Chi Restaurant: New Local and Organic in the Hutongs

Because this vastly public forum seems like a reasonable place to share embarassing moments, I will.

In an attempt to visit a pre-tasting at a soon-to-open restaurant on Wudaoying last night, I found myself staring at a brick wall, wondering how to get into the dining room most obviously on the other side. To make it worse, Plastered 8's Dominic Johnson-Hill – our last issue's cover model and one of our choices for Beijing's 20 most interesting people – was smoking nearby. There's nothing so emasculating as pressing both tentatively and indiscriminately on bricks while someone well-regarded watches on.

But the hidden door surrendered and opened out into a beautiful space worth the moderate amounts of embarassment.

Chi Restaurant is the latest project of Brand Nu founder, Nathan Zhang and the husband-wife team of Saffron, Yao Yang and Li Yang. After five months of planning, designing and constructing the concept and space, the kitchen opened last night for its first trial run.

The interior is striking in its uniqueness (at least for Beijing). Door and window frames from the 1980s and '90s form the entry into the dining room and the windows that look out onto the street. A wide bar runs the length of the intimate room (total seating looks to be somewhere around thirty), facing the open kitchen.

Yao Yang of Saffron was behind the stove, dishing out plates of unpretentious fare based on locally-sourced, organic ingredients. The menu is still in development, as is the serving concept and price point. But independent from these details, what we initially tasted was quite good. The trio behind the venture are stellar in their attention to nuance and sensitivity to atmosphere; I'm of the opinion that musical choice speaks volumes about a person, and last night, the Searching for Sugarman soundtrack was on repeat. Solid choice, you three.

It seems unfair to hash out a full critique of a private, test-run tasting, but a picture speaks a thousand words, right? We'll keep you posted on when you can try it out yourself, but in the meantime, you can follow their Weibo here.

Spicy grilled chicken wings with roasted green peppers and mushrooms

Pan-fried duck breast with olive oil, onion, and bell pepper

Mushrooms with garlic and olive oil

Photos: Cat Nelson

Email: catnelson@thebeijinger.com
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