Gift of the corn gods

Most of the crowd huddled at Beijing's discrete Taco Bar in Sanlitun are there for, well, tacos - which are superb, satisfying and comfortable companions for the nice tequila selection. But we always save room for dessert: the pan de elote is two nice slabs of grilled corn cake, a mildly sweet confection in a divine combination of vanilla ice cream, rum syrup, honey and chili powder. At 30 yuan, it's a bargain sugar rush.

Taco Bar, Unit 10, Electrical Research Institute (next to Home Plate), Sanlitun Nan Lu, (South Road) Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-6501-6026.