A taste of Italy, flavor of old Beijing, sting of Sichuan

Good mix of local produce and imported seasonings

I was on my way back from Bacco Ristorante and Bar, and I had just told my driver my destination, when he turned around and asked: "Did you eat garlic?"

Oh that was embarrassing. But I had to get back some dignity. So I quipped: "That means it was good-quality garlic."

The cause of our repartee was the mashed garlic on bread, served as appetizer at the newly opened Italian restaurant, one of nine bread varieties on the menu. An hour earlier at the tasting, Dr Luigi Azzaro, its executive chef, had said they try to combine fresh local produce with authentic seasoning imported from Italy.

My meal started with an egg and bread soup. The brandy-poached egg was exceptional soft, and the soup tasty and light. My main course, rack of lamb, was very satisfying, succulent and chewy. But I didn't expect to have three racks on a plate, which was a bit more than I could handle.

The pizza was flavorful, although the base was thicker and not as crisp as I had expected.

Azzaro is a professional sommelier and manager who has toured across Europe, Asia and Oceania. He wants to introduce to China not just representative Italian dishes but also wines from the country. The restaurant is named after Bacchus, the Roman god of wine. The dcor is high end, with elements reminiscent of ancient Rome.

Average spending comes to more than 200 yuan per person. The restaurant is currently offering a set lunch from 52 to 102 yuan per person. 2-6 pm is afternoon tea time. They also organize wine tasting parties.

Daily 11 am-10 pm. 13-3, 1/F, Ruichen International Center, Tuanjiehu, east of Changhongqiao, East Third Ring Road, Chaoyang district. Tel: 6585-2188

Fight back your snack attack with small bites

The Nine Gates Snacks Courtyard offers such a variety of traditional Beijing snacks - up to 300 kinds - that you will be spoiled for choice.

Established in 2006, it employs 10 traditional snack makers from Beijing to prepare their specialties on the spot, in a food street located in the center of a refurbished courtyard house, that also contains ordinary dining area offering standard Chinese cuisine. The food street is a copy of Menkuang (door frame) Hutong in Liulichang near Qianmen, from where snack stands pulled out when the area came under renovation in 2005.

Many of the 10 snack makers on this "food street" bring to bear on their creations food traditions that have been passed on through generations. Their specialties are therefore often associated with their surnames: Wei's cheese, Li's millet congee, Hou's wonton and Ma's lamb head.

Among the most popular, and safe, Beijing snacks are "donkey roll-over" cake, made with mashed glutinous rice and yellow rice, yundou juan, mashed kidney bean roll, and wandou huang, yellow mashed pea cake.

Wei's small bowl of cheese, bean curd jelly (dofu nao), and sweet-and-sour fried hawthorn fruit (chao hongguo) are all worth trying.

Some of these traditional "small eats" involve pork giblets that may be considered unhealthy today. But snacks such as lu zhu, boiled pork intestines and lung slices with cake in soup, and bao du, boiled beef stomach stripes, are old Beijing favorites and a must-tries.

Dou zhi'er, fermented bean drink, is an acquired taste but considered a healthy beverage by Beijingers. If you can take it, you could get hooked for life.

The restaurant's bilingual menu features English translations for a number of other traditional Beijing specialties. Chao gan is fried pork liver in broth, while guan chang is actually deep-fried crisp starch cake. For the more conservative, there's always mutton kebabs, stuffed beef cakes and beer.

Those looking for an authentic hutong feel will not be disappointed by Nine Gates. Located beside Houhai Lake, it offers the additional attraction of a stroll along the lake before or after a meal. But be prepared: Not all the foods may suit your palate.

Average spending is about 40 yuan ($5.9). One needs to purchase a card, with a minimum value of 10 yuan, to use on food street.

Daily 10 am-9 pm. 1 Xiaoyou Hutong, Denei Dajie, Xicheng district. Tel: 6402-6868

New branch, but same old recipe for success

Meizhou Dongpo Restaurant has a reputation in Beijing for offering reasonably priced, authentic Sichuan specialties. The restaurant named after a southwestern Sichuan city recently opened a new branch at Tuanjiehu, just along East Third Ring Road, which is packed at dinnertime.

Sichuan sausage never fails to hit the mark as an appetizer. The restaurant usually serves two flavors - "spicy" and "original". I prefer the "original", finding the "spicy" one, well, a little too spicy.

The tongue-numbing chicken comes with fresh red and green chili rings, as well as fresh dark-green pepper, giving the chicken chops a delicious pungency. Fried garlic leaf with preserved pork is a classic Sichuan dish, and goes well with rice, although the meat looked a bit fatty.

The steamed grouper is quite a winner and the tea-smoked duck appeared less greasy than usual. Deep-fried fish head, a new dish, has a nicely crisp texture. The fish head can be chewed and swallowed, but was a little too oily.

For more classic Sichuan specialties, try North Sichuan starch noodles, a spicy cold appetizer, fish boiled in spicy soup, dandan noodles, and kongpao diced chicken.

The restaurant is better than average, although the tables are set rather close to one another. There is a public dining area on the 1st floor, and private rooms on the 2nd. It is possible to spend an average 60-70 yuan per person, which is good value for money, considering the location.

Daily 11 am-9 pm. Dim sum available until 4 am. Building 1, Tuanjiehu Dongli, along East Third Ring Road, Chaoyang district. Tel: 8598-0158