Obentos Recruits Warm Salads, Soups, and Curry to Kill Our Winter Chills
With the rapid descent into the smog-filled freeze hole that is Beijing's winter, venues across the city scramble to prepare winter menus that will nourish and warm us from within. In keeping with their usual focus on balanced but filling meals, Obentos has released their latest winter arsenal to keep the chills at bay.
Perhaps the most addictive thing since, well, chips and dip, Obentos have created an altogether healthier version in the form of lightly seasoned deep-fried lotus root coupled with a creamy guacamole. Watch these disappear before you can even say...
... Belly Warming Salad (RMB 58)! Yes, a "warm salad" may not in itself sound so appetizing. Yet chunks of pumpkin as well as whole baby carrots, red cabbage, broccoli, kale, and roasted pine nuts tossed in a Japanese-style dressing and topped with a gooey onsen egg make this a hearty meal for one or a great sharing option alongside a beefier option like...
Andy's Mum's Curry Grain Bowl (RMB 58)! Named after owner Andrew Stevenson's mum, and indicative of its made-at-home style, this packed bowl of pumpkin, potato, carrot, lotus, and eggplant in a rich Japanese curry sauce is both filling and healthy (add beef to make it even bulkier). The pieces of fermented lotus root make for a nice palate cleanser between spoonfuls of thick curry. For something a little lighter, try the...
... Smokey and spiced bento, including grilled lemongrass chicken balls in a hot spiced tomato-based miso sauce (RMB 60). These balls of chicken meat are melt-in-your-mouth tender. While its sauce was a tad too sweet for our liking, it makes for a fine condiment for Obentos' signature vegetable and mushroom rice, which never goes amiss. Couple with sides of spinach and boiled vegetables and you have yourself a combo that may just leave enough room for...
... a slice of matcha cheesecake. Creamy and indulgent, with a smashed biscuit base, this cake is worth a trip to Obentos alone.
Finally, a bit of good news for Lido diners: construction is well underway for a new branch of Obentos, set to open by the end of the year in the new Shang Li project in the Nuo Jin office tower (joining the rumored new Great Leap). If it's anything like our visit to this Grand Summit branch during a weekday lunch, the new venue will no doubt be teeming with diners on the hunt for Obentos' own warming brand of Japanese-tinged health food.
This city changes fast. Stay up to date with Beijing's latest restaurant openings and closings, right here.
Photos: Tom Arnstein
