Beijing Boyce

Last Sunday night, Special K and I visited new restaurant La Gouche* (beside Banana Leaf) for a coffee and sampled the “snack” menu**. This was one of five menus handed to us, including the standard menu, two wine menus and a general beverages menu. Heavy stuff…

Special K had French onion soupand described it as “bland.” The pizza (48 kuai) came with pre-made crust and cheese that might double as melted Tupperware - if you’re Canadian and a big fan of McCain’s, you might like it. While small, the burger(48 kuai) was tasty and juicy, though the coleslaw was mushy.

I found the coffee disappointing. The cappuccino lacked froth and tasted like it had a dash of Nestle instant chocolate milk powder in it.

To be fair, the place just opened. Hopefully, the food improves, because this is a cozy spot. It’s moderately spacious with comfortable chairs and lots of chocolates, tans and off-whites. I also found the staff attentive and friendly, though their job is obviously easier when the place only has a handful of customer, as it did when we visited.

We enjoyed a tour of La Gauche’s dozen or so private rooms, each with its own style - one had traditional Chinese chairs draped with animal pelts, another had modern paintings and furniture, and so on – and an abundance of marble, sheer gold curtains, and gilded walls. A room with a teppanyaki unit seats eight, the set menu ranging from RMB480 to RMB2880 per person. I could see gathering a half-dozen friends, each of us bringing a Champagne to match a certain menu item, and enjoying a night of fun.

* La Gouche works better in French than in English, methinks.

** The snack menu prices are for lunch. For dinner, prices are slightly higher (our pizza cost RMB 48 as opposed to RMB 38 at lunch) and the set menus are not available.

Following a sparkling wine tasting at Sequoia Café last Friday, p3wong and I went to nearby Marguerite for a bite to eat. To be honest, the building’s façade attracted us like moths to a flame, and we did indeed feel a bit burned by the time we left.

First, music throbbed from the downstairs club, Mingle (same owner). It might be fun to butter your bread to a good beat, but constant bass accompaniment in a restaurant that aims for a fine dining atmosphere is annoying.

Second, I’ve never been in a place with such hard bread. You could substitute this stuff for a judge’s gavel; hammer in nails with it; launch it as skeet. p3wong could barely snap a piece in two.

Third, some of our dishware had fingerprint smudges and those smudges were not our own. That’s a no-no.

I will give the staff at Marguerite points for friendliness and flexibility. We wanted Bloody Marys and some quick negotiation brought permission to zip downstairs and get them at Mingle (they make an okay version, though it would be better without ice). The GM recently quit the place and I couldn’t spot the regular bartenders. I futiley tried to explain to the new bartenders my desire for a Bloody Mary but realizing that their mixology skills might be on par with their ability to recognize the name of one of the world’s most popular drinks, I returned upstairs.*

We ordered Diet Coke.

As for the food, the shrimp rolls and the spring rolls (40-50 kuai range for four of each) were so-so; the soup lacked zing. Among our dishes, the chicken in pesto sauce tasted best. And as mentioned, the wait staff was friendly, if a bit disorganized.

* The door to Mingle has shifted to the building’s northeast corner. The crowd appears to have shifted from the “see and be seen” crowd to a much earthier one. The place was fairly full on Friday night.