Home
» City specials
» Hangzhou
Pigging out at youth hostels
By Xu Wenwen |
October 27, 2011, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
MOST people associate youth hostels with cheap accommodation and backpackers, but it doesn't also have to mean "simple food."
In Hangzhou many youth hostels offer fantastic food that has earned them a good reputation nationwide and long queues of diners.
The city's youth hostels at first offered food only to guests, but once word spread that the food was delicious they began to serve other customers.
Siyanjing, literally four wells, at the foot of Yuhuang Mountain, has several hostels famous for their cuisine.
The area is famous for its osmanthus trees, and when the flowers are in bloom, the hostels are a great place for an alfresco meal.
Shanghai Daily visits several hostels and presents a guide on some of their delicacies.
Jiangnanyi Youth Hostel
Jiangnanyi is the most well-known youth hostel in Hangzhou and this is mostly because of its food.
The youth hostel's chef, Tu Zi, is one of its shareholders. The self-described backpacker says the reason she makes great food is because she learns everywhere she goes.
"I learn more from local housewives than chefs in restaurants," she says. "Home-cooked meals are the best."
Almost every dish at the hostel was created by Tu. The most ordered item on the menu is the spicy chicken. The golden-yellow chicken is mixed with glossy red and green peppers in a large bowl. The chicken is tender and spicy enough to make the tongue tingle.
The pork rib boiled with fermented bean curd is also recommended. The bean curd, a common Chinese condiment, is salty, sweet and has a texture similar to soft cheese. It helps balance the pork fat and add aroma to the dish.
Tu is also adept at making some veggie dishes. Her spinach fried with cumin and almonds smells and tastes marvelous.
Most of the tables here are reserved by hostel guests. If you don't book in advance, go early to avoid long waits.
Address: No. 87 Siyanjing
Tel: (0571) 8715-3273
Chef's pick: spicy chicken, pork rib boiled with fermented bean curd, spinach fried with cumin, curry shrimp, chicken's feet, sweet and sour cabbage.
Hangzhou Yuyuan Youth Hostel
Hangzhou Yuyuan at No.1 Siyanjing is situated in a garden, where people can see squirrels running among lofty trees and listen to birds sing.
The first floor features a restaurant.
The chef excels at hongshao food, (hongshao means to braise food in soy sauce, making food salty, sweet and with a strong scent of sauce), such as Yuyuan fried chicken, and pork with mantou (buns).
The signature dish here is local mountain chicken. Braised chicken is stewed in a secret recipe for four hours in marmite.
The chef recently created a duck roll, which is similar to Peking duck. It is sliced roasted duck meat wrapped in Vietnamese rice paper (a very thin pancake). The rice paper absorbs the chicken grease.
Address: No. 1 Siyanjing
Tel: (0571) 8609-3676
Chef's picks: local mountain chicken, pork with mantou, grandmother's fish head, duck roll and mashed potato with curry.
Hurricane Lamp Tribe
Green Inn features bold food compared to Hangzhou Yuyuan and Jiangnanyi. The stone building with doodles on the walls contains a restaurant on the first floor. The tables, chairs and signboards are made of logs. Real hurricane lamps are everywhere.
The inn started out selling barbecued food and its best-sellers are barbecued mutton leg and barbecued mutton chop. It is said the chef, and also the boss, learned the recipe at an African restaurant when he was traveling on the continent.
The recipe requires seven steps, including marinating the mutton leg in a secret seasoning to remove the raw meat flavor. It is stewed for five hours at a low heat.
The restaurant offers creative dishes such as Mediterranean vegetable pot. This hotpot contains tomato, pumpkin, beans, potato and other greens. And another popular order here is Dengying stir-fried shredded potatoes. The chips are thin and crispy, with a salty yet spicy flavor.
Address: No. 238 Siyanjing
Tel: (0571) 8750-9299
Chef's picks: barbecued mutton leg, barbecued mutton chop, barbecued fish, Dengying stir-fried shredded potatoes and cabbage fried with vermicelli.
4Eye InternationalYouth Hostel
This youth hostel is famous for its barbecued items, especially its roasted whole lamb. It costs 1,888 yuan and needs to be booked two weeks in advance because the restaurant orders the lamb from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Foods on the barbecue list include ordinary meat, vegetables and seafood. Diners can choose a do-it-yourself barbecue although this option is not available for the whole lamb.
Address: No. 66 Siyanjing
Tel: (0571) 8643-5741
Chef's picks: roasted whole lamb and roasted mutton chop
In Hangzhou many youth hostels offer fantastic food that has earned them a good reputation nationwide and long queues of diners.
The city's youth hostels at first offered food only to guests, but once word spread that the food was delicious they began to serve other customers.
Siyanjing, literally four wells, at the foot of Yuhuang Mountain, has several hostels famous for their cuisine.
The area is famous for its osmanthus trees, and when the flowers are in bloom, the hostels are a great place for an alfresco meal.
Shanghai Daily visits several hostels and presents a guide on some of their delicacies.
Jiangnanyi Youth Hostel
Jiangnanyi is the most well-known youth hostel in Hangzhou and this is mostly because of its food.
The youth hostel's chef, Tu Zi, is one of its shareholders. The self-described backpacker says the reason she makes great food is because she learns everywhere she goes.
"I learn more from local housewives than chefs in restaurants," she says. "Home-cooked meals are the best."
Almost every dish at the hostel was created by Tu. The most ordered item on the menu is the spicy chicken. The golden-yellow chicken is mixed with glossy red and green peppers in a large bowl. The chicken is tender and spicy enough to make the tongue tingle.
The pork rib boiled with fermented bean curd is also recommended. The bean curd, a common Chinese condiment, is salty, sweet and has a texture similar to soft cheese. It helps balance the pork fat and add aroma to the dish.
Tu is also adept at making some veggie dishes. Her spinach fried with cumin and almonds smells and tastes marvelous.
Most of the tables here are reserved by hostel guests. If you don't book in advance, go early to avoid long waits.
Address: No. 87 Siyanjing
Tel: (0571) 8715-3273
Chef's pick: spicy chicken, pork rib boiled with fermented bean curd, spinach fried with cumin, curry shrimp, chicken's feet, sweet and sour cabbage.
Hangzhou Yuyuan Youth Hostel
Hangzhou Yuyuan at No.1 Siyanjing is situated in a garden, where people can see squirrels running among lofty trees and listen to birds sing.
The first floor features a restaurant.
The chef excels at hongshao food, (hongshao means to braise food in soy sauce, making food salty, sweet and with a strong scent of sauce), such as Yuyuan fried chicken, and pork with mantou (buns).
The signature dish here is local mountain chicken. Braised chicken is stewed in a secret recipe for four hours in marmite.
The chef recently created a duck roll, which is similar to Peking duck. It is sliced roasted duck meat wrapped in Vietnamese rice paper (a very thin pancake). The rice paper absorbs the chicken grease.
Address: No. 1 Siyanjing
Tel: (0571) 8609-3676
Chef's picks: local mountain chicken, pork with mantou, grandmother's fish head, duck roll and mashed potato with curry.
Hurricane Lamp Tribe
Green Inn features bold food compared to Hangzhou Yuyuan and Jiangnanyi. The stone building with doodles on the walls contains a restaurant on the first floor. The tables, chairs and signboards are made of logs. Real hurricane lamps are everywhere.
The inn started out selling barbecued food and its best-sellers are barbecued mutton leg and barbecued mutton chop. It is said the chef, and also the boss, learned the recipe at an African restaurant when he was traveling on the continent.
The recipe requires seven steps, including marinating the mutton leg in a secret seasoning to remove the raw meat flavor. It is stewed for five hours at a low heat.
The restaurant offers creative dishes such as Mediterranean vegetable pot. This hotpot contains tomato, pumpkin, beans, potato and other greens. And another popular order here is Dengying stir-fried shredded potatoes. The chips are thin and crispy, with a salty yet spicy flavor.
Address: No. 238 Siyanjing
Tel: (0571) 8750-9299
Chef's picks: barbecued mutton leg, barbecued mutton chop, barbecued fish, Dengying stir-fried shredded potatoes and cabbage fried with vermicelli.
4Eye InternationalYouth Hostel
This youth hostel is famous for its barbecued items, especially its roasted whole lamb. It costs 1,888 yuan and needs to be booked two weeks in advance because the restaurant orders the lamb from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Foods on the barbecue list include ordinary meat, vegetables and seafood. Diners can choose a do-it-yourself barbecue although this option is not available for the whole lamb.
Address: No. 66 Siyanjing
Tel: (0571) 8643-5741
Chef's picks: roasted whole lamb and roasted mutton chop
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
