Da Gui

The restaurant executes its dishes well enough that it could become a formidable competitor to the popular Three Guizhou Men.

Guizhou restaurants are increasingly a cliché in the Beijing dining scene, but thankfully the latest branch of Da Gui is as delicious as it is trendy. The restaurant, which also operates at Jiaodaokou and Zhonggauncun, executes its dishes well enough that it could become a formidable competitor to the popular Three Guizhou Men.

The décor is entertaining - splashes of green paint on the wall and round black-framed mirrors decorate the white walls. Diners in sleek black booths eat off of curvy and oblong white dishes and drink out of teacups with slanted edges. The only downside of the interior is the extra wattage of the light bulbs, which bounces off the white walls and is a little too reminiscent of a dentist's office.

Nevertheless, the menu covers a wide array of dishes available at most Guizhou restaurants - for example fish in sour soup (soup base 26RMB). Here it's cooked at the table on a sleek electric hot plate and comes with your own choice of fish and various hot pot ingredients; opt for the catfish (48RMB) for its tender meat and easily removable bones. The soup is superb, with a nice balance of tomato, chillies, coriander and lemongrass.

The pickled vegetable and deep fried sweet dumplings (28RMB) is a Guizhou variation of tangyuan, the glutinous rice balls typically served at Chinese Lantern Festival. The rice balls are stir-fried with sour vegetables and chillies and biting into their crispy exterior reveals a squishy-soft filling bursting with black sesame paste. The sour-hot-sweet combination is rather unexpected, yet delicious all the same. Another winner are the hot and sour cold noodles (16RMB), which have a slippery texture and just the right amount of spice, ginger and coriander. Although less pleasing, a dish called ‘chicken wing dry hot' (48RMB) and the fried rice with bacon (??RMB) will satisfy the spice averse. Jen Lin-Liu 

Da Gui Xinyuanli Dongjian, First Floor, Zhunjuan Dasha, Chaoyang district (tel 8448 4600). Open 11am-11pm daily. Meal for two 200RMB.