Hong Yun Lou Muslim Restaurant (鴻運樓飯莊) is an attempt to revive an important part of Beijing's local cuisine: halal foods. All of the restaurant's mutton and beef dishes are processed by an imam before cooked, according to Ma, the restaurant's executive chef, who is a Muslim.

In addition to the extensive range of mutton and lamb dishes on offer, there is seafood. The ambitious menu has items such as spicy fish, spicy frog, Cantonese dishes and Peking roast duck. It offers some typical Beijing foods, such as sauteed mutton slices with egg and fungus, flavored with vinegar (醋溜木須羊肉), and fried mashed green bean curd (麻豆腐). Also worth recommending are braised ox tail in thick broth with saffron (藏紅花牛尾), a tasty and healthy dish, and roast venison with onion (魁子烤鹿肉). Sweet and sour fried hawthorn fruit (炒紅果) is a nice dessert. Besides, the restaurant has a full range of old Beijing style dim sum, such as ludagun'er (驢打滾兒，yellow bean paste cake with mashed bean filling) and wandouhuang (豌豆黃, yellow bean jelly). Average cost is 70 yuan per person.

9:30 am-9:30 pm. 1/F Feitian Dasha, 5 Guangqumenwai Nanjie, Chaoyang district. Southeast corner of Guangqumen Qiao on East Second Ring Road. 8777-1688. 朝陽區廣渠門外南街5號飛天大廈1樓

(China Daily August 17, 2009)