Spring is a season of greens, and the best season to try fresh wild vegetables from the fertile lower reach of the Changjiang River.

Yet there is no need to fly all the way inland. The L¨¹yin Restaurant (ÂÌÒð¾Æ¼Ò) is now offering such dishes with fresh supplies flown in from Nanjing, the capital city of Jiangsu Province in the Changjiang River Delta.

Featuring Huaiyang cuisine, the representative flavor of Jiangsu food, the restaurant presents its wild dishes in a way that is light, fresh, sweetly colorful and delicately elegant.

The seasonal wild vegetable juhuanao (¾Õ»¨ÄÔ) is the tender leaves of the plant and is mostly used to make soup or congee. It is said to have the effect of enhancing a woman's beauty. The cooked chrysanthemum leaves taste crunchy and cool.

Another edible wild herb malantou (ÂíÀ¼Í·) is the tender leaves of boltonia indica, a plant also in the chrysanthemum family. It is always served cold. It is first boiled in water, then shredded into tiny bits, mixed with dried bean curd and seasoned with salt and sesame oil.

Unlike the above two varieties, which are more similar to the common vegetables we eat daily, the aromatic luhao («Ýï), artemisia stelleriana, with its special strong flavor, may not be acceptable to all. The plant grows along lakeshores in Jiangsu, Hubei and Jiangxi provinces. Like the durian, You will either love it or hate it.

At the restaurant, luhao is fried with dried bean curd, a material frequently used in huaiyang cuisine, which is a perfect balance to the strong aroma of the wild herb.

The sweet cold dish of mini radishes (Ñó»¨Âܲ·) is so lovely that almost every newcomer cannot help order but it, according to a waitress. About the size of a water chestnut, the tiny, round, and pink-skinned radishes may be the smallest radish in the world.

The radish is served raw with a bit of sugar sprinkled on top. It is sweet, crunchy and a little bit spicy, a good appetizer or dessert that will greatly improve one's appetite.

Previously a state-owned eatery as a window of the Nanjing Government in Shenzhen, the restaurant has been in business for 10 years. "We saw other restaurants flourish and vanish around us, but we are still here proving our strength," a manager with the restaurant said.

The restaurant is not large. In fact the main dining hall only has 10 tables. Of course there are also several plain but tasteful private rooms. The d¨¦cor is simple, mostly white, and makes one feel calm, comfortable and at home.

Apart from the seasonal wild vegetables, the restaurant offers many traditional and delicate Huaiyang dishes, such as the braised jellied pork in Zhenjiang style, sliced salty duck and steamed freshwater fish.

Editor: Wings