Food reviews

A swell-tasting meal

It is rare for Beijing restaurants to offer swellfish because of its poisonous nature. Even so, swellfish still takes the number one place among gourmets as the tastiest fish in the world. Down the ranking list are saury, in second place, and reeves shad in third.

Therefore, it was with a bit of fear, but also a little excitement, that I bit into a piece of swellfish sashimi, for the second time in my life, at Lao Lao Fu Hotpot Restaurant, which just opened in the Asian Games Village. It was slippery and a bit chewy, a bit like fruit jelly. But, honestly, I didn't find the stunning sensation I had kind of expected. Maybe it was because we spent 20 minutes taking photos. Or maybe it's because it was farmed rather than wild.