Since there are quite a lot of photos, I’ve split this into two posts~~~~~
Grandma’s Home
We visited the Grandma’s Home at Hangzhou Tower Building D. Since we arrived really late and had to wait in line, we didn’t actually get seated and order until 8:30 PM. By then, most of the dishes we wanted were sold out, including Mapo Tofu, Coral Shrimp, West Lake Lotus Root, etc. We kept changing our order, and after much back-and-forth, this is basically what we ended up with….
Dried Tofu: Of the three appetizers we tried to order, this was the only one still available….
Creamy Green Pea Puree: One of their signature dishes. The taste is actually quite good—sweet and creamy.
Tea-Scented Chicken: Another signature dish. I didn’t really detect much tea aroma, though. The top portion was decent, but it got saltier towards the bottom, and by the time we reached the bottom pieces, it was just too salty to handle.
Grandma’s Roast Meat: After having such delicious roast meat and grilled corn at Green Tea Restaurant, I expected something similar here, so we ordered it. Unfortunately, the portion was small with too much fat, and it was way too salty. As for the grilled corn, it was a bit burnt and lacked flavor.
Grilled Eggplant: The seasoning sprinkled on top was just a bit too heavy…
For dessert, we had Red Bean Dumplings. Coming right after the green pea puree, switching to red bean paste tasted pretty good.
Overall, Grandma’s Home offers low prices and average-quality ingredients with relatively strong flavors—in other words, perfect for eating with rice. The service and ambiance are also quite good. Generally speaking, it meets the needs of the general public: flavorful, filling, and affordable.
Longjing Restaurant
I thought the food here was great last time I visited—good quality at reasonable prices. Of course, since they only serve set meals on weekends, those affordable home-style dishes weren’t an option. The cheapest option is the 2-3 person set meal; honestly, the portion size is just right for three people and isn’t too expensive, but for two people, it feels a bit pricey and you probably won’t be able to finish it.
Dried Fish: Well-prepared, tastes great—not too salty, and the meat is tender.
Yellow Peach and Aloe: A side dish you don’t see very often. Luckily, I love both canned peaches and aloe.
New Longjing Shrimp: Essentially Longjing Shrimp, but made with sea shrimp instead. At least this way the shrimp actually has some flavor, and the texture is much better than river shrimp.
Tea-Scented Free-Range Chicken Pot: The chicken soup is excellent, though some of the meat is a bit tough. This should really be categorized as a soup dish.
Braised Pork with Dried Bamboo Shoots
Soy-Roasted Greens: Two standard home-style dishes—nothing special, nothing wrong.
This restaurant is located right next to the Longjing Tea Inquiry spot, at the beginning of Longjing Road. It attracts many tourists on weekends, which is why they only serve set meals on weekends and holidays. If you visit on a weekday, however, ordering a few home-style dishes is very affordable.
Jiangnan Yi
It’s best to make a reservation before going, as all seats on the first floor and outdoors are open for booking and held until 6 PM. Because it was the weekend, when we arrived, the basement level was already full and all upstairs tables were reserved, so we had to queue and wait until 6 PM to see if any reservation holders failed to show up. Given Hangzhou’s weekend traffic, there must be plenty of people who book for 6 PM but arrive late, so our chances were actually pretty good—and indeed, we didn’t have to wait long before we were seated.
Only one staff member handles orders for the entire restaurant, and there are only two tattered, handwritten menus. The whole process goes like this: Person A and Person B look at the menu; once A decides and orders, the menu is passed to C; once B decides and orders, the menu is passed to D, and so on.
Numbing Spicy Chicken: Don’t be fooled by the generous pile of chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns—the chicken is fresh and tender, slightly numbing, and barely spicy at all.
Fermented Bean Curd Spare Ribs: Another signature dish. The portion size has shrunk and the price has gone up compared to before, but thankfully the taste hasn’t changed.
Chicken Feet: A bit spicy, but very tasty.
Scallion-Roasted Pork Chops: Nicely done—it reminded me of Haijinzi and Tongji Cafeteria.
Hot and Sour Cabbage: Slightly sour, not spicy, crisp and refreshing. It pairs perfectly with all those meat dishes we had earlier.
For drinks, we ordered a pitcher of mulberry milkshake, made with fresh mulberries and yogurt—it tasted great.
Photos taken with 5D Mark II + 16-35 f2.8L / 24-70 f2.8L, post-processed in Lightroom 4
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