For our final meal in Hangzhou, we made it to perhaps the most famous restaurant in Hangzhou: Lou Wai Lou (楼外楼). Established in 1848, the restaurant has over 150 years of experience in Hangzhou cuisine. The name of restaurant means “a building outside another building” and was inspired by an ancient Chinese poem. Lou Wai Lou’s website has very informative information on each of the famous Hangzhou dishes and I will just let it be the history professor.
Stir-fried bamboo shoots (炒甘笋). The least famous dish of the night turned out to be one of the best. The slightly salty sauce matched the texture of the bamboo shoots perfectly. I was more than content with just this dish and a bowl of rice.
The famous West lake vinegar fish (西湖醋鱼). The historical background is here. This was probably the best rendition of this dish I have had. Most places merely fry the fish and smother it in a tangy sauce. But here, the fish skin is crispy, yet well blends into the velvet-like sauce. I didn’t feel overwhelmed by the vinegar, but each flavor stood out on its own and the combination of the flavors makes this a great dish.
Another of the four famous Hangzhou dishes: beggar’s chicken (叫花鸡). The historical background is here. Basically an entire chicken is wrapped, along with some mushrooms and spices, in plastic bag, and then lotus leave, and then covered in mud and cooked in an oven until the mud solidifies.
The server opens the wrapping, cracks open the mud and cuts through the lotus leaves and plastic bag to reveal the splendid chicken.
The chicken was cut up into pieces and the meat was so tender that it fell off the bone of each piece. The flavor of the lotus leave, mushrooms, and even the mud are all infused in the chicken. Definitely the best dish of the night. Lou Wai Lou really has great recipes for the famous Hangzhou dishes. All of the three famous dishes we had during our meal have been copied by countless Chinese restaurants around the world, yet Lou Wai Lou’s versions stand out among all. The beggar’s chicken is the perfect example of how quality chef, by using quality ingredient and time-proven recipe, can command attention with the most common of dishes.
Dongpo Pork (东坡肉). The historical background is here. I was too focused on the spectacular chicken and fish dishes to pay any attention to the pork. Besides, we’ve already had this dish twice on this trip, and I think the best version was the one at Longjing Restaurant.
Lou Wai Lou knocks it out of the park with traditional and perfect renderings of the famous Hangzhou dishes. No wonder people lined up at the restaurant at 4:30PM and it was full by 5PM!
Lou Wai Lou (楼外楼)
33 Gu Shan Road, West Lake District, Hangzhou
西湖区孤山路30号
