Adventure #243: 外婆家 Grandma's Home (Hangzhou)

We were up in Hangzhou one rainy weekend to visit the school's campus in Hangzhou. As suggested by the school, we lived near the Wetland Park in Hangzhou. Whilst the hotels near the Wetland Park are near school, there isn't much out there, except for the flagship restaurant of a famous chain in Hangzhou known as Grandma's Home. 

The taxi situation in Hangzhou is not good thus we hardly travelled into the West Lake area.  As a result, we ate most of our meals at Grandma's Home. We tried as many dishes as we can and most of them are very good.

Veggie in fish soup. Yum

Potatoes - a little spicy but so yummy

茶香雞 - Looks a little dry but was very tasty. The little basically devoured the whole chicken!

Can't remember the name of this dish but definitely not 水煮魚 . It was not very spicy and the fish was sweet and tender. Loved it!

Fried fish. Very tasty, not dry at all.

西湖藕韵 - Lotus roots stuffed with glutenous rice. Wonderful starter

外婆紅燒肉 - one of the signature dishes, braised pork. The preserved fish in the dish (I don't think it is for eating) brought out the taste of the pork. Excellent!

This tofu dish is the only dish we thought to be not as good similar ones we have tasted.  A little bland.

龍井蝦仁 - prawns are fresh with a hint of tea.

A noodle dish, I cannot remember the name. I didn't think much of this dish but G loved it. So.....

醬鴨 - braised duck in sauce. A local cold dish hence a must have.

A northern dish, served slightly differently with a dipping sauce. I love spicy so I fished it! Haha

酸菜魚 - Preserved veggie and fish soup.  One of my favourite dishes. The sourness and the saltiness of the veg together with the sweetness of the fish, a wonderfully flavoured soup. A wake up call for the appetite!

Grandma's Home 外婆家
杭州市 西溪天堂旅遊綜合體20號
Tel: 571-8993 7660

Adventure #23: 樓外樓 (Hangzhou)

There are 4 famous restaurants in Hangzhou, 樓外樓, 天外天,山外山 and 知味觀.  And I was told the locals eat at the new comer 外婆家. 

We tried a branch of 知味觀 on the first day.  So, before we left we went to 樓外樓 by the lake.  We were lucky to get a table out on the veranda overlooking the lake.

This is a traditional Hangzhou starter dish - lotus roots stuffed with glutinous rice (sweet)

Had to try the Tongpo Meat again - delicious but personally preferred the one at 味莊



We ordered this because it was a popular dish.  It was supposed to be a fish ball dish but the fish balls were so well made, they melted in the mouth like tofu!



The two famous dishes here are Westlake Vinegar Fish and Beggar Chicken.  Since there were only two of us, we could only eat one, so we opted for the fish.  Kinda taste like sweet and sour fish.  A bit of a waste as the vinegar over-powered the the freshness of the fish.

 



Adventure #22: 28 HuBin Road (Hangzhou)

A friend asked us to try the "pyramid" dish at the Chinese restaurant at Hyatt Regency Hangzhou.  As it turned out, the restaurant is called 28 HuBin Road and the dish is a healthier version of the Tongpo Meat called 招牌扣肉.

This dish was beautifully presented.  Under the pyramid of meat were winter bamboo shoots.  As this was the healthier version, the taste was not as intense.  Good but different.



We also ordered a traditional fish soup 宋嫂魚羹



Then we ordered something which is not a Hangzhou dish but a speciality of the chef Gongpo Chicken.  It was delicious!



We finished with a simple but delicious fried veggy in garlic

Adventure #21: 味莊 (Hangzhou)

Our first meal in Hangzhou was at 味莊 (Wei Zhuang) along Yanggongti 楊公堤.  The concierge at the Four Seasons Hotel strongly recommended this as, in his opinion, this restaurant cooks very good Hangzhou dishes.  We later found out that this is a branch of 知味觀, one of 4 famous restaurants in Hangzhou.



The cold braised duck was very good



Our first Tongpo Meat 東坡肉 on this trip - meat was tender and the sauce thick and sweet....yummm



The crab roe on tofu was heavenly




This dish was by far the best dish - braised fish head

Adventure #20: 烏鎮 Wuzhen

When the kids are away, the parents get to play!  This trip took us to Hangzhou but with a detour to Wuzhen, one of the famous water towns.  First meal there was a simple one - Braised Mutton Noodle but it was delicious. Wonder if it is because we were hungry......



紅燒羊肉麵

For dinner, while wondering the streets of Wuzhen, we came across an interesting little restaurant by the name of 辣 or Spicy.  We decided to give it a try.  Food was delicious!


The spicy and sour fish soup 酸菜魚湯 was excellent



Mutton cooked in boiling oil is also superb



Even a simple fried vegetable dish is good