Minestrone, a Tuscan-style vegetable soup with mushrooms and tomatoes. Photos by Antony Otera / China Daily

 

I opt for the minestrone (a Tuscan-style vegetable soup with mushrooms and tomatoes) as my entree. A colorful selection of vegetables sits in a red-orange broth. The humble tomato, the centerpiece of this meal, knows its place in this melange, providing a fresh, juicy, flavorful taste to the soup without overpowering the gusto of the other elements, which include squash and oyster mushrooms.

Having only recently returned to eating meat after a spell as a vegetarian, I hanker for a piece of good-quality meat for my main meal. Two such dishes catch my attention - the grilled Wagyu beef (from Australia) with mushrooms and red Nebbiolo wine sauce, and the roasted lamb rack with rosemary, potato and eggplant.

A good cop/bad cop routine begins playing with my head. On one shoulder a tiny little voice with a distinctively Aussie twang whispers: "Go for the Aussie Wagyu, Tone. It'll be bonza, mate." On the other shoulder another little voice, a cross between a slurring Dean Martin and an ethnic Sydney fruiter, insists: "Have the lamb, signore. You know you want it." To compound my dilemma, the song playing on the restaurant sound system as my waiter approaches is Crazy, a 1980s hit song by Australian band Icehouse. "You gotta be out of your mind ... crazy," the song's refrain cries. Yeah, crazy hungry. I make my decision. I order the rack of lamb. The next song to play is Andrea Bocelli's Romanza. I see it as a sign that I've made the right choice.

IF YOU GO

Isola

N3-47, Bldg 3, Taikoo Li North, 11 Sanlitun Lu (Road), Chaoyang district, Beijing.

010-6416-3499.

Average cost per person: Between 800 and 1,000 yuan ($128-160).

Recommended: Roasted Lamb Rack with Rosemary, Potato and Eggplant; Sicilian Cannoli with Ricotta, Walnuts, Raisins and Raspberry; Tuscan-Style Vegetable Soup with Mushrooms and Tomatoes.