Jing Ji
Jing Ji (Michelin Two Stars)
Jing Ji, boasting two Michelin stars and a Black Pearl diamond, is a restaurant where, in my opinion, the Black Pearl rating is more accurate than Michelin's. Among the establishments I've dined at, Jing Ji was the only one that fell short of expectations. The single tasting menu was priced at 1688+15%, with the final bill slightly over 2000 yuan after adding a cup of tea. My sense of it falling short stems from:
1. Lack of signature dishes that could be considered "signature" of the restaurant. The so-called "Rong-style official cuisine" seems to be predominantly Rong-style, accounting for over 70%, with the elements of official cuisine not as pronounced. The à la carte menu doesn't differ much from the New Rong Ji brand, feeling more like a New Rong Ji with a slightly increased ratio of luxurious ingredients like bird's nests, shark fins, and abalone, seasoned with a touch of Beijing flavor rather than a fresh, standalone brand. If you were to randomly select 10 dishes from Jing Ji's seasonal menu and 10 from New Rong Ji's and mix them up, it would be quite challenging for diners to distinguish which dishes came from Jing Ji and which from New Rong Ji. Moreover, Jing Ji seems to lack a "signature dish." A signature dish, in my view, could be either a grand dish or a smaller one. For example, at New Rong Ji, it could be the home-cooked wild yellow croaker for a larger option or the crispy golden ribbon fish for a smaller one – the latter being affordable for everyone and, at its introduction, far surpassed similar offerings on the market, maintaining its popularity to this day. Such dishes are worthy of being called "signature." However, none of the dishes in the set I had, which Jing Ji considers "classic," struck me as signature material or even having the potential to become one.
2. The menu caters to an older demographic and business banquets, which, as a younger diner, I can understand the logic behind but would not choose to eat again. Perhaps the interpretation of the "official" in "Rong-style official cuisine" can be taken to mean a high proportion of "Beijing officials" among the clientele – after all, what officials eat can be deemed official cuisine. This single-person set menu doesn't seem designed for solo gourmet enthusiasts but rather as a complement to a private room's offerings. The flavor design is both "light" and "rich and thick" – light in terms of deliberately reduced oil, spiciness, and stimulation in sauces, like the mild Mapo Tofu sauce with prawns, which lacks heat and numbness, and the abalone sauce, which is relatively mild. The curry sauce accompanying the crispy beef brisket is deliberately toned down from the common cheapness of street-side curry, perhaps with the addition of coconut milk to slightly enhance the creaminess, thus elevating the sauce to a more refined level. Rich and thick because it uses ingredients like abalone and beef brisket, which are favored by an older clientele and have a consistent flavor no matter how they are prepared. Even a clear soup made from the ingredients of liver-protecting soup, which includes pork and liver slices, would not taste clear but rather thick and dense. The menu design consistently starts with dumplings, with a heavier start and lighter finish, a typical style of Chinese banquet that seems more suited to lining the stomach before drinking, which doesn't really appeal to me.
In conclusion, this Jing Ji seems more like a business banquet restaurant, conceived after Rongfu Banquet, with a similar level of quality plus a concept of Beijing officials, catering to a specific clientele. For food enthusiasts, the pricing doesn't justify choosing it over visiting Xin Rong Ji multiple times.
