Best Food In China

Location

It was an unbearably hot summer’s day and my taxi driver had just annoyed me immensely. Only after much protest did the air conditioning come on and absolutely no effort was made to help me locate this hard-to-find restaurant – a converted school building hidden near the south gate of the Worker’s Stadium. When I arrive at Face I was flustered, half an hour late and drenched in sweat.

I walked into a garden that immediately calmed me down - bamboo surrounded the outdoor courtyard area, stretching up high enough to obscure the ugly neighbouring buildings and packed dense enough to eliminate the sounds of nearby construction. This created a peaceful retreat, leaving the few diners – those who were lucky enough to have found the place - alone with the trickle of water from the fishpond and the relaxing tinkling of wind chimes.

The dining room of Face’s Thai restaurant is as good as the garden. The walls are a sumptuous royal blue, the floor is made from sturdy wooden planks and tiny spotlights illuminate Southeast Asian woodcarvings. It’s dark, but what little lighting there is makes for an ideal setting - a small lamp hangs above each of the tables, cutting diners off from the rest of the room and providing just enough light to see what is going on in front of them.

At 70 yuan each, our first taste was a serving of two Thai soups. Tom yang goong, the classic Thai prawn soup, was represented well - spicy and tangy, it was just what you would expect. New to me, and a bit tastier, was the tom kha goong - a sweeter version made with coconut milk.

If I were hungrier - it was only a little past midday – I might have been a bit more positive about what came next, a platter of Thai appetizers. There was plenty of the obvious - spring rolls, fish cakes, prawn cakes – which were somewhat oily.

Things got better after this, especially for my companion, who was excited about the kai yat sad – a delicate omelette wrap filled with a slightly watery mixture of minced meat, pepper and onions. Next was a green vegetable curry, which was served in a curious terracotta urn. More interesting was a cold and spicy som tam salad – this lighter dish, made with unripe papaya, was more what I was after on such a hot day. My favourite was the pineapple rice, which, unlike some incarnations, was calmed with a few welcome savoury additions – egg, prawns and some “fish floss”.

Overall, the food was fine. Is there such thing as Face value? Yes. Sitting for a few hours in this restaurant – probably one of the prettiest places to eat in Beijing - is a worthwhile experience.

-by Jeremy Webb

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