BananaFish Restaurant Opens Above White Rabbit

BananaFish. Sounds like the call sign of a very silly secret agent. Or a yellow, sub-aqua superhero. It's not. It's a new restaurant above White Rabbit in Sanlitun's Tongli Studios, occupying the former home of China Doll.

The food concept is healthy, Pan-Pacific inspired dishes - think grilled fish, Californian-style salads and sushi rolls. The prices, from what we've seen of the soft launch menu, are very reasonable. A whole grilled mackerel (above) for just RMB 18, a flounder (enough to feed three) for RMB 58, and salads like the San Francisco salad with grilled prawns and a chargrilled steak and rocket salad, both for RMB 28.

The center of the restaurant is dominated by this Robata grill, essentially a fire in the sand, with fish on skewers standing upright and cooking close to the heat source. It's an old-school Japanese method of cooking that seemed to deliver great results on the fish - soft, not overcooked and oil-free. The rest of the interior is cool and contemporary, with heavy wooden tables, smart place settings and a semi-outdoor terrace. Its later than most opening hours should make it a good bet for pre-club dining.

A range of signature sushi rolls (all RMB 38 for eight pieces) include Green Dragon with fried prawns, avocado and crab roe, and the dessert sushi pictured, with avocado, cranberries, banana and mango.

A word on the booze. As well as a decent selection of wines (including a good house red that won't break the bank), there's a custom cocktail list with tropical concoctions like the Love Potion, made with rum, coconot milk and coconut liquor and something else that escapes me, served .... inside a coconut. It's scrumptious and potent in equal measure.

Lastly, adjoining BananaFish we observed another restaurant in the making - Bamboo. It's a Korean BBQ place under the same stewardship as BananaFish. More on that soon.