Authentic Aussie Astral

Posted: April 29th, 2010 | Author: LumDimSum | Filed under: Foodies & Dining Scene | Tags: Astral, Centro, CW Gourmet Month, Park Hyatt, Tangla Hotel, The Opposite House | 2 Comments »

I’ll be honest – I can be quite biased against hotel restaurants and bars. I never doubt an international hotel’s ability to deliver quality F&B with 5-star service, but with the exception of boutique hotels like The Opposite House, the Park Hyatt, and Centro, I find that most hotel venues in Beijing to lack vibrancy, buzz, atmosphere and that extra draw to keep you coming back.

Before CW’s Gourmet Month, I had never heard of Astral Restaurant, nor had I heard of Tangla Hotel, which is located on the west side of Beijing, just a few minutes walk east of MuXiDi subway stop.

Only 6 months into opening, Astral delivered one of the most original and deliciously memorable dining experiences in Beijing.

This is precisely why I started LumDimSum – To share an incredibly unique dining experience with people who might miss out on something wonderful because it is outside of what I like to call, “The Sanlitun/CBD Bubble” (which is very easy to get trapped in considering the vast number of quality establishments readily available). With so many top-notch restaurants and bars on the east side of town, it’s easy to turn a blind eye to the west side, especially when we’re talking about going past FuXingMen.

It was quite a time-consuming journey, but the trek across the city during peak traffic time was totally worth what we had

coming – a 4-course menu featuring exotic meats like emu, crocodile, and kangaroo, clearly a rare find in Beijing.

The only restaurant in Beijing to focus on Australian produce, Astral also has an extensive list of Australian wines and beers and refreshingly delicious cocktails with some unbeatable promotions, namely – Free flow beer for RMB 100 and 2-for-1 cocktails at RMB 68. I highly recommend the ‘Irresistible’ (a suiting name) – Grand Marnier, Fresh Strawberries & Apple Juice and the Washington Apple – Whiskey, Apple Pucker & Cranberry Juice.

Ok, foodies, let’s get to the good stuff-

*Note -  The 4-course set menu we ordered was RMB 150 + 15% service, available only as part of CW’s April 2010 Gourmet Month.

The first part of the 4-course menu was the Cream of Pumpkin with Crabmeat & Creamy Pea & Ham Soup. Both were smooth, creamy and a perfect starter complemented by an assortment of freshly baked buns. Soups on their a la carte menu are all available between RMB 68-78.

Next, the second course got interesting with Emu Fillet Carpaccio (RMB 108) and Timbale of River Trout. Both dishes were out of this world. Emu Carpaccio was perfectly paired with mustard sauce and just the thought of the flavor of the smoked trout gets me salivating all over again. A few other appetizers worth noting from their a la carte menu include Paupiette of Smoked Salmon with Asparagus & Citrus Dressing (RMB 98) and Baked Tasmanian “Casino” Oysters with Fish Roe (RMB 138).

For our main course, we ordered both the Kangaroo Loin with Carrots, Polenta, Spinach & Hollandaise sauce and the Crocodile Fillet with Roasted Veggies & Lyonnaise Potato. Trying these exotic Australian imported meats for the first time, it was so much fun going back and forth between each dish trying to analyze and find the proper words to explain the taste and texture of both kangaroo and crocodile meat. If you’re never tried it, I can best explain kangaroo meat as having a similar texture to beef, but with a smokier flavor and crocodile meat as a cross between chicken and fish with a taste of prawns but with the texture of tougher fish meat.

…I can keep going, but I think you get the picture.  If not, I took pictures for you.

While we were blown away by the meal thus far, we were not so impressed with the desserts – The Australian Lamington with coconut sauce was 3 dense cakes covered in a thin layer of chocolate and coconut sprinkles with coconut cream served on the side. And the Berry Pavlova was really just a mountain of cream topped with passion fruit sauce and some berries.  The desserts were definitely the weakest link of this meal, but it didn’t really matter considering how exquisite the first three courses were.

Overall, I highly recommend for people to make the trip out to the west side of Beijing if they ever have had an itch to try something totally different. Describing to you the taste and texture of crocodile, kangaroo, and emu can only get you so far.  You gotta bite the bullet and try for yourself.

If you are not the adventurous foodie, then there is a vast assortment of other enticing entrees available including Lobster Baked with Hollandaise – 350g (RMB 380), 200g Waygu Beef (RMB 488), 200g Australian Angus Beef Tenderloin (RMB 258), Australian Lamb Rack (RMB 318).

If you can’t decide between species from the sea and land, then Astral offers a few surf ‘n turf combo dishes – Grilled Beef Tenderloin & Ocean Prawn (RMB 288) and the Australian Lamb Rack with a Seafood Skewer (RMB 288).

Based from my dining experience tonight, I think that regardless of what you end up ordering, you won’t be going home disappointed.

Review of Astral Restaurant: Located in TANGLA Hotel, 19 Fuxingmenwai Dajie Xi Chang’an Jie, Xidan/Financial Street (Across from the Capital Museum. Subway: Line One to Muxidi Station, Exit B, and walk east for 2 minutes.)  复兴门外大街19号,北京唐拉雅秀酒店 出租车：首都博物馆正对面；乘坐地铁：一号线，木樨地站B出口，东走2分钟。Tel:  5857-6688 ext. 6611

Best Part:

• Beijing’s only establishment serving Australian-imported meat like Emu, Kangaroo, and Crocodile (not only serving as an adventurous dining experience, but a great talking point)
• Quality, taste and presentation of dishes were exceptional
• Australian manager & chef are both very knowledgeable and friendly
• Extensive Australian wine & beer selection along with fantastic cocktails like the ‘Irresistible’ with fresh strawberries
• Great Drink Promotions: Month of April-June, cocktails are 2-for-1 at RMB 68. Every Thur-Sat, pay 100rmb +15% to sample their selection of Australian beer. Special runs from 8pm till 11pm.
• CW Gourmet Month Deal is unbeatable in terms of value and overall dining experience.

Comments:

• As stated in the review above, the desserts were the weakest link of the meal. Too much cream or too much dense cake, it gave too much fluff and lacked the richness of flavor that we, sweet-tooth lovers, crave at the end of a meal.
• It’s location on the west side of Beijing is no doubt an obstacle. Considering it’s proximity to the subway station, I would highly recommend going by subway for transport.
• The design of the venue is more Chinese than Australian.  The bar may be in the shape of a boomerang, but the flashing colored lights are just tacky and resemble BabyFace Club more than Aboriginal design. The clear beaded strings enclosing a section of seating also resembles Ding Ding Xuan Hot Pot more than anything I’ve ever seen in Australia.
• One waitress actually came up to each person at my table every time a dish was served to ask how we liked it. It was cute and considerate the first time around, but got old pretty fast.  Staff is friendly and attentive, but clearly just following protocol more than common sense.
• Live Band (2 girl duo with one on the keyboard singing everything from jazzy to pop beats). They were quite talented and the volume was perfect (not too loud), but near the end of our dinner, they sang a Chinese Country song that made my ears bleed. In their defense, it could have been a request from the audience? For their sake, I hope this was the case.

Rating: (on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best)

• Food: 9
• Atmosphere: 6
• Service: 7
• Overall Experience: 8

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