Dessert is served in a chest with a mirror . It's how it's saved bride's treasure , that is to say, the jewels that she will wear during the link and that were offered to her before the ceremony, in a red box at the time of the Imperial Chinese . Although here they are nothing more than a trompe l'oeil, some imperial rice cakes with tea, lemongrass and the stuffing of red beans with white truffle that are known as tea truffles, to put the finishing touch to the meal in chinese crown.
Replica of the emperor's costume in China Crown.
let us know the chinese specialties and getting closer to the culinary culture of that time is the main purpose of the Bao brothers, Maria Li and Felipe, owners of China Crown , the new restaurant Neighborhood of salamanca , in Madrid . They have been dedicated to gastronomy for more than three decades and, after their success with China Crown in Barcelona, they are now landing in the capital, precisely for that, to give us the opportunity to try ancient recipes until now little known in Spain and, incidentally, show us everything that surrounds them, the rituals that accompany them and history behind each of them.
China Crown, restaurant Madrid
THE EMPEROR'S COSTUME
the interior designer Marisa Gallo she has been in charge of shaping and setting this culinary journey through the Far East that begins right from the entrance. On the bar, there is a piece that represents the spine of a dragon in motion, and in the different corners everything is winks and allusions to this period of the Song dynasty of Imperial China.
Silks, red lacquers, noble woods... were the order of the day; elements that Gallo has managed to update without losing a bit of magic. The walls are decorated with pictures of herons and a framed replica of Emperor Song's costume , and the reserved one, the most special place in the premises, for dinners of up to eight people , presided over by an exact copy of the famous painting by Emperor Song , known as the ' emperor painter'.
Steamed dim sums, according to family recipes
A LETTER FOR THE BRAVE AND TRAVELERS
with own Philip Bao in command of the stoves and Yi Hong Zhao , who has worked in the best restaurants in Shanghai as head chef, has formed a team of chefs who have come directly from China, who have been you can watch them work live in a glassed-in kitchen.
The Chinese Crown letter is a complete manual of culinary anthropology, since it gathers the flavors of each one of the regions that formed the ancient chinese empire during the different dynasties, which have been recovered thanks to an arduous research work by the Bao family. As starters, the Chong Qing-style free-range chicken spicy marinade ; the fortune fish with mango pudding and, above all, the dim sum , which are made following a family recipe with more than forty years to the letter and of which there are, between crunchy and steamed, a dozen varieties. They take out the chest of the shark fin -recipe from the centenary restaurant Huai Yang-, and also of the truffle and spider crab . But pay attention, it's about to fall the crisp of durian , that pestilent fruit that is a true delicacy in Asia, and that can be eaten in very few places in Spain because it requires very specific treatments.
Roasted duck, China Crown's specialty
Durian aside, the absolute star of China Crown is the Beijing Imperial Duck , made according to the recipe of the ancient Chinese courts and served with all its ritual. It is cooked for five hours at a low temperature so that it is lacquered with its own juice, from the inside out, and it is eaten from the most cooked and crispy part to the least. The broth made exclusively with the reduction of the animal's own juice is served, which can be taken before or to finish. As a souvenir, they give you a small "lacquered" wooden duck with the number of those that have been served in the restaurant.
China Crown Baths
Other specialties are crispy spicy with cashew nuts and Sichuan sauce , the beef ribs roasted in its own juices and wrapped in lotus leaf (typical of the Muslim area of the country, to the north).
From the depths of the ocean comes the sea cucumber with chives reduction and maylin soybeans , which captivates the customers of China Crown "daring young people who want to try things", as María Bao explains to Traveler.es, and are encouraged by the marinated jellyfish in soy sauce .
The most daring (and due to the number of them who come out of the kitchen, there are many), are encouraged to give the Imperial Link (a plate of offal with beef tongue and tripe, highly scented, with Sichuan pepper sauce).
In addition to the bride's jewels served in a small chest, other sweets close this space-time journey such as Cantonese French toast with five spices , that although they are not presented in a jeweler, they should.
The one that signs reflected in the chest where the dessert is served.
Address: Calle Don Ramón de la Cruz, 6 See map
Telephone: +34911521572
Schedule: Friday and Saturday: from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and from 8:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. From Sunday to Thursday, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and from 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.
Half price: Between €35 and €45