Go Tiago for More than Just Great Business Lunches

Here it is. I finally made it to Tiago Home Kitchen, on the first floor of indigo. I can’t count how many times that I've been holding a coffee from the Costa or Starbucks across the way, peering at this modern Italian restaurant. With the clean glass wall, wooden tables and leather sofas, Tiago has quickly become a well-known spot for business lunches in the Jiangtai area.
 

We ordered the carpaccio di salmon affumicato for RMB 58, the salmon not so salty as to overpower the pizza. Dashed with olive oil, the dish almost fooled me into thinking it was healthy. We also went with the wild mushroom salad for RMB 48, the sliced mushrooms were still warm upon serving and the fried chopped garlic added a good kick.

Other dishes worth trying are the rustica-parma mushroom truffle pizza and the Peking duck and spring onions pizza. In the latter, the spring onions were raw and fresh, and the tomato sauce is substituted for tangy plum sauce. The truffle pizza also proved delicious, using excellent quality prosciutto di parma. Seeing as it's the most popular dish here according to the Dianping users, I wasn't the only one to enjoy it.
 

If you happen to be in the mood for steak, there are five different slabs to choose. The Angus Tomahawk steak (Australia 150-day grain-fed) goes for RMB 588 for 1kg, or rib-eye, mega-round and oyster blade cuts, ranging from RMB 168-259. Sometimes in Beijing chefs are shy to cook the steak to the customer's liking, often overcooking it. Don’t be afraid of this problem here, where the steak is cooked to perfection, allowing you to enjoy the pink meat inside with a hint of blood, served with Himalayan pink sea salt and black pepper.
 

The Segafredo tiramisu (RMB 39) ranks the second most popular dish among reviewers on Dianping. It proved huge and not too sweet, perfect for dessert lovers who aren’t into overly sweet things or are watching their weight (or want to trick themselves). “Even it doesn’t look good, it tastes great,” says one guy who challenged himself to experienced 24 restaurants in one day on chengmi.com.

Additionally, the service was wonderful – the always-smiling waitresses were attentive and always happy to top up our water without being asked. All in all, I was delighted to finally experience Tiago sans coffee in hand.

More stories by this author here.

Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
Twitter: @flyingfigure
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Photos: Tracy Wang