The artful sushi roll is all rice and veggies. Zhang Wei / China Daily

The two-story restaurant has a semi-open kitchen, square tables, handmade chairs and signature terrazzo-tile floors, all ready to serve almost 100 diners in a sitting. The operation runs with a large "family" of about 35 employees.

It has the feel of a crowded and rather noisy cafe: The founders' original idea was to open an organic take-away coffee shop. But Trowbridge's background as a chef prompted a shift away from sandwiches, cakes and drinks to designing quite a large menu of healthy organic food.

"They told me they wanted organic food, but just 'organic food' doesn't make healthy food," Trowbridge says, insisting that being chemical-free isn't enough by itself to make the food healthy.

His menu－salads, main courses, staples and drinks－tries to make everything as nutrient-dense as possible, without empty calories (calories from solid fats or added sugars), such as white flour or sugar, because everything put into the mouth should give the body something that it can use, Trowbridge adds.

In English and Chinese, the menu has items marked that are vegan, vegetarian or gluten-free, and lays out the health benefits, such as healing, high in fiber, antioxidants, and probiotic.

It is also very international, reflecting Trowbridge's life as he travels, eats out, and learns from friends from different countries.