Cold Comfort: The Rug's New Winter Menu

The weather may still be warm enough that thoughts of winter comfort food seem comfortably far off, but sooner than you know it you'll be wishing you wore your puffer jacket every time you go outside (or even inside, depending on how good your heating is). The people behind The Rug know this, and have come up with a suitably cozy menu of new dishes, just in time for winter.

Start with a steaming dish of Provence pot soup (RMB 118, serves two). The presentation is dinky, but the flavors are not, with plenty of seafood and a thick broth base to keep you satisfied. Even better are the fried crispy almond chicken strips (RMB 48), a tender, tasty twist on the usual chicken snacks you find in restaurants around town. 

Of the new mains, the stand out dish is the Raj-Wellington (RMB 198), a empire-era twist on the British classic. The requisite pastry-wrapped beef (cooked to a perfect medium-rare we might add) is here served with a lightly curried sauce, hence the "Raj" element. (Bonus round: dip the previously mentioned crispy chicken strips in the curried sauce that comes with the Wellington – heaven). Old favorites like the mussels (RMB 99-128) have also been updated: once you have finished the mussels themselves, ask them to add a portion pasta to the remaining cooking juices. From the desserts, roasted muesli berries rice pudding (RMB 48), with its base of tart raspberries, is the most satisfying.

New brunch dishes include a bacon version of their popular shakshuka (RMB 108) and "The Elvis," peanut butter-filled French toast drizzled with maple syrup (RMB 88). The star attraction of the fall brunch menu, however, is the "Fancy Roasted Ranch Big Brunch" (RMB 388, serves two to three), which includes: a whole honey-roasted chicken with southeast Asian dipping sauce, scrambled eggs, New England clam chowder bread bowl, roasted baby potatoes, homemade black olive bread, steamed veggies, and homemade yogurt and fruit. Phew. The chicken is tender and lightly sweet, but the highlight here is the tearable and highly savory black olive bread (which also comes with the Provencal fish soup).

Finally, a mention must go to the The Rug's exceptionally reasonably priced wine menu. There are five reds and five whites by the glass, each priced at either RMB 38 or RMB 48 for pretty generous pours. The Rug may be known for their brunch, but if good value wine isn't an excuse to check them out for dinner, then I don't know what is. 

More stories by this author here.

Email: robynnetindall@thebeijinger.com
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Photos: Robynne Tindall