Best Food In China

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A Great Steakhouse with steak that tastes like it should.
Serious steak lovers must take a stern approach when assessing a steak house's caliber. With visiting so many steak houses around the globe, it is apparent the different nuances each steak house encapsulates to present their gem of a dish.

That being said, it would more likely than not come to a surprise that Beijing harbors a steak house that rises to the challenge of maintaining a place amongst the great steak houses around the world. Yet, Grange at the Westin Chaoyang Hotel has a introduced a new pinnacle of what a steak house should be. With a new conception of bringing fine dining with cozy family style meals together, Grange is a place to revel in the experience and tastes, fitting no fuss needs, and not worrying about utensils use or table setting.

Classy bordello backdrop is one way to describe the inside of Grange. Grange feels dark, like you're underground. The consumption of red meat is such a primal, bodily act that Grange's darkness--like darkness in the bedroom--opens one up to experience pleasure with reckless abandon. Abandon that goes down well with their well respected wine list.

A bountiful mountain of loafs of crunchy bread is presented complimentary with a zesty pesto sauce, and sauces with nuances of butter and roasted nuts and sun dried tomatoes. Concentrating the flavor develop into a deep taste that fills your mouth.

Everything is at it's peak, and arrives in outstanding proportions. The portions are enough for two, if not four, but served for one, and the Seafood platter is enough to make you forget the steak you came in for.

The best thing about a seafood platter is that you get a little bit of everything, and the taste of fresh and delicious seafood improves the mood of any guest. Indeed, few pleasures are more satisfying than sitting down to a platter of iced seafood. Grange's boat shaped seafood platter is one of the most bountiful and well ...one of the most bountiful! The mussels are light, almost fluffy, very tender, and absolutely do not have that "fishy" taste. Instead, the taste is almost like a super-good mushroom but with that whole ethereal "ocean" flavor. Mushily briny with a slight chew, its merest hint of ocean seals the deal. It's heavenly crab smell clean and fresh, almost neutral scent. The fresh lobster is unbeatable and the flavor is strong and the texture is soft and delicate. The included oysters are complex in flavor and the great natural juice of these oysters on the half shell will make stomachs rumble. With it's briny/salty plump taste with nuances of fruit, Grange's oysters need not even a squirt of lemon—to embellish its glory. No cocktail sauce, no mignonette sauce—and definitely no hot sauce. That being said, Grange's Cocktail sauce is a mild fruity flavor, and is addictive if not enjoyable, and great with the plump vivacious shrimps.

If that were not enough, the Spinach Salad is warm with grilled chorizo sausages and succulent bits of fried bacon and mushrooms. Light on the fresh crisp spinach, and filled to the brim with accoutrements, it is delicious on its own. This spinach salad is set apart from the typical spinach salad and it doesn't get any better. To eat this is an exercise in debauchery, but a good kind of debauchery. The kind of debauchery you don't account for when trying to convince yourself you eat pretty healthy; the kind of debauchery that has to take place in a dark room, which is why they serve it.

Grange's Crab cakes are also enough for a main meal and the delicate soft taste of the crab cakes with the spring like coriander, yields a savory, more tangy flavor.

But of course, the steak is the star and the rest just window dressing.

The Wagyu beef steak imparts a rather sweet, yet tangy flavor. It is more subtle and nuanced in flavor than American beef, and has a good deal of fat and is well marbled. Fine threads of fat that run through muscles rather than around them, this marbling, signifies taste and tenderness and astounding flavor. Soft and rich a few slivers is enough to eat - and the flavor is subtle and intriguing, gently sweet with a lingering savory character.

The Macaroni and Cheese is a tantalizing side dish, and is elevated to gourmet status. With the perfect balance of creaminess and flavor, the pasta that still has some tooth and a cheesiness that’s also satiny smooth and a foundation of richness. Creamy, rich, satiny, delicious, and just a little decadent.

If the steaks are the star, than the Chop Shop (¥285) is it's walk of fame.

The Veal Chop (220g) with a rich, meaty taste and a juicy texture is a mouth-watering tender cut with intense character and flavor, and authentic, yet delicate taste. Grange's veal has a wonderful texture and takes on flavors spectacularly. A luxurious treat, of delicate, delicious veal, it tastes the way veal should taste - juicy tenderness, delicate yet brimming with full but subtle flavor.

The Stockyard pork chop (180g) is superb and possesses flavor and taste that goes great with the Grange sweet mustard. It is nature's perfect food, savory and grilled, it maintains its' natural moisture and is grilled to perfection. Simply stated it is tender prime.

The Twin bone Australian lamb chops (200g) are chops, full of flavor. This jewel of the lamb is very tender, and the Australian lamb chops were easy. To eat these was to pick them up and gnaw all the meat off - down to the bone! Extra thick and outstanding.

The myriad of peppers, salts, and sauces that are brought to the table, elevate your favorite recipes to new heights of flavor and complexity, and will become time-honored partners for these elegant chops. And there are outstanding sides that are extreme in portion: much needed hearty cabbage, fluffy and creamy mashed potatoes, buttery buttery asparagus, crunchy onion rings and lush butternut squash these are so decadent and indulgent.

A great steak house must include a speckling of heightened desserts to finish off, and there is no better way than to have sampling of each.

The Rice pudding was of a nice creamy consistency and a mellow vanilla flavor with hints of lemon and sugar. The Cheese cake was creamy soft gentle cheese, spread delicately on top of the brown pie crust. The rich taste of the cream can soothe your soul gently but quietly, and rich brown crust made the cheese sweet, so sweet that if you closed your eyes, you would feel as if you were in heaven. It's very smooth, cool and creamy and slightly sweet. The Plum Sorbet was a taste sensation. It was a lovely, slightly sharp sherbet with a clean, pure taste that captured a luscious fruit taste The Chocolate Cake was satisfactory but lackluster due to a lack of moisture. The coffee was very hot and very strong, and teas pitch perfect. Great steakhouses don't skimp on coffee and tea, and Grange did not.

Grange offers an exceptional opportunity to dine on amazing meals for a fraction of the price in the West. You should leave full in a deep way, like one does reading an emotional esoteric novel, and at the end of the meal, you should radiate warmth and good cheer.

-- by Larissa Paschyn

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