The last time we met with Ray Heng, he had just returned from a three-month trip to Chicago, working under the mentorship of top celebrity chef Rick Bayless at the famed Fonterra Grill – arguably the most famous Mexican restaurant in the US.
The experience, Ray explained to us at the time, had changed his entire outlook. So much so, that within a week of being back in the capital he had closed his largest restaurant, El Gran Bocado, on Xingfucun Lu, and set about expanding and rebranding his original enterprise, the comparatively diminutive Sand Pebbles Lounge, on Wudaoying Hutong.
“I was spending far too much time managing too many things, rushing across town, trying to be everywhere at once – and the quality was suffering,” explains Ray. “I needed to do something radical.”
Deciding to close your largest and most prominent restaurant is certainly radical – a sort of ‘losing the battle to win the war’ type strategy. Fortunately, in Ray’s case, it has paid off handsomely. Three months on and Sand Pebbles (since renamed simply ‘Pebbles’) is a hutong transformed.
It’s double the size of the original, with a large colonial-style courtyard and spacious rooftop patio. The design, though markedly more stylish and consciously ‘Mexican’ retains something of the old lounge’s warm, quirky ambience. Many of the restaurant’s idiosyncratic knickknacks remain in place, as does the large Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson poster on the restaurant’s corkscrew stairwell. Pebbles may have been rebranded, but Ray’s still keeping it real.
So what of the food? The enlarged courtyard has also allowed for an enlarged kitchen, resulting in… an enlarged menu. The most popular dishes from El Gran Bocado’s Tex-Mex menu have been carried over, while Pebbles’ more traditional Mexican offerings have been updated and improved – with evidence of Ray’s time under Chef Bayless’ mentorship found throughout. From the zesty salsa verde to the rich enchiladas roja, pretty much everything here is on point.
The tacos are absolutely bursting with flavor, the ingredients carefully sourced and the meat succulent and tender, with the chorizo-con-papa (RMB20) and the carne asada (RMB20) particular standouts. Special mention must also go to the choice of tortillas, that, unlike elsewhere in Beijing, are made using import Mexican corn.
The tamales – still a rarity in this part of the world – are equally impressive. Long a favorite of ours, the new updated variations are even better than we remember. The menu recommends you try the tamales on a Thursday, on account of the restaurant receiving a fresh delivery of masa that same morning. We can attest to that, too – during our Thursday night trip, both the chicken (RMB45) and the pork varieties (RMB45) were zinging – the perfect balance of sweet and savory.
Yet, it remains the burritos, perhaps the biggest in Beijing (honestly, these guys are monsters), that will keep us coming back again and again. We recommend the supreme burrito (RMB78). A Tex-Mex standout from the El Gran Bocado menu, this hunger-busting protein bomb is packed full of chicken breast, bacon, Mexican rice and Monterey Jack cheese. It’s what we imagine The Rock likes to eat after a workout, though in reality, it’s best enjoyed with a classic margarita (RMB56, buy-one-get-one-free on Fridays) after a long day at the office.
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