After operating a series of cost-effective brand restaurants across the country, Wu Guoping, the founder of Grandma's House, returned to Hangzhou to join forces with Huanglong Hotel to create its first high-end restaurant, Yanxi Lake. Yanxi Lake is Wu Guoping's feelings for Hangzhou and Zhejiang cuisine, different from pure business, Wu Guoping wants to make it a symbol of Hangzhou cuisine, and even considered that this store is not profitable at the beginning of the opening.
The restaurant has invested 8 million yuan in decoration, and the decoration of the store is very distinctive, unconventional and the pursuit of perfection. Yanxi Lake is hidden in the black wall on the first floor of the Huanglong Hotel, and when you approach the lighting logo, the hidden black lacquer door will automatically open, bypassing the corridor decorated with golden mirrors, and you will come to the restaurant lobby, which has a winding path. The brass table and heavy chairs are simple and textured, the choice of cutlery and wine glasses is more emotional, and the dim lighting brings the romantic atmosphere of a candlelit dinner, which is understated and luxurious, perfect for a date. The outdoor seating is equally beautiful, with a garden-like design, bright light and blooming moon season. The most impressive thing is that the three large screens surrounding the hall are playing ink West Lake in a loop", this ten-minute short film was completed by a team of well-known photographers who spent three years photographing the West Lake, and the water waves, mountains, plants, people and buildings of the West Lake at different times are shown in the short film like ink paintings.
For the style orientation of the production, the entry point of Yanxi Lake is unique, and the creation of dishes strives to capture the atmosphere and rhyme of Hangzhou cuisine, most of which use local ingredients familiar to Hangzhou people, take molecular cuisine as the concept, and use French cooking methods, which are very novel, exquisite and aesthetically pleasing. Dining at Yanxi Lake is not an exaggeration to say that it is a visual feast.
Yanxi Lake adopts a separate meal system, presented in the form of a single set meal, which saves the troublesome ordering link, but at the same time, there are few choices for consumers. Instead of a heavy menu, the restaurant has only three set menus per season, one is a seasonal set menu, and the other two are classic courses, which correspond to the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter, and change every season, completely newly created dishes; Most of the classic set menus are the most popular dishes since the restaurant opened, and occasionally they are replaced with new dishes that are more popular, and there is little difference between the two classic courses, sometimes just the main course. The drinks are settled separately, and the Xiang and Yamazaki brand whiskies, which are difficult to buy in Hangzhou, can also be drunk in Yanxi Lake.
How can restaurants be creative on the basis of Hangzhou cuisine? For example, the classic main dish dried vegetables green onion bun juniper, green onion bun juniper is a civilian snack in Hangzhou, Yanxi Lake uses Australian beef instead of fritters, and another Hangzhou snack fried bell is wrapped in thin dough cake, the beef is crispy and delicious, the taste is very consistent with the bell and the dough cake, the presentation is elegant, and the newly upgraded green onion bun juniper can be described as refreshing. Dried bamboo shoots and duck pot are often left in the classic set menu, Yanxi Lake is very good at using specially designed tableware to express this kind of simple traditional dishes that are difficult to innovate with Western cuisine, light cyan streamlined porcelain and rice decoration, so that the dishes look full of chic farmhouse style; The main ingredient is the 60-day growing Chinese mallard, which is simmered in a casserole with an exclusive recipe, the soup is mellow, crispy but not rotten, and is accompanied by crystal clear Northeast rice as the last main course, with a rich and filling flavor.
The products of Yanxi Lake roughly match the price, but the taste is still lacking, the taste composition of individual dishes is not harmonious, and sometimes the order of serving in a set meal is also out of order in the taste experience. However, Yanxi Lake has captured the hearts of many diners because of its comprehensive quality, among which seasonal elements are one of the biggest selling points of Yanxi Lake. Hangzhou people pay attention to the season and do not eat from time to time. The new menu launched by Yanxi Lake with the theme of the season is full of the life of Jiangnan, and there is also a kind of surprise: you may eat a different dish every time you visit this restaurant, and you will not know what kind of new dishes are waiting for you before you go. Even if it's a little imperfect, you can try it once in a while.
Since the restaurant serves the dishes in order according to the French style, the meal time is about 2-3 hours, so the time should be arranged in advance. The service quality of Yanxi Lake is good and relatively professional, the waiter treats customers very carefully, each dish will be briefly introduced, and the plate will be quickly removed after eating, from the introduction of guests to the promotion of dishes, tableware replacement, every detail is more in place, and the 15% service fee is worth the money. The restaurant is aimed at young individuals rather than business dinners, has no private rooms, only 50 seats, and is only open for dinner, which is hard to find, and should be booked at least 5 days in advance.
