Restaurant Review of Yantai

This is a review of some of the Western restaurants in the village of Yantai . The reviewer owned a restaurant in California and worked in various restaurants and pizza parlors while in school.

First let us dispose of the fast food places.

KFC is quite large in China , but is a relatively small chain in the US . Many of the restaurants are owned by the soft drink company Pepsi Cola. The food is similar to that served in the US , but there are many changes (note that they serve Pepsi and not coke). The prices are also similar to the US prices which make them fairly high for the Chinese budget. They do not serve diet drinks here. They do follow the US custom of filling your drink with more ice than drink. Westerners beware of the ice as it is usually made from tap water which can make you ill. Most important for people like me is the W C may be clean but it is NOT western. I don't care for their food either here or in the U S. Also they do NOT serve hamburgers. A hamburger is NOT chicken, but beef. They serve chicken sandwiches, or if you wish, chicken burgers.

McDonald's serves similar products to the U S. Also note - coke and not Pepsi. They do serve some unusual items such as corn. Beware of the ice in their drinks also. They are the number one chain in the world but relatively small in China so far. Prices are similar to the  S so it is expensive for the locals. Again no diet drinks here, but the W C is normally western style (although I am told that the woman's facility in the downtown area is not western.

Pizza Hut...if you are pizza maven (expert) as I profess to be having worked in a pizza place while in law school, you will not like their pizza. I took a friend there once since she had never had pizza before, and was disappointed. The menu is much more limited than the U S. They also don't know how to prepare the dough (same as the U S - they run through a device that flattens the dough but knocks all the air out of it leaving it below par) and don't use enough sauce (and for my taste too much cheese). The good thing on my visit was meeting 3 Westerners who became good friends (and were also disappointed in the food). The prices are also high for the locals. I did not check out the W C. Note - they too are owned by Pepsi and that is what they serve - ice problem remains.

Burger King is superior to all of these in the U S, but they haven't reached Yantai yet.

Didi's Hamburgers is a copy of the hamburger chains in the U S, but my use for them is limited to a clean W  C (note - NOT western style).

Now on to regular restaurants.

Karen's Coffee shop serves decent steaks. They have a weird choice of bread or rice. They serve wine as part of the meal, but will NOT substitute soda for those of us that can't drink wine. They will not serve food medium rare or medium. The service is adequate. Their non western food leaves something to be desired. Beware of the ice. The W C is in the Asia Hotel and is western style. They do NOT take charge cards.

The French Romantic Restaurant is owned by a French speaking Algerian. He is quite moody. The first time I took my friend there she had never used a knife and a fork. She also had no idea what to order never having eaten western food. I ordered a lamb dish (which I did not care for) and suggested French style pasta and sauce. She rarely finishes Chinese food so it was surprising to see her polish of the entire serving (and would have licked the plate - the sauce was that good). Another helping was suggested by the owner (I thought at no charge - but I was charged). She finished part of it and gave the rest to me. The problem is that after going there many times ketchup was used instead of the sauce. I was told the food had gone downhill and many westerners stopped going there. His manager (?), wife (?) or girlfriend (?) is one of the reasons business has slacked off. She insulted my Chinese friend and gave an insincere apology when I brought her in to talk to the owner as she refused to return. She also lies and was caught on it many times as I went over her head and talked to the owner (who tells you one thing and she contradicts him...I stopped talking in English and used french to bypass this problem - but I will never return for all these reasons). I do NOT recommend this place unless you are really tired of Chinese food and don't want to go elsewhere.

Jacky's Cuisine is the best of the lot, although there is a lot of Eastern logic used rather than Western - which is an error since they specialize in Western clientele. My friend fell in love with their hamburgers (best in Yantai - meat comes from Beijing ) and the fat French fries. Why they serve such a small portion of cole slaw escapes me since that is inexpensive. The pizza leaves much to be desired. I suggested to the owner to get a pizza oven and I would show his staff how to make proper pizza. So far the old oven is still being used One problem they had was the person taking reservations (needed especially on weekends) speaks very little English and I wound up leaving without eating last time I was there. They have hired a young lady from there Philippines whose English is pretty good. I also suggested a few items and told them how to make them, but they tried a few times and didn't add them to the menu (higher profit margin did not alter this fact). They also serve a tiny portion of vegetables and/or pasta - this is silly since the profit margin is higher and they fill the plate). They also should use an employee to do the vegetable shopping every day instead of having deliveries...better quality and much cheaper. They are now experimenting with British food - roast beef and Irish stew. The W C is top notch. The restaurant is on the second floor - and not enough tables. Downstairs is the bar area which serves a good wine selection as well as hard liquor. They are open only for dinner and their "8 days a week" does not include Mondays. If you buy a membership (now 200 RMB) you get a discount and can use their free library and free DVD'S (deposit taken to insure their return). I suggested some short cuts when crowded (does not affect quality) but the logic was that if they do that the cooks will use these shortcuts even when not crowded. A big minus (maybe) is it takes a long time to get your meal. A plus is the DVD's and CDs run while you eat - you like Elvis? James Brown? and other famous and popular singers? They have a very good selection,

Anyway these are my opinions. You are free to disagree (and free to be wrong).

Gabe
Yantai China