Newly-Opened Feast Brings Fancy Meat-Free Dining to Wanda Plaza 

Although Beijing’s vegetarian-only dining options have grown exponentially in recent years (we’re thinking of places like Root Pop and Lin’s Dining Lounge), it can still be hard to know where to take vegetarian guests out for dinner in the capital, particularly if you're looking for somewhere high-end. Thankfully, newly-opened Feast restaurant in Wanda Plaza has taken on the bold aim of filling that gap. 

Feast professes to specialize in creative, refined vegetarian banqueting. Thanks to a team of three executive chefs who have backgrounds in both Chinese and western cuisine (specifically,  Zhao Bin, longtime vegetarian chef; Liu Peng, one of China’s best-known Western cuisine chefs; and Yang Jie, expert in historical cuisine), Feast’s food melds together cooking techniques from around the world. That means you can expect everything from Cantonese-style clear soups to creamy veloutés to puff pastry parcels.

The restaurant is currently offering two different set menus, priced at RMB 518 and 688 per person, both served course by course. The kitchen espouses a low fat, low oil, low salt cooking style, choosing instead to rely on the flavors of the raw ingredients. They don’t throw many carbs in, either, so even though you might end up having eight to ten courses you won’t leave feeling particularly weighed down (or won’t be full enough, depending on your appetite). 

We tried the RMB 688 menu, which seems to boast the highest concentration of “signature” dishes. Our favorites included the eggplant wellington, a meat-free take on the classic beef Wellington, and a deep-fried sweet pepper stuffed with century egg, served with a shiso-flavored vinegar (note that some of the dishes are not purely vegan). Not every dish was so successful. For example, a dish of grilled baby corn with corn foam was, well, grilled baby corn with corn foam, the raw ingredients not necessarily providing enough flavor to stand up to this simple treatment. 

Feast may not be cheap but it is well-suited to special occasions thanks to the set menu format, sculptural subterranean space (which for us brought to mind an art deco ballroom — see lead blog image), and several private rooms. 

Feast
Shop 102, Building 17, 93 Jianguo Lu (Wanda Plaza), Chaoyang District (8620 0250)
席: 朝阳区建国路93号17号楼102商铺

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Photos: Robynne Tindall, courtesy of Feast