Dongjiao Memory area, Jianshe South Road
Loading map links...Price: 4.0/5 - Reasonable for its scale and setting. Private room fee 120 RMB (waived if spending 1500 RMB). Dishes range from 28 RMB (vegetable) to 98 RMB (fish, loach) and higher for larger fish heads.Wait Time: 4.0/5 - Normally 15 minutes; on busy days (like Saturday with banquets) about 20 minutes. This is reasonable for a large restaurant.
Dishes
3.5/5 - Mixed quality. Some dishes showed good cooking technique and flavor (e.g., fish head's jelly-like parts, flavorful broth of stone pot fish, crispy loach texture, good fermented chili). However, freshness was an issue for several dishes (frozen fish, non-fresh pork knuckle, farmed loach, pre-torn cabbage) impacting overall texture and flavor penetration. Stir-fried cabbage was notably average.
Service
2.5/5 - Staff were helpful and guided us, willing to provide information. However, staff repeatedly opened the private room door without knocking, which was intrusive and unprofessional. This negatively impacted the dining experience.
Precautions
- Avoid visiting on weekends (especially Saturdays) due to high traffic and potential wedding banquets, which can impact kitchen availability for tours and potentially the freshness of some ingredients due to high volume.
- If you wish to tour the '4D Kitchen,' it is advisable to call ahead and confirm availability, as it might only be open on specific weekdays (e.g., Tuesday or Wednesday).
- Be aware that some dishes, especially those with seafood or specific meats (like fish and pork knuckle), might use frozen rather than freshly killed ingredients due to the restaurant's large operational scale. This could affect texture and flavor intensity.
- If dining in a private room, be prepared for staff to enter frequently and sometimes without knocking, which may compromise privacy.
- Some dishes may not use the authentic, wild-sourced ingredients implied by their names (e.g., '土鳝鱼' not being true wild mud loach). Manage expectations regarding ingredient authenticity.
- Be cautious with highly spicy dishes like the '开门红' (fish head with chili), as the chili's potency can cause coughing or discomfort if you are sensitive to spice.
- The '酱爆包菜' (stir-fried cabbage) may be pre-torn and not as crisp as desired, potentially lacking in overall flavor compared to freshly prepared versions.