I was excited to see what appeared to be an authentic Kiwi cafe at 798. A friend and I walked out of our way to visit. Unfortunately, Flat White fell flat.
When I'm paying almost 8 USD for a sandwich, I expect it to be piled high. Unfortunately, there was more bread than turkey, bacon and tomatoes. The cheese was cheap, local and tasteless, not the mouth-watering New Zealand variety I was hoping for. The salad was well-presented with fresh greens, but it was very skimpy on the dressing and also limited in variety. Would a few tomatoes and cucumbers really cost so much extra? Maybe the catch of the day would have been more satisfying, but no fish was on the menu despite it being a busy weekend day, this being the first day of the Beijing Arts Festival.
Also glaringly missing from the menu were the Kiwi cravings I expected to see. No meat pies, a very limited selection of desserts, and hardly any Kiwi concoctions on the menu. All of the above are luscious, and yet rarely seen outside New Zealand. I was hoping for more, but maybe they ran out of room on the menu. After all, it's littered with Chinese dishes like fried rice and sauteed bone-in chicken pieces.
My friend tried the beef burger. The portion was generous, including the fries, and it was entirely capable. However, it was certainly not worth 100 kuai with a cup of tea. Fatburger does a better better for less, even factoring in the cab fare to Liangmaqiao. Beverages were also very expensive, comparable to Starbucks prices. For my part, I opted for a Coke instead, and didn't try the namesake flat white. But no matter. Flat White fell flat, and I won't soon return.
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