Cod mania

The Plough at Cadsden, where President Xi Jinping and UK Prime Minister David Cameron had their lunch, has become a hot destination for Chinese living in the UK.[Photo by Wu Zhiyi/China Daily]

We found a slightly more upmarket version at Alfie's in the capital's high-end Parkview Green mall. Here, two flaky cod fillets (188 yuan) boast a light, puffy crust. They share a plate with an equally light and pleasant tartar sauce, chutney and lemon, though the chips seem like ordinary french fries. The plate is not on the regular menu but a highlight of the weekend brunch options.

It's a photogenic platter, but it's best to be quick with those WeChat snaps: As batter gets cold, it gets greasier, so fish and chips are best when piping hot.

Other capital hotspots for fish and chips include The Godfather, The English Tearoom, Vineyard Cafe, Let's Seafood, Plan B and Village Cafe at Opposite House (Friday evenings only). In suburban Shunyi, The Garage offers a beer-battered fish plate for 88 yuan you can enjoy with a Greene King IPA, just like Xi Dada.

In an online recipe, Britain's celebrity chef Jamie Oliver advises using sunflower oil to fry the fish if cooking the dish at home. "Whisk the flour, beer and baking powder together until nice and shiny. The texture should be like semi-whipped double cream (ie, it should stick to whatever you're coating)," he writes.

And of course, serve it with chips and mushy peas.

If you go

Jing-A Taproom

1949 The Hidden City, Courtyard, 4 Gongti Beilu, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-6501-8883.

Alfie's

No 9 Dongdaqiao Road in Parkview Green, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-5662-8777.