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January 29, 2015

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Home » City specials » Hangzhou

Looking for more than just great food

By Wu Huixin | January 29, 2015, Thursday | Print Edition

RESTAURANTS are no longer just places to fill your belly. In some cases they are also hangouts.

This puts pressure on restaurants to provide more than great food. Novel experiences and stylish decor are also indispensable elements to compete with rivals.

Shanghai Daily recommends three popular restaurants that are characterized by fashionable decor and innovative food. All three are known for long queues during meal hours.

Guo Nei Guo Wai Restaurant

The restaurant made a stir across Hangzhou when it opened its first branch opposite Hangzhou No. 14 High School in 2013.

Now there are five in the city and each is packed with customers during meal times.

The facade of the restaurant is designed like a subway entrance with diners having to swipe a card to go inside.

Although it’s a buffet hotpot restaurant the decor resembles a bar. The food is placed on counters and diners can walk around and grab what they want.

The chic decor and novel serving method makes it a new hangout for hipsters.

Most hotpot restaurants only serve raw food ranging from beef and mutton to seafood and vegetables with diners doing the cooking at their table.

Guo Nei Guo Wai goes further and has a selection of salmon, sushi, Western desserts and Chinese dim sum like steamed buns and pumpkin dumplings.

Guo Nei Guo Wai also differentiates itself from the competition by giving each diner their own pot, allowing everyone to season their soup precisely the way they want and not have to worry about people sticking their dirty chopsticks into the broth.

The Indian roti prata, made by an Indian chef, is also very popular with diners queuing up to get a piece.

Address: 539 Fengqi Rd

Tel: (0571) 8779-5866

Nice Meeting You Restaurant

Operated by one of Chinese best-selling authors Han Han, the restaurant received good exposure when it opened in the middle of this month. Thanks to Han’s large following and a 50 percent discount during the startup period, hundreds of diners swarmed there with hopes of seeing the author and discovering some great food.

The restaurant provides American-Chinese fusion food with a French influence. Each dish has a creative name, including some after Han’s novels.

Signature dishes include House of Cards Ribs, inspired by the American political drama starring Kevin Spacey, and Han of Han, a dessert comprised of ice cream, chocolate and pulp. Also recommended are the Deep-fried Chicken from the Stars and You Never Eat My Tofu.

Han’s writing tends to be sarcastic and millions of Chinese readers enjoy his work. His first book was published in 2000. Although the restaurant has only been open for a short period, it has already become a popular gathering spot for young intellectuals in the city.

Address: Rm101-102, No. 1 Lane, Longxiangli, B Zone, Intime In77

Tel: (0571) 8708-5757

Lu Yu Restaurant

Lu Yu is famous for its grilled fish and fashionable decor that includes an oven that resembles a UFO.

Owned by famous restaurant chain Grandma’s Kitchen, Lu Yu spent 200,000 yuan (US$32,037) on a custom built electric oven that cooks 20 fish within seven minutes at the same time. The oven means customers can sample sizzling grilled fish soon after ordering.

The restaurant’s decor is centered around the huge oven, which looks like a UFO. The ambience in Lu Yu is more fashionable when compared with other grilled fish eateries.

Lu Yu only serves five types of grilled fish with 19 variations. The restaurant dispatched a team to Southeast Asia in search of a tender and smooth fish. They selected Mekong fish from the Mekong River. Perch from the local Qiantang River is the restaurant’s other main option.

The restaurant’s owner has established a distribution and logistics center in the city to ensure it controls the cleaning, freezing and transportation of all fish to its outlets.

Through a series of rigid procedures, fish are transported to the restaurant. Each fish is marinated for several minutes before being cooked. Fish is served in a special pan that keeps it hot at the table.

Address: 124 Pinghai Rd

Tel: (0571) 8763-2855

Hangzhou


 

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