Mushroom Heaven, a Restaurant in Beijing

Upon entering the restaurant a few weeks ago, I was immediately confronted with 46 different kinds of wild mushrooms. All were laid out on a table, already cleaned, sliced and in their own bowl of water(?). Each was priced separately and sold by weight. Prices ranged from about $2 to about $4 per 100 grams.

We chose boletus edulus, matsutake, morel and 3 others from among the 46 varieties. Fortunately, I had brought along a beautiful picture book of Chinese edible mushrooms, which I had just bought, which listed both the Latin and Chinese names for the various mushrooms. So, it was rather easy to choose the mushrooms and then match the picture or the Chinese characters to the displayed mushrooms. Alternatively, you can simply point to each mushroom you would like to have, the price is listed next to each bowl.

Before sitting down at our table, and after choosing the mushrooms we liked, we then were asked which of two ways we would like to cook them at our table: stir-fried or boiled in consommé (similar to shabu shabu in Japan). We chose to boil, and so, very soon after sitting down, a large wok was placed in the center of the table over a built-in single burner stove. A natural gas tank under the table provided the fuel, which ultimately boiled the liquid.

Once seated, we were asked what additional vegetables and type of meat we wanted (beef, pork, lamb or chicken). We chose a variety of green vegetables as well as both beef and lamb.

In addition to the fresh mushrooms on the table, there were at least six large bottles of mushroom-infused liquor made from "baijiu," a kind of Chinese grain alcohol, each made from a different mushroom. We stayed with beer (non-infused).

Extremely aromatic, the boiling liquid turned out to be a mushroom consommé made, I was told, from more than 40 mushrooms. Besides smelling great, it tasted delicious, even by itself. Our small group (3) had chosen 6 different mushrooms and these were brought to the table along with the vegetables and meat (lamb and beef). My Chinese hosts wanted the two kinds of meat!

One by one, we cooked each type of mushroom in the boiling consommé. Each had its own unique taste and texture. Cooking them ourselves, we were able to control the degree of doneness and monitor the effect each was having on the consommé. Simply stated, they were very delicious, especially the morel, which was quite succulent and tender.

When the raw meat came, we had to choose which sauce to dip it in. Choices were: sesame, soy sauce or hot sauce. We each took a different one, but the hot sauce was the best. Both the meat and vegetables were added to the boiling water and again we were able to control the cooking time of each. In between, we often sampled the bouillon. Finally, when all the mushrooms, vegetables and meat were consumed, noodles were added to the still boiling liquid to make the final soup.

The resulting mixture of flavors was intoxicating; so aromatic, so complex and so wonderful, it is impossible to describe. At that moment, I knew I had reached nirvana, I was truly in mushroom heaven.