Fujian fresh

By Manuela Zoninsein (City Weekend)
Updated: 2008-04-01 11:30

If all Fujianese food is as good as what we ate at Peng Xiang Lou, we're living in the wrong province. Either the place is blessed, or the Chen couple's 16-plus years of tea shop experience in Beijing (they own the six-store-strong Fujiang Guishang Chachang) has honed the restaurateurs' taste buds and sense of service to a fine point.

"Tea fragrant" (58 yuan) fully articulates the Oolong leaves in which the cornucopia of shrimp is steamed; “The Oyster Fries the Xiamen Sea” (28 yuan) is a peppy egg-oyster-scallion pancake served with sweet-and-sour sauce. Ask for yu xiang qian shubao (30 yuan), which combines shrimp, milk, carrot and taro in the most delicately rich mirepoix this side of Marseille, or the bamboo fragrant meat (25 yuan) which steams rice and a pork concoction within mini bamboo shells for a healthy appetizer the likes of which rarely travel north of Vietnam; much like the mussels steamed in salt (25 yuan), which lays the shellfish in a bed of salt to bring out a delicate, natural flavor.

The Jiunan Chacaifan is a healthy, flavorful take on fried rice, steamed in tea with a generous mix of cashews and veggies, and as for sweet finishes, the lightly crunchy shell housing a milk and egg-yolk center in “Milk is Eventful” (20 yuan) will commemorate the occasion, properly.

A pot of tea, to be ordered from the get-go, will be refilled 'til meal's end.

Tel: 6465-7838
Add: Sanyuan Qiaoyuan (northwest of Gateway Plaza)