What's New Restaurants: What Soup

Stroll by a subway station in Hong Kong and you will often see a stall surrounded by steaming cauldrons, exuding a cloud of scents at once delicious and medicinal. The stalls are selling liangtang, or tonic soups, intricate concoctions brewed for hours with traditional Chinese medicinal ingredients to produce a variety of health-giving effects. 

What Soup is aiming to bring a little slice of this Hong Kong culture to Beijing, with a small storefront and soup delivery business based out of Shangdu Soho. What Soup are building on the health-related evangelism that has gripped Beijing in recent years to catch the attention of curious diners, particularly women. The selection of soups on offer changes weekly, and while gentlemen are welcome to indulge, the majority of soups is aimed at the female market, designed to soothe a variety of feminine ills.

Western diners as well should not be put off by the idea of “medicinal” soup. Here the harsher medicinal herbs that often appear in tonic soups have been eschewed in favor of more recognizable elements such as goji berries and wood ear mushrooms. We tried a hydrating soup with pork ribs, chicken feet, pumpkin, and snow fungus (RMB 38 for a sample portion, RMB 168 for four full portions), a lightly sweet and surprisingly filling bowl. It may not be enough for a lunch, but What Soup is worth a try for a different take on the health food trend.

More stories by this author here.

Email: robynnetindall@thebeijinger.com
Instagram: @gongbaobeijing
Twitter: @gongbaobeijing
Weibo: @宫保北京
 

Photos courtesy of What Soup