Trends Lounge

Those who have dared to venture over to The Place’s north wing may already have come across the bookstore-bar-restaurant concept associated with the Chinese media group. What might at first seem to be just a well-stocked bookstore with a contemporary loft-like décor hides a kitchen cooking up home-style food from Chaozhou, a city in easternmost Guangdong province. As is appropriate for this delicate cuisine, flavours are mild and dishes come light.

The territory is known for freshness of ingredients and an amazing mélange of flavours, including chicken and preserved vegetable. Jiyou wawa cai (25RMB), braised baby napa cabbage, is cooked to perfect tenderness in a rich and creamy chicken consommé.


Huagu kou baoyu (68RMB), braised superior mushroom (shiitake) and fresh abalone, is another impressive dish that won't exploit the wallet. Unlike the over-rated dried abalone more often seen capital-side, which is considered a delicacy and costs dearly, the chef knows that fresh is better than dried, having grown up across the border from Fujian province. It has a chewy and elastic texture, like the mushrooms, both of which have excellent kougan, or what Chinese refer to as mouth feel. Ganjian sanwenyu nan (25RMB), or fried salmon fin, is a great choice for fish lovers: simple but really tasty, it is rubbed with a little salt and deep-fried with slivers of ginger to eliminate any fishiness.

There is plenty of room for lounging in here – including small glass-enclosed private rooms – so you can flip through the latest New Yorker or sip a cappuccino (28RMB) after a fulfilling meal. And for once, enjoy the fact that your mouth isn’t tingling with mala and your belly isn’t sloshing with oil.