Grandma's Home a taste of warmth and hospitality in Beijing

"Welcome home."

That's the phrase we use in a group chat of expats here at China Daily while sitting around a table in a nearby mall, relishing a meal from our favorite middle-budget restaurant in Beijing. Sure, it's a tacky expression that requires a simple, juvenile sense of humor to appreciate. But if you've eaten at Grandma's Home before, you probably understand why we're so excited.

A huge menu, which now includes pictures for those of us whose ability to read in Mandarin isn't up to the local standards, offers a smorgasbord of popular Chinese plates such as sweet-and-sour dishes and a variety of fried, spicy meats. But it also includes some not-so-common treasures, like bullfrog. A full meal, regardless of the size of your group, should cost somewhere between 40 to 70 yuan ($5.80 to $10) per person. Hitting the 60 to 70 yuan range usually requires consumption of a couple beers. The service is fast and, unlike most native countries for China Daily expats, there's no added tax or tip to what you're seeing on the menu.