Seafood and roasts

The brand new Camilla Chinese Cuisine at the Northern East Third Ring Road is a high-end eatery offering Chaozhou cuisine.

The cooking is typically seafood inspired, with light stir-fries, braised meats, such as goose, and all washed down with kung fu tea, deep-brewed infusions that cleanse the palates. The duck is equally good, and there is a mixed platter that includes boned goose, tasty duck heads and duck webs. Another winner is the slow-cooked bitter melon with pork (pictured below), a summer specialty.

There are big private rooms, a marble floor, carpets, and chandeliers on the ceiling and paintings on the wall.

3/F, SOHO Nexus Center, A 19, Northern East Third Ring Road, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-5967-0567.

- Ye Jun

Fancy a scorpion?

Variety is the spice of life, but those folks at the Quanjude Qianmen branch are full of surprises. They're serving scorpions with duck breast. The dish is apparently a hot favorite and a signature dish - "whole scorpion with sesame duck squares", which translates to a square of duck meat accompanied by a cracker, topped with a nice, crispy scorpion.

According to the restaurant, scorpions eliminate harmful toxins in the body and dispel heat, especially in summer. And this dish has been a summer favorite for the last 10 years.

Try it, for novelty and for health, along with the other signature dishes that the roast duck icon is known for. Expect to pay about 200 yuan ($31) per person.

30 Qianmen Dajie, Dongcheng district, Beijing. 010-6511-2418.

- Ye Jun

Jazz and brunch

The cicadas are calling from the old plane tree in the courtyard and competing for attention with the three-man band spinning out all the jazz classics. As you tap your feet along to Dave Brubeck's Take Five, the first course arrives - a generous seafood platter that puts you in the Sunday mood.

This is brunch at Yi House Restaurant at the Grace Beijing. For less than 300 yuan ($47), the Sunday Brunch here is excellent value for money.

Apart from the seafood platter, you can choose any four dishes from the listed appetizers, mains, Asian dishes and desserts. You need to go back for a week of Sundays to try every one, but the starters and desserts have some must-try charmers - including baked escargot, an organic ham platter, eggs Benedict and a molten chocolate cake. And homemade macaroons.

2 Hao Yuan, 798 Arts Zone, Jiuxianqiao Lu, Beijing. 010-6436-1818.

- Pauline D. Loh

Yes ma'am

 

We first went to Madam Sixty Ate (pictured above) for drinks and were immediately impressed by its quirky, lounge-like vibe. The wine list includes a good selection of reds and whites, such as Paul Jaboulet Aine's Rhone Valley Syrah. And any restaurant that serves Hungarian Tokaji is a winner.

The dining room boasts a sunny terrace overlooking Wanchai. An open kitchen lets us see what the chefs were up to, and though more restrained than the lounge, the decor included plenty of surreal art. We loved the wordy menu with its whimsical descriptions and the Alice in Wonderland feeling was further reinforced as every dish offers wine pairings.

Dishes were well balanced in flavors and textures, though use of foam was a tad too enthusiastic.

Shop 8, 1/F The Podium, J Senses, 60 Johnston Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong. 852-2527-2558.

- Rebecca Lo

(China Daily 08/11/2012 page12)