Malacca Legend
The restaurant offers Malay munchies, with influences from Chinese, Indian and Arabian cuisines. Try their BBQ chicken wings, Hainan chicken rice, nasi lemak (coconut rice), curry chicken and sambal kangkong (fried water spinach with shrimp paste). 80 yuan per person. 11am-10pm. On the bank of Luoma Lake, Houshayu, close to ISB, Shunyi District. 8049-8902.
No 78 Chinese Restaurant, Marco Polo
The restaurant operated by a father-and-son team is very creative in cooking Cantonese dishes using unique techniques. Honey-glazed pork tenderloin is cooked to order and sliced on the spot, just like Peking roast duck. Crispy, fried whole chicken, prawn dumplings, seafood soup and seafood tart are other good offerings here. 150-200 yuan per person. Morning tea 7am-noon, lunch 11:30am-2:30pm, afternoon tea 2:30-5:30pm, dinner 5:30-10:30pm. 1/F Marco Polo Parkside Beijing, 78 Anli Lu, Asian Games Village, Chaoyang District. 5963-6688 ext 6415.
Shin Yeh
The decor is a bit more formal than Bellagio, and the food is totally different. Baked karasumi, a naturally dried fish roe, and baby abalone are the most expensive of its specialties. But the restaurant has plenty of more reasonably priced dishes, such as small dried fish with crisp peanut, sauteed oyster cake, sauteed pork liver and braised chicken in casserole. 60 yuan per person. 11:30am-2:30pm, 5pm-midnight. 6 Gongti Xilu, Chaoyang District. 6552-5066.
Jewel
Jewel takes the fusion of Chinese and Western foods to new heights, especially in terms of presentation. Beautiful glassware, Japanese-styled hotpot and glass goblets are used to make dining here a fun, aesthetic and enjoyable experience. Worth trying are their dim sum platter, abalone shabu (hotpot), deep-fried shrimp with spicy breadcrumbs and sauteed celery with gingko nut and bean curd. The set menu is 380 yuan per person. 11:30am-2:30pm, 5:30-10:30pm. 1/F The Westin Beijing, B9 Financial Street, Xicheng District. 6606-8866 ext Jewel.
Shuangfu
Most restaurants in this style are classified as a hodgepodge of ordinary homestyle foods for people who are not culinarily critical. And this place also fits that bill. But what makes the difference is the food's quality and homey, country-style decor. Sample horse hoof-shaped baked buns with pork stuffing while they're hot; then try smoked pork spine with bone and stewed chicken with wild mushrooms - to be accompanied with their strong, 40-degree Chinese liqueur, or Harbin Beer. 40 yuan per person. 11am-2pm, 4:30-11pm. Opposite the eastern gate of the Temple of Earth, 5 Hepingli Wuqu. 8422-2388.
Dark Restaurant & Faxie Canting
Ok, as for the food... forgot how it tasted. But you can smash your plates, bowls, beer bottles or even the CD player - as long as you pay for it. If that's not enough, you can give a few of the old one-twos to the punching bag or compete with your friend to see who can pound nails in a wooden chopping block faster. There are three set menus each comprising six courses, including a soup and a dessert. 168-218 yuan per person. 10am-10pm. 40 Shuangyushu Dongli, Haidian District. Opposite Shuang'an Department Store, behind Huaxing Film City to the north. 8211-8855.
Golden Yan'an
This is not often seen in Beijing: a compilation menu of former Chairman Mao Zedong's favorite foods from Shaanxi Province. Yan'an was China's revolutionary base before 1949, and now, it brings its mutton, potato dishes, steamed cake in mutton soup and deep-fried millet cake to Beijing. 40 yuan per person. 48 Baofang Hutong, Dongsi Nandajie, Dongcheng District. 8915-8326.
Tiandi Shuanrou
This is a Chinese neighborhood restaurant. But over the years, its freshly cut mutton has been comparable with the best of any other big name hotpot restaurants. It helps you to remember that mutton should taste like mutton. Pots are bronze, as they traditionally should be in Beijing. Also order sesame paste sauce, fish balls, mushrooms, cabbage and deep-fried sesame cakes. A bottle of Yanjing costs 4 yuan. 30 yuan per person. Northeast corner of east end of Dahuisi Lu, 50 meters north of west gate of Beijing Northern Jiaotong University, 23 Daliushu Lu, Haidian District. 6218-7844.
