Yunnan kaleidoscope

Colorful Yunnan's Anzhenqiao branch is a refined version of a Yunnan cuisine restaurant, in all respects: food quality, presentation, decoration, service and price. The Yunnan-based company even has its own Pu'er tea store, Qing Feng Xiang, which is located next to its restaurant.

Our recent media tasting started with a cold appetizer of fresh tianma slices on ice. Tianma is a Chinese herbal medicine commonly used to improve energy flow and strength. It tastes crispy, and a bit bland and is usually dipped in honey.

While the deep-fried bamboo worm is not only tasty but also a good source of protein.

Yunnan is known not just for its tea, but also herbs and mushrooms. The restaurant flies in mushrooms from the southwestern province every day.

The manager showed us some fresh black truffles, with beautiful marble patterns. The prawn served with truffle sauce was delicious, though the two thin slices of black truffle on the plate tasted a bit woody.

On the other hand the fried matsutake mushrooms with bell pepper, and fried porcini mushrooms with chili were fresh, crunchy and full of flavor.

Baked grass carp with citronella was served with mashed peanuts, roast soy beans and chili, giving the fish a lot of fragrance. However, the braised beef wrapped in banana leaf, and a Yunnan ham with local cheesecake, were the best dishes of the evening. The beef was extremely tasty and tender, while the ham and cheese were a perfect match.

Finally, the restaurant offered a top-quality steamed small corn cob, and great "cross-bridge" rice noodles made on the spot.

The public dining area is on the first floor, with the private rooms on the second and third floors. A meal will set you back on average more than 200 yuan ($29.3) per person.

Don't forget to check out the tea store and teahouse on the first floor.

Light bites from Jiangsu

Light flavors can be tasty - that's what one learns at restaurants offering good Huaiyang cuisine, such as at Keli Huaiyang Village's Chongwenmen Hotel branch. Huaiyang refers to Huai'an, Yangzhou and Zhenjiang, three cities in southern Jiangsu province. The restaurant has six chains in Beijing, which consistently offer quality food.

Start with a mixture of peeled peanuts in vinegar and fragrantly smoked pork slices. The pork slices have a little fat but do not taste greasy. Two other nice starters are brined river shrimp with spring onion flavored horsebeans, and jellyfish and tiny cucumber.

The starters are followed by a very light but refreshing quick-boiled fish meatball slices, a fried snail with chopped cucumber, and a tasty sea cucumber with fish maw soup, which would go well with a bowl of rice.

The deep-fried leek ball wrapped in flour is fresh and crispy, and served on a "bird's nest" made of bamboo. The restaurant's famous brown-braised pork chop with vinegar is served in a clay pot, and is much less greasy than usual. But it still looks oily, and people might not be used to that lingering trace of vinegar.

Finally, the restaurant's boiled eel and fried soft pork skin are two great dishes to try. The average cost is 150 yuan ($22) per person.

European flavors

The CourtYard Restaurant recently welcomed its new chef, Dan Segall, from Boston, in the United States. Segall was executive chef for Louisiana at the Hilton Beijing. He later opened the Hong Kong branch of London restaurant Zuma, which is listed as one of the world's top 100 restaurants, and in the Hong Kong Michelin Guide.

"The restaurant offers modern European cuisine," Segall says. "But we'll use the freshest local ingredients, such as live crabs for almond soup."

The organic chicken will also be local but the Wagyu beef and lobster will be imported. The chef says he will present "honest, natural flavors with a bit of European background".

Recommended dishes are squid and homemade pork roll with wine sauce, marinated duck chest with fig fruit and gin, chocolate and peanut opera cake with seasonal fruit and ice cream.

The restaurant is located right next to the Tongzi River and a private room on the second floor has a good view of the walls of the Forbidden City, which is especially beautiful at sunset. The average bill is 400 yuan ($58.6) per person.