Kong Yiji

Kong Yiji Restaurant Review:

This lovely lakeside restaurant whips up light and delicate cuisine from the eastern province of Zhejiang. Kong Yiji is known for its zuixia (drunken shrimp), scampy little sea creatures that come to the table wriggling to their death in a pot of boiling alcohol. The signature side dish is aniseed-flavored beans---the snack that Kong Yiji, a down-and-out boozing scholar from a Lu Xun short story, and for whom the restaurant is named, popped while drinking warm wine. The interior is all porcelain and rosewood furniture but sadly does not make use of the beautiful views of the lake. The other downside is that the menu is only in Chinese. Kong Yiji is a gentle introduction to some of the lesser known and more interesting Chinese fare.