A quick ride from the main drag of Huanshi Dong Lu and Taojin Lu takes you to Taihegang. Popular with the Russian, Indian and Middle Eastern communities, this residential area is renowned for late-night eats and shisha. At the relatively early hour of 9pm, the only people in just-opened Rose Pizza and Restaurant are the staff, a few men with bushy salt-and-pepper moustaches chatting away and a man sucking languidly on a shisha pipe.
Expectations high, we ramble in and take our places. Following its name, the decor resembles a rose cottage or Victorian home. An outdoor patio area for al-fresco dining is accented by faux carpet grass and lime-green cushions to match, while floor-to-ceiling windows reflect natural light off while walls and ivory furniture partitioned by more faux flowers. On the second floor, private rooms await to seat 40.
Airy and elegant, the interior vibe is nothing like its menu. Covering almost half the table, the tacky black volume features common Turkish dishes such as pide and kebabs, with Western favorites like pizzas, pastas, salads, soups and breakfast items rounding it out. Those with myopia needn’t worry; each glossy page features a photograph of a dish that’s been colossally enlarged, so by the time you’re done flipping though, your eyeballs will be overwhelmed with images.
Fatush (RMB28) – a traditional salad of lettuce, tomato, cucumber, olives and bell peppers – is served with crunchy bits of fried dough. It’s palatable, but nothing out of the ordinary. We order their specialty, a seafood pizza, but it doesn’t turn up, and neither does the mushroom soup, hummus or baba ghanoush. Stomachs grumbling for sustenance, we settle on mains but are left disheartened; the chicken wings (RMB68) are unseasoned, the lamb chops (RMB78) are overcooked and tough, and the lamb kebab (RMB78) is rolled too thick, making it unsavory and uninviting. Opt instead for the cheese pide (RMB38), a mouthwatering base of crusty dough topped with melted cheese to sate your hunger. It pairs especially well with cups of steaming black tea and fresh mint.
Call it opening jitters if you must, but if you’re expecting this new entrant to come up roses anytime soon, it could be the sweet, alluring shisha smoke in the air that’s tinting your vision. Or maybe we should have come at midnight like everyone else.
Price: RMB100
Who’s going: Overworked businessmen, night owls, shisha lovers
Good for: Late-night neighborhood eats, pizza deliveries
// For address, see listings.
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