Tairo Teppanyaki 2($$)

Tairo Teppanyaki

This restaurant sounded like a lot of fun. Kris and I love teppanyaki, good food, entertainment and fun with fire. Who could ask for more? Well unfortunately at Tairo Teppanyaki we could have asked for a lot more. Their more famous deal is 150 Yuan for all you can eat and drink. It sounded like a great deal, and it turns out that it was too good to be true.

We ordered, salmon sashimi, tuna sashimi, bacon wrapped mushrooms, shitake mushrooms, snap peas, lamb fillet, salmon fillet, fillet minion, beef tongue in red wine marinade, tiger shrimp, pineapple rice, a mango, vanilla ice cream, sake and beer.

First off, they were out of the snap peas and didn’t tell us, they forgot to get my beer, and they never got out second order of sake. Second they put mayonnaise on the mango and ketchup in the pineapple fried rice. We then had to order it without the strange dressing, they fixed the mango, but they would not fix the rice. Third the sashimi that we ordered was terrible. The fish showed signs of having been frozen. Under no circumstances are sushi grade fish ever supposed to have been frozen. If it is, then it can’t be sushi and it needs to be cooked.

In addition to the food being horrible, the service was obviously terrible. Our order kept getting lost, or forgotten, one of our friends swore he would order and the waitress only wrote down half of what he asked for. In the end we figured it had to be a scheme, they tell you its all you can eat, then they space out the meal until they close, then forget and run out of things and then they get to charge you the full amount.

Over all I give Tairo Teppanyaki a 2 out of 10, 10 being the highest. I was not pleased with the dinner. The only redeeming quality was the beef tongue which was very good for some reason. I have never had to give out such a bad score before, and I really hope that I never have to again. The only reason it didn’t get a 1 was because I did like the beef tongue and the beer was very cold.

This restaurant does not warrant any more ratings because it was that bad.

However the price of getting ripped off for a not that great all you can eat and drink place is just about right. 150 Yuan each comes out to about $20 So $$ for two people.

Hutong Pizza 8($)

Hutong Pizza.

The Hutongs are the traditional family homes in the ancient villages around Beijing. These little family homes consist of four homes that surround a common courtyard area. Traditionally Families would live here together, grandparents, and children and pass the home on to their sons, who would bring their wives to live with them there. Today the Hutong is composed of small families like in ancient times, small shops, convenience stores, boutiques and restaurants. For the most part these restaurants will be frequented by the locals, unless it is a larger restaurant facing the busy street or in touristy areas like HouHai.

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This little place was a little hard to find, though there are a few signs that point you in the right direction. Located in an actual hutong courtyard the little pizza place has four two person tables in the little covered patio area; and indoors there is more seating on the ground level and them more on the balcony level. But don’t get me wrong, this is a little hole in the wall kind of restaurant. There are two kitchens, one just for pizza and then a smaller separate one that would have been the family kitchen shared between four houses is used as a service kitchen where smaller dishes like salads are prepared.

I was not really that hungry but I wanted to try as much as possible. So we ordered the All Gone Pizza: pepperoni, ham, sausage, red, orange and yellow peppers, onions, mushrooms, crenel corn, olives, mozzarella cheese, and goat cheese on a tomato sauce thin crust. We also ordered Lasagna, two beers and a slice of apple pie a la mode.

It was very good. For some reason we were served our apple pie first. I think it was a miss understanding. I have been searching for apple pie since we got here (apple pie is my favorite dessert, though it rarely lives up to my expectations). It was pretty good. Had a little bit different taste to it, an almost anise taste like black licorice, not nutmeg.

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The Lasagna was also good, though it only had the one kind of cheese in it. It was basically some wide noodles with red sauce, sausage and mozzarella on top, bakes in a little dish. I needed at least ricotta to be a real lasagna.

Then the pizza came. I really was getting pretty full but it looked really good. Corn on top of pizza seems like a weird thing, but its not it adds to the flavor and I assume that other pizza toppings that are common in California are really expensive here, like artichokes or fresh tomatoes.

For taste I give Hutong Pizza a 8 out of 10. There were a few things missing, but it was overall very good. And where substitutions were made, it almost didn’t make a difference.

For atmosphere I give it a 7 out of 10. The place was unique. It also had a large Kio pond and fountain in the patio area and the inside had large red columns holding up the roof. But the bathroom facilities consisted of one single toilet, not that clean and very close to the door.

For price dinner for us and all that we ate cost $ in US dollars.

Overall I give Hutong Pizza a 8 out of 10.

The Saddles 9($$)

The Saddle

The Saddle is a hard place to get too. You can see the balcony from an alley way but there is currently no way to get into the square without climbing your way through a construction site. The surprising this is that the restaurant is full any given night. Saddle’s microbrews their own beer and their own whiskey; the brewery and the bar are located on the ground level. If you go upstairs there is a nice restaurant with a large outdoor patio. At one end there is a pool table. Kris and I went just to get some Chips and Guacamole two huge Margaritas and play some pool. Our game was terrible and probably the worst game I ever played. But the chips were very good, though a little shy on the guacamole. I assume Avocados are very expensive here in China. It was a fun place to spend a very nice night. I would recommend it to anyone. If you want to go here it’s behind China doll and you have to access the alley around the corner of a clothing mall.

Overall I give Saddles a 9 out of 10 for fun, but I didn’t really eat all the much. And my huge margarita only had two shots of tequila, it wasn’t enough.

For price Saddle gets a $$, its a little expensive for a restaurant in China but its good.

I now get to rate Saddle for taste because we have now actually eaten here. This time the guacamole was not as good, but Kris' tacos carnitas were good and my enchiladas were very cheesy. It was good, I rate Saddle a 8 for taste. Hey it's Mexican food, the scale doesn't go that high, but it is always satisfying.

The Book Worm 9 (1/2$)

The Book Worm

The book worm is a book store, library club and restaurant. Who could ask for more? The atmosphere here feels very similar to a college town café. Everyone is eating, reading, studying and everyone is on the lookout for a hot hook up. Located a little out of the way in the top story of a little box concrete building the Book Worm doesn’t look like much at first glance. On the inside, all the walls are lined in books the rest of the space is full of couches and arm chairs. There is also a patio on the roof with café tables and umbrellas for those rare blue sky days and those nice summer evenings.

Kris and I came just to read and get a bite to eat. I ordered a turkey leg sandwich and Kris had the lasagna. My sandwich also came with a little salad and some steak fries. The sandwich came out in little grilled triangles the kind you make with a sandwich press. It was really very good and the little pressed triangles were just cute! Kris’ lasagna was really good. Its hard to find real cheese in China and compared to other lasagna in China this one even had the three kinds of cheese ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan.

For taste Book Worn earns a 10 out of 10. Everything was delicious, well prepared, thoughtful and more than I expected.

For price Book Worm receives half a $ for two people in US dollars.

Over all I give Book Worm a 9 out of 10. Book Worm looses points just because there is room for improvement as far as comfort, facilities, and décor. But it was over all a fun place to visit and a great place to eat.