Great Leap Try Jianbing Brunches, But Do the Results Warrant the Price?
Before digging into Great Leap's new brunch offerings, available 11am-6pm on weekends at their Lido branch, one thought quietly crosses my mind: do we really need an upgraded jianbing? Sadly, Beijing's once ubiquitous street food carts are vanishing as fast as giant luxury malls appear, and souped-up renditions of staple foods are becoming the norm whether we like it or not. So the next questions are naturally: does it outshine the original, and is it worth the extra cost? Well...
We were underwhelmed by Great Leap's spin on the tried-and-tested breakfast classic (which also comes over a year after Peiping Machine released theirs). For starters, two of the jianbing are named after pop culture foodies: the 'Ron Swanson' (RMB 45) after the manly-man Parks and Recreation character, and the 'Miracle Max' (RMB 45) character from The Princess Bride. 'Heidi Fleiss' (RMB 50) however, is named after the notorious '90s high-end LA madam. Why? Apparently, the mornay sauce draws inspiration from the runny egg of a croque madame. Moving on.
Having navigated those inexplicable names, it's the Heidi Fleiss that works best, thanks to a layer of apple butter sauce, adding a hint of sweetness to the otherwise heavy proceedings. It's also the most daring touch among the bunch and sets itself apart from the indiscernible clump of egg, cheese, bacon, and most disappointingly, soggy wonton shells of the other two. With a little more texture (crispier bacon, more robust wonton shells), there's no reason why these couldn't be elevated to suitable brunch options. In their current form, however, they don't touch the all-around crunchy goodness of the RMB 6 OG Beijing edition.
Luckily, two of the less gimmicky brunch items fare much better. The breakfast stromboli (RMB 55) is a hearty wedge of airy dough, stuffed with cubes of sausage meat, bacon, cheese, egg, pepper, and sauteed onion. A side of piquant marinara helps balance out the stodginess.
Similarly, the corned beef hash skillet (RMB 50) is a flavorsome mix of beef, kale, and roasted peppers. Its mornay sauce and poached egg on top trickle down and soak into the ingredients below.
Unfortunately for vegetarians, the beef skillet's meatless counterpart, the veggie frittata (RMB 40), is under-seasoned and slightly soggy on account of the baked spinach and zucchini within. The result: a sad puddle of water at the bottom of the pan at the end.
In all, it's good to see Great Leap experimenting with new, healthier brunch options to attract Lido's more family-oriented crowd. That's likely why there's also a kid-friendly build your own breakfast option from a choice of staples (toast, homefries, bacon, sausage, fruit, salad etc. RMB 8-15 each). However, they'll need to strengthen their core brunch items if they want to get people through the door for anything other than the burgers, pizza, and beer that have treated them so well thus far.
READ: Can This Sanlitun Shop Revolutionize the Humble Roujiamo?
Photos courtesy of Great Leap Brewing
