Xi He Ya Yuan 羲和雅苑, Zhongguancun, Bejing, China
Last Visit: April 2009
"...FIVE STAR AMBIENCE all the way!! ..."
OVERALL
Beijing is known for history, so it is not a surprise that just about ALL the quality Chinese restaurants I visited while there had a - you guessed it - classic Chinese theme. Not all of them, however, can achieve the quality standard required for me to write a review for them without really loving their food. You guessed it, I wrote this mainly because of their excellent ambience, but the food is pretty decent too, at least by my meager North America standard!
I wasn't very impressed with the menu because it simply had too many different Chinese cuisines in one menu. For those of you who know Chinese food, the term "Chinese food" is almost insulting because it consists of cuisines from minimum of eight or more very distinct regions in the countries. Food from one province can be so different from the other that their differences make French and Russian food look like first cousins.
So we followed the flow and ordered a variety of dishes from all types of cuisines, and to my surprise the dishes are all very well done. Ingredients are top-notch (not surprising for restaurants at their price range in China), preparation was meticulous and labor-intensive (again, not a surprise), and presentation is nice. The only problem is that the chef or cooks were "playing safe", most likely because the place caters towards the "Chinese Silicon Valley" businessmen. Most dishes are light and bland and don't have much character. A worse problem is that many dishes that are supposed to be Northern by their names turn out to be Southern - too sweet and too much savoriness. Overall, you won't be disappointed with the food, but neither will you walk away with satisfied tastebuds.
SERVICE
We walked in at 2pm when the restaurant was pretty much empty, so I can't realistically judge their service impartially. I mean, having worked in a restaurant before, I know how much the staff HATE having last-minute lunch guests who will screw up their afternoon break. Nevertheless, quality standard is undoubtedly high, waitresses move very swiftly yet gracefully, and dishes were served / table tidied up throughout the meal very efficiently. Unlike Baijiadayuan (a much larger and more elaborate version of this restaurant in a classic Chinese garden), the wait staff actually are dressed in normal clothes rather than crazy ancient customes and high-heels.
AMBIENCE
FIVE STAR AMBIENCE all the way!! It's like you are back in time BUT you are in the middle of the most aggressively modernizing part of town (i.e. Zhongguancun) in a newly-renovated city (i.e. Beijing). The exterior was nicely kept but not too overly renovated - it looks old but definitely not crumpling down. The layout of the interior is nothing short of spectacular, merging the ancient large family four-sided residence with modern features like sunlight and comfortable chairs. Small surprises are everywhere, like the dining even rooms with pictures of old Beijing, really awesome and fits the atmosphere well. Of course, if you are really not a fan of Chinese architecture, you will hate this place, but then WHY on earth are you doing in Beijing???
VALUE
This is not exactly the kind of place you come for VALUE. You come here not for a great deal, but for an exquisite experience including some very decent - yet standard - Chinese food and sit in a spectacular surrounding, all done during lunch hour after a 5 min walk from your glitzy 50-story glass office building. The prices are not too steep compared to average Beijing high-end restaurants, but the food itself is not quite 5-star and the portions are just average (for Mr. MC's big appetite anyways).
BOTTOMLINE I think I summed everything about this place up in the Value section. You will absolutely enjoy the experience because it's just such a nice place to eat and smell the Old Beijing and, as a big bonus, the construction material all around you. The food will not WOW you because there are simply too many great restaurants in this city, but you won't walk away complaining about it either. I'd recommend this restaurant to anyone who visit Beijing - Afterall, it's ALLLLLL about history there!
BTW
I would really recommend you bringing foreigners to this restaurant because they'll like the house.
