Restaurant Guide

Hilton Fountain Terrace

There is hardly a better month than August for dining alfresco, especially as you don't have to dress up too much as you eat and relax in a balmy-cum-cool environment. So one for your list is this month's Hilton Beijing alfresco evenings(6pm onward) where you can enjoy what's described as "real food" bites from the grill, washed down by ice-cold Carlsberg draft beer and a choice of "beat-the-heat" wines and cocktails.

As a hotel spokeswoman said: "Allowing for the Hilton's fine reputation when in comes to food, we are confident these alfresco evenings will be very popular." In other words, leave your worries at your office or workbench, and enjoy a so-called "attitude adjustment" environment with your family or friends.

Sichuan Food Delicacies at Shang Palace

Sichuan cuisine, one of China's four most popular foods, is always in huge demand in Beijing as elsewhere in the country. Sichuan restaurants in Beijing seem always to be crowded, a recommendation in itself to passers-by. Chinese people initially judge a restaurant by its number of customers, so it follows that occupied tables virtually guarantee high-quality cuisine at affordable prices.

This month will see Beijing's Shangri-La Hotel presenting Sichuan cuisine at its Shang Palace Restaurant something of a surprise for regular diners because this outlet is best known for its fine Cantonese dishes. No ... there has not been a change of policy, and the restaurant has not suddenly "gone Sichuan". It's just that new super-chef Zhou will spend August only preparing Sichuan-style dishes from Cantonese ingredients.

Thus diners will find, for example, Hot and Sour Shark's Fin, and Braised Sea Bass in Ma-Po style what Zhou describes as perfect culinary marriages with their own distinctive appearance and flavor. Other dishes recommended by the chef include Braised Live Crab with Ginger and Spring Onion; Stir-fried Shrimp, Sichuan Style; and Dan Dan Noodles the latter a mix of the traditional and classic.

The Big Easy

Few people need reminding that the Big Easy has long counted among the best-known of the capital's restaurants, and a New Orleans-style jazz club to boot - an absolute "must" among tourists who are invariably amazed at the authenticity of this transplanted slice of America's Deep South.

Now celebrating its third anniversary, the Big Easy prevails as a dining and entertainment perennial because it is strong on detail and more than attuned to the needs of its clientele. For example, if you're going to have jazz musicians and blues singers, then import the real thing not hand the stage over to well-meaning local enthusiasts, talented though they may be.

The same attention is paid to two-story Big Easy's decor; walk through the door, and you will feel you have stepped into a bar/restaurant in Beale Street, the New Orleans thoroughfare where jazz was born (berth of the blues, one might say).

On the music front, the Big Easy is currently bringing the customers in via delightful soul-singer supreme Jaquie Staton, a former member of Ikette and sometime vocal partner to no less than Tina Turner.

The range, quality and generous proportions of Big Easy's Cajun food are legion and, like all else, in full Deep South style. Items such as the Potato Cream and Cheese Soup are meals in themselves.