Local Gem: The Restaurateur Who Turned Her Eatery Into Her Ideal Living Room
Local Gem is an exploration of Beijing’s diverse palate. Get out of your comfort zone and try something new! To share your own neighborhood pride, please contact us via editor@thebeijinger.com
Eat healthily! This is a refrain that people have chanted since the dawn of medicine, but one that becomes increasingly difficult to enact as we become ever more reliant on quick eats, near-daily waimai orders, and dishes that are steeped in oil and heapings of salt. It's certainly not impossible to find restaurants offering healthy, light meals, however many of them may turn up bland, uninspired salads of rinsed vegetables, or it'll cost an arm and leg for a minuscule portion that fails to keep you going throughout the day. The happy medium, of course, is buying fresh ingredients and cooking for yourself at home, although some folks will still insist that they either don't have the necessary know-how or requisite time to get this done. Fear not though, fellow seekers of a balanced diet, for I have happened upon the perfect place to satiate all your healthy meal needs.
Unlike other health food establishments that rely on bright green branding – because, you know, green equals healthy – Lately & Food silently sits on a corner of Soho Shangdu, and with a name that all but obscures exactly what it is they specialize in. In fact, had I not turned my head when descending an escalator on that fateful day, chances are I would've missed it. The restaurant itself has a warm, homey feel complete with bookshelves and a large fridge, though not your average commercial fridge stocked with drinks, but rather one with fresh fruits and dairy products. According to owner Lilian – who cut her teeth in that most noble and taxing of professions as a housewife, before opening her business – Lately & Food is actually the living room pulled straight from her imagination, a place where she can treat her guests to healthy, freshly made food.
When they initially opened last June, Lately & Food exclusively sold salads, but they've since expanded the menu to include whole grain rice and pasta, the perfect comfort food for this exceptionally cold winter. What I most appreciated about the rice set meal was not simply the fact that they actually use real steak, nor was it the ample portion at an affordable price, but the fact that they went out of their way to add several roasted vegetables when most other restaurants would be content to lazily throw a couple of rinsed leaves in the bowl. And not just one or two veggies, but five: eggplant, zucchini, king oyster mushroom, potato, and St. George's mushroom, all of which gave the dish a flavorful aroma while also elevating it visually and texturally. Moreover, it tasted much better than plain boiled vegetables and healthier than anything pan-seared with oil.
After working as a housewife for more than 12 years, Lilian has a wealth of experience in cooking healthy meals for her family. Likewise, her own health condition means she pays close attention to the value of every ingredient. For example, she chooses to use radicchio instead of red cabbage due to its higher nutritional content. What's more, putting an emphasis on healthy recipes doesn’t mean she has to serve "rabbit food," it's simply a matter of figuring out what does and does not work together. The reason you won't find chicken breast on their rice menu – a common staple at most other restaurants – is that the chicken breast will turn out extra dry when eaten with rice, and is only improved when paired with something smoother like pasta.
Lilian understands as well as anyone how difficult it can be to keep fresh veggies stocked at home and also eat them in a timely manner, and she hopes to turn Lately & Food into a place that nurtures a healthy lifestyle for people who live and work in the area. Some of her regulars work out at the fitness center in the same building and she offers 20 percent off for members of a few other gyms, such as mint fitness and V lines gym. For those who work in Soho Shangdu and adjacent buildings, Lately & Food has become a welcome gathering point, a place where they've been able to foster a community around a shared love of healthy eating. Oddly enough, as the restaurant's head hostess and owner, Lilian is a bit shy. However, once she gets going on her spiel, it's clear that her passion for the business is unmatched and she has tons of stories to share. The staff are also full of personality, like the chef who used to work as the maitre in Xinjiang Plaza and have a strong network with indie bands in the town Lilian does not hold any bossy or aloof attitude in front of her employees either, so you may even them having a friendly debate over the new recipes or restaurant decorations like a crosstalk show when the foot traffic is low.
So the next time you finish pumping iron and want to maximize those gains, or your simply craving some delicious and nutritious food, swing by Lately & Food.
2137 1st Floor, North Tower, Shangdu Soho, Chaoyang District
朝阳区尚都北塔1层2137
Hours: 9am to 9pm
Tele: 18910239456
Read: Local Gem: Dragon Meat for the Gods, Donkey Meat for the Rest of Us
Images: Zeus Zou, Lilian
