Last week I went out with a group of ladies from the girls’ school. Our mission was to have dinner at Black Sesame Kitchen, a cooking school and dining experience for private parties. The “kitchen” is located in Heizhima Hutong in the Dongcheng district of Beijing. The driver dropped us off on a busy main road lined with shops. We walked through a crowded one lane road/alley with food vendors and street vendors selling all kinds of things from live rabbits to wool mittens. After a ten minute walk, we found this unmarked gate next to the Wiggly Jiggly Restaurant. !???!
This is the entrance to the courtyard where we zigzagged past doorways and clotheslines. Finally, we found the kitchen/dining room where Chef Zhang would prepare a ten course meal for us. (Slightly less for me, since I am a vegetarian. He was able to modify all dishes except for the pork ribs and traditional Kung Pao Chicken. Well done!)
The room had a special rectangular mirror over the galley kitchen, so that you could watch the chef preparing the foods. Originally, the founder, Jen Lin-Liu gave cooking classes in friends’ homes. In 2008 this kitchen opened up to serve more people.
For me, the best dishes were the Five Flavored Eggplant, the Lotus Root, and the dessert, which was handmade Black Sesame Ice Cream and Candied Sweet Potato. All of the food was excellent, and if you can find the place, I highly recommend it!
Jen Lin-Liu has written two books, Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China, and On the Noodle Road, From Beijing to Rome with Love and Pasta.
Fresh off the Mat 