4 Hearty Dishes to Try on The Roots' New Autumn Menu

“If you squint you can see Guomao,” Antoine Mansuy quips with a sly grin while pointing out the window of his restaurant, The Roots, which is located as far from the CBD as many snooty Chaoyang Beijingers can imagine – in the southern suburb of Yizhuang. And yet despite the restaurant’s far-flung locale, The Roots could go toe to toe with almost any midrange comfort food Beijing restaurant in far more hyped neighborhoods like Sanlitun, the CBD, Liangmaqiao, and Gulou. That’s because Mansuy – an expat who grew up in the French countryside, where cooking was part of daily life, and where his grandmother’s kitchen was the hub of family gatherings – takes great care to layer subtle details in his seemingly straightforward homestyle grub.

If you find yourself in that frequently overlooked but increasingly burgeoning suburb (where mammoth firms like JD.com now call home), The Roots is certainly worth a visit. Here our favorite dishes from their newly upgraded autumn/winter menu.

Smoked salmon salad (RMB 42)
This simple yet delectable item will make you want to forget all about surf and turf and dive into seafood salad instead. That’s because the smoked salmon here isn’t just diced up into pink chunks in a style you’d find anywhere. The more creative rendition here is dry, salty, and fine to the point of being a condiment. Indeed, if you eat the meat on its own it’ll have quite a strong bite, but mixing in with the leafy greens makes for a varied, salty, deep sea delight.

Winter salad (RMB 32)
Instead of being comprised of light greens that fail to suffice in Beijing’s frigid winter, or relying on meat or fish to give a warming heft, this salad instead has veggies like oranges and, pumpkin, and beetroots rendered rich and hearty with their colors deepened by charcoal. That technique helps the salad fill you up and stick to your ribs. It’s rounded out by glossy leaves called chuanxinlian (穿心莲, better known as green chiretta in English), a substitute for the sorrel that Mansuy would have used in this salad back home, and one of the best examples of how he seeks out local ingredients to maintain freshness and low prices. Another highlight on this already impressive salad: the roasted caramelized orange, which you can squeeze for a natural and healthy yet irresisably delicious dressing.

Peri Peri Roasted Chicken (RMB 22)
Ahh, the fried chicken. It may seem ever-so-simple, but a few subtle flourishes elevate it to the best dish on the menu. Prime example: it’s cracklingly crispy exterior, which can be attributed to Mansuy’s top-notch Josper oven that gets this poultry piping hot and ready to be served. The plump, juicy, and saliva-inducing meat beneath that scorched skin gives a contrast that makes this wholesome dish more complex and satisfying than you’d initially assume.

Chargrilled pork ribs (RMB 128)
Though tough to compete with the chicken, this hulking order of ribs is by no means a letdown. The tender meat is made all the more memorable by a Thai lemongrass marinade that gives it a Southeast Asian twist in the aftertaste that adds complexity and mild spiciness.

Our abundant meal was rounded out by other highlights such as satisfying pesto pasta with roasted veggies, a sprawling and sumptuous seafood paella, a very hearty pasta with broccoli and homemade sausage (pictured in the lead image above) and tea with sage. That latter boasts a unique combination of Asian herbs that Mansuy happened upon by accident while experimenting with ingredients, resulting in a surprise success because it’s purple color and flavor deepens every time you top it up.

Indeed, these creative elements and the value for money make The Roots not only a hidden gem in Yizhuang, but also one of the best midrange Western restaurants in Beijing.

READ: Yi... Where? You’ll Never Guess Where Barista Speciality Opened Their New Branch

Photos: Uni You, Antoine Mansuy