A Cheap Place in Beijing for French Cuisine, with Chefs cooking in Front of You

As I was shopping at the New World Shopping Centre, a nice looking restaurant caught my eye. Uama serves Chinese and Western food, as well as various kinds of drinks, like a tea house. They also do take-away.

The Environment

The whole place has a sweet feel. Most chairs are made of bamboo, most tables of glass, with nice paintings on them. Around the corner, I noticed white marble tables and some sofas. Waitresses are dressed in a black pinafore and jeans.

Food and Drinks

Menus are written both in Chinese and in English. A waitress gave me two: one filled with French-style dishes, the second one gathering all the other foods and beverages. The fares offered on the former are usually expensive.

Foods and beverages are organized in categories: cold drinks, hot drinks & ice creams, wines, soups, curry dishes, Chinese-style fried noodles, fried rice, spaghettis, toasts & sandwiches, etc.

The cheapest dishes are priced at RMB 22-32. The most expensive dish costs RMB 198 on the French-style menu.

There is a special category on the menu: dishes cooked on an iron board. These are prepared in front of the patrons by chefs dressed in white, nice and clean. Patrons who like this food sit at special tables with an iron board in the center.

I noticed a lot of of sea food dishes on the menu. Most of these range from RMB 18 to RMB 48. The most expensive one costs RMB 480.

Eating

I ordered ‘dry fried beef spaghettis’, and didn’t wait long for my food. The chefs are efficient.

My plate of spaghettis was a little spicy. There was plenty beef in it. The fare was tasty, but could be not big enough to fill a large, empty stomach. My little stomach was satisfied though.  

One of the waitresses told me that one of the advantages of their restaurant is that since they serve both Chinese and Western food, they don’t charge as much as formal Western cuisine restaurants.

They have two other places in Beijing which serve similar dishes. Prices at the other two locations are more expensive though, due to their more prestigious addresses.

According to my waitress, most patrons are passersby who never plan a nice meal. So lots of single customers come in on their own. This makes Uama a quiet place.