Sichuan sizzlers

Beijing

It's not the usual hot-and- sour with lots of fish and spices. Ye Jun gets pleasantly surprised.

People do best what they know best, and that's especially true in the restaurant business. So it is Dao Jin Sha, literally "Sichuan path and golden sand", exploits the knowledge of both owner and chefs.

While the restaurant specializes in Sichuan cuisine, its owner is from Nantong in Jiangsu province, and there is therefore a trinity of chefs in the kitchen specializing in Sichuan, Cantonese as well as Nantong cuisines.

We started the meal with turnip slices in rose-flavored sauce, with the thinly sliced roots delicately arranged like a flower, right down to three green stems. It was followed by Gongdelin vegetarian duck, made with bean-curd skin and a stuffing of fragrant mushroom, bamboo shoots and Jiangsu sausages.

My personal favorite was the crisp-fried broad beans, perfect with wine or liquor.

We also tried two typical Sichuan dishes. One was the popular spicy boiled fish slices with Sichuan pickled turnips and carrots. The pickles added a mouthwatering tartness to the soup and complimented the spice in the pot. The

other was a rather mediocre dry-pot frog.

The most impressive dish, though, was a plate of stewed fishes from the rivers of Nantong, freshly shipped to Beijing. There were grass carp, chub and yellow catfish, all of which are palm-sized, smooth and meltingly tender.

Another Nantong winner was the braised fish "surprise" served on a hot plate. The identity of the tender tasty fish was supposed to keep diners guessing, but the owner decided to share the secret - it was plaice.

The restaurant also showcases its diversity by serving more formal cuisine. One representative was the braised Liaoning sea cucumber in golden millet soup. Another winner was the "seaflower" soup with aged bean curd. The "seaflower", a sort of sea anemone, has a crunchy texture although its rather unusual shape may take some getting used to.

Other recommendations are the braised pork ribs with taro, fried arrowroot tubers and shallots. The arrowroot is a wetland plant whose tubers are now in season and is a rather starchy root with a mild, pleasant taste.

An average meal will cost you about 100 yuan a person ($15), or 260 yuan if you opt for a private room.