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Article featured in Beijing This Month, September 2005
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English 1000, Chinese 1000

Make a Difference

2005/09/01
text by Hellen Zhou
photo courtesy of Block Hause

Eugen Block opened his namesake Block House steakhouse in 1968 in Hamburg, Germany.

He intended to offer his guests natural and healthy food, so he set strict nutritional standards. He decided the steak used by the restaurant should be obtained from healthy South American Hereford and Angus cattle, refrigerated at 4 degrees Celsius for four to six weeks to guarantee its juiciness and heated on a bed made of lava. In addition, Block gave the steakhouse cosy furnishings and a rustic interior. Soon, the Block House became a culinary temptation and expanded to 32 branches throughout Germany, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Sweden before finally arriving in China earlier this year.

The Block House China branch, featuring an open-air garden, is located in the prosperous Guomao area, on the ground and second floors of the Van Palace. The interior décor still features a rustic style, but with Chinese or even Guomao touches. For example, the second floor has private rooms with titles such as Rome, Paris, London, Hamburg and New York, but you can find Chinese traditional style decorations and these rooms also serve as meeting places for business purposes.

The restaurant provides German steaks, but also French and Italian cuisines, and even an American bistro. The menu includes general items such as salads and starters, soups, steaks, drinks and extras. Though the menu is adjusted in accordance with local demand—fish may replace lamb—but steaks are a must for all Block restaurants. Block House steaks are always served with a fresh salad, baked potato with sour cream and Block House bread. The Block House salad is always composed of lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, onions and mushrooms, based on Eugen Block’s strict “healthy and natural” guidelines.

The food offerings in the Beijing restaurant strictly follow Block House principles. The steaks come from Hereford and Angus cattle; the kitchen implements are imported from Germany; the chefs have been trained in Germany; peppers in salads should be yellow; the steak Pfeiffer and salt are made in the kitchen; different kinds of food should be processed in different parts of the kitchen; and more. Such is German style!

There are other German-style regulations. At Block House, each diners’ table should have its own light source; the kitchen should be an open kitchen and all the steaks should be processed there. As the restaurant manager said, “We don’t want to hide.” A bar for wine drinkers is a must, but it also serves German beers such as Bitburger and Weihenstephaner; all the waiters and waitresses can speak English.

Want to know more? Try the Block House for yourself, and savour its healthy, nutritious, natural food. Some discounts are available; business lunches run from 58 to 88 yuan, including soft drinks, a starter and a main course. Friday-night diners can get 50 percent off their tabs. VIP card holders can get 12 percent off. Other discount information can be found on the blackboard in the front of Block House. So relax, enjoy your coffee, while anticipating most favourable prices for your dining, perhaps to the accompaniment of live Mexican drumming and romantic candlelight.

Tel: +86 10 6561 6166

Address: Van Palace, 2 South Street, Guan Dong Dian, Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang District

 



 
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