Western Star
Updated: 2016-01-05 08:07
By Mike Peters(China Daily)
|
||||||||
Wok-fried prawn Sichuan style.[Photo provided to China Daily] |
In the Zhong restaurant dining room, the star of the menu is Wong's Xixia roasted lamb spare ribs. The grass-fed lamb comes from the nearby city of Yanchi, and the chef credits the region's environment-where the Yellow River, the Gobi desert and the sheltering face of Helan Mountain meet to create an ideal environment for producing high-quality meat that is both tender and aromatic. Wong says his secret method of marinating the roasted lamb skin is what gives his signature dish its richly flavored crust.
Our meal starts with a European-style presentation of amuse bouche, created by the Hong Kong master chef who is now equally at home with Ningxia cuisine. On any given night, the veritable parade of nibbles may include spicy beef, pickled vegetable Sichuan style, steamed Chinese date stuffed with glutinous rice, cuttlefish with pepper, chili ring with soy sauce, fish filet with sweet sour sauce, and cabbage mustard with soya beans.
Before the signature lamb arrives, the hotel's general manager, Detlef Winter, takes us on a quick tour of the dining area. Beyond the public area are 24 private dining rooms that can accommodate parties of six to 20, beautifully appointed with Chinese and Western elements and featuring expansive views of the city. Beyond, there is Helan Mountain, with rich farmlands on the eastern side and far-reaching desert on the other.
There is also a well-stocked wine room where, Winter notes, a top-notch selection of French Bordeaux and Burgundy wines has pride of place. Ningxia, of course, is an up-and-coming wine region itself-much of the talk at nearby tables, whether populated by local Chinese or visiting Europeans, seems to be about viticulture, and local labels have won a place on the restaurant's wine list.
- Top planner targets 40% cut in PM2.5 for Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cluster
- Yearender: Predictions for 2016 through 20 questions
- Asia's largest underground railway station opens in Shenzhen
- Shanghai bans drug-using actors, drivers
- Clamping down to clean up the air
- Yearender: Ten most talked-about newsmakers in 2015
- Over 1 million refugees have fled to Europe by sea in 2015: UN
- Turbulence injures multiple Air Canada passengers, diverts flight
- NASA releases stunning images of our planet from space station
- US-led air strikes kill IS leaders linked to Paris attacks
- DPRK senior party official Kim Yang Gon killed in car accident
- Former Israeli PM Olmert's jail term cut, cleared of main charge
- The world in photos: Dec 28 - Jan 3
- Zodiac golden accessories make a splash in the new year
- Picutre review of the sky in Beijing, 2015
- Confinement center provides high-end service to new moms
- Gorgeous rime scenery in Northwest China's Xinjiang
- 127th Tournament of Rose Parade celebrated to embrace 2016
- Yearender: China's proposals on world's biggest issues
- NASA reveals entire alphabet but F in satellite images
Most Viewed
Editor's Picks
8 highlights about V-day Parade |
Glimpses of Tibet: Plateaus, people and faith |
Chinese entrepreneurs remain optimistic despite economic downfall |
50th anniversary of Tibet autonomous region |
Tianjin explosions: Deaths, destruction and bravery |
Cinemas enjoy strong first half |
Today's Top News
Shooting rampage at US social services agency leaves 14 dead
Chinese bargain hunters are changing the retail game
Chinese president arrives in Turkey for G20 summit
Islamic State claims responsibility for Paris attacks
Obama, Netanyahu at White House seek to mend US-Israel ties
China, not Canada, is top US trade partner
Tu first Chinese to win Nobel Prize in Medicine
Huntsman says Sino-US relationship needs common goals
US Weekly
Geared to go |
The place to be |