Grandma's Kitchen, Hangzhou

In need of some traditional cooking, we made our way to Grandma's Home/Grandma's Kitchen.

We were prepared for a long wait since this is a very popular restaurant, but got lucky and only waited for 15 minutes.  It was after 8pm, maybe that was the reason.

 There is a computer at the entrance where one can register for a table.  We just gave our name to the girl inside the lobby, she in turn handed us a paper with our number on it. 

As we waited outside, we kept our eyes glued to the screen in the lobby showing the ticket numbers.  When our number came up, the lobby girl gave us the number of our table and we took the elevator to the 8th floor.

The numbers are on the edge of each table.

I really liked the design of the restaurant.  It was creative in the use of old jars with words scribbled on them, chalk like drawings on the walls and bamboo beams creating a roof above us.  

 The menu was in Chinese but we were grateful to be handed a wonderful book with photos of all the dishes served at the restaurant.  Not only were the photos beautiful, but what a fantastic idea to have something to make it easier for the tourists!  We had so much fun looking at all the different options and were able to order exactly what we wanted. 

This was one snazzy Sprite can.

  My husband started out with soup which he said was very good.

 I have read that one of the most famous dishes in Hangzhou is the Longjing shrimp.  This was the place to taste the famous dish.
  Longjing green tea which grows by the West Lake in Hangzhou, is one of the most famous teas in China.  The tea leaves are roasted right after picking,  that stops the oxidation process which is part of creating black teas.  Longjing tea has an intensely fragrant body, a yellow-green color and a refreshing taste. 

 The shrimps are stir fried in a bit of oil, the tea is added towards the end of the cooking process.  Our dish came with an additional bowl of tea that we poured over the shrimp.  This was a really delightful, delicate and flavorful dish.  

we also enjoyed spicy beef with vegetables.

scallion pancakes, which were delicious and crispy.

 These noodles were spectacular, the consistency was so perfect and the texture so interesting, they just seemed to glide on the tongue. 

This was not our dish.  Two young men seated near us saw that I was admiring what they ordered.  They invited me to take a photo and to even have a taste. 

This was a delicious dinner, a fun experience with a prompt and very friendly service.

Grandma's Kitchen
1 Wulin Square
Hangzhou

Joanna