Best Food In China

Location

Binjiang District may not elicit the same feelings for most visitors as the heart of Hangzhou does, but for the people who call Binjiang their home and place of business, it's a start. Urban sprawl is the dominant theme in this part of the city, as the southeast end of town spreads beyond the Qiantang River, and out to empty fields of flatlands that perhaps saw better days as farmland a few years ago. I've never really enjoyed heading out across the Fuxing Bridge to take a tour of this area and it's numerous Byzantine maze-like dirt roads and back trails leading past construction sites and skeletal buildings waiting for completion... but the remarkable thing to point out is the fact that it changes faster than any other part of the city I've seen; and so far it has been a change for the better.

Four points by Sheraton Hotel has the distinction of being in the middle of the fray for now, with construction and development making a stark contrast against the backdrop of towering business plazas of glass and steel. It looks a lot better at night, and for the next few months I recommend saving your trip for the waning daylight hours. Once inside the hotel, however... pleasure rules. The sleek and modern interior will instantly take you away from the dust and rubble, and transport you to a place that can make you forget everything, if only for the night.

Our meal was at the SENSES Restaurant, an artsy-looking enclave that gives off a faint hum of warmth from the red and black interior, and piercing source lighting that cuts through the shadows, putting the spotlight on your table. We were treated to a prototype of a tasting menu, and that was enough for me to know that I was in for an adventure. As we settled into the comfortable seats, shallow bowls of Abalone with Golden Soup made their appearance, and were met with much appreciation from my comrades. I am admittedly a little picky with abalone, since I've had the pleasure of experiencing the Japanese preparation in a very well-respected establishment many years ago, so I try my best not to benchmark against it whenever I have other versions of this dish. Prawn with Meiji-style Sauce made me forget about the abalone quickly, as I made short work of the skewered and oyster sauce-coated shrimp. This dish is a classic that's often passed around from venue to venue, and it's always a crowd-pleaser. Another bowl, this time of Braised Shark's Fin with Rice was slid in front of me, and again I was left pondering the reactions of my companions as I picked through the gelatinous material in front of me. As one could guess, I'm not taken by the exorbitant price of Shark's Fin, but I found the rice to be perfectly cooked and a fine compliment to the rest of the dish. Fish Ball with Crab Roe looked delicate and almost dessert-like in its glistening pool of broth, and the small flower petal glass serving bowl it was nestled in made the effect even more impactful. I noted that this was a good item, as I felt the tines of my fork sink into the perfect consistency of fish mousseline, and through the entire ball to reveal a center filling of yellow crab roe inside. Again, oohs of appreciation from my companions. Personally, I found the taste to be buttery and non-bitter, which was a pleasant surprise. A short while later, a large plain white bowl was set in front of me, and inside I found the best Prawns in Mild Curry Sauce I've had in some time. This dish is served with Bread that has been lightly fried on the bottom, and the two ingredients act as both compliments and foils to each other as bites of tender shrimp meet the crunch of crispy bread in your mouth. The curry sauce was a silken-smooth blend that was neither clingy nor thin, and gave the whole composition a hearty and satisfying mouthfeel. Finally, Fried Eggplant with Isinglass on an Iron Plate simmered and sizzled on the table, and sent its aroma across our expressions of delight. This was another great dish, with eggplant that was perfectly cooked, without the skin being too tough, and an isinglass mousse that gave a distinct fish flavor with each bite.

All in all, this was a dinner that would make anyone happy if they are looking for the snob appeal of high-priced ingredients in an atmosphere that would perhaps be better suited for a really fusion-oriented venue. I know that the Four Points has a while before they see their surroundings catch up with the work they've done to the interior of this hotel, but after a while it will all come together in perfect harmony.

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

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