, which is perhaps one of the best I've ever had. If you go to Butterfly Laguna just for this one item, you won't be sorry... but don't be surprised if you start to peruse the buffet while you're there!

-- by Rueben Marley
Special thanks to Jessie, the staff at Butterfly Laguna, Chris Lin, and Maggie Yee. Photos by Rueben Marley.

photos: 

photos: 

photos: 

photos: 

photos: 

photos: 

photos: