Beijing (ANTARA) – Yuxiandu is not only a restaurant, but also a miniature Qing Dynasty palace, so it is called the “culinary museum of the Beijing Empire.”
This three-story restaurant building with a total building area of 15,000 square meters is located in Haidian District, Beijing, China.
Yuxindu offers a unique gastronomic tour, taking guests to experience China’s culinary heritage through the centuries.
When stepping into the restaurant, visitors’ eyes will be drawn to the restaurant’s elegant decoration with pavilions, towers, carved beams, and buildings painted to resemble a royal palace.
The restaurant also provides Qing Dynasty costume changing services and professional make-up so that visitors can travel back in time to a palace of bygone eras and become characters at a royal banquet.
Yuxindu also has a small museum which displays replicas of cultural relics, costumes and tableware from the Qing Dynasty palace complete with a guide.
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The dishes served at Yuxiandu are the result of restoration of royal dishes.
Apart from serving royal food, the restaurant displays dance performances with musical accompaniment to accompany visitors to enjoy royal-style dishes.
Yuxiandu was put into operation starting in 2013 to build Beijing’s first imperial cuisine museum, which brings together a museum area with more than a thousand historical artifacts, a restaurant and a transparent kitchen.
In the restaurant area, the performers put on a royal party complete with costumes and make-up that made visitors feel the splendor of the Chinese empire in the past.
The restaurant menu includes foods that Chinese nobles used to enjoy, from appetizers, main dishes, to desserts.
The following are the foods served at Yuxiandu.
1. Boiled fish bubbles and peaches with radish, a famous dish of Emperor Qianglong (金汤桃胶煨花胶[乾隆名馔])
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The first food served to guests is called fish maw or fish bubble, a fish body organ in the form of a membrane bag filled with oxygen which functions to regulate the fish’s body when it floats in water.
Fish mawwhich is a source of collagen, is commonly used in soups in Chinese cuisine. When it is still raw, it is hard and dense, some are shaped like bright yellow or sometimes blackish balloons. After cooking, the texture becomes soft and slippery.
Although the dishes are not explained fish maw What fish is served from, but usually the fish bubbles used come from catfish, tilapia, snapper or grouper.
2. Stewed Taizhou tofu with Yunnan ham and winter bamboo shoots, a famous dish of Emperor Qianlong (云腿冬笋炖台州豆腐[乾隆名馔])
Stewed Taizhou tofu with Yunnan ham and winter bamboo shoots is a kind of sum to warm the body. This dish is made from meat, bamboo shoots and tofu with the addition of sliced ginger, pepper and salt. This type of soup is also said to be good for helping the body recover after illness, losing weight, and smoothing the skin.
3. Braised beef and osmanthus stir-fried clams, a famous dish of Emperor Xuantong (文火三角牛肉配桂花瑶柱[宣统名馔])
A dish of boiled beef and sautéed osmanthus scallops, the main ingredients are fibrous beef cut into triangles then boiled over low heat for a long time with soy sauce, dark soy sauce, salt, stock powder, rock sugar, fennel, cinnamon, bay leaves and other spices .
4. Steamed carp with spring onion oil, a famous dish of Emperor Xuantong
(葱油汁蒸无骨黄金鲫[宣统名馔])
Steamed carp with spring onion oil is made by briefly steaming carp that has been marinated in salt. Spring onion oil is made by mixing chopped spring onions with water and flour then boiling until thickened.
5. Forbidden city roast duck, a famous dish of the Tongzhi Emperor (紫禁城枣木烤鸭[同治名馔】
Hidangan bebek panggang ini dibuat menggunakan teknik khusus agar kulit bebek menjadi garing tetapi dagingnya tetap lembut.
Masakan bebek ini dimakan bersama roti dadar tipis yang lembut yang disebut chūn bǐng. Caranya, lebarkan roti dadar tipis, masukkan irisan bebek panggang yang sudah dicelupkan ke saus manis asin dan gula, tambahkan irisan daun bawang dan timur segar, kemudian buat bungkusan, dan nikmati campuran rasa dan tekstur dari “bungkusan” bebek panggang.
6. Mi umur panjang dengan teripang, hidangan terkenal Ratu Cixi (海参清汤长寿面[慈禧名馔])
Longevity noodles boiled in a bowl. The length of the noodles in this dish symbolizes increasing longevity. Boiled sea cucumbers and sliced carrots and cucumber are placed on top of the noodles.
7. Fresh fruit yogurt with osmanthus honey (桂蜜酸奶拼鲜果)
This dish consisting of yogurt, honey and fruit is a dessert at Yuxiandu Restaurant.
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Reporter: Desca Lidya Natalia
Editor: Maryati
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