TRB Forbidden City - one of the best in the city.

The TRB Group has established itself as the  a leading light in European cuisine in Beijing, offering the city various concepts. However, with my love for fine dining, it made sense that I should try TRB Forbidden City, with its unparalleled views of this iconic cultural landmark. In my mind, fine dining is evolving away from pretentious, over priced dishes to an experience that offers  a balance between a memorable moment, above the ordinary,  balanced with great food and fine service. Michelin finally got its act together and awarded the restaurant its star, although it was mind boggling that they had to wait so long. 

Be that as it may, anyone visiting this restaurant, will understand why it is so highly respected by foreigners and locals alike. I recently visited it for Sunday brunch and three thoughts emerged. 

Food

This had been my first visit in almost 3 years due to Covid restrictions on travel for me, so when I saw the changes that had been introduced, I was very excited. The basic concept is classic TRB - set menu served at your table. it is an elegant brunch, with attention to detail  a given. 

Brunch starts off with a selection of dishes served in sharing style. This makes for a colourful welcome with Chef playing around with ingredients and presentations. 

The Appetisers include the restaurant's Signature Gravlax, an institution here, Asparagus salad, Duck ham with a fresh orange accompaniment and seared scallop, which sits atop a delicious sauce of coloured peppers, chives and celery. For an additional supplement, you can add Beef tartare - the latter is highly recommended as it uses M7 beef and if that is not luxurious enough for you, it is generously served with sea urchin. This is a wonderful take on the odd American surf and turf concept but here it works well. 

I have always enjoyed the fact that TRB offers an egg dish - it is, after all, brunch. While the Eggs benedict is very much  a case of 'if it aint broke, don't try to fix it', it is the Scrambled eggs and chorizo dish that excites me - expect rich and piquant flavours. Memorable!

As far as main dishes go, I would say, look no further than the heavenly Pigeon. Yes, there is beef on the menu, but my feeling is always at this price point, beef is beef, unless you choose to upgrade to an M7 Aussie Wagyu. Go with the Pigeon - this dish has been on the menu since the restaurant started and it is there for good reason. The pigeon is more than the individual parts that make it like the texture that the Tibetan barley brings or the mushroom puree that holds the dish together. That pigeon itself is exquisitely cooked with its inherent texture  kept in tact. This is a fabulous dish.

Drinks

Brunch without free flowing bubbles is not brunch - it is just lunch. Here it is indeed brunch. In addition to the Saint Louis Blanc de  Blancs French sparkling wine, they have added some real quality to the Classic wine package, with two New Zealand offerings  from the Moana Park Estate - a Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. At 298 RMB, this is excellent.

However, they have also added a Deluxe Wine package and while 888 is not cheap, it brings even greater quality to the afternoon with champagne by A.R. Lenoble, the Intense Brut,  the highlight. It is a lovely premium champagne. It is complemented by a French Sauvignon Blanc, Domaine Laporte Sancerre Les Grandmontains and an 

Italian red, also from the premium stable. 

The latter really elevates the brunch to be more competitive with one or two other brunches on the drinks front while still keeping the free flow concept. All in all, a brilliant addition of this package. 

Service

Great food and wine in an excellent location can come to nought if service is not on point. There are too many restaurants in Beijing with excellent locations but they trade on that, believing people will remain blasé about the art of service because the location will make up for it. This, thankfully, is not the case at TRB. Service is an integral part of the experience. - quiet and awfully civilised, with staff not hanging around to make banal conversation about the weather, while ensuring that service is not robotic. On the contrary, it is very warm. 

Peter, restaurant manager, works effortlessly with his team to create a seamless dining experience. The service is intuitive and attentive without being overbearing. 

After brunch, I stand outside the restaurant for a moment and recalled an earlier thought - I wonder if the 'easy to walk past' facade would prove to be  metaphor of sorts? Well, indeed it did. The restaurant, with its minimalist interior, parallels the facade and instead allows the hands, plate and glass to express itself. We live in a  time when over-priced restaurants in snazzy uber-cool locations, frequented by hip new moneyed patrons, robbing many restaurants of soul. Thankfully, there are places like TRB Forbidden City that shows what a dining experience is all about. it is about  a Chef who can create dishes that evoke emotions and make us celebrate the moment, connected as it is to a past event. That is what happened to me. It is about  a server respecting service, delivering it attentively but not obtrusively. It is about a server showing respect to wine as he pours it, be that a sparkling or not. It is about a restaurant creating an atmosphere that  feels classy but at the same time allows you to sit back in your chair and relax. All of this  happened to me. 

Essentials

TRB Forbidden City

95 Donghuamen Dajie,

Beijing

forbidden@trb-cn.com

Brunch 588RMB + 15%

Drinks package Wine 298RMB + 15%

Deluxe Drinks Package 888RMB + 15%

Saturday and Sunday 11h30-14h30

Brandon Stoltenkamp