The Grandma's

Hangzhou, China

Only staying for one night in Hangzhou, we weren't expecting much. Little did we know, Hangzhou is a foodie city in China, and somewhere we will have to definitely come back to. We asked the concierge to recommend a place for dinner and she said "Grandma's, it's a local chain but very good." We headed over at 5:30 PM expecting to walk right in, but to our surprise were met with a crowd of about fifteen people. By the time we were heading upstairs to be seated a half hour later, the line had doubled on a Tuesday night!

The menu was vast, filled with a plethora of options, ranging from simple snacks like peanuts to entrées like begger's chicken . The beautiful menu pictures combined with the fragrant aroma only made it only more mouthwatering. We started with a Calamansi Lime drink, large, cold and cooling.

Calamasi drink

We started off with a Vegetarian duck appetizer. It is wheat gluten that is used as a meat alternative. Not a normal pick, but a solid dish. I personally prefer the real thing.

Vegetarian duck

Next was Grandma's pork belly which had cured salted fish bites in the oily saucy goodness. A delectable massive piece of pork belly oozing with fat and gravy. It was awesome.

Pork Belly with Salt cured fish.

Next was the highlight of the meal, prawns. Sort of a sweet black peppery sauce blended into really high quality crustacean. It is general belief that the best portion of a prawn is its head. You break off the head and suck out the juices.  If you've done it with poor quality seafood, the head juices tastes bitter and off putting. For this dish, the sweetness and flavor from the heads were top notch. There were probably thirty pieces in this dish and it still left me wanting more.

Excellent prawns in sweet black pepper sauce.

Next up, obligatory veggies, which we selected as lotus root. It was crisp, spicy and scrumptious.

Lotus roots

Our last dish, which we didn't realize was a dessert was a seven item rice. We thought it would be the rice to accompany our meal, but were not served it until all the other items were nearly done. Filled with red beans, peas, lotus roots, Lima beans mixed in glutinous sweet rice, the item was unique. I wouldn't eat it as a dessert, but with some oily sauce from the pork belly, we finished about half. 

Seven item rice

Overall, with the large menu, cheap prices and excellent quality ingredients, the meal was successful, making me want to return for a visit. 

Rating: 7.5/10

July 13, 2010

Bonus Hangzhou Bites

While walking to Grandma's we passed a breakfast shop that sold Bau and dumplings. We walked back here for a to-go breakfast before our morning flight. It was damn good. Everything shown below was about $2 USD for piping hot items and a line worth waiting in the rain for.

Soy Milk, dumplings, doughnut, Red Bean Bau, Leek Bau, and Sesame ball