Hangzhou has been on my list of places to see in China since day one. Naturally when our Beijing-based Bay Area friends Michelle and Andrew proposed a day (or rather evening) trip to this sleepy city on West Lake we jumped on the chance! Better yet, the excursion was decidedly dedicated to our common passion for Chinese gastronomy.
After a quick and painless ride on the high-speed rail from Shanghai, we enjoyed a crisp winter sunset stroll in the romantic atmosphere of Hangzhou’s beautiful lakeside park. We loved that the cooler weather meant we nearly had the sunset all to ourselves and promised ourselves that someday soon we’d return for a proper picnic in the park.
But no time for a picnic that evening, as our dinner destination was the famed Dragon Well Manor, dubbed by some food writers as the Chinese take on Chez Panisse! The familiar Berkeley mantra of local, fresh and seasonal pulled us in but what really impressed us was the unique simplicity, delicacy and elegance of each component of the meal from beginning to end.
The moment we entered the gates of Dragon Well Manor, which is not a restaurant so much as a garden landscape of lotus ponds and tea houses, we knew we were in for a relaxed and pleasurable evening. Escorted to our own private room, we were hungry and ready for the mysterious banquet that awaited our tastebuds. All we knew was that everything served that day was the freshest of fresh, as each day’s menu is based on what can be sourced on that particular day.
We raised our glasses of rice wine and toasted our good fortune and the promise of the long and delicious meal ahead of us…
A table was set with a colorful variety of savory toppings and sauces, from peanuts to dried tiny shrimp and pickled goodies.
To commence, each of us were offered a hot bowl of either salty or sweet soy milk.
Simple hot and cold dishes served at Dragon Well Manor each featured a single ingredient in its finest form, beginning with these tender slices of baked tofu in a light sauce and some of the most delicious and yellowest scrambled eggs I’ve ever had.
These were soon followed by heartier proteins like cold marinated beef, cold liver and this dish of jellyfish, which I had always suspected would be rubbery, but in fact offers a surprisingly crispy texture.
Other seafood dishes included naked but unbelievably tasty tiny prawns and a saucy dish of meaty fish heads.
One of the stars of the evening were these tender bulbs of baby bok choi which bursted with flavor despite having almost nothing done to them.
A few soups were served throughout the meal, including this small bowl of fresh egg noodles and simple leek dumplings, as well as a birds nest soup (which I couldn’t bring myself to eat though everyone else at the table enjoyed it tremendously), and a whole duck in locust (that’s right) and herb broth.
For a little sweetness towards the end we enjoyed fresh fruit and a yummy helping of sticky chewy gooey glutinous rice cakes…which as you can see I enjoyed from first to last bite!
At the end of our meal we had a long conversation with our server about the philosophy of food sourcing and preparation at Dragon Well Manor. We were even shown a book that documents where and when the ingredients we ate were grown and purchased in the area. When he developed the idea for this restaurant, Dai Jianjun hadn’t heard of Alice Waters, but from what I can tell he’s doing their common mantra justice.
Unfortunately we couldn’t linger too long after our fabulous meal, as we had to catch the train back to Shanghai…but no worries, we’ll definitely return to Hangzhou again.
