China World Mall has a ‘gorgeous view’ of the CCTV Building, and we have seen it plenty of times.
The new mall opened in March. Now it’s September. Since then, we’ve been visiting regularly, as restaurants throughout have opened, piecemeal (see our review of Migas,September; our review of F Bistronome, June; our review of Atta BJ, June). If you’re a regular reader, you get it: The view is cool and stuff!
But now, there are so many restaurants with this view, that the view itself is no longer noteworthy enough for us to tell you to go somewhere. A restaurant needs to have that view, plus something else attractive.
Like dinosaur bones. Or those hip floating egg tank things. Or, I dunno, good food?
What we’re trying to say is: Hana has that obscenely ubiquitous good view of the CCTV Building. But more importantly, it’s got grub to make us go, yeah, That’s Beijing readers, totally go there.
Hana is the new concept by beloved Cali-style sushi chain Hatsune. And while there are rolls (and they’re delicious), this place hews more Japanese than Californian. We sample a rainbow platter of different sashimis, simple yet delicious cooked okra and chewy udon noodles before indulging in three fresh oysters (RMB145 for the set), each topped with something different (the best being a soft-boiled egg).
Meanwhile Hana’s shrimp tempura, whose prawns come wrapped in seaweed and then battered, are the most refined take on fried food we can think of. Our favorite is a simple scallop (RMB108), which comes glistening atop a sheet of nori.
Hana is a bit more upscale than Hatsune, but still relaxed – our elegant fresh seafood comes from the same menu as Tokyo street-style bowls of ramen (RMB56, we don’t need to tell you ramen is great, right?). And the atmosphere is casual enough for groups of friends, and nice enough for romantic dates.
Meanwhile, a private room in the corner has a spectacular – you guessed it – view. And we’re willing to bet that, even if you’ve seen it a million times, a bottle of sake here will make it look new again.
See a listing for Hana and read more Beijing Restaurant Reviews
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