It is a delight in modern urban China to sit outside a restaurant that is not in a shopping mall. It is also equally rare to find one’s group to be alone in this respect, not because of the time of day, or the season, or the weather, but because of the price. Jason + (whereby the “+” is presumably a reference to the premium to be paid) has over the past six months made a name for itself among the wealthy who live across the street in the Masterland gated community in Jiangning District.
With two other branches in Suzhou and Beijing’s infamous Sanlitun, Jason + is just as much tea house or wine bar as restaurant; one entire 6 metre high wall inside is stacked floor to ceiling with vinous offerings.
The odd car drawing up takes the edge off the silence while plenty of plants surround on the spacious outdoor veranda. The greenery is put to good use too; mint for the mojitos and rosemary for the roast chicken are accompanied by tomatoes, water melon, and many others.
Jason + may well be the poster child of paying for the environment; the organic ingredients grown next to the diners certainly adds a premium, but it is the renminbi per square metre and ambient decibel level that are the real factors contributing to the hike in prices.
Yet, when it comes to restoring one’s sanity in the People’s Republic of Lunacy, this is a hike that is absolutely worth every last fen.
Jason + is located on Matian Lu, off Jiangjun Avenue 南京市将军大道6号J6软件创意园11幢. Tel: 400 881 5077.
