The Portugal Food Festival in Vasco's

Location

5/F, Hilton Beijing Wangfujing, No. 8 Wangfujing East Street // 北京王府井東大街8號(hào)，王府井希爾頓酒店5層 Tel: 86-10-5812 8888 Ext. 8816

It is rare to be offered a dinner buffet of any magnitude, and even rarer to be offered one of gastronomic proportions. Yet again, the Hilton Wangfujing delivers on its promises, showcasing a tour of Portugal with a gastronomic dinner buffet featuring the owner and master chefs - Elisabete Real and her husband Fernando Real - of Tromba Rija restaurant in Leiria, Portugal which is renowned to offer the 'degustacao de Portugal' menu of traditional Portuguese dishes and wines.

The cuisine served is very rich in variety, with each dish artfully prepared with olive oil, bay leaf, paprika, white wine, garlic, onions, tomato, parsley, coriander, thyme, and on and on...

Each dish is endowed in its own distinctive perfume and rich textures and flavors. The stews, sauces, salads, etc. are filled with parsley and coriander that enhance the natural tastes. The coriander in the seafood dishes including the seafood rice create sweet fried and steamed coupled with hams, and fruits and fresh vegetables. In fact, the rice is unlike any experienced, and have no fault to them.

The Real’s have brought to Beijing’s doorsteps real traditional Portuguese dishes – more than 60 recipes, almost all of which are ‘home-style favorites in small villages’. On offer is also a variety of cheeses with honey, tomato and marmalade toppings, exquisite premier first class cold cuts and sausages boiled, fried, smoked, sweet, savory, sugary and crispy, and of course plump and blood sausage.

Roasted moist and spicy chestnuts, heavy cauliflower al gratin, sweet baked spinach, wonderful Portuguese bean dishes, and of course, the roasted codfish (baclhau) – are all excellent if not amazing.

Everything is amazing with no little thing taken for granted. Even the warm pea salad is succulent. The Duck a la Gratin is a knockout dish of soft moist brown rice and fried duck that melts in the mouth with succulent sweetness.

The desserts are filled with exciting apple puddings, sticky carrot rice pudding, sweet cheese cake, rich sweet chocolate mousse, floating island marshmallow desserts, and light egg puddings and egg tarts. The ice cream is rich yet sweet and runny yet creamy bordering on a custard rather than fluffy and has such intense forceful flavors that it can easily be called some of the best ice cream around.

Most buffets include some lackluster items, but nothing is a disappointment at this dinner buffet. Indeed this menu is an amazing experience for visitors, because they can find a wide range of the gastronomy of the Portuguese people in just one sitting at one place. The experience Hilton offers is a rich, filling and full-flavored romp of full-seasoned recipes; besides the ubiquitous seafood and a wide array of meat options. （www.bestfoodinchina.com ）

Service quality:

Very good

Food quality:

very good

Environment:

Very good

Price per head (RMB):

200-300

This article is brought to you by Best Food in China (www.bestfoodinchina.net ). Best Food in China is the first and leading English-medium website featuring reviews on food, cuisine and restaurants in China. For more information, please visit www.bestfoodinchina.net.