The eastern part of Beijing downtown, between the east section of Second Ring Road and Third Ring Road, could be a perfect hangout for open-minded food lovers.
In a walkable area, you might have lunch at a Norwegian restaurant that have Salmon freshly shipped from Norway by air, then have a blueberry cheese cake at a French cantin with your afternoon tea and finished your day at an authentic Arabic restaurant with dancing performances, a feast that you might read in the Arabian Nights.
If you are willing to take a bus for one or two stops, more will be found including Japanese, Korean, Greek and American cuisine.
But, as the area is near the heart of Beijing's diplomatic area and Central Business District, the restaurants cater to the upmarket white-collar crowd and are priced relatively high.
So get a Beijing transportation map at your hotel, find this area and let's start a journey in this "global food village."
First stop -- Le Petit Paris
The small cozy cantin, near a French school, is on the Sanlitun Street, Beijing's famous bar street, a good place to dine at noon or spend a lazy afternoon. It looks more like a cafe than a restaurant with its red and white check table cloth and large glass window.
For a light casual lunch, you can order Caesar salad, have smoked chicken and fresh vegetable, roasted bass or beef steak served with fat liver, yoghurt and bread that is freshly baked from the restaurant's own oven.
Desserts are strongly recommended by frequent customers, Blueberry cheese cake, Tiramisu, strawberry pie and more. The restaurant has its own cake counter and you can order takeaway.
Address: No. 29 Sanlitun Street, Chaoyang district.
Telephone: 8610-64169381
Opening from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Accept credit cards and have English menu.
Cost per person: 80 yuan (11.59 U.S. dollars)