Second Helpings: Bouquet Bookbar & Café

We went along for second helpings at Bouquet Bookbar & Café. Located in a Xinhua bookstore on Beijing Xi Lu, not only is the venue a library filled with a carefully curated selection of literature, but it also offers hearty meals and an impressive wine list. Their good food, good wine and good living concept has survived in the city because they offer guests a cosy, unpretentious atmosphere where one can delve into a good book, socialise with friends or simply enjoy a quite place for self-reflection.

The homely restaurant harks back to the style of the 1920s and 1930s, with vintagestyle wooden furniture, old photographs and poster prints along with artisan, golden-age relics as decorations. It is a theme followed by many venues in the city, and is so easily made to look tacky, however, Bouquet has expertly navigated its way to a classic, authentic feel. Wall to ceiling bookcases are a main focal point, and the books that line them are not merely gimmicks, customers are able to take them off the shelves to read, and members are able to borrow them.

Bouquet’s dishes draw on influences from around the world, and are dreamed up by Executive Chef Rafael Qing, who fuses European, Chinese and Mexican influences to create an impeccable selection of dishes. The Peking duck pizza (RMB 88 for 8” or RMB 118 for 12”) is one such example of a beautifully executed fusionstyle dish. With a thin crispy base and generous layer of melted cheese, salty yet sweet duck and mountains of coriander, it is a refreshing bite.

Other must-try dishes on the menu include the walnut, blue cheese and endive salad (RMB 58) garnished with tender roast beef and creamy French mustard dressing. We also went giddy for the truffle foie gras mousse served in a mason jar and accompanied by slices of sweet brioche and sour cherry port wine jelly. The slow cooked pork belly (RMB 68), which you package into
lettuce, with a generous slathering of sweet and sour sauce, is also a stroke of genius.

We were lucky enough to sample dishes from the special Christmas Eve dinner menu (RMB 285 per person, including 4 dishes and a glass of wine). On the menu is the best, and probably the only, orange squash soup we have ever tried, which was sweet, tangy and savoury in equal measures. There is also roasted flounder served sizzling in the pan with large mussels, bright broccoli with a rich tomato sauce. You can finish off proceedings with chocolate mousse accompanied by a prune compote and ginger crisp. The perfect way to spend your Christmas Eve this year.

Bouquet Bookbar & Café. 3/F, Xinhua Bookstore, 1829 Beijing Xi Lu, near Wanhangdu Lu. Tel: 3372 7600. Web: www. bouquet-bookbar.com