New Italian Restaurant Simply Fresh Offers More than Modern Delicious Italian Fare
Even though it's hidden on the second floor of the China Overseas Plaza at CBD, Simply Fresh is not a grab-and-go lunch restaurant for busy working bees nearby – it’s a place to sit down, appreciate the food and the relaxing atmosphere with a long meal in a casual yet modern atmosphere.
Greeted by fresh flowers, paintings, and artistic accents, we walked in an immediately noticed the vibrant vibe. Finally, a restaurant is embracing the bright colors of life instead of adhering to the minimalist style that's so popular these days. There's no way the decor of this restaurant could be described as boring or lazy, unlike some establishments that keep the style calm and featureless. The key color tones are white, light grey, and black, brightened up with fresh flowers and plants everywhere, and paintings along the wall from Chinese artist Zhang Changjiang up for sale.
It seems Simply Fresh is quite modest, though not simple at all. Just softly opened less than a couple of months ago, the dishes are executed by master chef Giovanni Young, who was born and raised in Italy, and has worked for several famous Michelin-starred restaurants, such as Osteria Francescana, The Restaurant, and Enoteca la Torre. The sauces, breads, and desserts are made in-house by Young to maintain their consistency and quality. The menu features a wide selection of authentic Italian cuisine with modern twists, including five salads (RMB 38-88), creative starters (RMB 48-88), soups (RM 38-88), different varieties of pasta and risotto (RMB 58-108), mains (RMB 88-288), Australian Angus steaks (RMB 228-888), and desserts.
Kicked off with organic sunny-side-up egg (RMB 48) on top of porcini besciamella sauce (white sauce made from butter and flour), it was served with asparagus and truffle sauce to bring out the earthy flavor.
As for the staples, the ravioli with black bisque in candy shape (RMB 128) was more than just literal eye candy – the juicy prawn filling was bursting with umami flavor. We also liked the spinach & ricotta cheese gnocchi (RMB 78) which is also vegetarian – it was lightly flavored with taleggio cheese sauce, and crisp green cabbage. Blacktail prawn linguine (RMB 98) had a nice and spicy kick with abundant zucchini and pepper, benefitting from the house-made bisque which took hours to make.
We enjoyed the fried smoked lamb tenderloin (RMB 128), which had a crispy exterior from the deep-frying encasing the powerful and tender lamb and lively with marinated button mushroom which was cooked with white wine, and truffle sauce. People say Italian food is all about passion, which we could certainly taste in this dish.
Some of you may know that we have a thing for lava cake (RMB 68), and we couldn’t get enough of the lava cake here. It is made with 70% Valrhona black chocolate and baked to perfection – not too sweet yet rather indulgent. Nothing compares to the excitement we felt when the dense and gooey chocolate center came oozing out slowly. It seems a lot of patrons share our feelings, as we were told that it's the best seller here.
The space is quite airy with high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows. The tailored chairs are so comfortable that your arse will be glued to the chair for hours (hence our advice to go there for a long lunch), thanks to the furniture designed by Chinese brand Zaozuo.
Aside from the a la carte menu, you can choose the weekday lunch set for RMB 98 (per person) including a choice of starter and main course, or try the three-course tasting menu, including signature dishes such as crab zucchini salad or mushroom soup, a choice between ravioli, fried smoked lamb tenderloin, or red snapper, with pannacotta and coffee or tea for RMB 228 per person. We were happy to see the delicate execution of the dishes and will come back to try more (after payday). Thanks Simply Fresh, for filling the gap and bringing passion from Italy to the CBD.
Simply Fresh
Daily 10.30am-2.30pm, 5.30-10pm, afternoon tea 2.30-5.30pm. 2/F, North Tower, China Overseas Plaza, 8 Guanghua Dongli, Chaoyang District (5290 3887)
馥遇餐厅：朝阳区光华东里8号院中海广场北楼2层
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Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
Twitter: @flyingfigure
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Photos: courtesy of Simply Fresh, Tracy Wang
