We take food and drink seriously. It should be one of the best parts of a holiday. We’ve all been to places (looking at you Chinese guesthouses…) where that hasn’t come through. We’re on a philosophical quest to improve it.
FOOD
Our chef, Da Hong is employee 001 and has been with us since day 1. He cooks local Chinese dishes which we have curated for foreign pallates (low oil/bones) and includes steamed ribs in sticky rice, Da Hong’s sloppy pork, Gan style fried carp, beer duck and more. We serve whatever vegetables are currently in season.
We serve a daily 90 RMB menu – you get what comes out of the kitchen!
We’ve wrestled with a western menu before – why serve 5/10 Western food when you can serve 10/10 local food? We know with kids it can sometimes be tough – please let us know in advance if you’d like fries or pasta (we’ll need to buy ahead)
The mark of our own families is clear – breakfasts include fresh buns and dumplings hand made by Selina’s mother Lili. Deserts are home made cakes – recipes from Sheila Gawne, Ed’s mum. The chocolate cake comes out a lot – its because its really good.
DRINK
Ed’s past life working in bars led us to aim high with our drinks offering. We have a small, but good cocktail list – sours are our best drink. You will suffer Ed’s music playlist, but you get to lean on a 300 year old piece maple to quaff your refreshments, so – swings and roundabouts. We have a real fire burning real wood. The garden is an excellent place for a drink in autumn among candleds and birdsong. Some pleasures are exlcusive to the countryside.
China is changing quickly. Compared to when we started, you can find a lot of high quality domestic brands. We’re proud to stock Master Gao, Jing-A and Shangri-La beers, V Coffee, Crimson Pangolin Gins and Pao soft drinks.
We’re not a public bar open to non-guests, but call ahead and small groups we like the look of tend to be OK 🙂