Best Food In China

Location

Saffron is a lovely tapas restaurant that would be more at home on the Iberian peninsula than down an alleyway in Beijing.

Beijing is a city that moves with the seasons. Beijingers wallow through the sticky, hazy heat of the summer, bustle about on balmy autumn days and then disappear into hibernation until spring, when they burst back onto the streets in a frenzy of activity.

As fast as the new blossoms appear on the trees, Beijingers reclaim their city from the cold tendrils of winter. Ad hoc mahjong tables pop up, little grannies lounge comfortably on doorsteps, catching up on the latest gossip, and mobile snack stalls appear on every street corner. Suddenly Beijing is alive and its distinctive self again.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the city’s few remaining hutongs. Stroll down the alleys of Yonghegong, amidst hunched and dusty gray houses, framed by pink clouds of blossoms, and you will truly feel like you are in old Beijing.

Plonked right in the middle of this overtly Chinese scene is Saffron, a lovely tapas restaurant that would be more at home on the Iberian peninsula than down an alleyway in Beijing. It is completely surreal to walk from the bright and sunlit Chinese spring into the cozy comfort of a Spanish bistro, but take a minute to let your internal map recalibrate and you will be taken in by Saffron’s charm.

True, the warm red brick walls and wooden furniture are a far cry from the dust-gray walls outside, and the light aroma of saffron is a step up from the stench of stinky tofu, but some reference points remain to stop complete brain implosion.

The restaurant, like all the restaurants on the street, is a converted courtyard house, and despite the interior redesign, it maintains its distinctive and traditional shape. Its focal point is the old courtyard, which provides a fairy-tale setting for an al-fresco lunch under its ancient date tree.

Owned by a Chinese couple whose passion for tapas inspired them to embark on the hair-brained scheme of opening a Spanish restaurant in Beijing, Saffron is an unlikely winner. The warmth and passion of the owners translates into the food, making it a delightful place to eat. It has a family feel; the type of place you would want to make your local haunt, if it were slightly cheaper.

There is plenty of space, and a charming space it is too. There is a downstairs room that can be rented out for private parties. It has a bar and comfy looking sofas for people to take coffee on and cute mini chairs and tables for children to sit at. It is the kind of place that should be buzzing with happy voices, getting happier with each giant glass of house sangria (36RMB). Unfortunately, it was practically empty.

It really is a shame that there were so few covers, as the food is actually very good. It is down-home Spanish with subtle Chinese influences apparent in the care taken over presentation and texture. A tasty example of this is the shrimp and mango salad (52RMB), which is an impressive explosion of color: the mango a rich orange against the plump pink of the prawns and crispy green of the lettuce.

The beef carpaccio (68 RMB) is also exquisite. The fruity, sweet meat is melt-in-the-mouth tender, complimented by the crunch of fried garlic and fresh coriander.

The house specialty is paella (160 RMB for a portion for two). It comes in beautiful orange hues, the saffron-tinged rice topped by pearly pink scallop shells, each containing delectably plump and tender scallops. Unfortunately the dish didn’t taste quite as good as it looked, as it was a little bland and the accompaniment of soy sauce was an odd attempt at fusion. Still, we ate almost all of it.

Even if we hadn’t, dessert would have more than made up for any disappointment with the mains. Homemade on the premises, they are a delight in a city where pudding usually comes a distant second to the main courses. Particularly delicious is the hazelnut ice cream (42 RMB), which comes sprinkled with freshly chopped nuts in a dinky little white pot. It is smooth and creamy with crunchy nutty surprises dotted throughout.

Saffron is an unlikely winner, but a winner it is. All it needs now is a few more customers to appreciate it.

- by Sarah Kent

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