TRIBE, located in Beijing’s Sanlitun, is a restaurant founded by Yu Min (Yvonne Yu). It’s an all-organic restaurant, a rarity in the city. Operating with the concept of “you are what you eat, drink, breathe.” This sleek and modern restaurant uses only the freshest ingredients for all of their dishes, evident from their ever-changing menu that varies based on the season. TRIBE offers delicious and all-organic food, alongside a wide selection of tasty beverages. Yvonne, born in Sichuan, still holds a nostalgic fondness for the food she grew up with and finds inspiration in those familiar flavors from her childhood. This nostalgia carries over to the restaurant, where they cook up reimagined, healthier versions of traditional Sichuan dishes.
TRIBE由创意人余敏（Yvonne Yu）女士开设于北京三里屯，是京城少有的有机食品餐厅之一。秉承着”you are what you eat, drink, breathe”，从有机农产品，到各类饮品，在这个现代简洁的餐厅里，有着新鲜健康的当季菜品和每一季不同的菜式。因为来自四川的Yvonne对家乡菜的念念不忘，这里甚至有着用TRIBE的方式改进的四川菜。
“Oat noodles, Sichuan chicken salad – these are some of the menu items based around traditional Sichuan dishes, but done in a healthier manner. For all of our dishes, we try to use vegetables from the current season, less cooking, and no frying. We try to preserve all possible nutrients in every dish, while also factoring in the amount protein and carbohydrates. We want each single one of our dishes to be nutritionally balanced,” Yvonne tells us. In the ten years that she’s spent in Beijing, she has seen the city’s culinary scene flourish and become more and more creative. When it comes to better dining choices, the gap between Beijing and other metropolitan cities have shrunk, but there’s still a long way to go.
“筱面，四川鸡肉沙拉，我们都是用四川菜改的，用健康方法来做。所有的菜我们尽量用当季的菜，少烹饪，不油炸。尽量每一道菜有更多的营养，保证有蛋白质，有碳水化合物……做到营养均衡。” Yvonne说。生活在北京的十多年里，她看到这座城市有了更多的新式创意食物。她说北京和世界上其他大城市的距离正在缩小，但是他们仍然面对着巨大的挑战。
It is a challenging task running an all-organic restaurant in this vast expanse of traditional restaurants that most people are accustomed to. TRIBE has to change people’s preconceived notions of all-organic food, first by increasing people’s understanding of the benefits from eating nutritionally balanced meals, and then getting them more used to food with a lighter taste. Besides their regularly hosted seminars, TRIBE also spreads awareness through their WeChat account. “To be honest, everyone already knows that there are benefits to eating organic food, but they feel like it’s meaningless in Beijing,” says Yvonne. “It’s impossible to improve the air quality here anytime soon, but people can still choose to use naturally grown ingredients. When there’s more demand for these types of ingredients, it will encourage more farms to employ organic methods. Then at the same time, it will draw more attention to the importance of a healthy environment. Step by step, we can slowly change people’s perspectives and eventually make positive changes to the environment.”
在传统餐厅的天下做这样一家餐厅的挑战，必然是改变人们的固有观念。让人们对所谓“清淡口味”的习惯，对营养均衡的正确理解，都是TRIBE需要去做的。除了不定期举办seminar，TRIBE也通过微信平台推广。“其实大家都知道吃有机食品有好处，可是觉得在北京就没有意义。” Yvonne说，“你不可能一时半会儿间改变空气，但是你至少可以选择用自然方式种植的食材。对这些食材的更多使用，一方面能鼓励农场用自然方法种植，另一方面也能唤起更多人对健康生活环境的关注。从而一步步改变更多人的看法，改变环境。”
Before founding TRIBE in 2014, Yvonne ran her own brand design company. But her ongoing quest for thoughtfully prepared cuisine and a healthier lifestyle led to the creation of TRIBE. Coming from a creative background, she recalls the tightly knit sense of community that workshops can offer. With that in mind, TRIBE often hosts many different events: themed runs with participants wearing Halloween costumes; yoga classes; face-to-face lessons with hat designers; and even having dinner with candlemakers to learn how to make scented candles.
在2014年开设TRIBE之前，Yvonne经营着自己的品牌设计公司。她对美食和健康的追求是TRIBE成立的原因。但是自己的创意人背景，让她仍不忘记以workshop的方式与整个创意社区保持紧密的联系。在这里，你更可以换上万圣节戏服一起参加趣味跑步，体验瑜伽；可以有机会和帽饰设计师面对面学习时尚，或者和香薰蜡烛制作师共进晚餐并尝试做出自己的蜡烛……
“From paying more attention to personal health, to being more aware about our environment. Just individuals doing these things aren’t enough, we need entire communities to work towards these goals for it to be meaningful.” Yvonne’s conviction carries over to TRIBE’s entire mentality. Recently, she opened TRIBE Nutrition at the SOHO in Sanlitun. This new store of hers is focused around tailoring nutritionally balanced meals for fitness enthusiasts. Furthermore, their new store in Lido will be opening just around the corner. Many guest chefs will be collaborating with this store, and the larger space will be also be able to host live performances, as well as more frequent workshop sessions. TRIBE is a perfect example of successfully balancing creativity and entrepreneurship. It isn’t just a restaurant – the very name itself represents the power of a group of like-minded people coming together in passionate pursuit of a common goal.
“从关注自己自身的健康，去提倡各位关注环境问题。不只个人，更要有社区的发展，这才是有意义的。”这正是Yvonne所坚信的，也是TRIBE所坚信的。最近TRIBE在三里屯SOHO开设了TRIBE Nutrition，为健身人士量身定制营养餐。此外丽都新店也开张在即，届时将有与不同嘉宾厨师的合作，有更大的场地以提供现场音乐表演，以及更为频繁的workshop。TRIBE正在努力做着商业和创意的平衡。 正如这间餐厅的名字一样，TRIBE不只是一家餐厅，更似一个将拥有同样追求和生活热情的人群聚集一起的力量。
Address:
Hongjie Mansion, Bldg 3, 1F, South Entrance
2 Workers’ Stadium E. Road (Workers’ Stadium East Entrance)
Chaoyang District, Beijing
People’s Republic of China
Website: tribeorganic.com
WeChat: tribeorganic
Contributors: Banny Wang, Eric Zhang
Photographer: Banny Wang
地址:
中国
北京市朝阳区
工体东路2号中国红街大厦3号楼1楼入口南侧
(工人体育场东门）
网站: tribeorganic.com
微信: tribeorganic
供稿人: Banny Wang, Eric Zhang
摄影师: Banny Wang
