 Jin Bao Jie: eat street of golden treasures
By Ye Jun (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-20 07:53
 Jinbao Jie has been known as a hotel street because of the four and five star hotels assembled along it. But now it has also become another food street, with plenty of high-end restaurants, able to compare with other areas known for their abundance of eateries. Family Li's Imperial Cuisine, a famous hutong restaurant, opened a branch in a courtyard house here. Li Garden, one of the few Cantonese restaurants in Beijing considered authentic by foodies, is located on the third floor of Jinbao Dasha. In the same building is Xia Nan Guo, a modern Shanghai style eatery with nutritious and natural cuisine. Jing Ya is a restaurant known in Beijing for its east Shandong seafood. Princess Abalone offers a feast of seafood with abalone. Legendale Hotel has a good French restaurant, Petrus, on the second floor, while its first floor has the Portuguese restaurant Camoes. It is rumored that Da Dong Roast Duck Restaurant will open a new branch here next year. Members of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Beijing branch have access to Chinese restaurant Oi Suen and the Cantonese eatery Fortune Room. Jiebao Jie is not only becoming a restaurant and hotel center, it has assembled shopping giants such as Gucci, BV, Burberry, and Vertu, besides luxurious cars showrooms such as Rolls-Royce, Ferrari and Lamborghini. It is just 500 m away from Wangfujing pedestrian street, and is be a good choice for a relaxing meal after shopping. 厉家菜Family Li Imperial Cuisine
A mouthful of what looks to be a duck chop has a crisp, golden sesame topping and tender mashed shrimp in the middle. A slice of smoked pork is made with a secret recipe to taste super smooth. Mashed green bean is made to taste similar to rough bean curd. Most dishes here have local connections, but a pleasant modern twist makes them both different and succulent. That include appetizers such as cabbage roll with mustard, fried green bean curd, and sweet and the sour tasting dessert fried hawthorn fruit. Recommended main courses are prawn rolls (鼓板大虾), oil prepared grouper (焌油石斑鱼), sweet and sour pork rib (糖醋排骨), and spicy baby cuttlefish soup (乌鱼蛋汤). The elaboration of the dishes justifies the fame of the mysterious Hutong restaurant that used to offer only a few tables of good food for each meal. The new branch in a traditional Chinese courtyard house has seven private rooms capable of seating 80 people. Some decorative highlights include a porcelain column, door frames in one private room with Chinese calligraphy works, and plenty of the owner's Chinese furniture and antiques. Founder Li Shanlin is a professor of math and descendant of a Qing Dynasty high official, who was said to have kept secret recipes for four generations. It is the sixth branch of the restaurant. The other ones, besides Houhai, are in Shanghai, Australia, Japan, and Singapore. The restaurant in Tokyo won two Michelin stars. The restaurant provides set meals from 400-2,000 yuan per person for lunch, and 600-2,000 yuan per person for dinner. There is a bar at the center of the entrance hall offering both good wine and good tea. Reservation is a must. 11am-2pm, 5pm-midnight. 77 Dongtanzi Hutong, Dongcheng District, next to west side of Legendale Hotel. 6522-0008. 东城区东堂子胡同77号(励骏酒店旁) ; Deshengmen branch: 11 Yangfang Hutong, Deshengmennei Dajie, Xicheng District. 6618-0107. 德胜门店: 西城区德胜门内大街羊房胡同11号 利苑酒家 Li Garden
Founded in 1974 in Hong Kong, the restaurant is famous as a leading Cantonese eatery and for its seafood. It has been dubbed a "celebrity canteen" and Hong Kong's "Shaolin Temple in dining". The restaurant has created more than 1,000 dishes in the past 30 years, and bases its cuisine on healthy food materials, and authentic Cantonese cooking skills. The restaurant has also absorbed classic dishes from other Chinese cuisines. Recommended dishes are Cantonese style sliced roast duck (片皮鸭), boiled side pork with crisp skin (冰烧三层肉), and Hubei style golden fried prawn (湖北黄金虾). The restaurant's long-simmered soup (老火汤) and dim sums are worth trying. Chilled mango sago cream with pomelo (杨枝甘露) is a must-try. The dessert was created in the restaurant's Hong Kong headquarters in 1984 and has since become a classic Cantonese dessert. Decoration is warm, quiet, and pleasant. Average spending is above 300 yuan per person. 11:30am-1:45pm, 5:30-9:15pm. 3/F Jinbao Dasha, 89 Jinbao Jie, Dongcheng District. 8522-1212. 东城区金宝街89号金宝大厦3 晶酒店迪卡博意餐厅Daccapo Italian Restaurant, The Regent Beijing Daccapo cooks up authentic Italian foods, be it fresh salad, spaghetti with seafood, or salmon fillet, finished with a Baileys mousse and ice coffee and banana. Decoration bright and modern style,with arty wooden patterns. The restaurant's windows overlook Regent Beijing's lobby and garden. Average spending is 300 yuan per person. 11:30am-2:30pm, 5:30-10:30pm. 2/F, The Regent Beijing, 99 Jinbao Jie,Dongcheng District. 8522-1888 ext 3826. 东城区金宝街99号丽 贾梅士葡萄牙餐厅 Camoes Portugese Restaurant This is one of the few restaurants in Beijing offering Portuguese cuisine. It is named after a great poet, philosopher, adventurer and romantic writer, whose deeds are painted on the walls of the eatery. Most foodstuff and wines are imported from Portugal,and prepared by the Portuguese chef. Average spending is 500 yuan per person. 11:30am-2pm, 6-10:30pm. 1/F, Wangfujing Legendale Hotel, 90-92, Jinbao Jie, Dongcheng District. 8511-3388 ext 8920. 东城区金宝街90-92号励骏酒店 小南国Xiao Nan Gou Shanghai Restaurant 200 yuan per person. 11am-2:30pm, 5-9:30pm. 2/F Jinbao Dasha, 89 Jinbao Jie, Dongcheng District. 8522-1717. 东城区金宝街89号金宝大厦2楼 金宝净雅大酒店Jing Ya Seafood Restaurant Seafood buffet lunch is 158 yuan per person, and seafood buffet dinner 188 yuan per person. A la carte costs 500 yuan per person. 11:30am-2pm, 5:30-9:30pm. 269 Chaoyangmen Nanxiaojie, Dongcheng District. 5817-1777. 东城区朝阳门南小街269号
 (China Daily 12/20/2008 page8) |
