New taste of old Canton

The seafood branch of Tang Palace in Beijing offers a combination of classic Cantonese with inspirations from other culinary traditions－plus Canadian lobsters. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Quite a few of the offerings are actually Sichuan-style, characterized with spiciness from red chilies and tingly numbness from Sichuan peppers, such as mixed-roots noodles with sour-and-spicy sauce, poached beef with spicy soup, Sichuan preserved sausage, and mapo tofu.

"Beijing is home to people coming from all over the country," says Wu Haiyan, an executive with the eatery group. "Not everyone likes the sweetness and light flavors of traditional Cantonese food."

However, Wu insists that all the restaurant offerings, including the spicy Sichuan-style dishes, reflect the Cantonese style of paying great attention to the freshness of ingredients, nutrition and presentation.

One of my favorite dishes in the restaurant chain is koushui chicken, or mouthwatering chicken, which may illustrate what Wu means. In the classic Sichuan version, it's dressed with chili oil, and tastes numbingly spicy and salty. At Tang Palace, it's somehow a blend of mouthwatering chicken and Cantonese poached chicken.