It may be difficult to summon up the energy to go out of your way to experience a hole-in-the wall dining venue on the other side of town. But the newly opened Guilin Ren Sijia Cai (you could hardly tell by the décor, which made the place look 10 years old) in the south side of Beijing is totally worth the trip. The minute you step into the restaurant, you are immediately immersed in the powerful sour smell of fermented bamboo shoots--a Guangxi trademark-- and other true flavours of this lesser known provincial cuisine. The somewhat strange odor may put you off, but once you are accustomed to the sour tasting bamboo shoots, or suansun, this acquired taste can be haunting, an unusual taste that lingers in your memory, the very thought ignites a craving for it. Having suansun is like a love-hate relationship—you hate it at first bite, you grow to like it at second bite, you fall for it completely with the third bite. The ethnic Miao adore their fermented tomatoes, which is the base for the famed suantang yu, or the sour soup fish, while the Zhuang minority of Guangxi are passionately hooked on sour bamboo shoots. The bamboo shoots are naturally fermented by soaking them in water for a few days. Many dishes are made with these bamboo shoots, which are cut in strips and stir-fried with either pork of beef. Suansun chao niurousi (18RMB), stir-fried shredded beef with bamboo shoots and tomatoes, and accented with dried chilies, is marvelous. The pungent and spicy taste is exciting and stimulating (we are hooked already). Pijiu ya ganguo (48RMB), dry-pot beer duck is Guilin’s signature dish. Chunks of fleshy sour bamboo shoots, duck cut up intact with bones, a few pieces of black fungi and fuzhu (rolled dried beancurd), are simmered in beer and seasoned with garlic and ginger. This simple and unassuming dish is out of this world. The rich flavor of the combined ingredients is beautifully intertwined. The fully infused duck meat is tender and amazingly tasty. Tan shaorou (20RMB), made with streaky pork, which is slow cooked in a broth that has an indistinguishable, but lovely, mélange of aromas, is another incredibly delicious dish offered here, and we have not seen it on any menu at other restaurants. A second plate has to be ordered because the content of the first disappears almost immediately. The cooked meat is char-grilled shortly just before serving to give a crisp on the edges of the pieces of meat that melt-in-your-mouth. Tan shaorou is a must order dish that would tempt even a vegetarian. Another highlight is a veggie dish called furu kongxin cai (10RMB), water spinach sautéed with white fermented beancurd. This white fermented beancurd is a Guangxi special with a light taste, clear colour. It's super delicious. Suan jiao da baicai (8RMB) is bland napa cabbage stir-fried with dried chilies. It has a slightly sour taste but is magically tasty. Xiangyu men paigu (20RMB) is good, but it's best to have this dish in the fall when the taro grown in Lipu, a town in Guangxi is in season. Guilin luwei fen (8RMB), or rice noodles in aromatic condiments, are slippery but dense in texture and very chewy--the best of its kind and second to none. Conclude you meal with basi xiangyu (18RMB), taro coated in caramelized granulated sugar.
Add : 2 Qisheng Xiang, Wanming Lu, Xuanwu district 桂林人私家菜 宣武区齐胜巷2号
Tel: 6304 5269
Hours: 10am-11pm
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