Feast like a Brit in Beijing

You won't get more British than this: Alfie's offers traditional roast beef with gravy, and Yorkshire pudding dressed up with a few greens. Photos by Ye Jun / China Daily

Traditional fare at Alfie's by Dunhill comes courtesy of chef Liu Xin, who went native to see just what tickles British taste buds. Ye Jun reports from Beijing.

A young Chinese chef's version of British cuisine is winning acclaim among Beijingers.

With the opening of British-style restaurant Alfie's by Dunhill, many people are asking chef Liu Xin what food constitutes British cuisine. Only four months earlier, he was asking his boss the same question.

That was when the restaurant was being prepared, and the management of Eclat Beijing hotel asked Liu, its executive chef, to front the menu of Alfie's.

With 20 years cooking experience, Liu is adept in Mediterranean, French and Spanish cuisines, but he was not sure what British cuisine really was.

He checked websites and read books, and found the most recognized British food is fish and chips.

The next most popular is Sunday roast beef. Ranked third are various pies - cottage pie, shepherd's pie, and fish pie.

There are also savory or sweet puddings, the best known being Yorkshire pudding, which is always prepared and eaten with roast beef.

But that wasn't quite enough.

"What Chinese chefs lack when cooking Western cuisine is a good understanding of local life and culture," he says.

"The chef must have worked in the place or country."