C’est Bon! Great Wall

Welcome to the Great Wall... not that eighth wonder of the world but this one, The Great Wall Sheraton Hotel, Beijing.

We are here for dinner at the French Bistro, a cosy tête-à-tête for two, early on a weekday evening. In this tasteful, intimate setting, we are hungry for good food and conversation. The temperature outside has risen and the restaurant is pleasantly cool.

We are put at a spacious round table with a good view, providing an opportunity to people watch. Candlelight reflects in wall mirrors and conversation from other diners drifts towards us but does not intrude.

We settle just as the chef goes round the room. His name is Stefaan Urkens and he recently arrived from Belgium. We are told that he brings a wealth of experience, expressed in signature dishes of fresh fish and seafood. We look forward to it and tell him so.

Open for some years now, the restaurant has altered its approach to the Bistro theme over time. This is a good thing; fresh and vibrant menus keep diners keen. As we order, a party of eight arrive, creating a wave of laughter at the door.

Our waiter, with near-perfect English, brings the preliminaries of fresh bread and water. We order soft drinks as neither of us wishes for alcohol.

A French bistro is usually informal with a café bar feel, serving the simple home-style cooking upon which all great classic French cuisine is based. Along with the tantalizing smells of garlic and freshly baked bread are the sounds of raucous laughter and the clatter of plates and cutlery on cold marble tabletops. Simple but robust flavours come from the kinds of dishes your mother would have made, had she been French.

The menu at this French Bistro is a grade higher than the usual, and more in keeping with the stylish setting. We choose from a four-course selection.

To start, a Salad "folle" with goose liver, lobster and truffles and a walnut dressing, and pan-fried goose liver with caramelized apples. Whatever it is about the attractions of the goose, both my companion and I hungrily sit up when the food arrives. Always in danger of spoiling my food by eating too much bread, I chose to eat my salad with a little bread. The salad is very good. On the other side of the table, there is no more talking until a final scrape of the plate is followed by the word "perfect!"

Pausing for a while, I watch my companion devour a bowl of steaming onion soup for the next course. After that, perhaps planning for a future occasion, we peruse and discuss the wine list. Selected by Wine of The World, a company that coordinates wine lists for hotel groups, it is a sizeable list and crosses a spectrum of global vineyards, with the specialties you might expect from the vintage houses of Bordeaux.

With our palates cleansed by sparkling mineral water and witty repartee, we again sit up at the arrival of the main course. On a huge plate, my grilled sea bass arrives, dressed in a tableau of braised fennel, crushed potatoes and preserved lemon sauce. My companion decides to bow out of this part of our feast and talks as I eat.

The menu also offers fillet of beef, prime rib or roast rack of lamb, no doubt deliciously tender and done to perfection.

Around the room, there is a buzz and we settle before ordering something sweet. My companion says she likes the intervals between each course, unusual to Chinese dining.

We choose two perfect bistro desserts: frozen walnut mousse with passion fruit puree and crème brulée, and two coffees.

When the bill arrives, my companion swipes it swiftly from the table. We make a practice of not arguing about who should pay, so this time I defer to her generosity.

The French Bistro at The Great Wall Sheraton Hotel (Beijing) is a sumptuous and charming restaurant that serves extremely good food and is well worth a visit. It is a credit to its young chef, Stefan Urkens.

The restaurant has a 15% service charge, and is open for lunch and dinner.

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Reservations on 6590 5566 ext. 2119