REDSTAR Hangzhou February 2020

/ LIFESTYLE // 广 告 • 生 活 方 式
“Sweet sunshine, soft breeze,
we are in and out, we are from
Yunnan.” For anyone wanting to
find out what Yunnan cuisine is all
about, look no further than In&Out
Lijiang Themed Restaurant.
Spring approaches, flowers are
already starting to bloom around
the city, love is in the air, and
even though it’s still a bit chilly,
you couldn’t ask for a better time to
discover Yunnan cuisine. The spicy, sour,
sweet flavours are punctuated by fresh
herbs, fermented sauces and pickles and
this collage of different tastes all come
together wonderfully on the palate.
IN&OUT
RESTAURANT
HANGZHOU’S HOME OF
YUNNAN CUISINE
By Kim Bui
Photos by Annie Clover
The cooking style at In&Out is a product of
a melding of the many cooking styles of the
neighbouring regions around Yunnan. Dai
cooking has similarities with the culinary
styles of not just Yunnan’s neighbour,
Sichuan, but northern Thailand, Naxi
and Bai. The influences and correlations
stretch all the way to Tibet with its
Zhongdian (Shangri-La) style. They are all
colourful, well-presented and delicious.
For starters, the beef rolls with mint leaves
(48 RMB) and blackened chicken salad with
lemon grass and coriander leaves, Jingbo
style (48 RMB) are great staple dishes that
you’d be hard-pressed to find elsewhere
on Hangzhou. The sautéed tofu with
leek flowers is not to be missed either.
We then moved on to the main course:
black goat mutton hot pot (178 RMB
/ 258 RMB) is a well-known dish from
Yunnan, and the flavour tells you why
right away. The lamb cooked in the hot
pot is tender, delicious and with a strong
mutton smell that isn’t too powerful to
be off-putting. It is worth noting that it
is high in nutritional value, has low fat
and cholesterol content, which makes it
a nice dish for autumn and winter. While
you are getting your fill of delicious food,
don’t forget to order some Yunnan beer
or rice wine to wash the heavy flavour of
the black goat off your palate so you can
properly taste the other dishes afterwards.
The spicy, dry, and cured yak meat done
in a Zhongdian style (68 RMB) or the
pork ribs with plum sauce Dali style (78
RMB) are a must-try if you are still feeling
hungry. Due to geographical location and
a vast cultural landscape, Yunnan cuisine
draws on Vietnamese and Thai cooking
traditions by incorporating fresh herbs
into the recipes. The Yunnan pineapple rice
(58 RMB) is a great example of that. It uses
glutinous rice, cooked with pineapple juice
and cubed pineapple, to create a tender
sweetness that is iconic in the Southeast
Asian nations near the Yunnan region.
Make sure you order rubing cheese
when you are at the restaurant. It’s
a traditional goat cheese that is firm
and is found only in Yunnan province.
Rubing is prepared either lightly fried
and salted, or steamed with layers of
Yunnan ham nestled between slices.
All in all, In&Out is simple, tastefully
decorated with waiters wearing Yunnan
traditional attire. It is humble, serene
and absolutely a taste worth going
back to encounter again and again.
101, Building 4, Kerry Centre, 385 Yan'an Lu
延 安 路 385 号 杭 州 嘉 里 中 心 4 幢 101 号 单 元
10am-11pm
10 redstarhangzhou.com