Food reviews

Putting on the Ritz

Everything looked nice and tasty at a recent lunch at Barolo, Italian restaurant at Ritz-Carlton Beijing. The presentation was beautiful, the food fresh and shiny.

We were served four small starters to try. The prawn tasted like it had jumped on the plate from the sea, and was nicely flavored with lemon, chili, coriander and tomato.

The Bufflo mozzarella was beautifully paired with fresh tomato on the top. Beef carpaccio is not a traditional food for Chinese people. But once I tasted it, I realized it is a worthwhile adventure. The foie gras looked nice but was a bit tighter in texture than I expected.

The next dish, ravioli with spinach and ricotta, was the best dish of the meal. The dish not only looked tempting, the super smooth and pleasantly tasty filling of spinach and rocotta was a comfort to the palate.

The following king prawn in two parts was nicely served with cherry tomatos. I enjoyed chewing this juicy and tender winner.

Grilled rib eye with rosemary had good-looking chargrill marks, and was a perfect balance between meatiness and juiciness. Poached sea bass and the tiramisu desert were both light and guilt-free.

Chef Massimo Miglietta, who arrived in March has more than 20 years of culinary experience. He was a protg of acclaimed Michelin 3-star chef Marco Pierre White and worked in his restaurant in London, Drones Club and Criterion Restaurant, for five years. He was a personal chef to Italy's Agnelli family, former owner of Ferrari, the Sultan of Brunei, and England football star Frank Lampard.

There is a business set lunch at 120 yuan ($17.71) per person, with tea or coffee. A la carte dinner costs 400-600 yuan per person.

11:30 am-2:30 pm, 6-10:30 pm. 2/F The Ritz-Carlton Beijing, A83 Jianguo Lu, China Central Place, Chaoyang district. Tel: 5908-8888 ext 8151

Gourmet pizzas

In a rare show of support for New Zealand business in China, Prime Minister John Key visited Gung Ho! Gourmet Pizza Factory for its opening ceremony on July 7. He even baked a New Zealand mozzarella and tomato cheese pizza to share with those present.

Gung Ho! was opened by two New Zealand businessmen. Cofounders Jade Gray and John O'loghlen said they prepare pizzas with simple ingredients, cheeky fusion, and keep it healthy and hearty. Gung Ho is Chinese meaning "working together", and was coined into English by New Zealand-born author, teacher and Chinese Communist Party member Rewi Alley.

Gray said the restaurant aims to develop itself as a gourmet pizza factory, and roll through China by franchising.

Gray said they understood it is a very difficult market. But he quoted late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping's saying that they could "cross the river through feeling the rocks".

Gung Ho Pizza has launched a delivery service with 10 signature gourmet pizzas, available with plain and wholewheat bases. The restaurant promises to use the freshest ingredient, New Zealand mozzarella, and a handful of homemade spinach pastas and salads. Gung Ho! also offers some classic New Zealand red and white wines, a range of freshly squeezed fruit juices, at affordable prices. Medium-sized pizzas cost from 40-65 yuan each, while large-size ones cost from 55-95 yuan each. The team has veteran American chef Jeff Powell, who was with Element Fresh.

Daily 11 am-midnight. 101 Bldg 3 China View (Hong Jie), 2 Gongti Donglu, Chaoyang district. Tel: 8587-1404

Light and easy

Capital M, the upscale restaurant at Qianmen Pedestrian Street, not only serves its typical full-bodied, extravagant European classics.

The restaurant, brainchild of Australian restaurateur and sister of Shanghai's M on the Bund, now offers "M's Light and healthy lunch" -featuring seasonal local and organic food.

The luncheon is perfect for those who have "had a hard night", those looking to detox or lose weight and those who simply want to enjoy a light, guilt-free meal during the sweltering summer months. And compared to M's heavyweight classics, the light lunch, priced at 98 yuan, is relatively inexpensive.

The menu changes weekly, featuring freshly squeezed juices to start, an appetizer and main course focusing on locally grown seasonal organic produce and a mlange of exotic Chinese fruits for dessert. The dishes vary from Western to oriental and Middle-Eastern: fluffy herb omelettes, dainty cups of gazpacho and char-grilled baby squid.

The Chang Ping tomato salad is the standard dish of the luncheon, the perfect amalgam of crunchy baby tomatoes and soft crumbled feta and purple basil. Dainty but tasty. If you are looking for a heavier, more satisfying meal among the hand painted murals and roaring fireplaces, Captial M still serves its classics. Try their much-loved rendition of Peking Duck - served in squares, it is a combination of crispy, salted skin and tender meat that melts beneath your tongue. Sip drinks at M's Bar, while overlooking Tiananmen Square, or join M's Big Brunch and Afternoon Tea every weekend from 11:30 am to 5 pm.

Lunch 11:30 am - 2:30 pm, Monday - Friday, Afternoon Tea: 2:30 pm - 5 pm, Saturday-Sunday, dinner 6 pm - 10:30 pm. 3/F, No.2 Qianmen Pedestrian Street (just south of Tian'anmen Square). Tel: 6702-2727

Liu Yi-Ling

(China Daily 07/10/2010 page12)