• 4
• Strange, expensive, fascinating Beijing treasure

I loved the last reviewer's description of this place as "delightfully pretentious." Indeed! A very strange place yet also a blast to visit, and fascinating for a look at that side of Chinese vegetarian culture. First of all, my taxi driver also had a hard time finding it. It's tucked behind a Hanting Express parking lot basically. Once I got into the general area, a squadron of weights said "Lotus? Lotus?" and hustled me in like we were late for a plane. The menu is ridonculous, as mentioned. It is too heavy for some people to lift. It's extremely user unfriendly, yet gorgeous and mysterious. Dishes have strange names and it's very to tell exactly WTF is what. Prices vary wildly, as per the norm; a 30 RMB dish might be sitting next to a 500 RMB one. I had great tofu, fun noodles, the mock dock. It was all tasty, but still pretty pricey compared to other spots. I still enjoyed it though. It's definitely as kitchy as they come. The gold-lame suited blonde-dyed waiters give it a distinctive edge, you could say. It won't be everyone's cup of tea, but others will have a great time.