Jinling Hotel Beijing

With stints in top establishments, the executive chef from Guangdong leads the kitchen team as it rolls out a lineup of Cantonese classics. Items like double-boiled soup and Cantonese barbecue need pre-ordering. Dried tangerine peel is a recurring theme on the menu – try deep-fried pork spareribs with Xinhui dried tangerine peel for rounded citrus warmth. Whelk slices and fish maw soup, slow-cooked for six hours, seduces with depth and umami.

Chandeliers add visual appeal to the high-ceilinged room with ink murals and carved wood windows. The menu is predominantly Cantonese, borrowing occasionally from other provinces. The Cantonese kitchen team delivers authentic flavours in signatures such as sautéed grouper fillet with green chilli and wild rice stems. The slow-boiled soup menu on daily rotation is also worth checking out. At lunchtime, try the tofu skin roll with shrimp filling.

Formally trained as an engineer, the chef-owner opened this place in 2019 to pursue his passion for the culinary arts. The space, dominated by warm whites and neutrals, feels sleek and romantic. The menu offers much flexibility – French classics such as dry-aged Australian M9 filet mignon with mashed potato, poulet en vessie and loup en croûte rub shoulders with seasonal dishes and sharing plates. Pre-order three days ahead, when booking a table.

Chinese

It’s out of the way and you need a taxi to get here. But when you see the vast patio and grand dining room styled after the archetypal Parisian brasserie circa 1900s, its suburban address will make sense instantly. On the menu, French classics take precedence – escargots, steak tartare, confit de canard, baba au rhum – though their seafood platter is also popular. Charming table service makes dishes like côte de bœuf and crêpes Suzette stand out.

The restaurant offers a smorgasbord of 15 cuts of lamb, and despite its name, dishes offered here are anything but "bad". While you may see hand-sliced lamb on almost every table, lamb shin tastes less greasy and more velvety after being swished for seconds in a broth of your choice. The blanched head is also a nice surprise with thin slices of juicy meat seasoned with cumin. Malabar spinach and kelp are delicious and provide a healthy dose of dietary fibre.

Korean