In an interview with Babela's Kitchen founder Chen Xingwei, the millionaire entrepreneur said that he wanted to venture into "Italian" cuisine and try to tap on the market success of the Pizza Hut chain of restaurants in China, primarily in Beijing and Shanghai. Knowing how he could somehow confuse Italian with Pizza Hut is enough for you to understand why Babela's Kitchen remains at a loss of what its "cuisine" (if there's any to begin with) actually is, especially with a menu that features items from pizzas to fried rice to steaks to Taiwanese-themed desserts. Nevertheless, it still manages to draw crowds of the impressionable youth who seem ready to lap up anything remotely modern or "Western".
Spicy Beef Fried Rice
Me, I just wanted something Asian (but not Chinese), and since I was quite sure that the pizzas and pastas would disappoint I settled for the Spicy Beef Fried Rice instead. This turned out edible enough, with hints of lemongrass and lots of (I believe) chilli sauce and peppers. It's just to fill me up before I head off to the shops again.
Thai Tom Yum Shrimp Balls
I was more curious than hungry over these Thai Tom Yum Shrimp Balls because I really wanted to know what would the Chinese rendition of tom yum be like. They turned out quite alright after all, and tasted even better when dipped into the sweet Thai chilli sauce.
Babela's Supreme Ice Coffee
Babela's Supreme Ice Coffee can only be described as such: over-hyped. It's just shaken iced milk coffee in another name. All-in-all, average Asian food in a fast-foodish way. Completely no idea why it's so popular, be it here in Beijing or in Shanghai.
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NEXT UP! Four posts, four Peking Ducks. I'm hungry already.
Service
Average. Menu is in English.
Price
12RMB for the Spicy Beef Fried Rice
16RMB for the Thai Tom Yum Shrimp Balls
12RMB for the Babela's Supreme Ice Coffee
Place
Glory Mall, Level 1
Chongwen District, Beijing.
Pictures taken with the Canon EOS 500D.
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