10 | Thursday, October 3, 2019 CHINA DAILY HOLIDAYTRAVEL
From left: Yu Restaurant in Beijing; Ultraviolet Shanghai; 42Play. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY SHAPING THE TASTE OF THE NATION China’s gourmands and gourmets can revel in the epicurean delights offered by these metropolitan purveyors of fine fare
By YANG FEIYUE and to let people cherish their vision by LI YINGXUE experiencing losing it for a meal. [email protected] Dozens of blind people have worked here as pianists or waiters. But for estaurants have long not just them, being outside or inside the settled for pushing the envel restaurant makes no difference. ope of foodie’s palates, and The food in the dark zone is set many have developed their meal from Western cuisine and there Rown eccentricities to tickle the cus is also a bright zone serving Japanese tomer’s visual and auditory senses. So, cuisine. one might as well get more bang for the buck by visiting some of those The Train Inn Shanghai innovative restaurants. Huochezhan, or the Train Inn, is a space with railway carriages that com 42Play bines a cafe, bar, restaurant and hotel The place sits in the center of the in Shanghai — so diners can sit and CBD area in the capital and integrates relive the history of the last century. live performance, catering and par A steam locomotive made in Tang ties. One can get access to original shan, Hebei province in 1972, and stage shows of different genres, three softsleeper compartments including sketches, standups and made in Germany in the 1960s, a din improv comedies, while sipping wine ing lounge carriage plus a hardsleep with friends. Performers all have years er compartment made in China in of show experience and deliver 1970 — all the train carriages are delightful and unforgettable shows. green. They were gradually replaced Film salons and interactive work by China’s highspeed trains in white. shops are hosted to help urban resi The dining lounge carriage has the dents make friends and bond. As for same decoration as in the old days, food, 42Play boasts special recipes with simple chairs and tables. One that pay attention to nutrition and are carriage is decorated in keeping with diverse enough to satisfy different the style of the Orient Express, repre tastes. Be sure to try its Thai curry senting European tastes of the 1930s. chicken with pickled bamboo shoots, The food combines many Chinese the pork chop hamburger with Amer cuisines such as Shanghai and Can ican blueberry and the beef cheese tonese, besides showing off the crea burger. For wine lovers, 42Play has a tivity of the chefs. wide collection. One can opt for its Shrimp in three ways is the restau special cocktails or craft beers. Don’t rant’s signature dish — the head is miss the desserts and the coffee if you made with tomato sauce, the body is still have room. fried in dough and the tail is deep fried. The Beijing Parade Clockwise from above left: Carabineros de huelva, a main dish by The restaurant offers Peking Opera Ultraviolet Shanghai; crunchy fierce salad by Ultraviolet Shanghai; Ultraviolet Shanghai and a good view of Chang’an Avenue. Cracking Drummer, a dessert by Blue Note Beijing. It has a single table of 10 seats only One can take in the modern metropo PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY and a 20course avantgarde set menu lis vibe of Beijing and the historical every night. All the guests sit together. elements from the Minguo period And the experience begins. Food (191249). The Peking Opera perform shores of the lakes and the sides of shows the image of a beach, when din leads. Dinner unfolds as a sensory ance is staged on a central platform mountains at the front of the room. ers talk or clap, the louder the sound, play choreographed by chef Pairet every night and takes guests back to The tables are covered in fluttering the larger the waves. The images on and the Ultraviolet team. The new the old times, while savoring the deli sakura petals. The restaurant plays the background of the bar section are threestar Michelin restaurant, Ultra cate food. The roast duck, hand with the light and imagery in such a more abstract and change following violet is an experimental restaurant in chopped bean curd, fried hairtail, pot way that the floor seemingly rises to the hand movements of guests. The Shanghai. Billed as the first multisen noodles and homecooked radish are change the view, which some may food at the restaurant features fresh sory restaurant in the world, Ultravio all worth trying. The Beijing Parade find it a little dizzying if they are ingredients from around the world let uses sight, sound and smell to has also developed 36 types of ban standing up. For the whole meal, din and is prepared using traditional Jap enhance the food through a con quets, each representing different sta ers are immersed in an environment anese cooking methods. trolled and tailored atmosphere. ges of life, such as birthdays and created by light and shadow at the The dining room of Ultraviolet is weddings. Lighting is also used to cre Beijing restaurant. The restaurant is Trojan Fairy Beijing ascetic with no decor, no artifacts, no ate a sense of occasion, and a photog decorated with different kinds of Based on the story of Troy, the Tro paintings, and no views. It is a pur rapher will take pictures of the guests. tional cooking methods are mixed Ukrainian chefs and the liquors are imagery and light, some of which can jan Fairy restaurant aims to turn posebuilt room specifically equipped with a modern approach to optimize from Ukraine. The songs and TV epi be controlled by the diners by using diners into ancient Greek warriors. with multisensory highend technol Blue Note Beijing taste and visual experiences. sodes shown are Ukrainian. And live motion or sound. The twostory res The eating area is all dark. Before ogy such as dry scent projectors, stage The restaurant covers an area of performances are available through taurant has four sections — the upper the dinner, shiny items are stored in and UV lighting, 360degree wall pro 3,000 square meters and offers live Kievruss Restaurant out. Guests can opt for a set meal for floor is for Japanese barbecue, and the lockers, and diners enter into the jection. Each course of the menu is music performances, gourmet food This Ukrainian restaurant sits in two or four, which basically cover all lower floor comprises a room for tep room in single file with their hands dressed up by lights, sounds, music, and wine. The Blue Note Jazz Club Beijing’s Haidian district and is an the classics. panyaki, a lounge bar and a dining on the shoulders of the person and enhanced with its own tailored came from New York and then made ideal window for one to get an insight room for creative kaiseki. Each sec ahead as they are guided by a waiter atmosphere to provide context for the its way to Japan and Italy. The Beijing into Ukrainian culture. Elements Yu Restaurant in Beijing tion has its own special effects. The who wears nightvision devices. dish’s taste. Ultraviolet incorporates facility insists on food without bor from Ukraine are seen everywhere in You feel like you have entered a background of the teppanyaki room From sitting down, to how to use technology traditionally used in unre ders, with a focus on continental the restaurant, from decorations, dish world of sakura. Sakura trees sway is a collection of interactive cityscapes knives and forks to eat in the dark, all lated fields to drive and control the recipes. The menu varies with seasons styles and performances at the restau in front of Japanese style houses on and scenic spots from around the the instructions come from the waiter. “psycho taste” and enhance the per to give diners fresh ingredients. Tradi rant. All the food is prepared by either side of the tables and line the world. For instance, if the screen One purpose of the restaurant is ception of food.
Digital Solutions said Alipay payment facilitator, Alipay is ideally remains as one of the preferred pay positioned as a marketing platform, Chinese tourism sparks Alipay boom in Brunei ment methods for the Chinese out being able to reach out and engage bound tourist with about 99 percent its users through digital channels BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN — pay Payment System in August. hotel from China, will ask for Alipay Thus, the number is increasing,” outbound Chinese travelers are Ali more effectively driving more traffic Since its launch in Brunei at the end According to the hotel, the deci and that time the hotel staff had no Mohd Iswandi said. pay users according to statistics in to the merchants’ storefront and of May this year, the number of busi sion to install Alipay was due to idea what is Alipay. I myself have no “This month, a direct Beijing 2018. allowing them to realize better reve nesses accepting Alipay payment strong demands from their Chinese idea either,” Mohd Iswandi Bandar Seri Begawan flight has Since launching its mobile pay nue opportunities,” Denny said. from Chinese visitors is on the rise. guests. explained. been launched. From October to ment acceptance solution to market “With Mulia Hotel now on board Alipay is the world’s largest Industry sources indicated that “So, when we had our meeting December 2019, there are four at the end of May, BEEP Digital as Chinesetouristsfriendly hotel mobile payment platform and pri more hotels in the country are with the Brunei Tourism Board, the weekly flights from Beijing to Ban Solutions has already activated having its commercial establish marily used by Chinese people as expected to join Alipay, primarily Minister of Primary Resources and dar Seri Begawan, and starting Jan about 50 merchants, mostly in tour ments being able to accept Alipay their paperless payment culture in due to increasing Chinese tourists. Tourism, Dato Ali asked us to uary 2020, there will be daily flight.” ists hotspots such as the airport and Mobile Payments, it is hoped that China and abroad. The director of operation of Mul engage with the Alipay team in Bru “We are preparing for the influx. downtown areas, which are already other hotels in the country would Through a partnership with Ali ia Hotel, Mohd Iswandi who is also nei. Upon finding out, we engaged In 2018, the Chinese are fast becom facing Chinese visitors such as the also follow suit to serve their Chi pay, BEEP Digital Solutions Sdn the newlyelected president of the with BEEP Digital Solutions, and ing international travelers and they SBC Duty Free Shop at the airport, nese customers better. With an Bhd, a local Bruneian fintech start Brunei Association of Hotels, told now we become the first hotel to spent hundreds of billions of dollars Hua Ho Supermarket and Depart increasing base of merchants up, can offer local Bruneibased Xinhua that from last year’s install the payment system,” he add on holiday travel overseas. Cashless ment Store in One City Mall, SKH already taking up the payment solu merchants the ability to undertake inhouse classification report, Mul ed. payment is already a culture in Chi Supermarket in Annajat Complex tion, BEEP Digital Solutions is also transactions with Chinese custom ia Hotel received around 8,000 “According to the Brunei Tourism na, and Alipay is at the forefront. and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in One working with local stakeholders ers using their Alipay Mobile Wallet. guests from China, and this year Board, there were 60,000 Chinese Thus facilitating our honored guests City Mall. such as Brunei Tourism Board and There are now more than 50 mer between January to July, the hotel arrivals to Brunei last year. We only with their preferred payment sys “In Brunei, there is a need to fur the Brunei Association of Hotels to chants in the country equipped to has already received 14,867 guests accommodated 8,000 of them. This tem such as Alipay is only logical,” ther facilitate local spending by the further capitalize on the China accept Alipay. Mulia Hotel, one of the from China, a big jump of more year may reach 80,000 tourists from he further explained. Chinese with Chinese tourists opportunity.” oldest hotels in the sultanate, became than 50 percent. China. We already received more Denny Muslim, director and chief already topping the tourist arrivals the first hotel in Brunei to install Ali “Most tourists, checking in to our than 14,000 from January to July. strategy and product officer at BEEP into Brunei. Beyond being just a XINHUA