Colors of life

[Photo provided to China Daily]

A more subtly pretty plate is the beef tenderloin salad, with turmeric cauliflower, sugar beans, radish, pears, leeks, pumpkin seeds, Swiss chard and beet dressing. The "high protein punch" of the beef cubes is no accident: This a plate created for a post-workout meal. Tribe's reach for healthy living extends beyond the kitchen, not only with its own special events but with meal-plan delivery programs, including plans with fitness-gym partners.

The list of main courses designed for dinnertime (but available at lunch, too) is headed by a Yunnan-style roasted chicken. Zhou is partial to the cuisine of this South China region, as is the team at Tribe. This spicy half-bird is made with red curry, coconut milk, potato cubes, miso, shallots, red chilli, mint, spring onions, coriander and a chili sauce by the Dai ethnic group.

New School Beijing Noodles, Tribe's take on zhajiang mian, promises all of the flavor we love in the original but none of the MSG. Gone is the ground fried pork simmered in over-salty fermented soybean paste－instead there is your choice of tofu-and-egg sauce or spicy-chicken sauce, with buckwheat noodles, cucumber, radish, sale, carrot and diced scallion.

Other appealing choices include a short-rib burger and a pleasant enough slow-cooked cod, but since you (probably) can't eat the entire menu in one sitting, we'd choose the soy lamb cutlet, a flavor bomb with raisins, quinoa and walnut couscous, bok choy, mango chutney and cumin. The menu advises taking a bite of lamb together with the bok choy and couscous with a dollop of chutney on top. Oh, yeah!