LDS Discovery: Backyard Cafe’s Roasted Veggie Salad
Posted: June 27th, 2012 | | Foodies & Dining Scene | Backyard Cafe, fresh juice, Healthy, organic, Sanlitun, vegan, wholefood smoothies | No Comments »
LumDimSum Discovery: Backyard Cafe's Roasted Vegetable Salad
While raw, cold salads are all the rage in almost every cafe and sandwich shop in this city, it's rare to come across a hot salad.
A hot salad might seem odd since all the salad lovers I know go for raw, cold salad with the thinking in mind that raw vegetables are higher in nutritional value than the same vegetables that are steamed or cooked through. And I am not questioning this. I realize that this is true, but everything I used to believe about healthy eating healthy after taking Alex Tan's "Eat, Sleep, Breathe" 5-week workshop, which emphasized the importance of eating healthy, balanced, and easy-to-digest meals, teaching a dietary therapy according to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
"A healthy balanced diet consists of mostly neutral and warming, cooked grains, vegetables, with a little meat, herbs and spices for variety and enjoyment. 'Extreme foods' from the far sides of the dietary spectrum should be used sparingly, such as foods that have a very hot energy (eg chilli), or a very cold energy (eg ice-cream), or foods that are very concentrated (eg juices, salads). While a little bit of these foods can be eaten occasionally, excess amounts of these types of extreme foods tend to irritate the membranes and impair the digestion and absorption of nutrients."
- Alex Tan, my TCM Guru
Alex Tan teaches new perspectives on nutrition, the importance of scheduled eating habits and preventative Chinese health
Before taking Alex's 5-week workshop, I was making myself a cold, fruit smoothie for breakfast every morning and eating raw, cold salads for lunch. Many raw foods experts and health nuts might be quick confirm that they too consider this to be a very healthy, highly-nutritional diet, but this is a very damaging diet according to TCM.
According to Alex, too much highly-concentrated nutritional foods are just not easy for your body to digest and in cases such as my own, too much extreme foods might end up causing more harm than good. And that's what happened to me. My body's balance was all out of wack and in the words of TCM, I suffer from a 'Spleen qi and yang deficiency', 'Kidney yang deficiency with some 'Liver Blood deficiency' and 'Liver Qi stagnation'. If that sounds like jibberish to you, then in layman's terms, it means that my digestion is not working as well as it should be and that I have to increase the ability of my stomach to transform food into useable energy, which can be done by eating more regular, warm and cooked meals. (Click here for LDS Review of Alex Tan's Qi Gong and Eat, Sleep, Breathe Workshop)
And that's where this simple and effective hot salad comes in.
Why there aren't more hot salads around Beijing, the capital of China, where many still follow the beliefs of TCM baffles me. I guess if they wanted hot vegetables, they'd just stir-fry some up in a wok. But the hot salad at Backyard Cafe is not a stir-fry, it's a salad full of roasted vegetables.
To sum up, Backyard Cafe's Hot Roasted Vegetables salad has big chunks of roasted vegetables like sweet potato, pumpkin, broccoli, carrot, yellow and red peppers, onions, black pepper and topped with slices of fresh avocado and olive oil.
Roasted Vegetables with Toasted Homemade Whole Wheat Bread:
Sweet Potato, Pumpkin, Broccoli, Carrot, Yellow and Red Peppers, Onion, Black Pepper, Avocado and Olive Oil
Backyard Cafe is one of the few places in this city that is setting themselves apart by focusing on health-conscious dishes. The owner was trained in food nutrition so we're talking no MSG, free range eggs from healthy chickens, and a lot of organic and vegan options. Their menu features a range of fresh juices, wholefood smoothies, healthy breakfast and snack options like homemade granola, homemade whole wheat bread, cold and hot salads, black rice dishes, wholewheat pasta and plenty of vegan dishes mixed in between.
After my weekly Heyrobics session, I was in the mood for something healthy and Backyard Cafe has been on my LDS Restaurant Hit List for months now.
Stepping in around 8PM on a Thursday night, there was no one inside and one person reading on the outside porch. I opted to sit inside for the need of better lighting even though I generally prefer to sit outdoors.
The atmosphere is laid back, it's got cute trinkets everywhere, menu items written in color on black chalkboards and everything has that "healthy, hippy" vibe. The restaurant was clean and cute and I can only really fault them for lack of more customers, but I also figure this type of cafe is more popular during the day time serving as a healthy breakfast, quick lunch or daytime cafe option.
LDS Snapshots of Backyard Cafe:
Settling in, I started off with a super healthy Green Energy Wholefood Smoothie, a new addition to their menu. Although I was most excited to discover Backyard Cafe's hot, roasted vegetable salad, we also indulged in a lot more healthy goodness. The homemade wholewheat bread makes for any sandwich that much more satisfying and the black rice is unlike anything I've seen anywhere else.
LDS Snapshots of Backyard Cafe's Dishes:
Backyard Cafe's Green Energy Drink:
Leafy Greens, Pineapple, Papaya, Apple, Orange, Carrot, Cucumber, Organic Flaxseeds (RMB 35)
Chicken Sandwich (RMB 32):
Chicken Breast, Tomatoes, Green Vegetables, Yellow Mustard, Mayo
Tofu, Veggies and Chicken Stir-Fry with Black Rice (RMB 40 or RMB 25 without chicken)
"Our delicious rice is made with nutritious black and red rice that contain much higher amount of fibre than regular rice. Their deep colors are due to high anthocyanin content, a powerful antioxidant."
The rice dish should have been a vegan dish, but I asked if they could add in some chicken for extra protein and they happily obliged for just an extra RMB 5.
Backyard Cafe Contact Details:
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Address: 2 Sanlitun Beixiaojie, Chaoyang District 朝阳区三里屯北小街2号
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Tel: 6464 7642
Other Reviews of Backyard Cafe:
*LumDimSum Discovery Explanation: Whenever I try a dish worth sharing, I will post this find as a LumDimSum Discovery. Just search tagged "LumDimSum Discovery" articles for more recommendations.
A few LumDimSum Discoveries:
Summer in a Glass: Obentos' Fresh Grapefruit Soda
LDS Discovery: Karaiya's Hunan Spicy Broiled Fish
LumDimSum Discovery: Punjabi's Ginger Garlic Soup
LumDimSum Discovery: Veggie Table's Carrot Cake
LumDimSum Discovery: Maan's Bulgogi Burger
LumDimSum Discovery: Colibri's Tuna Niçoise Salad
LumDimSum Discovery: Susu's Banana & Prawn Roll
LumDimSum Discovery: Gungho! Salads Rock
LumDimSum Discovery: Lime Cafe's Pomelo Salad
LumDimSum Discovery: Avocado & Chicken Salad
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