Fresh seafood, spicy sauces

Xiang E Qing Restaurant (湘鄂情) has introduced more than 10 dishes for the winter season. Its cuisine comes from Hubei and Hunan, two provinces known for their freshwater seafood, dry pot dishes, and marinated spicy sauces.

Sheldrake from Hong Lake (洪湖野鸭香锅), for example, is cooked with dried bamboo shoot in a heated hot pot style. The duck is paired with soybean sauce and a long list of seasoning materials to make it spicy. Another popular dish is chicken giblet (干锅鸡杂), which is fried with sour turnips, pepper and garlic.

Braised venison (酱烧梅花鹿) is processed with yellow rice wine to degrease it, and with soybean sauce to make it reddish-brown. Venison is believed to greatly replenish qi in Chinese culture. House-made bean curd (老豆腐蘸酱) is white boiled and served in a black clay pot. You can either eat it in its original flavor, or dip it in three sauces: leek flower, mashed garlic, or Guilin spicy sauce.

Xiang E Qing Restaurant has more than 10 chains in Beijing. It is known as a middle- to high-end restaurant offering quality food and better-than-average service. The company has recently registered on the Shenzhen stock market, and is one of very few Chinese restaurants that have listed successfully on the mainland stock market.

The average bill at the Chaoyangmen branch is 250 yuan per person, and at North Fourth Ring Road branch ,150 yuan per person.

Chaoyangmen branch: 16 Wangjiayuan Hutong, Dongcheng district, southeast of Swissotel. 6554-8777. 朝阳门店：东城区王家园胡同16号(港澳中心东南)

North Fourth Ring Road branch: Bldg 8, A16 Ganyangshu, North Fourth Ring Road, Chaoyang district. 6496-9866. 北四环店： 朝阳区北四环路干杨树甲16号8号楼(华堂商场斜对面)

Source: China Daily