The Asian cuisine craze that swept much of the
Western world has landed on Beirut’s Mediterranean
shores. Over the past few years, a number of
Asian restaurants have sprouted throughout the city,
promising to turn Beirut into the future culinary capital of
the Middle East.
The newest and trendiest of Beirut’s Asian restaurants is
undoubtedly Indochine. Conceived by hotshot Chinese American
designer Tony Chi, who was inspired by Vietnam’s
French colonial era, the restaurant is a visual feast of
soft ivory, pistachio and peach colors amidst a profusion of
verdant tropical plants. Princess Minh Kim, who manages
the restaurant, set her sights on Beirut after two successful
restaurant ventures in Paris and Brussels. Although
Indochine offers Vietnamese cuisine, the dishes – all based
on Princess Minh Kim’s secret recipes – are unique to the
restaurant. The most popular items include fondue of beef
with vinegar, shrimp fried on sugarcane sticks, banana flower salad and grille<!
seabass with turmeric.
Compared to other
Beirut restaurants, Indochine
is reasonably
priced. There are two
prix-fixe menus that
cost LL35,000 and
LL41,000 each, or the
slightly more costly a la
carte options. lndochine
also offers three-course
business lunches including
a glass of wine for
$25 per person.
The Blue Elephant
specializes in sophisticated
Thai cuisine.
Accessible via a wooden
staircase, and bathed in
appealing dark wood, the
restaurant is divided into
cozy alcoves best suited
for intimate conversation
or a romantic dinner for
two. Favorite dishes here
include spicy prawn
soup and a delectable
chicken curry. Make sure to save room for the Star of Siam,
a decadent blend of Thai sweets with mango, papaya and
other tropical fruit. Like Indochine, Blue Elephant offers a
three-course lunch for businesspeople that costs between $25
and $35. Dinner is a bit pricier at $35 to $45 per person. Tuesday
is Ladies’ Night, which means that each male-female couple
gets a 50% discount off their bill.
If Vietnamese and Thai are not your forte, try Jardins de
Chine. The six-year-old institution, owned and managed by
Fadi Abou Jaoude, continues to entice diners with its
exquisite Chinese cuisine. Open for dinner only, Jardins de
Chine offers mouthwatering
specials such as
beef with black pepper,
crispy chicken with yellow
bean sauce and even
dim sum (steamed or
fried dumplings). The
toffee cheese and banana
served with ice cream is a
perennial dessert
favorite. The prix-fixe
menu, which costs
LL45,000, offers eight
varied dishes and dessert.
There are also less costly
a la carte options.
