Best Food In China

Location

Along the Gui Jie or “Ghost Street” as the guide books refer to it, a long line of beautiful and flavorful Chinese restaurants can be found; but picking the best can be hard – not anymore. Hua Jia Yi Yuan has taken traditional Beijing fare and revamped it into modern cuisine adding new flare and taste combinations to awaken the diner to what Chinese food can really taste like. This is not fusion, as I discussed at great length with the Master Chef Lin Hai Hua and the management staff, this is fashionable food. Don’t think posh little portions and delicate arrangements that are too pretty to eat leaving you heading out to another restaurant to get you fill. No, this is a place to enjoy the best of what Beijing cuisine is all about – rich tastes, steeped in tradition with a cosmopolitan feel.

Upon entering the beautifully recreated courtyard style environment you feel immediately at home. You will have a tough time choosing which beautiful surrounds to spend your evening in. The open and vibrantly alive main courtyard with birds, foliage streaming from arbors and traditional Beijing entertainment is a great place to soak up what Imperial life was like in the capital city so long ago. You can choose the upstairs dining room, plush with red velvet and soft lighting for a more modern and romantic feel. If that does not suit you only a short stroll through the downstairs courtyard is a more traditional hutong style area, exactly like you picture from and old movie. For the jet-set, private and luxurious rooms are also available for business meetings or for really impressing your significant other. The traditional noodle dancers, tea house dancers and Beijing hawkers in the main dining room will certainly call you over from where ever you have chosen to dine to enjoy the performance.

Alright – to the meat of the matter, and as always drinks up first. In response to the client’s wishes and admitting that Chinese beer has a long way to go, top shelf German brews Moechshof are available on tap or in your very own 500ml party keg. A good choice when you dig into the rich and crispy Beijing style food. For those of you wanting to remember the evening a tad better the house specialty green bean juice is a great alternative. Chinese sweet red, white and green beans are new to the Western palate and we are most familiar with them in flaky buns and other sweets. However with a bit of honey mixed in the green bean juice is a cool and refreshing drink that really must be tried, you will love it.

To start with, the famous and original creation named after the restaurant, the Yi Yuan Chicken, was a real surprise. A mix of Beijing sesame paste, Guangdong style chicken and Sichuan heat combined with traditional crunchy snacks and greens was the most impressive and tasty “salad” I have ever had. Taking elements from the best three styles in China gives you insight into the restaurants thinking. Following that spicy frog with green peppercorns; the young peppercorns give the aroma you want without the mouth searing heat. Duck wrapped in tofu, kidneys with red peppers and lotus root stuffed with glutinous rice rounded out the rest of the main course. A prefect mix of cold and hot dishes – spicy and sweet, Beijing cuisine as it should be.

But something is very different here. All of the dishes sampled are normally heavy and oily and even a bit greasy sometimes; don’t get me wrong, we all know that is why it tastes so good. However, listening to their customers and staying open to the changing tastes the restaurant has succeeded in reimagining the traditional recipes for healthier options and a more discerning customer. The head chef points out that choosing his supporting chefs from all over China, different methods can be applied to create the same taste but appeal to more palates. As well, they understand that most Chinese food does not look so good when plated; with that in mind the chefs have created a visual appeal to the food that is so often lacking.

One look around the dining rooms and you realize that what they are doing is right on. Every customer is accommodated to by the English speaking staff, valets and lovely hostesses great you as you walk in, everywhere you turn someone is there to take care you - none of it pretentious, none of it phoney. The costs are very hard to beat ranging from a 100-200RMB per person for a delightful meal. Even the menu has a dedicated page of the most requested food from foreign diners, but venture off of that or you will miss out on the real treats. From the decent wine selection to more healthy and beautiful prepared dishes to the inviting and mesmerizing décor, this restaurant has thought about the most important thing first – the customer.
“Give to people what they want, then you can give them what you want!” A great quote from a great foodie movie, Big Night, a movie that wrestles with the hardest thing a restaurant must deal with – tradition vs. changing tastes. Hua Jia Yi Yuan has really taken this to heart and embraced it so much that it has taken Chinese food to a new higher level. The master chef Lin Hai Hua has taken his marching orders from the proud owners and with the family of chefs, staff and performers has created a menu that attracts not only foreigners but local Chinese people as well. When you wait in line for a restaurant you hope it is good and not just hype, Hua Jia Yi Yuan is so good that you will wait however long it takes. But they do take reservations – yay!

Written & Photos by Bobby Brill

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