Right in the beautiful Hutong area around the famous Bell and Drum towers and just 15 minutes south of Gulou Metro station (Line 2) lies this romantically set up little hideaway for delicious Southeast Asian cuisine.

The exteriors are almost completely overgrown with bushes. So it can easily be overseen  when walking down Jiugulo Street. The restaurant specializes on Yunan and Thai cuisine.

“Lost Paradise” is neatly decorated with lots of Asian handcrafts and hundreds of photos of the owner´s travels around the world. The atmosphere is very relaxed and inviting and the dozens of fresh flours add a lovely living room ambiance to it.

Lookers are the heavy and leather-bound wine list and the menu, which features high quality photographs of each drink and meal that is served. This is probably one of the most creative and most beautiful menu that I have ever seen before. It fits the restaurant´s theme perfectly and takes you onto a visual journey through the varieties of the Southeast Asian kitchen.

I went for the Mad Blueberry Lemonade and the Penang Fried Noodles, both handmade and with very fresh ingredients. Yummy!

Service seemed from time to time a little subtle, yet always friendly and welcoming. This is a wonderful place to take a delicious and well-deserved break in-between sightseeing when visiting this traditional Beijing style residential area. It also has an amazing price-performance with main dishes ranging from RMB30 to RMB140 (4 EUR – 18 EUR).

It is also a neat dinner location, but make sure to place a reservation ahead. It is very busy in the evenings!

Merken