[China. Beijing Cuisine] Nine Dynasties Club (Wangjing Branch), a Chinese Renaissance-themed Chinese Restaurant

"Jiu Chao Hui is a Chinese restaurant in Beijing with the theme of Chinese Renaissance. The designer is the first Chinese artist to win the Oscar for art design, Yeh Kam-Tim. The restaurant specialises in ancient methods of cooking, and its "Nine Dynasties House Cuisine", which combines government, Cantonese, Lu, Szechuan and Hangzhou cuisine, is very distinctive.

The restaurant is high up on the ground floor and is quite large. A long, beautiful white staircase leads to a pavilion that combines classical and modern aesthetics. Apart from the elegant hall, there are also several small side rooms and cafes with different designs, but all with a classical flavour. Our group of six was seated in the side room, which can accommodate up to eight people. The seating density was not high, and the space was used for stylish furnishings, making it feel comfortable and spacious, with a high degree of privacy. In addition, there are two girls playing the pipa and guzheng respectively, and they are playing Kunqu Opera. In addition to the quality of the dining environment, the food is also of high quality and not too expensive, usually ranging from a few tens to over a hundred RMB per dish, with seafood dishes being more expensive. The "Goddess Fruit in Plum Sauce", as beautiful as its name suggests, is a sweet and sour appetiser. It is actually made by scooping winter melon into small balls and dipping them in sweet and sour plum juice. Another cold dish is boneless pork knuckle, braised with flavourful marinated sauce to make it tasty and full of gelatin. The deep-fried meatballs are also very well done, with a crispy outer skin and very tender and juicy pork inside. The seemingly simple "simmered radish in copper pot" was mouth-watering as the sweet radish absorbed the rich sauce. Our favourite dish was the special crab rice, which took an hour to cook. In fact, when we first read the menu, we were already attracted by its looks, and it was also the most expensive dish we ordered, at just over RMB 300, and we were not disappointed. The rice was cooked with crab paste, making the whole rice sticky and full of the fresh flavour of the crab paste, and the serving size was quite large.

It's really difficult to find a nice mid-priced restaurant in Beijing if you don't know your way around. Luckily, a friend brought us here so that we could have a chance to see what it's all about, and I hope you enjoy my introduction.

Address: 39-1, Northwest corner of Wangjing Bridge, North Fourth Ring Road East, Beijing, China
Tel: +86 10 6439 5899