Restaurant

A spin-off from Dao Jia Chang in north-ern Beijing's Xibahe, the restaurant is beau-tifully done out in old world fashion, with the clean lines and simple decoration characteristic of Chinese design before it all went horribly wrong at the end of the Qing dynasty.

Your party's number is yelled out as you come through the door, and from then on no element of service is delivered with anything other than a boisterous cry. Even plates are clattered with a satisfying contempt for gentility.

Order any of the variations on zhajiang mian (fried sauce noodles) and a ma-chine-gun rattle of small dishes ensures as the meat and vegetables of your choice are thrown into the bowl of heavy flour noodles.

If you stick to Old Beijing selections (some generic home-style fare is also on offer), the food is odd, and almost certainly not spicy. With one exception-the wonderful ink fish with scallion and hot chili (jiu cai and chao mo dou yu). Easily the best dish of my visit, it's a combination of pungent flavors.

Backtrack to the starters, though. An-other fish is essential here-the pickled men su yu, whose bones have disintegrated to the point where you don't have to worry about them sticking in your throat. The cold mustard cabbage (jie mo dun) is one of the odder offerings.

Pickled turnip skin (bao yan luo bu pi) is only worth testing if you want to add some crisp texture to your meal. For a meatier experience, order a plate of excellent deep-fried ribs (xiang su pai gu), and add some weightier fare with fried eggplant shreds (su chao qie zi si).

If noodles seem like a bit much after all this, settle for a spring onion pancake. I advise against the "Lazy Dragon" rolls, whose vaguely aniseed flavor had me reaching for a drink to wash it away. A distinctly unusual third choice could be the hu bing corns bread pancake topped with egg. Scallion and dried shrimp. This is also a taste that may take some acquiring.

Be warned: There is no English menu here.

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