BEIJING

Turning Japanese

Mai, a Japanese restaurant in the Westin Beijing Chaoyang, recently opened its doors to local gourmets. Chefs offer authentic and creative Japanese cuisine. Savor traditional kaiseki ryori, or watch chefs prepare sizzling Japanese Wagyu beef, chicken, fresh vegetables and seafood on the teppanyaki live cooking counter. There is also a sushi bar and an exclusive selection of sake and other beverages, eight of which have been imported to China for the first time. Chef Kenji's signature dishes are cod fish with miso, sashimi and sushi platter, cold inaniwa udon noodles and his unique ramen noodle and fresh vegetables with soya dressing.

2/F, The Westin Beijing Chaoyang, 7 Northern East Third Ring Road, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-5922-8888.

－YE JUN

Seasonal creations

Bianyifang is "the other" restaurant in Beijing famous for its Peking roast duck. Only its style of duck is different from most of its competitors in the market. The restaurant's roast ducks are cooked in a closed oven. With almost 600 years of history, it is older than the well-known Quanjude. Some longstanding classic Shandong style dishes at the restaurant are duck claw with mustard, fish slices flavored with yellow rice wine, braised sea cucumber with shallot, and dry-braised yellow croaker. The seasonal menu features fresh lotus root with green lemon, gourd prepared with dried scallop and Matsutake mushroom, and crispy-skinned shrimp flavored with Sichuan pepper.

7/F, Chaoyang Joy City, 101 Chaoyang Beilu, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-8591-4058.

－YE JUN