The man who brought pulled pork, smoked beef brisket and all the trimmings from Austin, Texas has maintained the unofficial embassy of the Lone Star State for five years, despite losing his first location and recent competition from a 'cue smoker from Houston. Tim Hilbert's done it with a lot of personal attention, a solid menu of barbecue and Mexican food, and lots of good tunes from the likes of Patsy Cline, Bob Wills and Willie Nelson. - Mike Peters

Silk Market No 2 Building, 15 Dongda-qiao Lu, Chaoyang district,Beijing. 010-6591-9161