HanTing Cuisine The Hague| A menu based on the ‘five seasons’
This month, Michelin restaurant HanTing Cuisine in The Hague launches a new menu that’s all about color: the menu of the five seasons. The five-course menu is a culinary tour through the five seasons. Just as Han Ji’s three previous menus, this menu is also derived from the Chinese Nutritional sciences, Han Ji’s most important information source. You can find this new menu on the restaurant’s menu list from the beginning of June onwards.
Seasons
The new ‘Five Seasons Menu’ consists of five different dishes each with a different main color, which together show the whole cycle of the seasons. Colors a are very important part in the Chinese cuisine. According to the Chinese Nutritional Science, each season has its own color. For example, the color that represents the spring is green and red represents the summer. In autumn the color changes to white and in winter black takes over. The color that represents the fifth season, also called the ‘after the summer’ season, is yellow.
Colors
Each color and each season are linked to an organ of the human body, which in that particular season needs extra attention. According to Han Ji: “In China, we avoid many diseases and allergies because we adjust our diet to the season. This way we try to prevent gluten allergies or hay fever. For example, in spring, the earth is heated and plants begin to grow. This is also the moment for humans to develop themselves. The liver and gallbladder are responsible for the energy flow and it is important to feed them. The color green is abundant in this season. Therefore, during the spring it is important to eat green products, such as green beans, broccoli, cucumber, green pepper and lettuce. This is also the time to drink green tea. The cooling nature of green tea ensures that the energy balance doesn’t pass and also ensures that our body is prepared for the warm weather.” With each dish of the ‘Five Seasons Menu’, they serve a matching tea, each with a different color.
HanTing Cuisine | The fifth season
According to Chinese Nutritional studies, the year does not consist out of four, but five seasons. In addition to spring, summer, fall and winter there is a fifth season, which is described as ‘after summer’. In the season cycle, this is a transition from summer to winter. The after summer starts around the third week of August. Then the season cycle will come to a halt. Han Ji: “The body has little energy and there is a lack of sleep and emotional stress. This is the moment to relax with friends and family and eat fresh products. This season is damp and moisture can disrupt the spleen. To feed the spleen it is important to eat yellow and orange products, such as sweet potatoes, carrots, apricots, peaches, melon and corn.” In addition to colors affecting the human body, it is also known that colors have psychological effects.
5.000 years old Chinese Nutritional Studies
This is the fourth time Han Ji launches an innovative menu. Earlier HanTing Cuisine presented a Chinese Herbal Menu, the Qi Menu and the Tea Menu. Each time, another theme from the 5.000 years old Chinese Nutrition Studies is highlighted, aiming to make people more aware about what they eat and to make the world healthier by connecting Western and Eastern culture.
In May 2016, HanTing Cuisine had a world premiere. As the first restaurant in the world, Chef Han Ji has launched an innovative Tea Menu. Each time another tea was served that, in combination with food, has a positive effect on the human body. We were allowed to taste this tea menu and wrote an article about the experience!
Website: HanTing Cuisine
