Tuesday, November 5, 2013

KingJoy 京兆尹 @ Beijing, China

As Miss Veg has not been in SG for quite some time, I have been missing out on Greenzilla and other new shops opening in SG!
Anyway, there are quite a number of good places to hunt around here in Beijing, China.
If you happen to come visit, this is a restaurant that is hard to miss.
KingsJoy, just open for the past 1 over years has received rave reviews on the web and won the best restaurant award by Timeout.
The exterior design itself has won its exquisite selling notion, bringing vegetarianism to a higher level - a lifestyle.
While it bears the same branding as the King Join Restaurant in Taiwan, the cuisine served here is different. Taiwan's outlet focused on the more traditional pastries that were popular in the olden dynasties while the Beijing outlet focused on modern new cuisine.
Do note that the minimum spending per pax is close to RMB 400, which is around SGD 80. I have not had any meals that expensive before!

Beautiful Exterior of the Restaurant

 This is a restaurant in a Hutong Setting. It is rather huge, with many rooms available for private gathering.
 The Setting Outside, in the 四合院 itself. Would be even nicer if there is Snow!
Lovely Table Setting
The E-Menu
I realized that quite a number of restaurants in China use the Ipad as a Menu. I guess most places in SG will use that soon!

As we didnt know what to order, the waitress suggested that we order the set menu. So my parents ordered the RMB 399 Set while I settled for Ala Carte.
If you are really keen to try almost everything, settle for the set, which comes with 8 items.
I wont review item by item, but my chef mum loves every single dish served. She said you will never get to eat this in Singapore at all.
Freshly Made Plum Juice
 Healthy Set RMB 399

This is the supposed "Cold Dish", comprises of 3 dishes: green beans mixed with olive, Yummy Raddish with Bean sauce and Steam pumpkin. To be honest, I was never a fan of such food, but wow, they were made to almost perfection, and I actually liked it!


 Nutritious Soup
Next was Soup, made with Wolfberry, Walnut, Mushrooms and steamed with just a little salt. Yums!


Next was some healthy rice which I was unable to make out. Healthy dish though. My dad said tasted like the yellow beans.

Creamy Chessy Cabbage. Perfecto!

Basil Sauteed Mushroom with Homemade Nutty Bread
At this point my parents were extremely full, and there was Mushroom Rice and Dessert to serve still. A Pity I didnt take a picture of the mushroom rice, but here's how it looks from other's pic in the web:-

Last but not least - Dessert!
 Mango Pudding with a Sweet Mooncake

 For the Ala Carte Items, we ordered the Glutinous Rice, cooked just right and there's a lot of ingredients inside!

 The Popiah is just so-so but ingredients inside is full of mushrooms instead of our usual turnip.

 Carrot Cake
 Yuan Xiang still serves the best carrot cake to date. Unfortunately, we had to cancel this order as this comprise of garlic. Do note that it is not written in the menu. I've already feedback to the management on this. They do serve Dairy, Onion, Garlic, Chives (the 5 pungent roots) products in their dishes. However, the waitress will be very patient to advise which are the ones to advise.

Zhajiang Noodles - of cos, my favourite!

 Cooked Chestnut - On the House

What won me over was the butler kind service provided. You do felt like a royal dining here as the waitress would change your side plate as and when it is dirty, change your napkin immediately if it drops on the floor etc. The attention to detail and willingness to listen to feedback was impressive.

We paid a total of RMB 1248 for the entire meal, which is close to SGD 90 per pax, but its an experience of a lifetime. May not visit them that often, but as a vegetarian, do pamper yourself while you can!

BTW, if you are really planning to go, do call beforehand as its quite fully booked on most days. Also, if you go on the 1st or 15th of the lunar month, call and inform them that you are eating because it is the 1st or 15th. The 2nd person enjoys 50% off! Do note that set meals are only available for 2 pax and above, and you are required to order the same set.

Location:
Number 2, WuDao Ying Hutong, right opposite the Lama Temple (雍和宫)
地址:五道营胡同2号
Tel:010-84049191