Cafe St. Laurent: A Bloody Mary brunch…
Café St. Laurent (which doubles as Alfa nights) is getting rave reviews for its weekend brunch. The menu is the brainchild of Canadian Embassy chef Billy Kawaja, on hand to ensure quality.
I stopped in on Sunday with Agent Red Wolf to give the house drinks and food a try.
My CSL Bloody Mary (50 kuai) included soya sauce and wasabi along with a garnish of shrimp, cherry tomato and pickled asparagus, and was rimmed with nori (seaweed) and sea salt. Hearty enough to be a sipping rather than a gulping drink, I heartily recommend it and would love to see a version of this one with Clamato juice.
Agent Red Wolf described her CSL Frozen Mojito (45 kuai) as “it’s okay, average, like juice.” It’s hard to compare to the drinks at other spots, she added, as the frozen Mojito is a rare drink in Beijing.
On the food side, the asparagus omelet was fine. The side sausage was particularly tender and fresh, though the tomato pilaf was a bit time. Agent Red Wolf was happy with her ice cream platter describing it as as “presentable”, “delightful” and “it made me happy”.
While it was a bit hot at our seats near the door, the running water, ample space between tables, reasonably efficient service and Bloody Mary made this a worthwhile stop and I’ll be back to try some of other drinks and food on the menu.
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[...] on the heels of creating an excellent weekend brunch at Café St. Laurent (Alfa), Billy Kawaja, executive chef at the Canadian Embassy, is teaming with [...]
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