Yao Chi

Yao Chi is named after a legendary fairyland in the Kunlun Mountains, where the Queen Mother of the West resided. Her kingdom was known for growing exotic fruits, particularly peaches – a fruit served during sumptuous feasts such as the one King Mu, the fifth ruler of Western Zhou, supposedly enjoyed during a visit.

Anyone expecting a similar experience to King Mu at this restaurant, located in the new Grand Millennium Hotel, will sadly be disappointed. Diners are bombarded by staff who ignore repeated requests for time to study the storybook-like menu, and the offerings are typically those expensive dishes popular with Beijing’s nouveau riche: sea cucumber, shark’s fin and bird’s nest. Although a Cantonese restaurant, cold starters include several Sichuan and Shanghai dishes, with little in the way of traditional Cantonese starters.

Chaoshi pinpan (128RMB), an assortment of Chaozhou-style cold dishes including quail eggs, lean pork, honey-comb tripe, goose wings and bean curd, are accompanied by a vinegary dipping sauce that lends the dish a well proportioned, nice blend of flavours. Shaowei pinpan (138RMB), a roasted meat platter, consists of roast pork, roast duck and barbequed pork. While tasty and delicious, it is quite bizarrely served with French’s Mustard instead of traditional hot Cantonese mustard.

Bean curd can taste wonderful if done well, but here the cuibei mogu doufu (48RMB) – house-made bean curd with mushrooms – turns out to be a mixture of soft bean curd and finely crushed vegetables that’s mushy and sorely lacking flavour.

Drinks are pricey at Yao Chi, too. An individual order of tea ranges from 55RMB to 125RMB per person, and soft drinks cost as much as 45RMB. The quality combined with the hefty price tag at Yao Chi is, sadly, far from the enchanting.