Kunming Dreaming: Private Yunnan Cuisine in Little Dongcheng

Restoring siheyuan into hidden, fashionable must-visit hotspots seems to be something of a trend in this city. Beyond the Susus and Great Leaps of Beijing, there is Wuchanju. Socked a little ways up an anonymous hutong in the midst of Jinbao Jie, this Yunnan private kitchen is an oasis of edibility in a desert of high-rises. Wuchanju offers RMB 128, RMB 200 and RMB 500 set menus, and all diners in a given party must purchase the same option. Spend a little more, and you’ll get to try some rarer wild mushrooms, flown in fresh from Yunnan.

They’re not shy on the spice here. The mugua zhuyu features fish with green papaya, swimming in thick, flavorful soup. It glides in the mouth, hot, savory, sour and sweet all at once, with buttery chunks of fish-flesh. The cold eggplant entrée is another definite highlight, a spicy, shocking contrast to the mild shoubo sun (hand-peeled bamboo) that came before. Uniform logs of eggplant are stacked in a sauce of soy, garlic, parsley and chilli oil. All common seasonings, but executed uncommonly well. We finished that, went wild over some caramelized mushrooms, and found that we still had nine more dishes to finish, plus a bowl of rice noodles (mixian) each.

Wuchanju is a bit of a gamble. Though the daily rotating menu ensures that you’ll never be bored, there are a few dishes that are just okay. However, the generous number of dishes in each set will ensure a couple of "wow" moments, and the environment is absolutely beautiful.

Wuchanju
Daily 11am-11pm. 67 Dayabao Hutong (off Jinbao Jie), Dongcheng District (6559 4158)
无禅居, 东城区金宝街大雅宝胡同67号

Photos: Susan Sheng