Beef Tartare. [Photo provided to China Daily]

If you don't save room for dessert, you may miss chef Paiva at his most creative. Five new desserts include "H2O Melon", a refreshing sweet and sour dessert of yoghurt parfait, compressed watermelon and lime jelly, designed to be light and healthy. Coconut Rock, meanwhile, is a colorful construction with roasted frozen coconut, moist banana sponge and passion fruit chutney. Valrhona Manjari Chocolate and Raspberry is a rich blend of ginger broth, dark chocolate namelaka and raspberry gel.

All of that is served with a commanding view of Beijing - if you schedule your visit on a clear day. It's worth planning carefully.

If you go

Grill 79

Daily lunch from noon to 2:30 pm and dinner from 5:30 to 10 pm, China World Summit Wing hotel, No1 Jianguomenwai Avenue, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-8571-6459.