A Tale of Two Menus: Summer Options at Brasserie Flo and The Woods

The warm weather is here and with it a spate of relaunched or revamped summer menus. The Beijing sumer is notoriously unbearable so cold soups, lighter ingredients and a preponderance of seafood are the name of game, particularly at Beijing's European-leaning restaurants.

I called by The Woods in Central Park for the first time last weekend and instantly kicked myself that I hadn't visited earlier. The airy, window-dominated space and Mediterranean-inspired menu make for a pleasant weekend lunch spot.

From their new summer menu we tried a king crab tartare (RMB 120, pictured above) that while initially a tad sweet, balanced beautifully with the sourness of the surrounding ponzu sauce. If you're in the mood for luxury, you could do worse than an order of the unctuous lobster risotto (RMB 160), otherwise stick with their ever-popular paella (RMB 200) (their chef trained and worked in Spain for a number of years).

A little birdie tells me they are also planning to start a Sunday brunch (with a sparkling wine option, naturally), which could become a solid option for CBD'ers, especially if you're lucky enough to grab one of their few outside tables.

On the other side of Chaoyang, Brasserie Flo has also launched their summer menu. They will be adding a couple of new dishes every couple of weeks for the remainder of the season. I have always found Flo's lovingly-recreated brasserie space on Xiaoyun Lu an absolute delight, so will take any opportunity I can to get up there. 

As we have come to expect from Flo, the summer dishes lean heavily on upscale French ingredients, which came together in harmony in the symphonie de foie gras “Rougié” et homard de Boston (RMB 198, foie gras terrine, pan-fried foie gras and lobster). Unexpectedly however, our favorite dish of the night was the soupe de tomates aux parfums d’été (RMB 78), a simple roasted tomato soup elevated by a sprinkling of beautiful garnishes.

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Photos: Robynne Tindall, courtesy of Brasserie Flo