This is the first of my Hangzhou food blogs, since I have been there almost 20 times, and been to a few interesting restaurants, and have improved on my knowledge of the innovative Zhejiang Cusine.

Zhejiang cusine , to my southern China tastebuds seems like a melange of Fujian thick sauce and big broths, Cantonese hot wok skills and Northern Chinese oily and intense flavours. It is not an entirely unpleasant experience, and their best dishes comes from the masculine dishes like Zhejiang Ribs and their fatty Dong Po meat. Their seafood dishes, however do lack the subtlety and delicacy of southern Chinese food like cantonese/Teochew dishes.

 

First coming up - Jade Chinos 玉玲珑- 172， 中山北路，杭州市

I have been there twice, and am impressed by being able to find such flanboyant food in China. The service is very good, and in general, there is a nice subtle pleasant taste to most of their dishes, which won't leave you suspecting whether they are using cheap oil or not.

In all, I would definately recommend this restaurant. But do always remember to have the Zhejiang meal with HuangJiu (黄酒） which is sake to Japanese food.

yellow tail fish with chives & crab roe ( with added chocolate sauce), not too special but nonetheless very nicely done.

mascapone cheese,walnuts & raisins on pear ( extremely refreshing, it hovers between being a dessert and being an appetiser)

House Foie Gras- I find it quite special that Foie Gras seemed to be at every other restaurants in Hangzhou. Unlike the French pan-fried Foie Gras ( which I am a big fan of), this is done cold, and taste more like pate rather than the fatty Foie Gras. The sweet sauce is not too bad either, but I rather have Foie Gras versione francaise anytime.

Seafood and four season peas(四季豆） in a deep-fried noodle basket. Delicious, with layers of different flavours and textures in your mouth.

Tofu with Soya milk and Black Sesame sauce, this dessert has a nice firm texture and the sauces themselves are absolutely divine. It is found in the appetizer list, so again, it is quite unusual.

House specialty- Stuffed Eggplant. I never thought stuffed eggplants could be that good. Stuffing is prk with water chestnuts,and the brown sauce on top was just strong and lip-smackingly delicious. They even seve with bonito flakes that swivels slightly on top of the eggplant.

Steamed Crab with Spare Ribs - This is a most surprising dish, very subtle taste of crab and meat blended together...super delicious.